gets his hands on some fields and fences.
Two new additions to our comprehensive range of 1:56 scale resin-and-plastic vehicles are the American M3 medium tank, which is available either as an M3 Lee or an M3 Grant.
The Grant, distinguished by its different turret configuration, was used extensively by the British, whilst the Lee saw action with many nations, including the Soviet Union under the lend lease agreement.
The first M3s were operational in late 1941. The U.S. Army needed a good tank and, coupled with Great Britain's demand for a medium tank immediately, the Lee began production by late 1940.
The tank's first actions during the war were during the North African Campaign in 1942. They continued to serve in North Africa until the end of that campaign, during which time the M3 was generally appreciated for its mechanical reliability, good armor, and heavy firepower.
Variants using British-pattern turrets were known as "General Grant," named after U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant. In fact, it was the British that gave most U.S. tanks their nicknames, so as to avoid the confusion caused by the U.S. military coding system.
Overall, its armor and firepower were equal or superior to most of the threats it faced. Long-range, high velocity guns were not yet common on German tanks on the battlefield of 1942.
However, rapid pace of tank development and its riveted armor meant that the M3 was very quickly outclassed. By mid-1942, the introduction of the German Tigers, the up-gunning of the Panzer IV to a long 75mm gun, and the appearance of the Panthers in 1943, along with the availability of large numbers of Shermans, it was ultimately withdrawn from service in the European Theater, although they continued to be employed to good use on the Russian Front and in the Far East, where Japanese armor wasn't of the same caliber as their German counterparts..
Both the M3 Lee and M3 Grant are both now available in the Warlord webstore, and are the ideal medium tank to support your American, Soviet or your British forces across many theaters.