M5A1 Light Tank - 37th Tank Battalion - France, September 1944 (1:43 Scale)

Product Dimensions: 4.41 x 2.09 x 2.11 in.

Model History and Information: The M5A1 Stuart was a light tank used for reconnaissance, security and cavalry tasks rather than direct contests with heavy armor. Its speed and mechanical reliability made it useful to U.S. forces as they advanced through France and Germany in 1944 and 1945. The 37th Tank Battalion, part of the 4th Armored Division and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Creighton Abrams, spearheaded the breakout from Normandy that took Avranches on 30 July 1944, then drove east across France under Patton's Third Army through August and September 1944. Stuarts like this one screened the division's flanks and scouted ahead of the heavier Sherman tanks during that rapid advance.

Model Features & Details:

• Overall olive drab finish with a white star-in-circle insignia on the hull side
• "DESTRUCTION" nose-art roundel with a red devil figure painted on the hull side
• Pintle-mounted .30 cal machine gun at the commander's cupola
• White hull registration "U.S.A. 3047649 S"
• Twin vertical exhaust mufflers and stowage racks on the hull rear
• Mounted on a display base inside a clear plastic case

Packaging: Model is mounted on a printed identification base and enclosed in a clear acrylic display case, as shown in the product photos.