3in Gun M5
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| 3in Gun M5 | |
|---|---|
 M5 on carriage M6 on display at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. |
|
| Type | anti-tank gun |
| Place of origin | USA |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1943- |
| Used by | USA |
| Wars | WWII |
| Production history | |
| Produced | 1942-1944 |
| Number built | 2,500 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | combat: 2.21 t |
| Barrel length | bore: 50 calibers |
|
|
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| Shell | 76.2x585R |
| Caliber | 76.2 mm |
| Breech | horizontal block |
| Recoil | hydropneumatic, constant, 42 in |
| Carriage | split trail |
| Elevation | -5° to +30° |
| Traverse: | 45° |
| Rate of fire | 12 rounds per minute |
| Maximum range | 14.7 km |
3in Gun M5 was an anti-tank gun developed in the United States during World War II, using a barrel of the 3-inch anti-aircraft gun T9. The gun was issued to tank destroyer battalions starting in 1943 and saw combat until the end of the war in Europe. It is still used by the US Army for ceremonial purposes.
Contents |
[edit] Development and production history
Late in 1940 the US Ordnance Corps started a project to adapt the 3in Gun T9 to the anti-tank role. The barrel of the T9 was combined with a horizontal sliding block breech, hydropneumatic recoil system and a split-trail carriage, all borrowed from the 105mm Howitzer M2.[1] The pilot of the weapon, named 3in Gun T10, was ready by September 1941. Although the subsequent testing revealed minor problems, it was clear that the gun, eventually standardized as M5 on carriage M1, presents major performance improvement over existing designs.[2]
Nevertheless, it turned out that no branch of the US Army wanted the new gun. The Infantry considered it to be too large and heavy. The other possible user, the Tank Destroyer Center, preferred self-propelled weapons which offered better mobility. Only a pressure from the head of Army Ground Forces, Gen. Leslie McNair, resulted in the gun being adopted and issued to some tank destroyer battalions. McNair's opinion was apparently influenced by the experience of the North African Campaign, where self-propelled guns were found to be hard to conceal.[3]
Production began in December 1942. In November 1943 a slightly modified carriage was standardized as M6. In this carriage a flat shield borrowed from the 105mm howitzer was replaced by a new sloped one. In January 1944 AGF requested to upgrade the guns built with the early carriage M1 to carriage M6.[4]
| Production of М5, pcs.[5] | |||||||||||
| Year | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | Total | |||||||
| Produced, pcs. | 250 | 1,250 | 1,000 | 2,500 | |||||||
[edit] Service history
On 31 March 1943 AGF ordered to convert fifteen self-propelled tank destroyer battalions to a towed form; eventually AGF decided that half of TD battalions should be towed. The unit included three companies, each with three four-gun platoons, in total 36 pieces per battalion.[6] M3 Halftracks were issued as prime movers. The organization from 1 September 1944 authorized M39 Armored Utility Vehicle instead, but this change was not implemented in practice until spring 1945.[7] Typically, a tank destroyer battalion was attached to an infantry division.[8]
With these towed battalions the M5 saw combat in the Italian Campaign and in the Northwest Europe. In addition to the anti-tank role, the gun was often used to supplement divisional field artillery.[9]
The M5 was never popular with the troops. The large and heavy weapon was hard to manhandle into position, and anti-armor characteristics also turned out to be somewhat disappointing. The existence of an alternative in form of self-propelled tank destroyers, which offered better mobility and protection, could hardly improve its reputation.[10]
Although the M5 easily outperformed older anti-tank guns in the US service, it compared unfavorably to contemporary guns of similar caliber and purpose, developed in Germany and in the United Kingdom. It was much heavier than the German 7.5 cm PaK 40, which had comparable anti-armor performance.
The British 17-pounder was similar to the M5 in size and weight, but the American gun lagged behind significantly in armor penetration, mostly because of much smaller propellant charge;[11]this was aggravated by initial problems with fuses of the APCBC/HE shells.[12] It also must be noted that the APDS round was never developed for the M5; the APCR round existed, but it appears it was never issued to towed TD battalions.
The turning point in the fate of the towed battalions seems to be the Battle of the Bulge, in which they acted much less successfully and suffered much higher losses then the self-propelled ones. From January 1945 the Army started to convert them back to the self-propelled form.[13]
As of 2005, the M5 was still used by the US Army for ceremonial purposes.
