Heroic American Marines fire from the 37 mm gun M3 of the US Army against the Japanese Imperial Army infantry in the jungle during the Battle of Saipan Island. Pacific Theater of Operations, World War II.
37 mm gun M3 team fired using 37G Canister M2 unitary anti-personnel cartridges loaded with 122 steel bullets.
Location: Saipan Island, Pacific Ocean
Shooting time: June 1944
The 37 mm Gun M3 is an American light anti-tank gun during World War II. This gun has been mass-produced since 1940 and has become the standard anti-tank weapon of the infantry units of the US Army. However, the increased armor protection of German tanks quickly made Allied 37 mm anti-tank guns (AT guns) (including the M3) completely obsolete in the European theater of operations. As a result, in 1943-1944. The 37 mm M3 cannon was gradually replaced in parts by the more powerful 57 mm M1 cannon. On the other hand, in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTD), where the US Army and Marine Corps were confronted by obsolete Japanese tanks with bulletproof armor, the M3 gun was successfully used until the very end of the war. Like many other light anti-tank guns, the M3 was used not only against tanks, but also against enemy manpower – for this, its ammunition load included high-explosive fragmentation shells and buckshot.