Model, TANK LEGER M5A1 37EME BATAILLON DE TANK FRANCE SEPTEMBRE 1944

M5A1 LIGHT TANK 37TH TANK BATTALION FRANCE SEPTEMBER 1944 (AFVs of WWII). The M3 Stuart, officially known as the Light Tank, M3, was an American light tank used during World War II. An improved version entered service as the M5. It was supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under Lend-Lease before the United States entered the war. Subsequently, it was used by American and Allied forces until the end of the war. The British service name “Stuart” comes from Confederate General J. E. B. Stuart of the American Civil War and was used for both the M3 and the derivative M5 Light Tank. In the United States, the tanks were officially known as the “Light Tank M3” and “Light Tank M5.” Stuarts were first used in combat in the North African campaign; approximately 170 were used by British forces in Operation Crusader (November 18–December 30, 1941). The Stuarts were the first American-manned tanks of World War II to engage the enemy in tank-to-tank combat when they were used in the Philippines in December 1941 against the Japanese. Outside of the Pacific War, in the final years of World War II, the M3 was used for reconnaissance and tracking.