Hi all, just planning an upcoming build idea and looking through some photos. I was just wondering if anyone can help me out and tell me what Mk of Grant this is?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
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cancel my last
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Yeah, bloody phone had a moment. Its there now haha 
is it a Lee or Grant ? I can never tell the difference if Iām honest ā¦ or where they served. Was it just the PTO and North Africa ?
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In British Commonwealth service, the tank was called by two names: tanks employing US pattern turrets were called āLeeā, named after Confederate general Robert E. Lee, while those with British pattern turrets were known as āGrantā, named after Union general Ulysses S. Grant.
British M3 Grant (left) and Lee (right) at El Alamein (Egypt), in the Sahara Desert, 1942, showing differences between the British turret and the original design.
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Grant. Bigger wider turret with no additional cupola/MG for the tank commander.
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As simple as that ?? Cheers chaps. I knew about the turrets, but thought there would be other differences. 
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It is either the Grant I or II. The only difference is the engine: the Grant I had a gasoline engine, while the Grant II had a diesel engine.
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Essentially the same as the difference between a M4 (gasoline engine) and M4A2 (Diesel engine). Without a look at the engine deck or hull rear plate, you canāt tell.
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Fantastic, thank you all for the info. I have Miniartās Grant Mk. II that has the Australian vehicle āCurlyā in it, so may make that one.
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I did not realize that the Grant turret was that much bigger.
gary
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You can see two different types of tracks on these vehicles; the one on the left (Grant) has WE-210 tracks, while the one on the right (Lee), has T-51 tracks.
You can also clearly see the tank loading hatch on the left side of the Grantās Turret. The Lee doesnāt have a turret loading hatch.
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The Grant turret was enlarged to give space for the radio to be repositioned into the turret in the bustle. On the Lee the radio was installed in the hull.
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I didnāt notice the tracks. My bad. An easy aftermarket detail. But the turret hatch is kinda irrelevant since the turret itself is very different. IEā¦ adding a loading hatch to the Lee wonāt get you any closer to it being a Grant.
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Considering that the turret is so high up and you have a large hatch on the side of the hull; the only thing itās good for is to provide ventilation in the 100+ dry desert heat of North Africa.
As for the tracks; Panda Plastics makes both new and worn versions of both the WE-210 and T-51 tracks.
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āCarbineā and āCurlyā are both diesel powered Grant IIs assigned to C Squadron, 2/9 Australian Armoured Regiment.
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It was always my thought the small turret hatch was for expelling used canisters and the large side hatch was for loading
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Would not surprise me if they were used for both.
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It is a Grant and looking at the sponson barrel which looks counter balanced will give you the answer and I know that MiniArt released one in that configuration. There are a number of differences in the Grant/Lee line with the turret the most obvious, the large side door was removed in some cases and an escape hatch placed in the floor behind the sponson. I have a great book on the Lee/Grant specifically and will see what I can find. The larger turret on the Grant was so that two crew would fit and take pressure off of the commander.
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