[edit] Ammunition
The M5 utilized exactly the same cartridge case as other descendants of the 3-inch M1918 anti-aircraft gun.
| Available ammunition[14][15] | |||||
| Type | Model | Weight, kg (round/projectile) | Filler | Muzzle velocity, m/s | |
| AP-T | AP M79 Shot | 12.05 / 6.8 | - | 792 | |
| APCBC/HE-T | APC M62 Projectile | 12.36 / 7 | 792 | ||
| APCR-T | HVAP M93 Shot | 9.42 / 4.26 | - | 1,036 | |
| HE | HE M42A1 Shell | 11. 3 / 5.84 | TNT, 390 g | 853 | |
| Smoke | Smoke M88 Shell | 6.99 / 3.35 | Zinc chloride (HC) | 274 | |
| Target practice | TP M85 Shot | ||||
| Practice | Practice M42B2 Shell | ||||
| Armor penetration table[14] | ||||
| Ammunition \ Distance, m | 457 | 914 | 1,371 | 1,828 |
| AP M79 Shot (meet angle 30°, homogeneous armor) | 109 | 92 | 76 | 64 |
| APC M62 Projectile (meet angle 30°, homogeneous armor) | 93 | 88 | 82 | 75 |
| HVAP M93 Shot (meet angle 30°, homogeneous armor) | 157 | 135 | 116 | 98 |
| Different methods of armor penetration measurement were used in different countries / periods. Therefore, direct comparison is often impossible. | ||||
[edit] Notes
- ^ Hogg - Allied Artillery of World War Two, p 152; Zaloga, Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, p 17.
- ^ Zaloga, Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, p 17.
- ^ Gabel - Seek, Strike and Destroy - US Army Tank Destroyer Doctrine in World War II, p 46-47; Zaloga, Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, p 17.
- ^ Zaloga, Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, p 17, 18.
- ^ Zaloga, Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, p 21.
- ^ Gabel - Seek, Strike and Destroy - US Army Tank Destroyer Doctrine in World War II, p 47.
- ^ Zaloga, Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, p 20-21.
- ^ Gabel - Seek, Strike and Destroy - US Army Tank Destroyer Doctrine in World War II, p 51, 56.
- ^ Zaloga, Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, p 22-23, 33-34.
- ^ Gabel - Seek, Strike and Destroy - US Army Tank Destroyer Doctrine in World War II, p 63; Zaloga, Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, p 22-23, 33-34.
- ^ Zaloga, Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, p 19.
- ^ Hogg - Allied Artillery of World War Two, p 153-154.
- ^ Gabel - Seek, Strike and Destroy - US Army Tank Destroyer Doctrine in World War II, p 63; Zaloga, Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, p 39-40.
- ^ a b Hunnicutt, R. P. - Stuart: A History of the American Light Tank, p 501.
- ^ Technical Manual TM 9-2005 volume 3, Infantry and Cavalry Accompanying Weapons, p 49.
[edit] References
- Zaloga, Steven J. and Delf, Brian - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45, Osprey Publishing, 2005 (New Vanguard 107), ISBN 1-84176-690-9.
- Hogg, Ian V. - Allied Artillery of World War Two - Crowood Press, Ramsbury, 1998, ISBN 1-86126-165-9.
- Hunnicutt, R. P. - Stuart: A History of the American Light Tank, Presidio Press 1992, ISBN 0-89141-462-2.
- Gabel, Christopher R. - Seek, Strike and Destroy - US Army Tank Destroyer Doctrine in World War II (Leavenworth papers no. 12), Combat Studies Institute, 1985.
- Technical Manual TM 9-2005 volume 3, Infantry and Cavalry Accompanying Weapons, War Department, 1942.
| United States artillery of World War II |
|---|
| Tank guns |
| 37 mm M5/M6 | 75 mm M2/M3/M6 | 76 mm M1 | 3in M7 | 90 mm M3 |
| Anti-tank guns |
| 37 mm M3 | 57 mm M1 | 3in M5 |
| Field, Medium and Heavy guns |
| 75 mm M1/M116 | 105 mm M2/M101 | 105 mm M3 155 mm M1/M114 | 155 mm M1/M2/M59 "Long Tom" | 203 mm M1/M2/M115 |
| Other vehicle mounted |
| 75 mm M2/M3 | 105 mm M1/M2 | 105 mm M4 | 155 mm M1918M1 | 155 mm M2 |
| Anti-aircraft guns |
| 37 mm M1 | 40 mm M1 | 3in M3 | 90 mm M1 |
