GERMAN ARMOR. The Mark III medium tank (top), the standard German tank in Tunisia, had a high-velocity 50-mm. cannon which could penetrate the frontal armor of U. S. light tanks at a thousand yards and the frontal and side armor of the General Grant at five hundred and one thousand yards respectively. The 75-mm. antitank and assault gun (bottom), mounted on the same chassis as the Mark III tank, was encountered early in the Tunisian campaign. Its high-velocity gun was more than a match for any of the Allied tanks. Its low silhouette, characteristic of most German armor, made it difficult to detect and hard to hit. The prototypes of both these vehicles existed in Germany in 1936 and were used until the end of the war.
TUNISIA
ITALIAN MEDIUM TANKS LEFT BEHIND AT KASSERINE PASS. This model was the backbone of the Italian armor in Tunisia. By Allied standards it was inferior in practically every respect, but it was the best the Italians had. (Italian medium tank M13/40 with 47-mm. cannon.)
TUNISIA
U. S. LIGHT TANK, captured by the Germans. The main weapon of this tank was the 37-mm. gun. Its armor was light and riveted together as was the armor on the first models of the medium tanks. A glancing shell could rip off the outside heads of the rivets and send the rivets ricocheting through the interior of the tank with the velocity of bullets. Note German markings on this vehicle. (U. S. light tank M3.)