East China Field Army The story behind the "Meritorious Tank"
At the military parade for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2019, the battle flag team was neatly arranged, full of tribute to history and full of expectations for the future. It passed Tiananmen Square with a momentum and accepted the inspection of the party and the people. Among the 100 honorary battle flags, there is a battle flag embroidered with the words "Meritorious Tank". This was the honor of the 102-car "Zhu De" tank to the Special Forces Column Tank Brigade of the East China Field Army during the Liberation War. Looking back at that time, the "Meritorious Tank" and the "Meritorious Tank" of the Northeast Field Army Tank Brigade were one in the south and one in the north, and were also known as the two advanced models of the early People's Armored Soldiers. The "Hero of the Mechanic Tank" crew emerged, and the "Hero of the Mechanic Tank" crew also produced a "Hit of the Mechanic Tank" crew, Shen Xu.
Meritorious Tanks American-made
"Merious Tanks" are a US-made M3A3 "Stuart" light tank. It has been developed from M2A4, M3, and M3A1. In June 1940, on the basis of the M2A4 light tank with a riveted structure of armor plates, the American Vehicle and Foundry Company adopted measures to increase the maximum armor thickness to 38 mm, strengthen the suspension system, increase the induction wheel and ground it, extend the track grounding length, extend the rear upper part of the vehicle body, cancel the side observation window of the turret, move the artillery back into the machine to the front and bottom of the tail of the gun, so that it is under the protection of the gun shield , and strengthen the top armor plate of the engine compartment to defend against strikes from the air, and improve the design of the M3 light tank.
M3 was completed in July 1940, but when it was put into production in March 1941, the original D37812 riveted turret was replaced with a welding turret code-named D38976. The M3 was named after Stuart, the Southern Cavalry General during the Civil War. One of its major identification features is that the front and side armor plates of the vehicle body are vertical. Continuous improvements are made based on user feedback during its production process.
Since June 1941, the newly produced M3 has begun to use D39273 welding turret. This turret looks like a horseshoe from the top. The entire side and rear part is bent and formed by a whole piece of steel, and then welded to the top and front. Starting from mid-September 1941, the M3 tank began to install gun stabilization instruments. According to the British military's combat experience in North Africa , starting from October 1941, the M3 began to install two 25-gallon discardable additional fuel tanks to increase the vehicle's travel, and installed a new periscope above the pistol shooting port on the hatch of the chief and co-pilot and the side pistol shooting port on the turret. Storage rack is installed at the rear of the vehicle body. Since November of that year, there have been 4 observation slits on the command tower of the M3 tank commander.
Many people mistakenly think that During the Second World War , the US military tanks used gasoline engines. But in fact, since June 1941, the American Vehicle and Foundry Company produced 1,285 M3 "Stuart" that replaced the T1020 diesel engine, accounting for 22% of the total 5,811 M3s. Since at that time, the U.S. Army believed that diesel engines were not as reliable as gasoline engines, and the introduction of diesel engines into the armored forces that dominate the world, would complicate logistics maintenance and support, most of these diesel engine versions of M3 "Stuart" stayed in the United States for training in armored troops, and only a small number of them served in the U.S. Marine Corps, which could only pick up the army's "ocean fall", and they were involved in the island battle in the Pacific. After the M3 was discontinued, the United States produced 4,621 more improved M3A1 "Stuart" from June 1942 to early 1943. The main difference between it and the M3 is that it cancels the small command tower on the top of the turret and the machine guns on both sides of the vehicle body. Since the M3A2, which switched to welding body, was not put into production, the M3A3, which was put into production in 1943, became the last mass-produced model in the M3 series.
M3A3 front armor inclined 48 degrees, and the armor on both sides of the vehicle body is 20 degrees. Although doing so reduces the interior space of the car body, it significantly increases the bulletproof performance of the car body, which should be said to be greater than loss. The M3A3 car is the cockpit, combat compartment and power compartment from front to rear.There are 4 crew members: the commander, the gunman, the driver and the electromechanical crew. The driver and electromechanical worker are located in the front of the vehicle body, the driver is on the left, and the machine gunner is on the right. Both of them have a periscope on their hatch doors. In addition to being responsible for external contact and maintenance of vehicle-mounted electromechanical equipment, the electromechanical and mechanical and electrical officers are also responsible for manipulating a M1919A4 7.62mm heading machine gun. The combat compartment of the
M3A3 tank is located in the middle of the vehicle body, and an M44 turret is installed on it. The commander and the gunman are located in the turret, with the commander on the right and the gunman on the left, and each has a hatch door above them. The middle of the turret is equipped with an M6 37mm tank gun with an upward and down angle of -10 to 20 degrees. The initial velocity of the muzzle is 752 meters/second and the theoretical rate of fire is 30 rounds/minute. The armor-piercing bombs and high-explosive grenades are used up to 174 rounds. cannon is equipped with a M1919A5 type 7.62mm parallel machine gun on the right side. The driver's hatch door is equipped with a M1919A4 7.62mm anti-aircraft machine gun. Although the three car-mounted machine guns are divided into two models, the initial muzzle velocity is 854 meters per second, and the theoretical fire rate is 400 to 500 rounds per minute. Each ammunition is equipped with 2,500 rounds, and the total number of ammunitions in the car is 7,500 rounds, and it is packed in 30 ammunition boxes with a capacity of 250 rounds. The power compartment of the
M3A3 tank is located at the rear of the vehicle body and is equipped with a 7-cylinder W670-9A gasoline engine. The output power is 252 horsepower when the speed reaches 2,400 rpm. The power emitted by the gasoline engine is transmitted to the driving wheels located on both sides of the front of the vehicle body through the gearbox and the transmission shaft .
