forces on the Bataan Peninsula surrendered. When the American Army joined the North African Campaign in late 1942, Stuart units still formed a large part of its armor strength, until they were eventually replaced with M4 Shermans. After the disastrous Battle of the Kasserine Pass, the US quickly disbanded most of their light tank battalions and subordinated the Stuarts to medium tank battalions, performing the traditional cavalry missions of scouting and screening. For the rest of the war, most US tank battalions had three companies of M4 Shermans and one company of M3s or M5/M5A1s. In the European Theatre, Allied light tanks had to be given cavalry and infantry fire support roles since their main cannon armament could not compete with heavier enemy units. However, the Stuart was still effective in combat in the Pacific Theater, as Japanese tanks were both relatively rare and were generally much weaker than even Allied light tanks. Japanese infantrymen were poorly equipped with anti-tank weapons and tended to attack tanks using close-assault tactics. In this environment, the Stuart was only moderately more vulnerable than medium tanks. In addition, the poor terrain and roads common to the theater were unsuitable for the much heavier M4 medium tanks, and so initially, only light armor could be deployed. Heavier M4s were eventually brought to overcome heavily entrenched positions, though the Stuart continued to serve in a combat capacity until the end of the war. The US liquidated its Stuarts when it got sufficient numbers of M24 Chaffees, but the tank remained in service until the end of the war and well after. In addition to the United States, United Kingdom and Soviet Union, who were the primary users, it was also used by France and China. M22 Locust The Light Tank (Airborne) M22, also known as the Locust, began development in late 1941 in response to a request by the British military earlier in the year for an airmobile light tank which could be transported onto a battlefield by glider. The United States Ordnance Department was asked to produce this tank, which in turn selected Marmon-Herrington to design and build a prototype airborne tank in May 1941. The prototype was designed so that it could be transported underneath a Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport aircraft, although it would also fit inside a General Aircraft Hamilcar glider. After a series of modifications were made to the initial prototype, production