Get Inside The Tanks
Richard "The Challenger" Cutland
The M5 Stuart & M24 Chaffee
Hello and welcome to the very special Muckleburgh Collection...
...in Norfolk, on Britain’s East Coast.
Today we are going to take a slightly different look...
...at not one, but two tanks.
Both American and both extensively used by other armies...
...the M5 Stuart, and the M24 Chaffee.
Why are we doing these together?
Because they demonstrate clearly...
...how quickly tank design evolves in wartime conditions.
Only 5 years separate these two designs, yet they are worlds apart.
They also came into use at a time...
...when the whole notion of light tanks looked as if it was reaching its end.
The Light Tank Concept
The very first tanks were made to break through strong, fortified defences...
...while remaining impervious to enemy fire.
They were only ever supposed to travel at the speed of a walking soldier.
The problem started once you had broken through the enemy's defences...
...and needed to travel more quickly to exploit the breakthrough...
...and early tanks simply could not move fast enough.
This was originally the job of the cavalry...
...but World War One had shown what a bad idea that was.
So, what was needed were faster tanks...
...capable of crossing country quickly while being unaffected by return fire.
The Design Problem
Having decided you need a light tank the First Law of Tank design kicks in...
...the balance between Protection, Firepower and Mobility.
For a long time, increasing mobility meant sacrificing...
...either protection, firepower – or both.
So mobile tanks were inevitably lightly-armoured and with a small gun...
...sometimes even just a machine gun or two.
But, by 1939, ‘regular’ tanks were being developed...
...with more powerful engines and were becoming more mobile...
...and it was now accepted too that tanks would have to fight other tanks.
M2 to M3
America had been caught on the hop...
...not only had they neglected tank development since WW1...
...they didn’t even have any independent armoured formations.
But they did have the M2, which first appeared in 1936...
...and it was hurriedly updated in 1940 to become the M3.
Weighing in at 14 tons...
...the M3 retained the volute spring suspension system...
...of the earlier tank also the 37mm gun and radial engine.
It was rugged, very reliable, but very undergunned and underarmoured.
It was first used by the British in North Africa in 1941...
...as the M3 Stuart - its crews loved it for its reliability...
...and smooth running, nicknaming it the “Honey.”
It could just about hold its own against some of the early Pz. IIIs...
...but had real problems against later models and Pz. IVs.
M3 to M5
It was clear from early on that a totally new light tank would be needed.
That would take time, so the M3 had to carry on.
The flat, riveted plate-armour gave way to angled welded plates.
The engine and transmission were improved.
The final version was this, the M5 Stuart, , or Stuart VI in British service.
The suspension is still the same as the old M2 and M3...
...and so is the rather puny 37mm gun...
...and the two or three .30 calibre machine guns.
Underneath, however, there is a radical change.
The original Continental radial engine is gone...
...replaced by two Cadillac V8s, with an automatic transmission.
This solution removed several problems.
It took up less space, making the cramped interior more spacious...
...and it also delivered more power and it was easier to operate.
It also allowed the tank to travel at up to 36 km/h on-road...
...and 18 km/h crosscountry.
Gun & Armour
Despite these improvements...
...the turret armour was still only 38mm on the front...
...and 31mm on the sides...
...while the hull had 28mm on the front and 25mm on its sides.
All easily penetrated by anything larger than a 50 mm shell.
The American-designed 37mm gun itself had limited armour penetration...
...just sufficient to take out an early Pz. III, but not much else.
The secondary armament consisted of three .30 calibre machine guns.
One in the bow, one coaxial with the main gun...
...and another in the turret roof.
Let's now take a look inside!
Inside
There were two men in the turret.
On the right of the gun was the loader.
With the gunner, who was also the commander, on the left.
Not an ideal solution.
Upfront, the driver is on the left...
...and the co-driver, on the right.
The co-driver looks after the .30 caliber machine gun in the bow.
Inside it's pretty cramped, even with two...
...and don't forget that the English had a three-man crew in the turret.
The gunner controlled the traverse and elevation...
...via two hand controls on his left.
The telescopic gun-sight is directly to his front.
The driver has the standard controls from that time.
Steering levers are suspended from the roof...
...and the transmission lever is on his right.
Outdated
It had been obvious, even from the start...
...that the M3 and M5 were outdated, even as they arrived on the battlefield.
So, by 1943, the M5 had been relegated to a scouting role...
...but it still continued to the end of the war and after.
Something a lot better would be needed to replace it.
Chaffee
It had been agreed, in early 1943, that a totally new light tank was needed...
...mounting a larger gun than the M5, but still weighing in at under 20 tons.
This ended up very quickly as this: the M24 Chaffee.
Looking at the two side-by -side, you can really see the difference.
The M5 looks like what it is: a heavily modified pre-war design.
It is high and narrow, with old suspension and a small main gun.
The M24 looks like a ‘proper ‘tank and altogether, more modern.
It has torsion bar suspension.
It’s longer and wider, but quite a bit lower...
...to present less of a target, but it still weighs about the same.
Under the skin, it has the same double Cadillac V8 power train...
...as the M5 it replaced, but with a different transmission.
Even though the Chaffee weighed four tons more than the M5...
...it could match the earlier tank’s speed on the road...
...and was 7km/h faster cross country.
M-24 Light Tank
Our recently arrived M24 tank with the 9th army in Hanover, Germany.
With many improvements over its predecessor, the M5, on the right.
The M24 however, poses problems on identification.
The reports indicate difficulty recognising this new American vehicle...
...because of its similarity to the German tank.
Our M24 employs the torsion bar suspension system.
Its all steel wheels are 16 inches wide.
More than 4 inches wider than the M5.
A 75mm gun with concentric recoil mechanism...
...as compared with the M5's 37mm...
...also comparing the shells used by each weapon.
Gun & Armour
Armour thickness was, in fact, no better than the M5...
...with 38mm on the turret front and 25mm on the sides...
...while the hull had 25 mm on both front and sides.
But effective thickness was improved over the earlier tank...
...thanks to better armour-sloping and the tank’s overall lower profile.
The big step-up from the M5 is the gun...
...a 75mm gun, firing the same ammunition as the Sherman.
But this was a more compact gun than the Sherman’s.
This had firstly been designed for use in an attack variant of the B25 bomber...
...making it a better fit for the Chaffee’s smaller turret.
Not surprisingly, the 75 had superior armour penetration...
...and good HE performance.
Firing HVAP ammo, it could easily punch through the front of a Panzer IV.
Inside
The three-man turret is more spacious than in the Stuart...
...but there were still complaints about the lack of space.
Inside the turret, the layout is also standard.
The commander (where I am now) sits at the back of the turret on the left.
In front of him is the gunner...
...while the loader is across on the other side of the gun.
Upfront, the driver has simple controls...
...the two steering levers with red handles...
...the transmission lever...
...and the forward-reverse selector, are on his right.
In Service
The M24 Chaffee only reached the frontline in the closing months of the war...
...but continued in service right into the early 1950s.
They were the first tanks to be fielded by the US in Korea.
They saw action with the French in both Algeria and Vietnam.
Algeria, 1954: French forces advance along mountain road
But there were questions about the future of Light Tanks as a concept.
Medium and even Main Battle Tanks could travel as fast...
...with bigger guns and thicker armour.
So today, Light Tanks are still used in armies as reconnaissance vehicles...
...although their weapons are really only there...
...to help them get out of tight corners against infantry - not other tanks.