WWII foreign variants and use: Lend-Lease Sherman tanks. Post-WWII foreign variants and use: Postwar Sherman tanks

Medium Tank M4
A M4 Sherman tank made during the Second World War
Type	Medium tank
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1942–1955 (US service)
Used by	see text
Wars	World War II Greek Civil War Arab-Israeli War Korean War Suez Crisis Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Six-Day War Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Yom Kippur War
Production history
Designed	1940
Variants	See M4 Sherman variants and Postwar Sherman tanks
Specifications
Mass	30.3 tonnes (66,800 lb)
Length	5.84 m (19 ft 2 in)
Width	2.62 m (8 ft 7 in)
Height	2.74 m (9 ft)
Crew	5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver)
Armor	19–91 mm
Main armament	75 mm M3 L/40 gun 90 rounds
Secondary armament	1× .50 cal Browning M2HB machine gun 300 .50 rounds 2×.30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine guns 4,750 .30-06 rounds
Engine	Continental R975 C1 gasoline 400 hp (298 kW) gross @ 2400 rpm 350 hp (253 kW) net @ 2400 rpm
Power/weight	14 hp/tonne
Suspension	Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS)
Operational range	120 miles @ 175 US gal (145 imp. gal) / 80 octane 193 km @ 660 l / 80 octane
Maximum speed	38.5 km/h (24 mi/h) (brief)

The M4 Sherman was the primary tank produced by the United States for its own use and the use of its Allies during World War II. Production of the M4 Medium tank exceeded 50,000 units, and its chassis served as the basis for numerous other armored vehicles such as tank destroyers, tank retrievers and self-propelled artillery. In the United Kingdom, the M4 was dubbed the Sherman after Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, following the British practice of naming its American-built tanks after famous American Civil War generals. Subsequently the British name found its way into common use in the US. Following WWII, the M4 medium tank was used by the US until the end of the Korean War. Many nations continued to use the tank in both training and combat roles into the late 20th century.^[1]

US Design Prototype

The US Army Ordnance Department designed the Medium Tank M4 as a replacement for the Medium Tank M3. The Lee was an upgunned development of the M2 Medium Tank, which was itself derived from the M2 Light Tank. Quickly developed as stopgap until a new 75 mm turret could be designed, the Lee suffered from a high silhouette from its top 37mm turret and inflexibility of its archaic side sponson mounting of the main gun. Detailed design characteristics for the M4 were submitted by the Ordnance Department on 31 August, 1940, but development of a prototype had to be delayed so final production designs for the M3 could be finished, and the tank put into full scale production.

On 18 April, 1941 The U.S. Armored Force Board chose the simplest of 5 designs. The T6 combined a modern turret with the Lee's main gun with a modified M3 hull and chassis. ^[2] The Sherman's reliability would benefit from inheriting many design features first developed in US light tanks during the 1930s including vertical volute spring suspension, rubber-bushed tracks, and rear mounted radial engines with drive sprockets in front. The stated goal was to produce a fast, dependable medium tank that was capable of defeating any other tank currently in use by the Axis nations.

The first pilot model of the M4 was completed on September 2, 1941. Like later M3s, the hull was welded. It had a side hatch which would be eliminated from production models. The T6 became standardized as the M4, and production began in October 1941.^[3]

US Production history

During the production period, the US Army's seven main sub-designations, M4, M4A1, M4A2, M4A3, M4A4, M4A5, and M4A6, did not necessarily indicate linear improvement: for example, A4 is not meant to indicate 'better than' A3. Instead, these sub-types indicated standardized production variations, which were in fact often manufactured concurrently at different locations. The sub-types differed mainly in terms of engine, although M4A1 differed from M4 by its fully cast upper hull rather than by engine; M4A4 had a longer engine system that also required a longer hull, longer suspension system, and more track blocks; M4A5 was an administrative placeholder for Canadian production; and M4A6 also elongated the chassis but totaled fewer than 100 tanks. Only the M4A2 and M4A6 were diesel: most Shermans were gasoline. "M4" might refer specifically to the initial sub-type with its Continental radial engine or generically to the entire family of seven Sherman sub-types, depending on context. Many details of production, shape, strength and performance improved throughout production life without a change to the tank's basic model number; more durable suspension units, safer "wet" (W) ammunition stowage and stronger armor arrangements such as the M4 Composite, which had a cast front hull section mated to a welded rear hull. The British nomenclature differed from that employed by the US.

