Stuart V "Honey"
Light Tank · Britain
The British Stuart: a fast 37 mm scout with a sloped front and plenty of rounds. Mark targets, call in the Typhoons and hit tanks from the side or rear.
(the vehicle's description in the garage)
At a glance
| Nation | Britain |
| Role | Light vehicle (LT) |
| Modelled variant | Stuart V (Light Tank M3A3) in British service, 'Honey': 4th County of London Yeomanry recce troop, Villers-Bocage 13 June 1944 |
| Price | 470 credits |
| Team stock | 3 per five-player team (scales with team size) |
| Hit points | 690 |
| Main gun | 128 damage per AP shot, 3.1 s reload |
| Speed | 57.9 km/h on roads, 27.2 km/h off-road |
| View range | 300 m |
| Ability (B) | Air Strike (Typhoon) |
| Garage ratings | Armour 2/10 · Firepower 3/10 · Mobility 10/10 · Spotting 9/10 |
History
"Honey" was the British name for the American M3 Stuart family, from a driver's remark that it handled like a honey. The Stuart V was the British designation of the M3A3, with a sloped, welded front hull and a larger turret with a bustle.
By 1944 British units used their Stuarts as reconnaissance tanks. At Villers-Bocage the 4th County of London Yeomanry's recce troop had Stuart Vs, and they were among the vehicles caught by Wittmann's Tigers. The game models a 4th CLY recce-troop Stuart V as it was on 13 June 1944.
In Armor Heads
Design note: Stuart V "Honey" (M3A3): the Stuart's 37 mm on the sloped hull; British recce troops at Villers-Bocage.
Compared with the other 34 WW2 vehicles, it is bottom 5 for hull front armour (#31 of 35); bottom 5 for shot damage (#31 of 35); top 5 for reload (#3 of 35); bottom 5 for accuracy (#33 of 35); top 5 for view range (#5 of 35).
Survivability
- Hit points: 690. Damage taken multiplier: 1.13 (effective HP 611).
- Tracks: a hit on the running gear breaks a track 35 % of the time (the hit does no damage); the crew repairs it in 4 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 | 25 mm at 48° (37 mm) | 0.93 | 410 | 33 |
| Hull side | 25 mm at 20° (27 mm) | 1.08 | 353 | 34 |
| Hull rear | 25 mm | 1.11 | 344 | 34 |
| Roof | 13 mm | 1.5 | 254 | 34 |
| Turret front | 51 mm | 0.81 | 471 | 30 |
| Turret side | 32 mm | 1 | 382 | 34 |
| Turret rear | 32 mm | 1 | 382 | 34 |
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: turret, 360° traverse at 36°/s.
- Elevation +20° / depression -10°, at 30°/s.
- Reload: 3.1 s.
- Damage per minute (AP): 2,477.
- Accuracy: 0.095° dispersion when settled, aim time 1.36 s, move bloom 0.06.
- Gunner's sight: M70D, 3x (binoculars 6x / 10x / 15x).
| Shell | Type | Damage | Splash | Blast radius | Muzzle velocity | Penetration threshold | Rounds | Crew shock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autocannon AP | AP | 128 | 5 | 1 m | 884 m/s | 0.73 | 42 | - |
| Autocannon HE | HE | 83 | 64 | 3.9 m | 792 m/s | 1.3 | 20 | 0.46 |
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 1.8 s when the plate stops it and 2.2 s when it bursts through. Under 75 mm, it only shakes the crew when the plate stops it: it knocks crew members out only when it bursts through.
Matchups (AP against the hull front, square-on, under 100 m)
- Its AP gets through the hull front of 11 of the other 34 vehicles. It is stopped by: Tiger I, M4 Sherman, Panther, Panzer III Ausf. L, T-34/76, T-34-85, Panzer IV Ausf. H, Sherman Firefly, M26 Pershing, Tiger II, IS-2, Churchill VII, KV-1, M10 Wolverine, StuG III Ausf. G, SU-100, Jagdpanther, ISU-152, M32 TRV, T-70M, M36 Jackson, Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer, 17pdr SP Achilles.
- 33 of the other 34 vehicles' AP get through its hull front. Safe from the front against: M32 TRV.
- From the side, 34 of them get through its hull side; from behind, 34 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 turret, 8 rounds/s, 1 damage per round, overheats after 50 rounds. It elevates to 70° and can shoot down recon planes.
- Smoke: 3 salvos, each recharges in 25 s.
Mobility
- Running gear: tracks (pivot turns).
- Top speed 57.9 km/h on roads, 27.2 km/h off-road (47 %), reverse 11.6 km/h, acceleration 4.4 m/s².
- Turn rate 46°/s (27°/s at top speed). Mass 14,400 kg. Engine start 2 s.
Special ability (B)
Air Strike (Typhoon): a Hawker Typhoon dives on the enemy tank nearest the point you mark (within 1,000 m) and fires eight rockets. Ready 90 s after the round goes live, once per round; another use costs 450 credits.
Where it appears
Players can take it on all seven WW2 maps, on either team. The AI fields it on:
- Villers-Bocage 1944, Blue (Allied side): 1x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 5).
Where it ranks (1 = best of 35)
| Stat | Rank |
|---|---|
| Hit points | 26 |
| Effective HP | 26 |
| Hull front armour (lower multiplier = thicker) | 31 |
| Turret front armour | 26 |
| Road speed | 6 |
| Off-road speed | 8 |
| Shot damage (AP) | 31 |
| Damage per minute | 30 |
| Reload (shortest first) | 3 |
| Accuracy (smallest dispersion first) | 33 |
| Aim time (fastest first) | 7 |
| Turret / gun traverse speed | 8 |
| View range | 5 |
| AP penetration (lower threshold = goes through more) | 30 |
| Price (1 = most expensive) | 29 |
The real vehicle
| Variant | Stuart V (Light Tank M3A3) in British service, 'Honey': 4th County of London Yeomanry recce troop, Villers-Bocage 13 June 1944 |
| Length with gun | 5.027 m |
| Hull length | 5.027 m |
| Width | 2.52 m |
| Height | 2.36 m |
| Ground clearance | 0.419 m |
| Track width | 0.295 m |
| Gun | 37 mm Gun M6 in Mount M44, elevation +20 / -10 deg (AFV Database) |
Sources used for the model: AFV Database https://www.afvdatabase.com/usa/m3stuart.html (M3A3: 197.9 in with rear stowage box, 99.4 in over sandshields, tread 73 in, 101 in over MG mount, clearance 16.5 in, ring 46.75 in, T16 track 11.6 in, 5.5 in pitch, 66 shoes, 117 in ground contact, 14-tooth sprocket, plate angles); 4 CLY war diary June 1944 https://www.normandywarguide.com/war-diaries/4-county-london-yeomanry-june-44 ('Stuart V'); tank-afv.com M3 Stuart (Stuart V = M3A3, 'Elusive' 22nd Armd Bde Normandy June 1944); blueprint the-blueprints.com 78086 M3A3 Stuart V four-view (side 10.6 mm/px, front 10.36 mm/px)
In-game model: 4.53 m long (gun included) × 2.51 m wide × 2.6 m high (antenna excluded), 4,996 triangles, built at true scale.
Images
Renders of the in-game model in a plain nation colour (the game paints its camouflage at runtime).
