*** Shoe Box Photos ***

 

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M-3 "Anti-Tank 37mm "

 

Heavier armored tanks being developed during the 1930's, made the .50 caliber armor piecing projectile that the U.S. Army relied upon as their anti-tank destroyer obsolete. In response, they designed a transportable, 37mm 1.5 inch cannon designated the M-3. However, even by 1940 with World War II under way, the German class of tank armor made it rather useless in the European theater. In the Pacific region, its reasonable weight of only 900 lbs allowed it to be utilized in the invasion island hopping strategy and effectively eliminate Japanese armor or pill boxes emplacements. The 37mm, 2 lb shell, had a projectile with a muzzle velocity of 2,900 feet per second. Trained crews could muster a firing rate of 30 rounds per minute and with projectiles of armor piecing shells could penetrate 1" of armor at 500 yards. High explosive 37mm shells had a maximum effective range of 1,000 yards. Over 18,000 M-3's were manufactured by 1945, some attempt was made to mount their 37mm cannons on self propelled chassis of light tanks or armored cars such as the M-8.

 

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Christy Butler **** www.shoeboxphotos.net **** **** butts@bcn.net