Article Summary: The M3 Lee/Grant tank, built as a quick “stop-gap” before the arrival of the more effective Sherman, ranks as America’s worst tank of World War II. Though briefly effective early on, its awkward design—a 75mm gun mounted awkwardly in a hull-side sponson and a high, vulnerable profile—soon rendered it obsolete.
Key Point #1 – Riveted armor caused dangerous shrapnel when hit, and the hull-mounted gun limited the tank’s maneuverability in battle.
Key Point #2 – Replaced quickly by the M4 Sherman, the M3’s chassis still contributed significantly as the base for the successful M7 Priest self-propelled artillery. Despite its limitations, the Lee/Grant held the line temporarily.
Why the M3 Lee Tank Quickly Became Obsolete in World War II
The United States tank strategy has changed drastically since WWI and WWII.
It has evolved with the development of our armored forces. The US was late to the tank design competition in the early 20th century. The US believed tanks were only infantry support vehicles, not an attacking, spearhead kind of force envisioned by cavalry officers like George S. Patton and Adna Chaffee.
The US Army has fielded many exceptional tanks over the past 100 years. And a few that weren’t so great.
So, in this instance, we’re not looking for the best of the best; we’re looking for the worst tank in US history.
For that, we have to go back to the beginning of World War II, a war the US was unprepared for.
The military started rebuilding around 1940 but lagged in many areas, including armored forces.
Worst US Tank of World War II
It is hard to pick the worst US tanks built because I don’t necessarily buy that any were terrible. As a fledgling force created in 1940/41, they were playing catch-up from the start. And tank production, once it got going, showed US industrial might, which was incredible.
Many will read this and automatically assume it was the M-4 Sherman tank. But you’d be wrong.
Sure, the Sherman had some bad flaws. Its profile was too tall, the armor was never good enough, and tankers were forever welding extra armor pieces where they could. The standard 75mm main gun was a medium-velocity weapon. It was generally worthless against the frontal armor of Germany’s best tanks.
It was a very good tank when the Sherman was designed in 1941. When it made its appearance in late 1942/43, it was a step behind; by 1944, it was entirely outclassed by modern German designs.
Late in 1944, upgrades were made by the US; a high-velocity 76mm gun was a significant improvement. Armor was added. But what made the Sherman outstanding was the American war machine. The arsenal of democracy produced 50,000 Sherman tanks between 1942 and 1945. It was the most produced tank of the war. German tank production couldn’t hope to keep up.
M4 Sherman Tank.
The Panzer Mark IV was on par with the Sherman, and a total of 8,553 were produced. The infamous Tiger I only had 1,387 produced, and the King Tiger or Tiger II had 489 made. The Panther, the war’s best tank, produced 6,000. The total production of Germany’s best four tanks was 16,429. On a two-front war, this was a war they couldn’t hope to keep up.
King Tiger Tank Battle of the Bulge.
No, the “worst” tank in the US arsenal was a tank produced as a stop-gap measure. It was supposed to “hold the line,” until the Shermans were ready to go. As with any stop-gap measure, that tank will have more bad than good, but it filled a necessary role. That was the M3 Lee/Grant tank.
Meet The M3 Lee/Grant Tank
The M3 Lee/Grant tank was the “stop-gap” tank to aid the US and our British allies in North Africa until the M4 Shermans were rolling off the assembly lines.
The tank was called the Lee by the Americans and the Grant by the British. The design looked like a stop-gap measure and was not great. It had an even higher profile than the Sherman. The armor was good for 1942, but by the time the first Tigers rolled into North Africa in January 1943, it was inadequate.
An interesting feature was the M3 Lees had two main guns. However, the medium-velocity 75mm gun was loaded in a side sponson, with a 37mm in a turret atop of the vehicle. The M3s were given to the British and were quickly pressed into action.
The 37mm was obsolete for anti-tank fire, but the 75mm was decisive for the time and definitely got the Germans’ attention.
After the Battle of Gazala, Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (the Desert Fox) noted: “Up to May of 1942, our tanks had in general been superior in quality to the corresponding British types. This was now no longer true, at least not to the same extent.”
By January 1943, the Lees and Grants were replaced by the M4 Shermans.
Issues With the M3 Lee/Grant Tank
Obviously, the very high profile of the tank was an absolute drawback. Having the 75mm gun in an outdated side sponson was not good. For one, it had only 15 degrees of traverse on either side, with an elevation of 20 degrees and a minus nine degrees.
The other issue with the 75mm gun was that because it was located in the hull, the Lee couldn’t hull-down shoot like most tanks with just the turret exposed.
It was, therefore, out in the open. In late 1942, the Germans began to get high-velocity 75mm guns for anti-tank units and in their Mark IV tank. The Lee/Grant became exposed for its flaws.
The hull was riveted, so when the tank took a direct hit, even if the round didn’t penetrate, deadly spalling occurred where the rivets on the inside bounced around until they found flesh.
As a stop-gap measure, the M3 did its job. However, the design was lacking, and the Germans took advantage of that.
The chassis, however, was used to build the M7 “Priest,” a 105mm self-propelled artillery piece, which was quite successful.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a 19FortyFive National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing for 19FortyFive, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA).
