From: Steve Grammont (islander@midmaine.com)
Date: Wed Jun 11 2003 - 19:22:50 PDT
Hi Ryan,
>M5 Stuart. The A1 has a larger turret and a funny ramp on the right
>side as a means of stowing the pintle mounted 30 Cal.
Actually... that doesn't mean anything :-) Most M5A1s were made without
the "ramp", which was added late in the production cycle of the M5A1. It
was an extra armor shield for the AAMG mount, which was normally exposed
to small arms and shell damage.
So, while the extra turret armor shield absolutely means the vehicle is a
M5A1, the lack of one does NOT mean it is a M5. As far as I know, there
is no obvious outward sign that tips one off that the vehicle is one or
the other. The big difference I know of is that the M5A1 has a gyro
stabilized gun, which is an internal issue.
I don't have production numbers on hand, but the M5 was only made for
about 2 months with the M5A1 being made for something like 3 years.
Therefore, just by the numbers alone you are almost sure to be looking
at a M5A1 and not a M5.
Steve
(who doesn't have a Stuart M5A1, but would reeeeeeeeeealy like to someday
have one!)
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