Armed with this gun, the tank was renamed the Ram Mk II. But its turret was too small to practically accommodate a gun as big as the American 75 mm, so the 57 mm six-pounder gun was installed instead.

But this gun was too weak to pierce the latest German armoured vehicles. A secondary, machine-gun turret was added at the bow.Īdded to the Canadian design was a larger main turret that could traverse 360 degrees and could mount the British army’s standard anti-tank gun, the 40 mm two-pounder. Reflecting British influences, the driver’s seat was moved to the right-hand side of the tank.

To reduce the vehicle’s size, the 75 mm gun was removed from the The Canadian tank retained the chassis and many mechanical parts from the M3. Instead of producing M3 tanks, Canada finalized the design of a modified version of the US M3 in March 1941. Thus they named the M3 Medium Tank after General Lee, the modified British version of the M3 after General Grant, and the M4 after General Sherman. The British named their American tanks after generals from the US Civil War. These shortcomings encouraged the Canadians to develop of a new tank derived from the M3. Which limited its use, because the crew had to turn the entire tank to aim the gun. In addition, its 75 mm gun was mounted on the hull, But the M3 also had a tall silhouette that made it easy to see and hence vulnerable to enemy fire. The new US M3 Medium Tank, which had an impressive armament for the time, with its 75 mm main gun. The Canadian authorities were also thinking about manufacturing The Canadian federal government ordered the Canadian Pacific Railway to produce British Valentine tanks. The plans to build a Canadian tank, which had been made before the Battle of Dunkirk, could now be carried out. At the time, Canada was not manufacturingĪny tanks domestically and had trouble in purchasing tanks from the United States, because the British had also placed orders with them. British industry had to make up this loss and called on the Canadian army, among others, to produce combat vehicles. ( See Second World War (WWII).) British troops were evacuatedįrom the port of Dunkirk, but had to abandon most of their heavy equipment, including their tanks. In 1940, the British army suffered a major defeat at the hands of the German forces invading France.

Main battle tank in WWII