Though produced exclusively by
American Car and Foundry Co. from March 1941 on, the famous M3 started his combat career on North African and Russian soil.
While
1,336 vehicles
left Western ports in late 1941 and 1942, some 400 M3 fell prey to German forces on their way, so roughly
900 arrived in the northern Russian ports, 50 alone through convoy
»PQ-14« in spring 1942.
Being notoriously short in armour by this time, the Russians instantly deployed the archaic looking tanks to their tank units where single vehicles could be seen in combat as late as 1944.
Though probably not a tanker's dream, the M3 Light was fast, reliable and well armoured for its time.