37mm Gun M3

37mm Gun M3 on Carriage M4
M3 on display at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Type	Anti-tank gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	United States National Revolutionary Army Brazil
Wars	World War II Second Sino-Japanese War
Production history
Designed	1938
Manufacturer	Gun: Watervliet Arsenal, Carriage: Rock Island Arsenal
Produced	1940–1943
No. built	18,702
Specifications
Weight	413.68 kg (912.01 lb)
Length	3.92 m (12 ft 10.3 in)
Barrel length	overall: 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) L/56.6 bore: 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) L/53.5
Width	1.61 m (5 ft 3.4 in)
Height	0.96 m (3 ft 1.8 in)
Crew	4–6
Shell	37×223 mm. R
Caliber	37 mm (1.45 inch)
Breech	vertical block
Recoil	hydrospring
Carriage	split trail
Elevation	-10° to +15°
Traverse	60°
Rate of fire	up to 25 rpm
Muzzle velocity	up to 884 m/s (2,900 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	6.9 km (4.29 mi)
Sights	telescopic, M6

The 37 mm Gun M3 was the first dedicated anti-tank gun fielded by United States forces in numbers. Introduced in 1940, it became the standard anti-tank gun of the U.S. infantry with its size enabling it to be pulled by a jeep. However, the continuing improvement of German tanks quickly rendered the 37 mm ineffective, and by 1943 it was being gradually replaced in the European and Mediterranean theaters by the more powerful British-developed 57 mm Gun M1. In the Pacific, where the Japanese tank threat was less significant, the M3 remained in service until the end of the war.

Like many other light anti-tank guns, the M3 was widely used in the infantry support role and as an anti-personnel weapon, firing high-explosive and canister rounds.

The M5 and M6 tank mounted variants were used in several models of armored vehicles most notably in the Stuart Light Tank M3/M5, the Lee Medium Tank M3, and Greyhound Light Armored Car M8. In addition, the M3 in its original version was mated to a number of other self-propelled carriages.

In the mid-1930s, the United States Army had yet to field a dedicated anti-tank artillery piece; anti-tank companies of infantry regiments were armed with .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. Although there was some consideration had been given to replacing the machine guns with a more powerful anti-tank gun, the situation only began to change after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Combat experience from Spain suggested that a light anti-tank gun, such as the German 37 mm PaK 35/36, was capable of neutralizing the growing threat posed by tanks.