M4 Sherman
country USA
Type: medium tank.
Crew: 5 men.
Armament: a 75 mm M3 cannon; a coaxial 30 M1919A4 machine gun; a ball-mounted .30 M1919A4 hood machine gun; a .50 M2 on the roof of the turret;
2 inch M3 smoke mortar.
Shielding: minimum 15mm; max 100mm.
Dimensions:
length’ 6.27m;
width: 267m;
height: 337m
Weight in combat order: 31.5 t.
Ground pressure: 1 kg/cm2.
Power to weight: 16.9 hp/t.
Engine: Ford GAA V-8 water-cooled gasoline inline. developing 500 hp at 2,600 rpm.
Performance:
road speed: 42 km/h;
autonomy on the road 160km;
vertical obstacle 0.61m;
straight cut: 229 m.
ford: 0.91m;
slope: 60%.
Service time: introduced in 1942 in the US Army. widely used by most Allied armies during and after World War II. The Sherman was the most prolific medium tank of the conflict in its very wide range of conversions for specific missions
tic. Also used in combat in Korea and the Middle East still in service with a few armies. (Note:Data is for stock M4A3.)
On August 29, 1940, the day after the decision was taken to produce the M3 medium tank instead of the M2A 1, the study began of a new medium tank to mount the 75 mm gun under a turret capable of pivoting on a complete azimuth circle.
The new machine received the designation of T6 and its designers sought to use as much as possible of elements already used for the M3. The elimination of the mounting under the side turret would reduce the volume of the cockpit and therefore the surface to be armored, hence the possibility of either reducing the weight or thickening the armor.
The T6 was standardized in September 1941 under the designation of medium tank M4 but all its models (and they were not going to miss!) took in the troops and in the public in general the name of General William Sherman.
On the day of its adoption by the army, the Sherman weighed around thirty tons (30,482 kg) and was armed with the 75 mm M2. The turret. a rounded
monocoque casting, was electrically assisted and armored at 76.2 mm in front. A gyrostabilizer controlled the pointing in elevation of the part.
The lower section of the hull was welded; the method of construction of the upper section made it possible to a certain extent to identify the various models:on the M4, the upper section was welded; on the M4A1 it was cast and rounded.
The armor of both hulls was 50.8 mm. But this difference in assembly only helped to distinguish between the M4 and the M4A1. The variations between main models of the M4 series came in the majority of cases from the different installations of the power unit.
The authorities allowed the production of the Sherman in the hope of replacing the M3 as soon as possible. The three "big" cars - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - participated more or less directly in the production of the Sherman, of which, all variants combined, 49,230 were produced.
If the production figure was impressive, the quality of the product was constantly improved until the last day of the war - and even after. The most significant improvements concerned the armament, the storage of the ammunition and the suspension.
The gun intended for the prototype T6 was the 75 mm T6 but, as mentioned in the description of the variants of the M3, the weapon turned out to be disappointing. Its next model, the T7, was less so and in May 1941, the piece became the 75 mm M2 but its tube remained relatively short and the initial speed very low (564 m/sec).
The first models of the Sherman mounted the M2 but, as early as September 1940, the Armored Force had requested a piece with a higher muzzle velocity. She obtained satisfaction with the 75 mm T8, adopted in June 1941 under the designation of M3. The weapon fired armor-piercing ammunition at an initial speed of 619 m/s and, moreover, was more suitable for use on tanks. The longer tube was better balanced for installation on a gyrostabilizer mount; in addition, the rotation of the breech made it possible to open the block horizontally, which gives a gun under a turret a better pointing in negative elevation.
The 75 mm was therefore accepted as a standard weapon but the Ordnance Department nevertheless wanted better piercing power and began to experiment with more powerful weapons without the users expressing the slightest desire and therefore giving no advice. . The 3-inch gun of the M6 heavy tank did not represent the ideal, but by adapting the breech of the 75 mm to the tube of the 3 inches. we obtained a most satisfactory weapon.
First designated 3in T13 then 76 mm T1, this gun was installed on the Sherman as part of a project launched in August 1942. Despite all its promises, the project found few supporters and was abandoned in November of the same year.
Subsequently, the Sherman still received the 76 mm but, this time, under the turret of the experimental medium tank T23. The improvement was so significant that the Armored Board accepted to sanction the replacement of the 75 mm by the 76 mm when the circumstances made necessary a complement of firepower It was to save the face to allow the production to start after the refusal anterior.
In July 1944, the production of tanks armed with the 76 mm reached 2,000 units - which shows how welcome the additional firepower was (while vehicles equipped with the 76 mm had been declared obsolete in 1943!) . Now the Ordnance Department dreamed of a 90mm. Another innovation in the field of armament was the 105 mm howitzer.
In April 1941, the persons in charge of the Aberdeen range had politely suggested that the Sherman could without major problems mount this part but it was not until the end of 1942 that two M4A4s were modified in this direction. After further testing on a vehicle having undergone a similar modification. the M4E5, the howitzer on mounting M52 was adopted like standard equipment. These vehicles, 4,680 of which were built on M4 and M4A3 hulls, were delivered to the headquarters companies of the armored battalions to fulfill fire support missions.
Early models of the Sherman had the unflattering reputation of blazing like torches when hit by an anti-tank shell. To overcome this defect, we tried above all to protect the reserve of ammunition carried by the machine. Shell racks were fitted in the lower section of the hull and in the case of the 75 and 76 mm, surrounded by a wall containing a mixture of water and glycerine while the ammunition of the howitzer was protected by armor .
In May 1945, the suffix wet was added to the designation of tanks using the mixture of water and glycerin.
Different types of suspensions and tracks were tested to improve the tank's handling in varied terrain as well as to reduce the excess pressure on the ground specific to the Sherman.
The original Sherman series suspension, extremely characteristic with its vertical coil springs, went back to the M2 medium tank, as did the 0.41 m track, but both were better suited to a vehicle of twenty tons (20,321 kg) than the thirty tons and more of the M4.
Eventually, a new suspension with horizontal coil springs and a 0.58 m track were developed and incorporated into production. From then on, the suffix
HVSS was often added to the designations, to indicate the presence of the new suspension.
The design of the Sherman tolerated adaptations so well that it was continuously improved during production, so that there were few resemblances between the first M4 and the last production M4A3 - superior in every way. engine, armament and suspension. The type also lent itself to the realization of many variants and the authorities in the field have catalogued, for the American army alone, more than 50 experimental models whose interest is not to be denied.
It seems that at least one of these is still classified after thirty years. Tanks and other vehicles of the M4 series were delivered to many countries during and after the Second World War. The Sherman was manufactured in greater numbers than any other tank.
Some reviewers have pointed out its shortcomings, compared to the Panther, for example, but it restores balance through reliability, endurance and sheer weight in numbers. Thirty-six years after its appearance, the Sherman was still serving in many armies around the world; since 1945, it has been present in almost all conflicts involving armored vehicles.