AFV Club 35S64 US 3 Inch Gun M5 on Carriage M1

The M5 is an American 76.2 mm (3 inch) anti-tank gun from the Second World War. This weapon was produced in the years 1942-1944 and a total of about 2,500 copies were made. The length of the cannon with the barrel was 7.1 m, with a weight of 2,210 kg. The rate of fire - with well-trained staff - was up to 12 rounds / minute. The maximum range was 14.7 kilometers.

The M5 cannon was designed to replace the 37mm M3 cannon, which quickly turned out to be a weapon inconsistent with the realities of the battlefield at that time. When choosing the caliber for the new anti-tank gun, it was decided to use the caliber of 76.2 mm. At the same time, in order to shorten the work on the new weapon as much as possible, it was decided to use a lot of elements from other guns - the T9 anti-aircraft gun and the 105 mm M2 howitzer. The M5 cannons were used by tank destroyer battalions during the campaign in Italy (1943-1945) and during the fighting in North-Western Europe (1944-1945). It is worth noting that the relatively large losses suffered by troops equipped with M5 cannons during the operation in the Ardennes (December 1944-January 1945) meant that this weapon was systematically withdrawn from the line from the beginning of 1945 in favor of mobile tank destroyers, e.g. M -10 or M-18.