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Description
The US Army had been remarkably complacent with regard to tank development in the lead-up to WWII, and approached war with precious few tanks that were hopelessly outclassed. This realisation resulted in a frantic clamour to produce a modern tank that could hold its own in combat, with the M3 Lee coming into service as a stop-gap measure within a year of its first design while the M4 Sherman was in development. As a consequence of its rather rushed introduction, it was known to have a number of fairly serious flaws, but it also had some strengths that (at least in part) made up for them. Its high profile and sponson mounted main gun gave the enemy a large target, but when the 75mm main gun was brought to bear on a target, it was surprisingly powerful and effective, gaining a reputation in North Africa.
A great many examples were exported to the British and Russian forces in the early stages of WWII, and after the majority of British armour was left on the beaches of Dunkerque, the need became even greater. The British stipulated some adaptations to improve the vehicle’s performance, which most visibly included a new larger turret with a bustle to accommodate radio gear, and a cupola instead of the sub-turret with machine gun mount, which was named the Grant after general Lee’s opponent. Due to the pressing need for suitable numbers however, the British did take a number of Lees, and the Soviet Union also took delivery of a substantial number of Lee variants, although some ended up at the bottom of the sea thanks to U-Boat action. The Soviets disliked the Lee intensely and gave it a wide berth wherever they could in favour of the more modern and capable T-34, the production of their own tanks ramping up substantially after the initial shock of Barbarossa, which led to the Lee/Grant’s retirement from front-line service with them by 1943, while the other Allied continued to use them (mainly in Africa) until the end of the war.
It arrives in the new red-themed top-opening box, and inside you will find eight sprues of sand-coloured styrene along with a lower hull part in the same colour, two lengths of black flexible track-runs, a small decal sheet and the instruction booklet with colour profiles for the decal options on the back pages