Early Shermans mounted a 75 mm medium-velocity general-purpose gun. Although Ordnance began work on the Medium Tank T20 as a Sherman replacement, ultimately the Army decided to minimize production disruption by incorporating elements of other tank designs into Sherman production. Later M4A1, M4A2, and M4A3 models received the larger T23 turret with a high-velocity 76 mm gun M1, which traded reduced HE and smoke performance for improved anti-tank performance. The British offered the QF 17 pounder (76.2 mm) anti-tank gun with its significantly better armor penetration to the Americans but the US Ordnance Department was working on a 90 mm tank gun and declined. Later M4 and M4A3 were factory-produced with a 105 mm howitzer and a new distinctive mantlet in the original turret. The first standard-production 76 mm-gun Sherman was an M4A1 accepted in January 1944 and the first standard-production 105 mm-howitzer Sherman was an M4 accepted in February 1944.

The US accepted in June-July 1944 a limited run of 254 M4A3E2 Jumbo Shermans with very thick armor and the 75 mm gun in a new heavier T23-style turret in order to assault fortifications. The M4A3 was the first to be factory-produced with the new HVSS (horizontal volute spring suspension) suspension with wider tracks for lower ground pressure and the smooth ride of the HVSS with its experimental E8 designation led to the nickname Easy Eight for Shermans so equipped. The US developed a wide array of special attachments for the Sherman; few saw combat and most remained experimental but those which saw action included the bulldozer blade for Sherman dozer tanks, Duplex Drive for "swimming" Sherman tanks, R3 flame thrower for Zippo flame tanks, and the T34 60-tube 4.5 inch Calliope rocket launcher for the Sherman turret.

The M4 Sherman's basic chassis further undertook all the sundry roles of a modern, mechanized force, totaling roughly 50,000 Sherman tanks plus thousands more derivative vehicles under different model numbers including M32 and M74 "tow truck"-style recovery tanks with winches, booms, and most with an 81 mm mortar for smoke screens, M34 (from M32B1) and M35 (from M10A1) artillery prime movers, M7B1, M12, M40, and M43 self-propelled artillery, and upgunned M10 and M36 tank destroyers.

As part of the deception plan of Operation Fortitude that drew German attention to the Pas de Calais rather than Normandy, inflatable rubber Shermans were manufactured and deployed across fields in Kent alongside plywood artillery pieces; another version of dummy Sherman was made from painted canvas over a steel frame and could be built over a Jeep and driven to simulate a moving tank.

US Service History

During World War II, the M4 Sherman served with the US Army and US Marine Corps. US service history accommodated the large transfer of US Shermans to the allied forces of the United Kingdom (including Commonwealth), Soviet Union, Free French government-in-exile, Polish government-in-exile, Brazil, and China.

The US Marine Corps used the diesel M4A2 and gasoline-powered M4A3 in the Pacific. The Chief of the Armored Force, Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers ordered that no diesel-engined Sherman tanks be used outside the Zone of Interior (ZI). The US Army used all types for either training or testing within the United States but intended the M4A2 and M4A4 to be the primary Lend-Lease exports. British needs also claimed a large share of the M4 and M4A1.

The first US Shermans in combat were M4A1 used for Operation Torch in November 1942, shortly after the first M4A1 Shermans saw battle with the British 8th Army at the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942. Additional M4 and M4A1s replaced M3 Lees in US tank battalions over the course of the North African campaigns. The M4 and M4A1 were the main types in US units until late 1944, when the preferred M4A3 with its more powerful Template:Auto hp engine began replacing M4s and M4A1s as the main US version. However, older M4s and M4A1s continued in US service for the rest of the war.

The first 76 mm gun Sherman to enter combat in July 1944 was the M4A1, closely followed by the M4A3. By the end of the war, half the US Army Shermans in Europe had the 76 mm gun. The first HVSS Sherman to see combat was the M4A3E8(76)W in December 1944.

After World War II, the US kept the M4A3E8 "Easy Eight" in service with either 76 mm gun or 105 mm howitzer. The Sherman remained a common US tank in the 1950-1953 Korean War but the Army replaced Shermans with Patton tanks over the 1950s. The US continued to transfer Shermans to allies which contributed to wide foreign use worldwide.

