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M4 Sherman
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- World War II foreign variants and use: Lend-Lease Sherman tanks. Post-World War II foreign variants and use: Postwar Sherman tanks
The M4 Sherman, formally Medium Tank, M4, was the primary tank used by the United States during World War II. It was also distributed to the Allies via lend lease. 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.
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- World War II foreign variants and use: Lend-Lease Sherman tanks. Post-World War II foreign variants and use: Postwar Sherman tanks
The M4 Sherman, formally Medium Tank, M4, was the primary tank used by the United States during World War II. It was also distributed to the Allies via lend lease. 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 given the name Sherman after Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, following the British practice of naming their American-built tanks after famous American Civil War generals. Subsequently the British name found its way into common use in the US. Following World War II 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.
U.S. design prototype
The US Army Ordnance Department designed the Medium Tank M4 as a replacement for the M3 Lee. The Lee was an up-gunned development of the M2 Medium Tank, which was itself derived from the M2 Light Tank. Quickly developed as stopgap until a new turret could be designed, one that mounted a 75mm gun, the M3 suffered from a high silhouette because of the top turret which mounted the 37mm gun, and the 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 five designs. Known as the T6, the design combined a modern turret with the Lee's main gun with a modified M3 hull and chassis.
The Sherman's reliability would benefit from utilising many design features first developed in U.S. light tanks during the 1930s, including a vertical volute spring suspension, rubber-bushed tracks, and rear-mounted radial engine 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 pilot model of the M4 was completed on 2 September 1941. Like later M3s, the hull was welded. It had a side hatch which was eliminated from production models. The T6 became standardized as the M4, and production began in October 1941.
U.S. 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. These sub-types indicated standardized production variations, which were in fact often manufactured concurrently at different locations. The sub-types differed mainly in engines, although the M4A1 differed from the M4 by its fully-cast upper hull rather than by engine; M4A4 had a longer engine system that required a longer hull, a longer suspension system, and more track blocks; M4A5 was an administrative placeholder for Canadian production; and the M4A6 had an elongated chassis, but fewer than 100 of these were produced. Only the M4A2 and M4A6 were diesel-engined: most Shermans ran on gasoline. "M4" might refer specifically to the initial sub-type with its Continental radial engine, or generically, to the entire family of seven Sherman suub-types, depending on context. Many details of production, shape, strength, and performance improved throughout production 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. And, the British nomenclature differed from that employed by the U.S.
| M4 Sherman: selected models | | Designation | Main Armament | Hull | Engine |
|---|
M4(105)
| 105 mm
howitzer | welded | gasoline
Continental
R975 radial |
|---|
M4
Composite | 75 mm | cast front
welded sides | gasoline
Continental
R975 radial |
|---|
M4A1(76)W
| | cast | gasoline
Continental
R975 radial |
|---|
M4A2
| 75 mm | welded | diesel
GM
6046 2x6 |
|---|
M4A3W
| 75 mm | welded | gasoline
Ford
GAA V8 |
|---|
M4A3E2
"Jumbo" | 75 mm
(some 76 mm) | welded | gasoline
Ford
GAA V8 |
|---|
M4A3E8(76)W
"Easy Eight" | 76 mm | welded | gasoline
Ford
GAA V8 |
|---|
M4A4
| 75 mm | welded
lengthened | gasoline
Chrysler
A57 5xL6 |
|---|
| M4A6 | 75 mm | cast front
welded sides
lengthened | diesel
Caterpillar
D200A radial |
|---|
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 reduced the number of HE and smoke rounds carried for an increase in the number of anti-tank rounds. The British offered their Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun (76.2 mm) anti-tank gun, with its significantly better armor penetration to the Americans, but the U.S. Ordnance Department was working on a 90 mm tank gun and declined. As a stopgap in their own tank development, the British developed their own up-gunned "Firefly" variant, with the 17-pounder. Later, the 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 U.S. accepted in June-July 1944 a limited run of 254 M4A3E2 Jumbo Shermans, which had 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. Both the Americans and the British 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 British variants were part of "Hobart's Funnies," named after their commander, Percy Hobart.
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 even 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.
U.S. service history
The M4 Sherman served with the US Army and US Marine Corps during World War II. The US also transferred large numbers 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 M4A1 Sherman first saw combat at the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942 with the British 8th Army. The first US Shermans to fight were M4A1s used for Operation Torch the following month. 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 engine began replacing them, though 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 the Shermans with Patton tanks over the 1950s. The US continued to transfer Shermans to allies, which contributed to wide foreign use worldwide.
