M3 Stuart Light Tank

 This is my free coloring pages blog.  

There are over 3000 coloring pages here that I have drawn for you to print and color.

Today there are two new drawings of military vehicles from the Battle of Guadalcanal.

I am currently reading a good historical book about that battle. 

By the way, one of the vehicles is a ship... but first the tank:

M3 Stuart Light Tank

The M3 Stuart light tank was the first light tank to face the enemy during World War II.  It was a tank used by the USA.  This included the US Marines.  They used it in the Battle of Guadalcanal.  It was almost 16 feet long.  It was 7 feet 6 inches wide.  It was 8 feet 5 inches tall.  It had a crew of four including a commander, a gunner, a driver, and an assistant driver. 

The M3 Stuart's main armament was a 37 mm gun.  Its secondary armament was a .30 caliber Browning machine gun.  It also had armor up to 2 inches thick.  It was a light tank so the armament and the thickness of armor were not as robust as a main battle tank.  It weighed 33,500 lbs.  In comparison, the Sherman main battle tank weighed 66,000 lbs. 

USS Salt Lake City Heavy Cruiser (CA-25)

Here we see the USS Salt Lake City beginning a turn to starboard. It is obviously on escort duty. The USS Salt Lake City was a heavy cruiser.  It was laid down in 1927.  The Salt Lake City was sponsored by Helen Budge - the granddaughter of leading Mormon missionary William Budge.

It went on to fight in World War II in the Pacific Theater.  It was nicknamed Swayback Maru.  It received 11 battle stars for its action in the Pacific.  The USS Salt Lake City was involved in the Battle of Guadalcanal and the island hopping campaign.  It was also involved in the efforts to kick the Japanese out of the Aleutian Islands. It was hit several times in surface battles and helped fight off Japanese aerial attacks on the carriers it was protecting. 

After the war, it participated in two atomic bomb tests and failed to sink.  It was finally sunk a couple of years later as a target hull.  It had served a long and glorious life.  More importantly, its crew and officers served aboard her honorably. 

NOTE:  This pair of drawings, in printable form, are found by clicking on the button labeled Vehicles and Military Vehicles.  Then scroll down to the bottom or near the bottom of the list of drawings.  This will work if you are accessing this page in late 2024.