US Combat performance

Armament

When the Sherman first saw combat in 1942, its 75 mm M3 gun could penetrate the armor of the German tanks it faced in North Africa at normal combat ranges. However, immediately following the invasion of Normandy, it was discovered that the 75 mm M3 gun was completely ineffective against the front of the German Panther and Tiger I tanks at typical combat ranges. The 75 mm M3 gun was thereby rendered obsolete, and the European Theater of Operations quickly demanded deliveries of the Sherman armed with the 76 mm M1 gun, as well as tanks and tank destroyers carrying the 90 mm M3 gun. Although Shermans armed with 105 mm M4 howitzers provided even more powerful high-explosive armament, they were of limited use in fighting enemy tanks due to the problems of hitting the small targets with a howitzer, and the lack of power traverse which hindered getting the howitzers on target in a timely fashion.

The growing numbers of Panthers on the western front led the US Army to deploy 76 mm-gun Shermans to Normandy in July 1944. The higher-velocity 76 mm gun M1 gun gave Shermans anti-tank firepower superior to most of the German vehicles they encountered, particularly the Panzer IV, and StuG vehicles. However, with a regular AP (Armour Piercing, Shot) ammunition (M79) or APCBC (M62) shells, the 76 mm could only reliably knock out a Panther at close range, or with a shot to its flank. At long range, the Sherman was badly outmatched by the Panther's 75 mm gun, which could easily penetrate the Sherman's armor. This contributed to the high losses of Sherman tanks experienced by the U.S. Army in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). ^[4]

Hypervelocity Armor Piercing HVAP ammunition standardized as M93, was developed for the 76 mm gun in July 1944. This new projectile could penetrate the front turret of the Panther at longer ranges than standard ammunition. Its distribution was, however, limited to US Tank Destroyer units.

In the relatively few Pacific tank battles, even the 75 mm gun Shermans outclassed the Japanese in every engagement. The use of HE (High Explosive) ammunition was preferred because anti-tank rounds punched cleanly through the thin armor of the Japanese tanks (light tanks of 1930s era design) without necessarily stopping them. Although the high-velocity guns of the tank destroyers were useful for penetrating fortifications, Shermans armed with flame throwers also destroyed Japanese fortifications. There was a variety of types of flame throwers, differing primarily in the type and location of launcher (and the US used similar devices on other tanks and LVTs, and also used flame-throwing Shermans in Europe).

Armor

The Sherman's armor was effective against most early war tank guns, the frontal thickness was the gun mantle at 91 mm, frontal turret 76 mm, and frontal hull 63 mm. The Sherman's frontal armor was designed to withstand a 50 mm gun, which was a common German anti-tank gun and the gun on the Panzer III medium tank during the North African Campaign in 1942. However, the Sherman's armor, while good for an early war tank, was inadequate against the German 75 mm KwK42L70, used only on the Panther tank, and the famous 88 mm used on the Tiger tanks. It was this deficiency in its frontal armor that made the Sherman very vulnerable to German high velocity 75 mm and 88 mm tank guns that the German Tigers and Panthers were equipped with in 1944. The Sherman's armor was not invulnerable to the 75 mm KwK40/42 used on the German Panzer IV-G/J series vehicles, but could take a hit and have time to react, unlike being instantly destroyed by a high velocity 75 mm or 88 mm shell. The lower velocity of the earlier Panzer IV guns and their thin armor's vulnerability to the Sherman's main armament gave Sherman a competitive edge against the most common German tanks.

For crew survivability, the M4 had an escape hatch on the hull bottom and, in the Pacific, Marines used this Sherman feature in reverse to recover wounded infantry under fire. Combat experience indicated the single hatch in the 3-man turret to be inadequate for timely evacuation so Ordnance added a loader's hatch beside the commander's. Later Shermans also received redesigned hull hatches for better egress.

Early Sherman models were prone to burning when struck by high velocity rounds. The Sherman gained grim nicknames like "Tommycooker" (by the Germans who referred to British soldiers as "Tommys"; a tommy cooker was a World War I era trench stove). With gallows humor, the British called them "Ronsons", after the cigarette lighter with the slogan "Lights up the first time, every time!", while Polish tankers referred to them as "The Burning Grave". This vulnerability increased crew casualties and meant that damaged vehicles were less likely to be repairable. US Army research proved that the major reason for this was the use of unprotected ammo stowage in sponsons above the tracks. The common myth that the use of gasoline (petrol) engines was a culprit is unsupported; most World War II tanks used gasoline engines and petrol was unlikely to ignite when hit with armour piercing shells. At first a partial remedy to ammunition fire was found by welding one-inch thick applique armour plates to the vertical sponson sides over the ammunition stowage bins. Later models moved ammunition stowage to the hull floor, with additional water jackets surrounding the main gun ammunition stowage. This decreased the likelihood of "brewing up".

