Field Guide to the M5 Series Light Tanks

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A Field Guide to the M5 Series Light Tanks and the M8 Howitzer Motor Carriage
Author: Kurt Laughlin
Softcover
Price: Around £10

Introduction

Kurt Laughlin has been working on research into the M5 for a considerable time, and now he has published this book, which is an invaluable guide to external details of the M5/M5A1 tanks built at various times by the different factories and also covers the closely-related M8 HMC. Since it is a print-on-demand work any errata will be dealt with before an order is filled, and details of any found later will be published on the web at www.usarmymodels.com so buyers can insert them - there's no risk of a buyer finding that the book needs replacement by a later edition.

The book

A brief preface sets out the reasons for the book being produced, and recommends additional sources for reading. Following this are 10 pages of text describing the changes made during production, starting with the M5 turret and M23 combination gun mount, then dealing with the M5A1 turret and M44 combination gun mount and finally the M8 turret. The hull is then dealt with in similar style, first the engine deck, then the glacis, radio antenna mount, ventilator, pioneer tool stowage, track stowage, air deflectors, floor escape hatch, sand shields, towing pintle, tripod brush shield, late features, and periscope brush guards. Next come descriptions of changes to the suspension: sprocket, bogies, bogie wheels, idlers, plated-over wheels, and extended track connectors, All of these features showed changes, either by improvements introduced or because of different approaches at different factories, and knowledge of them will be essential for anyone wanting to produce an accurate model of a particular tank.

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After the text section there are 59 pages of photographs, technical manual illustrations and drawings showing all the variations of those components. Relating these to the text descriptions is straightforward and allows quick recognition of the exact sub-type seen in a reference photograph. But the crowning triumph is the following 12-page section of tables detailing the exact components used by each factory with the dates of changes and the manufacturers' serial number and US Army registration number batches of the M5 and M5A1 tanks and M8 HMC's concerned. This means that if an Army number is visible in a photograph you can pin down when and where the tank was built and what features it had! And, if no number is visible, after identifying the sub-type from the descriptions and photographs of visible features you can check what features it had that are not visible in the photograph.

Finally, for those who spot a preserved tank and want to pin down its identification, there are four pages of text and photographs detailing the locations of the manufacturers' serials stamped onto major components and the foundry marks on castings.

Conclusion

This really is an essential reference for modellers, with new kits of the M5 Stuarts offering so many opportunities for detailing to match reference photographs of actual vehicles. Very highly recommended. Thanks to Kurt Laughlin for the review book.

This book can be purchased at Formations Models.