US GPW 1/4 ton 4/4 Utility Vehicle w/37mm Anti-Tank Gun M3A1

Plastic kit from BRONCO, for the asembly of an US light vehicle GPW 1/4 ton 4/4 Utility Vehicle w/37mm Anti-Tank Gun M3A1 of WW II, on 1/35 scale. Includes sprues with plastic parts, clear parts, assembly instructions, P.E. parts and decals.

The 37 mm M3 is the first type of anti-tank gun made in the United States. However, the United States had no experience in manufacturing such weapons at the time so in January 1937, obtained two German 3.7 cm PaK 35/36 anti-tank samples for reference. Several different artillery and mounts were designed for testing during the following year in 1938, and the T10 cannon body and T5 mount were rated as the better choices. Later these prototypes were modified and named M3 37mm anti-tank guns, and in the early 1940s the mass production came from the front gun. It was a standardized anti-tank gun of the U.S. Infantry Division and Marine Corps at the time. It is usually towed by a 4 x 4 1/4 ton jeep or a larger 3/4 ton Dodge truck. The 37mm M3A1, which entered service in March 1942, was partially modified including the muzzle brake. More than ten thousand such artillery pieces were produced. This weapon was shipped to Europe in mid 1943 until it was replaced by the 57mm M1, a replica of the British 6-pounder. But in the Pacific M3A1 was used until the end of the war. M3A1 can fire M51 armor-piercing ammunition, which can penetrate a 60 mm vertical armor plate at a distance of 1000 meters.