![]() That’s equal to all German tanks manufactured over ten years beginning in 1935. manufactured more than 45 Shermans a day for nearly three years.īy the Numbers - Between 19, a mind-blowing 49,000 Shermans of various makes and models rolled off American assembly lines. ![]() Other recipients included France, Australia, China and Brazil. More than 4,000 were transferred to the Soviets under Lend-Lease and Britain received a grand total of 17,000 M4s during the war. Tens of thousands of the machines served in Europe during the last year of the war, while a smaller number (fewer than 2,000) were sent to the Pacific. The M4 quickly proved itself an equal match for the Panzer III and IV. By the time of the Normandy invasion, the Sherman had completely supplanted the M3 as America’s principle tank. Just weeks later, hundreds of American Shermans would do battle in the western desert during Operation Torch. ![]() In October 1942, a platoon of M4s attached to the Eighth Army rolled into action against German and Italian tanks at El Alamein. The two-inch-thick, angled hull, while giving the tank a far too conspicuous nine-foot high profile, was engineered to deflect shells away from the tank’s four- or five-man crew.īaptism by Fire - Ironically, it was the British, not the Americans, who first used the Sherman in combat. Īrmour - Perhaps the most recognizable feature of the Sherman was its sloping front armour. Later models were upgraded to a more powerful 76 mm anti-tank weapon that was capable of throwing a 15-pound projectile 2,600 feet per second. 30 cals positioned in the turret and forward hull. Packin’ Heat - Early Shermans were outfitted with a largely mediocre 75 mm main gun along with a single hatch-mounted. It got a whopping 1.4 miles to the gallon. Shermans could reach speeds of 30 mph (48 km/h) and had a range of 120 miles (200 km). Later models, like the M4A4 were outfitted with four-speed, 30-cylinder, 470-horsepower Chrysler powerplant. Performance - Named for the controversial Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, the 30-ton M4 was originally powered by a Continental nine-cylinder, 400-horsepower engine. Production of the first Shermans began in July of 1942 at Ohio’s Lima Locomotive Works. Although the country wasn’t yet at war, the fighting in Europe had made it disturbingly clear that America’s existing tanks, like the lightly armed M3 Stuart and heavier M3 Grant and Lee, were already obsolete. Army requirement in late 1941 for a main battle tank that could match top-of-the-line German panzers. Help Wanted: One Medium Tank - The M4 Sherman was the result of an urgent U.S. Here are some essential facts about this legendary wartime workhorse. Yet despite its prominence in the public consciousness, the Sherman was far from the finest tank on the battlefield. Widely acclaimed as one of the main contributors to the Allied victory, the M4 Sherman is perhaps the most recognizable American fighting vehicle of the entire Second World War. And while the action packed World War Two flick gives Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf and Jon Bernthal top billing, the real star of the show is the movie’s restored M4A2 Sherman tank. THE GRITTY WAR DRAMA FURY conquered the box office over the weekend, drumming up more than $23 million in North American ticket sales according to Forbes Magazine. Does the M4 Sherman deserve its reputation as a war-winning piece of military hardware? “Widely acclaimed as one of the main contributors to the Allied victory, the M4 Sherman is perhaps the most recognizable American fighting vehicle of the entire Second World War.”
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