The M51 ShermanBy 1961 the Israeli ordered the new and more powerful French 105 mm Modèle F1 gun. However due to their lenght, these were modified for the use in Shermans, the barrel was reduced from 56 caliber to 44 and equipped with a muzzle brake while ammunition was altered to use a smaller cartridge. However the nature of the conversions, also based on Cummins M4A1s were married with modified M4(76) turrets. By 1965 the new tanks named officially M51 Sherman but also “Super Sherman” and the “Isherman” (or Israeli Sherman) was revealed to the public in a Independence Day ceremony in 1965. 180 Shermans were so converted. By this time M50/51 constituted the bulk of the Israeli tank force, prior to obtain the British Centurion.