M3A3 "Stuart" light tank is 5.02 meters long and has a width of 2.52 meters. It is 2.56 meters high to the top of the turret. The front armor is 44 mm thick. The total combat weight is 14.7 tons. The maximum road speed is 50 kilometers per hour/hour. The maximum road trip is 216 kilometers and the maximum climbing slope is 60%. According to the US military configuration, each M3A3 crew member carries a M1911A1 11.43mm automatic pistol with him. The M1 "Thomson" submachine gun and Mk.2 grenade are also provided for the crew members to use when they get off the car and fight. In addition, the M1919A4 heading machine gun and air-resistant machine gun can also be removed from the vehicle, installed on the tripod that is carried with the vehicle before use.
M3A3 looks very similar to M5A1, and there are two main recognition features. First, the power cabin behind the M3A3 body has no protrusions and the above body is flat. Because the M5A1 needs to accommodate dual engines, the armor plate above the power cabin is obviously protruding. Second, the armor plates on both sides of the M3A3 car body have a 20-degree inclination, while the M5A1 car body is vertical armored on both sides. Although the output of the tanks in the middle and late stages of World War II, both firepower, mobility, and protective performance were out of date. Therefore, it is mostly used in training and battlefield reconnaissance in the US military. The United States provided a large amount of it to wartime allies such as Britain and the Soviet Union in accordance with the " Lease Act ", and China was among them.
Since 1943, the Chinese army in India began to receive American training in Lamba, India. In October of that year, the chariot training class of the army stationed in India officially started, and Cai Zonglian, director of the Education Department of the Paid and Vessel Department of the Paid and Vessel School, served as the training class teacher. Relying on 145 M3A3 "Stuart" light tanks received from Kolkata port , 200 6-wheeled trucks and 50 jeeps, as well as trainees who have just graduated from the chariot training class, the Chinese army stationed in India has established the "First Temporary Chariot Group of China and the United States", with 7 chariot battalions under its jurisdiction. The 1st Battalion of the Tanks was put into the Hukang Valley battle in March 1944. Not only did it win many things, but it also captured Varuban, the garrison of the 5th Regiment of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army, killed 2 Japanese colonels, 1 central gang, and 1 captain, and seized the defense of the division headquarters. Although the 2nd Battalion of the Tank also rushed to the front line, it was mostly used as a combat reserve, and the number of participations, scale and results of the 1st Battalion of the Tank were not as good as that of the 1st Battalion of the Tank. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War , the 1st Battalion and the 2nd Battalion were allowed to return to Shanghai by boat with the M3A3 "Stuart" light tanks they equipped. In the winter of 1945, these two chariot battalions were combined into the 1st chariot regiment in , Xuzhou District, with most of the personnel of the 142nd Regiment of the former 48th Division, with three chariot battalions under their jurisdiction.In mid-1946, the Kuomintang Army Command transferred the reorganized 80th Brigade from the combat sequence of the reorganized 26th Division, strengthened the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Regiment of the 5th Regiment of the Artillery Regiment and 1st Battalion of the 4th Regiment, search battalion, engineering battalion and automobile regiment, and formed the 1st Fast Column. This motorized unit, , has a total of 24 American M3A3 "Stuart" light tanks, 24 American M1 105mm howitzers, hundreds of American "Dodge" 10-wheel trucks, as well as some M3 armored reconnaissance vehicles and M3 armored conveyor vehicles, American "Willis" Jeep and American Chinese Jeep. Its firepower and mobility are the best among the Kuomintang army.
In December 1946, the 26th Division and the 1st Fast Column of the Kuomintang Army launched an attack on Lunan, threatening to "capture Linyi for the New Year."
