Panther aswered the shield and it was eliminated or cut off on most later Stuarts. The Stuarts did not have a turret basket until mid 44 when many were upgraded and had them installed. The M-26 through 46 didn't have a basket either, and personnaly, I liked it better as you had more room and access to 90mm ammo was easier. The loader just had to keep awake and not load a round and stand in place when the gunner traversed onto a new target.