World War II Database

1.  Bill says:
15 Sep 2011 11:09:03 AM

Mudd Marines taking a working break, I know
a lot of other Marines are around, looks like one Marine on the far left, is carrying an M-1.30 Caliber Carbine.
But our two Marines, should have personal weapons within reach like on their laps.

Check out the M-3,37mm anti-tank gun. In the Pacific, the Japanese had light tanks like the Type 95, 96 and 97. And the 37mm was effective against Japanese armor. However, against German Medium and Heavy Panzers, the Panzer crews would have a laugh, if a gun crew could hit it at 100 yards, well that takes a lot of guts to wait, till its within that range of a tank, but not so fast its 37mm round could knock out a target such as a bunker, pillbox and other fortifications and penetrate 2.4 inches of armor at 500 yards.

SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY:

In 1937 the US Army wanted to develope an
anti-tank weapon. The Army bought a proven design already in production, and selected the German 37mm gun built by Rheinmetall-Borsig Co.
This weapon was called the Panzer Abwehr Kanone(PAK-37)the Army arranged for several to be shipped to the USA, after testing and modifications an American-built version entered service with the Army and Marines.

Besides being a towed weapon, the 37mm could be mounted on half-tracks and other vehicles
The American M5A1 Stuart light tank, was armed with the 37mm gun and the US Lee M-3
carried a 37mm gun as secondary armament.

The M-3,37mm anti-tank gun was phased out of US service at the end of WWII, and was later retired by foreign armies in the 1960s and 1970s.