Grant tanks arrived in Africa in early 1941. There the M3 would reach the peak of its importance. Even though the United States was desperate to build up its own armored forces, by May 1942 President Roosevelt insured that 167 Grants were sent to the Eighth Army, where they formed the bulk of 4th Armoured Brigade's strength. The Battle of Gazala in May and June 1942 marked the Grant's baptism by fire. There, it provided a massive shock to the Axis, who had not encountered anything so powerful in British service. Nicknamed the "Pilot" by its enemies, the Grant was equal or superior to anything in German service, including the Pzkw IIIJ, the first of its line in the desert to mount a high-velocity 50mm gun. Gazala was Erwin Rommel's greatest victory, and the battle that earned him the baton of a field marshal. Yet none of this was due to the shortcomings of the Grant. Not that there were not shortcomings. The 75mm gun's limited traverse often made it necessary to rotate the entire tank in order to get off a shot. In addition, the Grant could not fire that gun from a hull-down position, aggravating the vulnerability lent by its high profile. Standing in the open was the only way to get the vehicle's best asset into the fight. The Grant continued to be a mainstay of the British army in North Africa, fighting at Alam Halfa and El Alamein. By then, though, the Americans were sending the first of a new tank, this one carrying its 75mm gun in a proper turret. The Sherman, the tank for which the Grant was an admitted stopgap, was now ready for action.

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Royal Army, North Africa, 1943.
Royal Army, 8th Army, El Alamein, 1942.

Features:

5× British tank crew included.
Fully reproduced rivets innumerably covered in the hull
Reproduced early version of WSS(Vertical Volute Spring Suspension)
Accurately reconstructed 75mm main gun mounted on the upper hull and Royal Army type 37mm turret
One-piece rubber track links