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M2 light tank
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<p>The M2 light tank, officially Light Tank, M2, was an American <a href="/facts/Light_tank/9E5NwqS2">light tank</a> of the <a href="/facts/Interwar_period/EWLuS41R">interwar period</a> which saw limited service during <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>. The most common model, the M2A4, was equipped with one 37 mm (1.5 in) <a href="/facts/37_mm_gun_M3/VSEgPYku">M5 gun</a> and five .30 cal <a href="/facts/M1919_Browning_machine_gun/Y2hcu05z">M1919 Browning machine guns</a>. </p><p>It was originally developed from the prototype T2 light tank built by the <a href="/facts/Rock_Island_Arsenal/zneCblQr">Rock Island Arsenal</a>, which had a Vickers-type <a href="/facts/Leaf_spring/mE90B7wj">leaf spring</a> suspension. The suspension was replaced by the superior <a href="/facts/Vertical_volute_spring_suspension/a3E84YX6">vertical volute</a> system in the T2E1 series of 1935. This was put into production with minor modifications as the M2A1 in 1936, with ten produced. The main pre-war version was the M2A2, with 239 produced, becoming the main tank of the <a href="/facts/United_States_Army/WACWBEK9">United States Army</a> during the interwar period. The <a href="/facts/Spanish_Civil_War/YykcMvC5">Spanish Civil War</a> showed that tanks armed only with machine guns were ineffective. This led to the M2A4 with a 37 mm gun as the main armament. A total of 375 were delivered, the last ten as late as April 1942. </p><p>The tank's only combat service was with the <a href="/facts/United_States_Marine_Corps/J8JDlJG2">United States Marine Corps</a>' <a href="/facts/1st_Tank_Battalion/o1uK2uej">1st Tank Battalion</a> in 1942 during the <a href="/facts/Pacific_War/yNu6op98">Pacific War</a>. While some sources claim that the M2A4 saw action with <a href="/facts/British_Army/StuY9Jy2">British Army</a> tank units in the <a href="/facts/Burma_campaign/wUE16dhz">Burma campaign</a> against the <a href="/facts/Imperial_Japanese_Armed_Forces/Ba8C4NaP">Imperial Japanese Armed Forces</a>, historian Mike Green states that the tanks were never issued to combat units. The M2A4 light tank led to the development of the <a href="/facts/M3_Stuart/R0J49jCj">M3 Stuart</a> light tank and the <a href="/facts/M4_tractor/RyKhvz7K">M4 tractor</a> artillery prime mover, the former of which saw widespread use throughout World War II. </p>