Progressively thicker armour was added to hull front and turret mantlet in various improved models, while field improvisations included placing sandbags, spare track links, helmets, wire mesh, or even wood for increased protection against shaped-charge rounds. General George S. Patton, informed by his technical experts that the standoff produced by sandbags actually increased vulnerability to shaped-charge weapons (a controversial opinion) and that the machines' chassis suffered from the extra weight, forbade the use of sandbags and instead ordered tanks under his command to have the front hull welded with extra armour plates, salvaged from knocked-out American and German tanks. Approximately 36 of these up-armored Shermans were supplied to each of the armored divisions of the Third Army in the spring of 1945.

The (rare) M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo variant had even thicker frontal armor than the Tiger I. Intended for the assault to break out of the Normandy beachhead, it entered combat in August 1944

Mobility

Strategic Mobility

The US Army required the Sherman not to exceed certain widths and weights to permit it to use a wide variety of bridge, road and rail travel for predicted strategic, industrial, logistical and tactical flexibility. In the summer of 1943, Lt. General Jacob L. Devers, commanding the ETOUSA, demanded 250 examples of the T26, later to be designated the M26 Pershing, heavy tanks from Lt. General Leslie J. McNair for use in the invasion of France. McNair refused, and Devers appealed to General George Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff. Marshall summarily ordered the tanks to be provided to the ETO as soon as they could be brought into production. Shortly after the invasion of Normandy, General Eisenhower urgently requested the T26 tanks, but production had been delayed due to Lt. General McNair's continued opposition to the project. General Marshall intervened, and the tanks were eventually brought into production. Unfortunately, they did not arrive in the ETO until early 1945, too late to have any effect on the battlefield. The size and weight of the new tank created no serious problems in transportation to the theater or in its tactical employment. Thus, the theoretical advantages of the M4 Sherman in this respect proved to be illusory. However the M26 could not be landed across a beach and required a fully equipped port with cranes, this disadvantage would have become apparent had it entered service before Normandy.

Tactical Mobility

The Sherman had good speed both on- and off-road. Off-road performance varied. In the desert, the Sherman's rubber tracks performed well. In the confined, hilly terrain of Italy, the Sherman could often cross terrain German tanks could not. However, US crews found that on soft ground, such as mud or snow, the narrow tracks gave poor ground pressure compared to wide-tracked second-generation German tanks such as the Panther. Soviet experiences were similar and tracks were modified to give better grip in the snow. The US Army issued extended end connectors or 'duckbills' to add width to the standard tracks as a stopgap solution. Duckbills were original factory equipment for the heavy M4A3E2 Jumbo to compensate for the extra armor weight. The M4A3E8 'Easy Eight' Shermans and other late models with wider-tracked HVSS suspension corrected these problems, but formed only a small proportion of the tanks in service even in 1945.

Summary

The Sherman tank was comparatively fast and maneuverable, mechanically reliable, easy to manufacture and service, and produced in many special-purpose variants, whose capabilities differed greatly. It was effective in the infantry support role.

The Sherman performed well against World War II Japanese tanks, Italian tanks, and the German standard tank of the time, the Panzer IV medium series. However, the typical Sherman was significantly inferior in both armor and armament to the German Tiger heavy tanks, Panther "medium" (heavy by US standards) and some of the tank destroyers fielded by the Germans in 1944.

When the US encountered German tank units containing large numbers of Panther tanks in 1944 high US losses sometimes resulted. However, Panther and Tiger-equipped units frequently suffered defeats.

Shermans defeated heavier tanks by use of superior tactics, or by using upgunned Shermans working with tank destroyers such as the M36 Jackson (with a 90 mm anti-tank gun) and the M18 Hellcat (a mobile, fast tracked vehicle with the same 76 mm gun).

The majority of losses of Shermans were not from battle with other tanks, but rather from mines, aircraft, infantry anti-tank weapons and, on occasion, friendly fire. Although American tanks were less powerful than their German counterparts, US armored forces ultimately triumphed because of numerical superiority, a more consistent supply of fuel and ammunition, and the allied air superiority (with aircraft being the biggest danger to the lines of supply for German tank units).

Nonetheless, the fact that the Sherman tank was significantly inferior to the German Panther has remained a subject of sometimes bitter controversy and recrimination to this day. Sherman crews had been told prior to Normandy that the Sherman was the best tank in the world but this was patently untrue as demonstrated during that campaign.

