U.S.M4A3 SHERMAN /Forces of Valor 1/32

 

 

    Sherman M4A3

The M4 General Sherman was the main battle tank designed and built by the United States for the conduct of World War II. The M4 was the most widely used tank series in the war, being employed not only by the US Army and Marine Corps but also by British, Canadian, and Free French forces. The M4 was employed in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and western Europe and throughout the Pacific Theatre. A total of 49,324 tanks was produced in 11 plants between 1942 and 1946.

US doctrine for employing armored divisions foresaw tank destroyers, not tanks, defeating enemy armor. Chance encounters between tanks might occur, but the primary role of the armored division was to exploit and pursue, not fight enemy armor. The Sherman’s low-velocity 75 or 76 mm gun was chosen because the Army’s artillery branch wanted a cheap, reliable weapon for fire support.

For all these reasons, the US Army standardized on the M4 Sherman medium tank, an excellent compromise between reliability, mobility, armor protection, and gunpower. When the British first employed the Sherman in North Africa during late 1942, it proved to be at1east equal, if not superior, to the German second-generation tanks, Mark III and IV. 

The width limitation hampered the Sherman by forcing designers to give the tank narrow tracks. These tracks had much less mobility in muddy terrain than the wider tracks used by the Soviets and Germans. The M4's only advantages over later German tanks were superior reliability and a power-driven turret. During meeting engagements at close ranges this latter feature allowed the Sherman's crew to traverse their gun and engage the enemy more rapidly than could German crews using hand-cranked turrets. Sherman tank crews often carried a white phosphorus round in their guns to blind enemy tanks during such maneuvers.

Once the Tiger tank appeared in Tunisia in early 1943, however, the Sherman tank and most of the US antitank force seemed inadequate. The Sherman was badly outclassed by German medium and heavy tanks, most notably the Mark V Panther and the Mark VI Tiger. With their heavier armor, the Panther and Tiger were almost impervious to rounds fired from the Sherman’s 75 or 76 mm main gun; conversely, the 88 mm gun on the German tanks usually made short work of their American opponents. Although these observations are commonplace, they reflect a mis-understanding of American armor doctrine of the time. Enemy tanks were to be countered, not by American tanks [such as the Sherman], but by dedicated anti-tank tank-destroyer units, such as the M18 Hellcat, built on the chassis of the Sherman tank. US doctrine did not embrace the concept of tank-on-tank combat until 1946. US anti-tank crews outmaneuvered their foes, disabling the German tanks with a shot against their sides or rear, where the armor was thinner. 

The M4 Sherman tank was no technological match for German armor, but this was not because the United States could not design and build a better tank. It was because the Sherman tank fit easily into Liberty ships, and a major change in design would have meant severely reduced production while factories retooled for the new model. Although it was no match for German heavy tanks in firepower and armor protection, the M4 medium, with its superior mechanical reliability and capacity for traversing rough terrain, especially in mountainous areas, was the workhorse of the war. Employed in practically every conceivable way that a tank could be used, it performed the infantry-accompanying role, it operated as light cavalry, it spearheaded armored attacks, it played an antitank role, and it functioned as auxiliary artillery.

Despit its drawbacks, the Sherman remained the main battle tank of the US Amy. General Eisenhower remained convinced of the high quality of the M4 Sherman tank until newspaper accounts detailing NCO and junior officer disagreement caused him to query his subordinates in the spring of 1945. Only then did he learn of the clear superiority in armor, armament, and even maneuverability of the heavy German models.

In early 1945, apparently as a result of the large-scale German armored attacks during the Battle of the Bulge, the US Amy finally allowed a few heavy tanks of the T20 series to be sent to Europe for combat testing. The army's Ordnance Department had developed the T20 series in 1943, but considerations of doctrine, shippingp and mass production had prevented its use in battle until the closing days of the war.

The T-34 Multiple Rocket Launcher, mounted on M4A3 tanks, fired 4.5-inch rockets. The M4A3E2 was a Sherman medium tank to which more armor had been added. Only a few of this model reached the European Theater of Operations before the end of 1944. It was intended as a stop-gap until the heavier Pershing tank could be put into production. The M4A3(E8) "Easy Eight" tank did not enter service until late in the war. The M4-A3HVSS Sherman tank was one of the most widely produced in its time. Its weapon systems consist of a 105-millimeter cannon, and two .30-caliber machine-guns.

