The Stuart light tank was the first American-designed and built ground combat weapon to be battle tested in World War II, entering action with the British 8th Army in the North African desert before the United States entered the war in December 1941. Developed from U.S. Army Stuart models dating to the 1920s, including the M2A4, M3 series, and M-5 series, it incorporated innovative features such as a rubber-bushed tank track, a compact rear-mounted engine, and a front transmission that contributed to the success of U.S. tanks and related vehicles in World War II. Designated the Light Tank M3, it went into production in March 1941 as an improved model of the older M2A4, with a new 37mm antitank gun as its main armament. The British version, called the Honey, impressed British tankers with its speed and durability, and the British named it after Confederate cavalry General J.E.B. Stuart, making the M3 Stuart the first American tank with a name. By August 1941, enough changes had been made for the new designation M3A1 Stuart Light Tank, including a new turret and an elevation stabilizer for the 37mm gun. When production of the M3A3 ended in 1943, more than 13,000 M3 Stuart tanks had been built, including 4,621 of the M3A1 series. Although many considered it obsolete as a combat tank by the end of 1943 because of its weak gun and thin armor, it remained in use for combat operations and training through the end of World War II because it was mechanically reliable, easy to maintain, and fast, and in the Pacific the Marines used M3s against Japanese tanks throughout the war. This M3A1 Stuart, nicknamed "Miss Staten Island," was manufactured by American Car and Foundry Co. and has a riveted hull, a welded turret, and a Wright radial air-cooled 7-cylinder Model W-670 gasoline engine rated at 242 horsepower at 2,400 rpm. It has been painted to resemble Stuarts used by American forces in the invasion of French North Africa in November 1942, with a U.S. flag painted on the side in the hope that the French would hesitate to fire on U.S. troops.