The M3 Lee was an American built tank used widely by both Brittish and American Armies in WW2.It was considered by Hans von Luck (a German army officer who wrote the post-war memoir Panzer Commander), to be superior in May 1942 to the Panzer IV and able to operate out of range of German 5 cm anti-tank guns. However, by mid-1943, with the introduction of upgunned Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs, the tank had been withdrawn from combat in most theaters and replaced by the more capable M4 Sherman tank as soon as it became available in larger numbers.