Great Britain also used the Sherman during the latter half of World War II, but was concerned by the limited penetrating power of the M41s 75-mm, medium-velocity main gun. Dissatisfied with the weapon, but not constrained by the American War Department, the British modified a number of their Shermans. After considerable discussions with the Americans, the British finally modified some of the Shermans they received. The British version of the Sherman, called the "Firefly," included the third-generation British antitank gun, the seventeen pounder (77-mm). This gun fired a far larger round, and its long bore and higher velocity gave it much greaber capability against German armor. Mounting this gun required cutting out the rear wall of the Sherman’s turret and adding an armored box, as well as a new hatch for the loader. To carry a useful number of the big 17-pounder rounds, they also removed the bow machine gun and gunner. Almost as fast as a standard Sherman, it was not quite as good as a German PzKwIVH but at least the gap had been narrowed.

Of the 3,202 medium Sherman tanks in the United States in 1950, 1,326 were unserviceable. Building a tank requires a long lead time. Thousands of parts must be manufactured and assembled. Specialized tools and dies are required, as are skilled engineers and workers. Because of the extensive time required to retool and reenergize American tank production during the Korean War, more troops were using the World War II vintage Sherman tank than the newer M-46 "Patton" as late as October 1952.

 

GENERAL DATA
Other Designation(s)	M4A3 (Sherman IV) [mid-production]
Manufacturer(s)	Ford Motor Co.
Production Quantity	1690	Production Period	June 1942-Sept. 1943
Type	Medium Tank	Crew	5
Length /hull (m)	5.91	Barrel Overhang (m)	0
Width (m)	2.61	Height (m)	2.74
Combat Weight (kg)	30300	Radio Equipment	SCR508/528/538

FIREPOWER
Primary Armament	75mm Gun M3	Ammunition Carried	97
Traverse (degrees)	360?	Elevation (degrees)	-10? to +25?
Traverse speed (360?)	15 sec.	Sight	M55, M38
Secondary Armament	2 x .30 caliber MG M1919A4 (coaxial, bow)	Ammunition Carried	4750
	1 x .50 caliber MG HB M2 (AA)		300

 

MOBILITY CHARACTERISTICS
Engine Make & Model	Ford GAA	No. of Links/Track	79/track
Type & Displacement	V8, 18.0 liters	Track Width	42.1 cm
Horsepower (max.)	500hp@2600rpm	Track Ground Contact	373.4 cm
Power/Weight Ratio	16.5 hp/tonne	Ground Pressure	13.7 psi
Gearbox	5 forward, 1 reverse	Ground Clearance (m)	0.43
Fuel	Gasoline (Petrol)	Turning Radius (m)	19
Range on/off road (km)	209	Gradient (degrees)	31?
Mileage (liters/100km)	366 on road	Vertical Obstacle (m)	0.61
Fuel Capacity (liters)	764	Fording (m)	0.91
Speed on/off road	42 km/h	Trench Crossing (m)	2.3

ARMOR PROTECTION
Armor Detail	Front	Side	Rear	Top/Bottom
Hull	51mm@34-90?	38mm@90?	38mm@68-80?	25mm@0?(front)
				13mm@0?(rear)
Superstructure	51mm@34?	-	-	19mm@0-7?
Turret	76mm@60?	51mm@85?	51mm@90?	25mm@0?
Mantlet	89mm@90?	-	-

 Created in 1941, the 3rd Armored Division landed on the Normandy beaches of France in late June 1944, just weeks after D-Day (June 6), the massive Allied invasion of western Europe. The "Spearhead" division advanced rapidly eastward, reaching the German border by mid-September.

During the German winter offensive into the Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge, the division was redeployed to Belgium. In March 1945, the 3rd Armored Division advanced into Germany, capturing the city of Cologne and crossing the Rhine River. In April, it advanced eastward into Thuringia and continued the push east until war's end.

On April 11, 1945, the 3rd discovered the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp. The division first arrived on the scene, reporting back to headquarters that it had uncovered a large concentration camp near the town of Nordhausen. Requesting help from the 104th Infantry Division, the 3rd immediately began transporting some 250 ill and starving prisoners to nearby hospital facilities.

The 3rd Armored Division was recognized as a liberating unit by the U.S. Army's Center of Military History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1985.

Casualty figures for the 3rd Armored Division, European theater of operations
Total battle casualties: 9,243
Total deaths in battle: 2,147

Division nickname
"Spearhead" was adopted as the nickname of the 3rd Armored Division in recognition of the division's role as the spearhead of many attacks during the liberation of France in 1944.

U.S. 3rd Armored Division in Cologne

Battle of Cologne

WW II : RARE COLOR FILM : D-DAY : JUNE 5TH 1944

 US Army in France 1944 - 1945