M3 Lee
Medium Tank · USA
A Sherman's 75 mm in a hull sponson that swings only 15° each way, on a tall, slow 1942 hull. Point the tank at the fight and use the HE: it is a gun platform, not a flanker.
(the vehicle's description in the garage)
At a glance
| Nation | USA |
| Role | Medium tank (MT) |
| Modelled variant | Medium Tank M3 (Lee), riveted hull, late 1942 production as 1st Armored Division used it in Tunisia, early 1943: 75 mm gun M3 (long) in the M1 sponson mount, 37 mm M6 turret with the M1 cupola |
| Price | 600 credits |
| Team stock | 3 per five-player team (scales with team size) |
| Hit points | 950 |
| Main gun | 280 damage per AP shot, 4.6 s reload |
| Speed | 38.6 km/h on roads, 25.9 km/h off-road |
| View range | 240 m |
| Ability (B) | Artillery |
| Garage ratings | Armour 3/10 · Firepower 5/10 · Mobility 8/10 · Spotting 7/10 |
History
The Medium Tank M3 was a stopgap design of 1941. The US had no turret able to take a 75 mm gun, so the M3 carried its 75 mm in a sponson on the right side of the hull, with limited traverse, and a 37 mm gun in a small turret on top. It was tall and its riveted hull was dangerous when hit, but it brought a 75 mm gun with a good HE shell to the battlefield when the Allies needed one most.
The British called it the Lee (and the version with their own turret the Grant). The US 1st Armored Division used the M3 Lee in Tunisia in early 1943, including at the Kasserine Pass. In the game only the 75 mm hull gun works; the 37 mm turret is fixed.
In Armor Heads
Design note: M3 Lee: the Sherman's 75 mm in the hull sponson (15 deg each way, the working gun); the 37 mm turret on top is fixed geometry (one working gun per tank).
Survivability
- Hit points: 950. Damage taken multiplier: 1.05 (effective HP 905).
- Tracks: a hit on the running gear breaks a track 45 % of the time (the hit does no damage); the crew repairs it in 7 s.
| Zone | Real plate | Damage multiplier (lower = thicker) | Raw shell damage to destroy through this zone | AP of the other 34 vehicles that gets through |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull front | 51 mm at 30° (59 mm) | 0.76 | 744 | 30 |
| Hull side | 38 mm | 0.92 | 615 | 33 |
| Hull rear | 38 mm at 5° (38 mm) | 0.92 | 615 | 33 |
| Roof | 13 mm | 1.5 | 377 | 34 |
| Turret front | 51 mm at 30° (59 mm) | 0.76 | 744 | 30 |
| Turret side | 38 mm | 0.92 | 615 | 33 |
| Turret rear | 38 mm at 5° (38 mm) | 0.92 | 615 | 33 |
Real plate: the thickness of the real vehicle's armour there, and its slope from vertical with the line-of-sight thickness in brackets; each zone's multiplier is worked out from it (see how the numbers work). The last column counts square-on hits under 100 m.
Main gun
- Mount: casemate, gun arc ±15° of the hull centreline at 14°/s; turn the hull to aim further.
- Elevation +20° / depression -9°, at 20°/s.
- Reload: 4.6 s.
- Damage per minute (AP): 3,652.
- Accuracy: 0.075° dispersion when settled, aim time 1.52 s, move bloom 0.054.
- Gunner's sight: M21A1, 1.44x (binoculars 6x / 10x / 15x).
| Shell | Type | Damage | Splash | Blast radius | Muzzle velocity | Penetration threshold | Rounds | Crew shock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armour Piercing | AP | 280 | 20 | 2.5 m | 619 m/s | 0.66 | 17 | - |
| High Explosive | HE | 182 | 140 | 6.5 m | 604 m/s | 1 | 9 | 1 |
The penetration threshold is the lowest zone multiplier (the thickest armour) the shell still gets through: zones below it stop the shell (10 % damage for AP, 20 % for HE). See how the numbers work.
HE and the crew: every direct hit shakes the crew (slower reload and traverse, a wider aim circle) for about 1.9 s when the plate stops it and 3 s when it bursts through. It is big enough to knock crew members out of their seats even when the plate stops it.
Matchups (AP against the hull front, square-on, under 100 m)
- Its AP gets through the hull front of 18 of the other 34 vehicles. It is stopped by: Tiger I, M4 Sherman, Panther, T-34/76, T-34-85, Sherman Firefly, M26 Pershing, Tiger II, IS-2, Churchill VII, KV-1, SU-100, Jagdpanther, ISU-152, M32 TRV, Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer.
- 30 of the other 34 vehicles' AP get through its hull front. Safe from the front against: Panzer II Luchs, M32 TRV, Sd.Kfz. 250/9, T-60.
- From the side, 33 of them get through its hull side; from behind, 33 get through its hull rear (every zone is in the table above).
Secondary weapons and equipment
- Roof machine gun: .30 cal (M1919), the vehicle's own modelled gun on its hull, 8 rounds/s, 1 damage per round, overheats after 50 rounds. It elevates to 70° and can shoot down recon planes.
- Smoke: 2 salvos, each recharges in 40 s.
Mobility
- Running gear: tracks (pivot turns).
- Top speed 38.6 km/h on roads, 25.9 km/h off-road (67 %), reverse 5 km/h, acceleration 3 m/s².
- Turn rate 30°/s (18°/s at top speed). Mass 27,200 kg. Engine start 2.5 s.
Special ability (B)
Artillery: an eight-shell barrage on any point within 1,000 m, 8 s after red smoke marks it; the shells hit tank roofs and wreck buildings. Ready 90 s after the round goes live, once per round; another use costs 400 credits.
Where it appears
Players can take it on all seven WW2 maps, on either team. The AI fields it on:
- Kasserine Pass 1943, Blue (Allied side): 2x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 2).
Where it ranks (1 = best of 35)
| Stat | Rank |
|---|---|
| Hit points | 18 |
| Effective HP | 17 |
| Hull front armour (lower multiplier = thicker) | 25 |
| Turret front armour | 23 |
| Road speed | 28 |
| Off-road speed | 9 |
| Shot damage (AP) | 26 |
| Damage per minute | 14 |
| Reload (shortest first) | 19 |
| Accuracy (smallest dispersion first) | 26 |
| Aim time (fastest first) | 16 |
| Turret / gun traverse speed | 30 |
| View range | 10 |
| AP penetration (lower threshold = goes through more) | 26 |
| Price (1 = most expensive) | 22 |
The real vehicle
| Variant | Medium Tank M3 (Lee), riveted hull, late 1942 production as 1st Armored Division used it in Tunisia, early 1943: 75 mm gun M3 (long) in the M1 sponson mount, 37 mm M6 turret with the M1 cupola |
| Length with gun | 6.12 m |
| Hull length | 5.64 m |
| Width | 2.72 m |
| Height | 3.12 m |
| Ground clearance | 0.43 m |
| Track width | 0.42 m |
Sources used for the model: TM 9-750 Medium Tanks M3, M3A1 and M3A2 (1942), tabulated data par. 5 and figures 4-5, https://archive.org/details/Tm9-750MediumTanksM3M3a1AndM3a2 ; afvdatabase.com https://afvdatabase.com/usa/m3lee.html ; Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3_Lee
In-game model: 6.18 m long (gun included) × 2.75 m wide × 3.13 m high (antenna excluded), 9,032 triangles, built at true scale.
Images
Renders of the in-game model in a plain nation colour (the game paints its camouflage at runtime).
