A total of 1,336 American built M3 Lee Medium tanks were shipped to the Soviet Red Army during the World War Two. NO this is wrong. It is a common miss-reading of period shipping documents. The Soviet Union were allocated 1,336 M3 Medium Tanks (the Stuart) not the M3 Lee. The Soviets were sent a few for evaluation like this M3 Lee that is preserved in the Kubinka Tank Museum.

Lend-Lease Soviet M3 Lee Tank in the Kubinka Tank Museum Russia

Location

To get to the Russian Tank Museum in Kubinka Take the train from Moscow's Belorusskaya Railway Station, in the north west of the city, to Kubinka. It is about an hours train journey. It is a direct service, no need to change, and the the tickets are cheap. Make sure you print off a list of station names so you can check off where you are and get ready to get off the train at Kubinka. The station names are not always easy to read or see.

Although this military town has been active for over 80 years it has a rundown look to it. You can walk to the museum but there is the equivalent of a motorway crossing your route. There are no pedestrian crossings over it. There are a number of taxi stands near the station. They are very cheap and honest. I tried to give the driver a big tip but he refused. Ask for his card so you can ask the Museum gate staff to call his company when you are finished at the Museum to get back to the railway station.

The Lend-Lease M3 Lee Tank was armed with a 75 mm M2/M3 gun in the hull and a 37mm gun in the turret.

Specifications

This version of the M3 Lee in the Kubinka Tank Museum was powered by a Wright Continental R975 EC2 petrol engine that produced 400 hp. The M3A4 and M3A5 versions were powered by twin General Motors GM 6-71 diesel engine that produced 2x 238 hp. It had a top road speed of 42 km/h (26 mph) and an operational range of 193 km (119 miles) before the crew needed to refuel.

It was armed with a 75 mm M2/M3 gun in the hull and a 37mm M5/M6 gun in the turret. The M3 Lee was also armed with four .30-60 Browning M1919A machine guns. Two in the hull in a double mount and one in the turret next to the 37mm gun. The Commanders cupola also had a machine gun. It had a crew of seven. The tank's armour protection ranged in thickness from 30mm to 51mm.

Lend-Lease M3 Lee Tank was fitted with two .30-60 Browning M1919A machine guns in the hull.

The Russian M3 Lee Tank

During trials its high silhouette and archaic configuration made it less popular than the later M4 Sherman tanks. It was sometimes derisively referred to as a 'Grave for Seven Brothers'. The M31 TRV armoured recovery version was also supplied but only in small numbers. Red Army High command rejected the tank for deployment

Lend-Lease M3 Lee Tank in the Kubinka Tank Museum Russia

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