U.S. combat performance
Armament
When the Sherman first saw combat in 1942, its 75 mm M3 gun could defeat the armor of the German Pzkw III and Pzkw IV tanks it faced in North Africa at normal combat ranges. However, starting with the invasion of Sicily in August 1943, it was discovered that the 75 mm M3 gun was ineffective against the front of the Pzkw V Panther and Pzkw VI Tiger I tanks and the front of more common Jagdpanzer anti-tank vehicles at typical combat ranges. The problem increased dramatically with the fighting in Normandy after June 6th, 1944.
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. Moreover, the M3 Gun was commonly fitted to most Shermans in Europe right up until the end of the war.
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 M1 gun gave Shermans anti-tank firepower at least equal to most of the German vehicles they encountered, particularly the Panzer IV, and StuG. However, with a regular AP (Armour Piercing, Shot) ammunition (M79) or APCBC (M62) shells, the 76 mm could only have a chance to knock out a Panther at close range with a shot to its front mantlet, 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).
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, prioritized to US Tank Destroyer units.
In the relatively few tank battles of the Pacific War, 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 (Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks and Type 97 Chi-Ha medium 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.
Armor
The Sherman's armor was effective against most early war tank guns. The frontal thickness was 91 mm for the gun mantlet, 76 mm for the turret front, and 63 mm for the front of the hull. The Sherman's frontal armor was designed to withstand the lower velocity 50mm Kwk 38 L/42 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 75mm KwK 40 L/48 used by the later Panzer IV's, the higher velocity 75mm KwK 42 L/70 used by the Panther tank, and the infamous 88mm KwK 36 L/56 used on the Tiger tanks. It was this deficiency in its frontal armor that made the Sherman very vulnerable to most German anti-tank rounds in 1944.
Moreover, the Sherman would always remain vulnerable to infantry anti-tank weapons such as the Panzerschreck rocket or the disposable one-shot Panzerfaust.
The M4 had an escape hatch on the hull bottom to help the crew survive 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 belief 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 armor piercing shells. At first a partial remedy to ammunition fire was found by welding one-inch thick applique armor 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 armor was added to hull front and turret mantlet in various improved models, while field improvisations included placing sandbags, spare track links, concrete, 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 mid-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 once Allied aircraft entered the field.
Units equipped with Shermans defeated heavier tanks by use of outflanking tactics to strike the thinner flank armor utilizing superior numbers, or by using upgunned models 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 the heavy German tanks, 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.
The anecdotes from Allied tank crewmen about their inferiority of the Shermans to late model German tanks has to be balanced against three other considerations. Firstly, the Germans were invariably fighting defensively, usually from prepared positions -- which automatically made tank casualties disproportionate. On those rare occasions when German armoured forces had to move against Allied prepared defences, the Germans had similar complaints. Secondly, there is only so much capability that can be built into a tank; the Pzkw V and the Tiger were larger and heavier (at 42 tons and 56 tons) than the 32 ton Sherman. Finally, the Sherman could be built, deployed, maintained and repaired in large numbers; this wasn't true of the up-armored and up-gunned German heavy panzers like the Panther and Tiger, and most especially the King Tiger.
According to Belton 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 about 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 World War II 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 the war. The later 76 mm versions had superior anti-tank power capabilities to the Soviet 85 mm. (Though most Shermans, even into the late period of the war, were fitted with the inferior 75mm gun) The T-34's advantages were its low profile, wide tracks which made crossing muddy terrain easier, speed and superior mobility to the Sherman. Both tanks excelled in reliability. Each was a medium design that served as the primary battlefield tank of its respective country in World War II, was upgraded, served into the Cold War, and outfitted allies. During the Korean War, US Shermans performed well against their T-34-85 adversaries, although a direct comparison is difficult due to the superior training of US crews.
US variants
- 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
- 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 - Tank Destroyer
- 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 Sherman. A British variant used by US forces.
- 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
The Sherman was extensively supplied through Lend-Lease to the British Commonwealth, with the exception of Canada which produced its own. The British took nearly 80% of Lend-Lease production some of which was passed on to other allies including those forces of governments in exile.
The British were planning to develop and use a 17 pounder gun version of their Cromwell tank but delays led to the expediency of mounting a 17 pdr in a Sherman giving the Sherman Firefly. By the end of the war, the British had developed both the Comet and the Centurion tank and these replaced the Sherman post war.
See also
External links
- (1946) — a 145 page book about the wartime manufacture of tanks by Chrysler Corporation - highly illustrated).
- detailing the comparative utility of Shermans in the 6th Guards Tank Army (www.iremember.ru).
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