The M2 and M3 - A Light Tank Origin Story

The M3 Stuart was THE allied light tank of World War 2. Good armour, good gun, good mobility, and loved by it's crews. It's development began with the T2, continued into the M2 and culminated in the M3A3, with the vehicle serving for decades on the front lines. And, believe it or not, it's still very much in service somewhere!

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:35 The M2 Light
01:51 M2A2 "Mae West"
02:33 M2A3
02:55 M2A4
04:42 Arctic Intermission
05:08 The M3 "Stuart"
06:41 M3A1
07:55 M3A3
09:28 Welcome to Yugoslavia
09:42 Still in service...
10:17 Outro

Credit to Panzer Insight for a large portion of the footage.

All content is presented in historical context for educational purposes. All footage is owned by it's copyright holder and is used in this channel under "fair use".

Music by Epidemic Sound

[NuclearEater-U-]

I like the M2 but i prefer the M2 but you might not like it so i recommend the M2

[arturThe]

0:28 For those who don't know, this is the x1 Pioneer, a Brazilian built/modified Stuart rocking a 90mm low pressure cannon

[petesheppard]

Having grown up on the ‘Haunted Tank’ comics, the Stuart is a lifelong favorite.

[mnguy]

"Not to be confused with the M2, the M2, M2, M2, or the M2. Thanks for that, America." You're quite welcome. We've also got plenty of M1s, M3s, and M4s to look at while you're here.

[BHuang]

The M3 has been one of my favorite tanks! I play World of Tanks and Warthunder with the M3 and had a blast with them!

[chaosXPRT]

I believe these tanks are also a product of a phase the US Army went through referred to as "The Cult of the Machinegun"

[capfig]

The Stuart’s are easily my favourite series of tanks.
Not for any of their actual practical abilities.
I think their just cute.

[jayg]

Really enjoying your vids. No WWII documentary on amy topic will please everyone. You do a good job balancing it all.

[somethingelse]

"JOHN, GRAB THE M2!"... NO, NOOO, the other m2 ffs

[dougstubbs]

I suffered through a revolution in fat loss from an isolated Vietnam island commercial, 3:26 long, half way through this vid. I figured they want to give Red Wrench some money, so I let them. You are welcome. Respect. Fantastic so far.

[kevinkral]

This might be a good time to mention The Haunted Tank, a great comic book from some time ago.
An M3 Stuart is protected and guided by the ghost of CSA Cavalry General Jeb Stuart, resulting in many highly improbable victories for the diminutive protagonist of the series title.
This is a great movie concept and I can't imagine why it hasn't been done yet.
The publisher (DC) night want to think about reprinting a retrospective, as they were genuinely entertaining books.
Regards,
Kev
ps.
Red Wrench, you'd get a real charge from a Caterpillar Co. book titled "Fifty Years On Tracks" as it contains lots of cool proto-tank stuff.
It's an older CAT publication and not too hard to find . . .
-K.

[avnrulz]

In your photo showing the extended idler wheel of the M#, the gap between the bogies is also reduced.

[ps_hagrid_gaming]

Cant wait for part 2!❤️ I need more stuart lore😩

[PiggyBankBurglar]

Love the video, they really brighten my day!

[justafan]

My boy you have some truly quality armored content!

[AverageSpaniard]

you always entertain us with interesting topics, thank you!

[aleks]

I believe an M3A3 was used in the original Twilight Zone episode entitled "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms." Which is about a 1960s America National Guard tank and crew travelling back in time to the Battle of Little Big Horn.

[newhonk]

I love your videos so much that I just have to thank you for making them

[leondillon]

2:07) Mae West was also the name for US life vests.

[VCOUZ]

Thank you so much for the video! I can rest easy now knowing they were completely different tanks and unique in their own ways, I've always been confused about these tanks and why make too many variants(just like the M4's), they were just all "Stuarts" to me. 😅 🍻