According to Belton Y. Cooper's memoir of his 3rd Armored Division service, the Shermans were "death traps"; the overall combat losses of the division were extremely high. The unit was nominally assigned by table of organization 232 Sherman medium tanks. 648 Sherman tanks were totally destroyed in combat, and a further 1,100 needed repair, of which nearly 700 were as a result of combat. According to Cooper, the 3rd Armored therefore lost 1,348 medium tanks in combat, a loss rate of over 580%, in the space of approximately only ten months. Cooper was the junior officer placed in charge of retrieving damaged and destroyed tanks. As such, he had an intimate knowledge of the actual numbers of tanks damaged and destroyed, the types of damage they sustained, and the kinds of repairs that were made. His figures are comparable to those given in the Operational History of 12th U.S. Army Group: Ordnance Section Annex. Some WWII Army officers made similar arguments during the war. Other officers disagreed with the negative assessment and Gen. George S. Patton argued that the Sherman tank was overall a superior tool of war.

The only other Second World War tank produced in comparable numbers to the Sherman was the Soviet T-34 series, which many critics consider as a contender for best tank of World War II, although it too had high losses during the war. Compared to the T-34, each contemporary version of the M4 Sherman had better frontal Armor, a better gun, a radio in each tank, a gyrostabilized gun, and greater reliability. The T-34's advantages were its sloped side armor, and wide tracks which made crossing muddy terrain easier. Each was a medium design that served as the primary battlefield tank of its respective country in WWII, was upgraded, served into the Cold War, and outfitted allies. During the Korean War, US Shermans performed well against their T-34/85 adversaries, which could be due to a combination of better training and better equipment such as gunsights and gun stabilization.

US Variants

• M4 Sherman variants - annotated lists
• Vehicles that used the Medium Tank M4 chassis or hull, discussed in greater detail or greater context and in other articles:
  • 3in Gun Motor Carriage M10 - Tank Destroyer, aka Wolverine
  • 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 - Tank Destroyer, aka Jackson
  • 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 - self-propelled artillery, aka Priest
  • 155 mm Gun Motor Carriage M12 - GMC M12 with Cargo Carrier M30 (both used Sherman components)
  • 155/203/250 mm Motor Carriages - 155 mm GMC M40, 8 in. (203 mm) HMC M43, 250 mm (10 inch) MMC T94, and Cargo Carrier T30
  • Flame Tank Sherman - M4A3R3 Zippo, M4 Crocodile, and other flame-throwing Shermans
  • Rocket Artillery Sherman - T34 Calliope, T40 Whizbang, and other Sherman rocket launchers
  • Amphibious tanks - Duplex Drive (DD) swimming Shermans and deep wading Shermans
  • Engineer tanks - D-8, M1, and M1A1 dozers, M4 Doozit, Mobile Assault Bridge, and Aunt Jemima and other mine-clearers
  • Recovery tanks - M32 and M74 TRVs
  • Artillery tractors - M34 and M35 prime movers

Foreign variants and use

• Lend-Lease Sherman tanks
• Postwar Sherman tanks
• Sherman Firefly

In Popular culture

• A troop of Shermans, commanded by a proto-hippie called "Oddball" (Donald Sutherland), has a significant role in the offbeat war-film, Kelly's Heroes.
• The flash site Newgrounds has a Sherman M4 as their logo.
• In the 1984 movie Tank (film), James Garner uses a restored M4 Sherman tank to break his son out of a sheriff's work camp and escape to nearby Tennessee.

See also

• Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant
• List of vehicles of the U.S. Armed Forces
• Vickers Tank Periscope MK.IV
• Allied Technological Cooperation During WW2
• M4 Sherman Photos and Walk Arounds on Prime Portal

Sources

• Cooper, Belton Y. Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II. Novato, CA: Presidio, 1998. ISBN 0-89141-670-6.
• Rodrigo Hernandez Cabos, John Prigent. M4 Sherman Osprey Publishing ISBN 1-84176-207-5
• M4 Sherman photo galleries at ww2photo.mimerswell.com: [1], [2], [3]
• Sherman Register
• OnWar
• AFV Database
• WWII vehicles
• battlefront.co.nz
• M4(105 mm) at tamiya.com
• israeli-weapons.com

References

External links

• Interview with Soviet Tanker Dmitriy Loza detailing the comparative utility of Shermans in the 6th Guards Tank Army (www.iremember.ru).
• U.S. 75mm M61 Tank Round - WWII