Gyrene Posted October 20, 2001 Share Posted October 20, 2001 Were there any M3/M5 Stuart "Satan" tanks used in the ETO? There were more than a few in the Pacific, I'm just wondering if any made it to Europe. Gyrene [ 10-20-2001: Message edited by: Gyrene ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogface21 Posted October 20, 2001 Share Posted October 20, 2001 Ummmm, I hate to be this ignorant, but what IS a Satan tank? Did they put horns on them for scare factor? A big red tail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 20, 2001 Share Posted October 20, 2001 Dogface 21, It's a flame tank based on the Stuart, specifically the M-3A1 version. Judging from what THE CHEMICAL WARFARE SERVICE: From Laboratory to Field (one of the U.S. Army in World War II green volumes) says on page 154, the Satan was made by removing the 37mm armament from obsolescent M-3A1 chasses and replacing them with a Ronson flamethrower in a howitzerlike protective shroud. Range using compressed carbon dioxide as propellant was 40-60 yards with unthickened oily fuel and 60-80 yards with thickened fuel. Twenty four such conversions were done on Hawaii, and the Satan had its combat debut at Saipan in June 1944 and went on to fight at Tinian as well. There is no mention of even one having been shipped to either the U.S. or the ETO. I therefore conclude that the weapon is missing from CMBO because not even one ever served in Europe. If interested in flamethrowers of WW II, Chapter VII (pp. 136-166) is a must read. Hope this helps. Regards, John Kettler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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