The British Army was the first to use the M3 in combat. The M5 gradually replaced the M3 in production from 1942 and was in turn succeeded by the Light Tank M24 in 1944. The M5 featured a redesigned hull and driver's hatches moved to the top. Production of the M3 and later the M5 Stuart started in March 1941 and continued until October 1943 with a total of 25,000 produced.Īn upgrade of the M3, which was initially called M4 but later redesignated the M5, was developed with improved engines and produced through 1942. The initial upgrade was designated the M3 Stuart and had thicker armor, modified suspension and a 37mm mm gun. The Stuart was an upgrade of the M2 Light Tank. M3 Stuart at Fort Knox, Kentucky, used for training. troops were supported by tank units of the French Army operating Schneider and Saint-Chamond machines. A battalion trained in England and saw action in France in the last six weeks of the War. troops also used the British Heavy Tanks Mk V and Mk V* (pronounced 'Mark Five' and 'Mark Five Star'). A later modification, the M1917A1, was a lengthened, rebuilt, updated version compared to the French one, having a 100 hp Franklin engine and an electric self-starter rather than a crank starter. 374 had cannons and 526 had machine guns and 50 were signal (radio) tanks. After the war Van Dorn Iron Works, the Maxwell Motor Company, and the C.L. Approximately 64 of the M1917 were built before the end of World War I and 10 were sent to Europe, but too late to be used in combat. Steel idler wheels replaced the wooden idlers fitted to French examples. The crew, a driver and gunner, were separated from the engine by a bulkhead. The M1917 was a US tank accepted by the army in October 1918 and is primarily based on the plans of the French Renault FT. This pattern, with the gun located in a mounted turret and rear engine, became the standard for most succeeding tanks across the world even to this day.

It was cheap and well-suited for mass production, and in addition to its traversable turret another innovative feature of the FT was its engine located at the rear.

As the American army did not have tanks of its own, the French two-man Renault FT Light Tank was used by US in the later stages of World War I.

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