Modernizing an M3 (M5A1) Stuart in the T2k setting.
 

Let's say you have various and sundry parts laying around, and an operable museum-grade M3 Stuart light tank you'd like to turn into an armored reconnaissance vehicle.

Could you put a Bushmaster 25mm gun in the turret (along with ammo feed, etc)?

IR driving lights and upgraded radios are a must, too.

Applique armor (face-hardened whatever local steel you could get your hands on)?

re-engined with maybe a continental diesel scavenged from a bus or large truck?

Maybe even an M175 mount?

If you got a pretty serious machine shop and supply of various parts, don't see why not. The Bushmaster isn't that large, so should fit in the turret just fine.


Question becomes where and how are you gonna route your feeds?

Some models featured a turret bustle; I'm not sure how flexible the linkage in the feeds is but alongside the turret inner wall would be about the only place I could think it could go, with the hopper in the bustle, where it wouldn't get in the way too much.

The Stuart isnt bad as is if you can find shells for her gun - keep in mind that you could also go big and fit her with a 40mm AA gun as well or even decide to go with an open turret and do your own version of the 75mm M8. And the Stuart is very very dependable as well - there are armies in South America still operating them today.

If you can't rearm the turret or it's jammed, etc, you could always do what they did in WWII: Remove it. Some recce units did this. It lowered the silhouette and the point was to go look and see and not fight if you could avoid it.

Photo here http://www.armouruk.net/images/us10165.jpg and here http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/...4733f8.jpg?v=0 of re-enacters versions.

In Yugoslavia Allied supplied M3s or more likely I think M5s had their turrets removed and replaced with captured German guns. I can't get access to the photos from here but try Googling "stuart tank yugoslavia". 75mm anti-tank guns, quad 20mm AA, etc, were all fitted.

(Keep going down this page http://forum.heroesandgenerals.com/v...=8544&start=20 for a couple of photos).

I've also seen a line drawing of one with US quad .50'' AA guns.

Many years ago, Brazil extensively modernized some Stuarts and designated it the X1A/X1A1 (the X1A2 was not based on the Stuart). Most notably, it mounted a low-recoil 90mm gun in a new turret and a diesel engine. 80 were converted.

They seem to come in 'stretched' and 'non-stretched' versions:
http://massimocorner.com/afv/Surviving_X1_X1A1_X1A2.pdf

Still in use during the T2K period:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita.../brazil/x1.htm

"Do you want missiles with yours?"
http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?...opic_id=182831

If you could find one I would go for an M134 with gunshield front and (possibly) MGs left and right plus smoke grenade dischargers on the front (multiple). Good for infantry threats but not too well armed to take on other armour.

Alternatively a RR in an open mount might be ideal.

Excellent information, all, thank you.

I would wager that in the hands of a militia or bandits, assuming they had a bit of equipment the 37mm would come out and a .50 would go in.

Either CivGov or MilGov would either convert to a prime mover or turretless recon or, in a pinch, do the bushmaster conversion - the M5A2 had a turret bustle so ammo would go in there, feed around the inside of the turret.

In an extreme case, with the guns and time and equipment, the X1A1 rebuild that Brazil did might be called for, along with a lot of applique armor...

Worth mentioning that the 37mm gun had an effective cannister round which was used to good effect in Pacific, removing Japanese snipers from hidden tree positions ...

More stuff on Stuarts...

First the Wikipedia entry. (Post-War use and ideas towards the end) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3_Stuart

"Paraguay still has M3 Stuart tanks" and seemingly Shermans...
http://matterofexpedients.blogspot.c...art-tanks.html

Eighty-nine (!) pages of Stuarts in various states:
http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving...A1_Stuarts.pdf

This should be a photo of a Stuart with quad .50 AA guns (as fitted to the M16 halftrack?) However, while I can see a 'preview' of the picture, the site is 'forbidden' to me:
http://www.operatorchan.org/v/src/136202361316.jpg

Well, it looks 'OK' on the outside...
http://en.tracesofwar.com/article/19...th-Houston.htm

Brazilian Stuarts... for sale in 2008:
http://www.arrse.co.uk/current-affai...ed-brazil.html

Failing that scrap metal and a blank charge will do the job! I just love the UK approach of a separate bag charge...

Here is a photo of one version of the M3 AA:

http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/U...M3-50cal-1.jpg

and another:

http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/U...g-M3-50cal.jpg

I found this while looking for Stuart pics.

If all you're got is a truck and sheet metal:
http://www.massimocorner.com/afv/Sur...ovised_AFV.pdf

Instead of the Bushmaster Cannon why not

two LAU-68D/A 7-tubes rocket pods with Hydra 70 rockets

or

GAU-8/A Avenger 30mm Cannon

For suppression, the rockets would definitely work well; esp. if loaded with less-than-lethal (smoke, CS) rounds for using against angry civilians whom you'd prefer not to kill in droves.

The GAU-8 is heavy; maybe a -7 or -4?