The M4 Sherman is one of the most famous and significant tanks from World War II, serving in almost every area of action on all fronts.
World War I saw the introduction of mechanised warfare, however it was in relatively small amounts and rather primitive in technology. However the Second World War was really the first time these tools were a primary asset to commanders, with both sides clashing their aircraft, equipment and tanks together on the battlefield.
Tanks were not new in the 1940s, having been introduced by the British in WWI. While they were a shock to the German forces, their overall impact on the war was minimal. Despite this, officials saw their potential. A major arms race over the next 20 years greatly improved tank technology and tactics, and by the time WWII came around, they were vastly more mature in design.
Many nations had invested in tanks, but none more so than Germany, Britain, France and the United States, who thoroughly integrated them into their arsenal. One such vehicle, from the United States, was the M4 Sherman.
If someone was to name three tanks from WWII they would most likely be the Tiger, T-34 and M4 Sherman. The Sherman has had quite a mixed reputation since the war, where they were notorious for easily setting alight when hit. But this reputation is perhaps unfair, as most tanks at the time were fire-prone, and some features of the Sherman like large hatches meant crew survival was actually rather high. However, the Sherman could and did burn, earning it a few unenviable nicknames, like “The Burning Grave” and “Tommy Cooker”.
While in most offensive and defensive metrics the Sherman is mostly average, it did have two redeeming factors: quantity and reliability. Against German tanks, what they couldn’t make up for in brawn, they sure made up for in numbers and impressive reliability.
German tanks often never made it to battle due to break downs, and when they did they were vastly outnumbered. In this scenario, the overwhelming numbers of Shermans were more than a match for German tanks. One against one however, and it was a different story. Improvements throughout the war meant the Sherman could eventually compete with tanks out of its weight class, like the infamous Tiger I.
The reliability, ease of mass production and ability to be upgraded meant the Sherman was the workhorse tank on the Western Front, and arguably one of the most important tank designs of the war.
The first Shermans used the M3 75 mm gun, which had a great high explosive round against troops and fortifications, but could barely penetrate the side of a Tiger. By the end of the war, many Shermans came equipped with the M1 76 mm, which could penetrate the front of a Tiger I.
On top Shermans featured a .50 caliber machine gun for air defence, and two .30 caliber machine guns for close troop defence. Some variants had a flame thrower which were found to be very effective in the Pacific Theatre for clearing fortified structures.
50,000 M4s were built during the war, making it the second most produced tank in this time, only second to the Soviet T-34, a tank with many parallels to the Sherman. Production started in 1941, and were built by many manufacturers, including Ford Motor Company, Detroit Tank Arsenal and Fisher Tank Arsenal which eventually became a body plant for General Motors. A Sherman cost $33,000 in the 1940s, equivalent to $550,000 today.
The Sherman had many variants throughout its production life. Overall they weighed about 60,000 lbs, could reach a maximum speed of 30 mph and had a 120 mile range. The first engine was a 400 hp nine cylinder radial engine originally designed for aircraft, but once supplies of these ran short other engines were used, including a 30 cylinder engine that could produce around 470 hp. The engines culminated in the Ford GAA V8, that could comfortably produce 500 hp. Shermans had a crew of 5; a driver, co-driver, gunner, loader and commander.
As stated, the Sherman tank was quite vulnerable to German high velocity guns and many were knocked out – here are a few Sherman wrecks…