M4 Sherman

Medium Tank, M4
An M4 (105) Sherman tank with spare track-links welded on its front for additional armor protection, preserved at the Langenberg Liberation Memorial in Ede, Netherlands
Type	Medium tank
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1942–2018[a] 1942–1957 (United States)
Used by	United States, and many others (see Foreign variants and use)
Wars	World War II Indonesian National Revolution Greek Civil War First Indochina War 1948 Arab–Israeli War Korean War Cuban Revolution Revolución Libertadora Suez Crisis 1958 Lebanon crisis Nicaraguan Revolution Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Six-Day War Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Yom Kippur War Lebanese Civil War Uganda–Tanzania War Iran–Iraq War
Production history
Designer	U.S. Army Ordnance Department
Designed	1940
Manufacturer	American Locomotive Company Baldwin Locomotive Works Detroit Tank Arsenal Federal Machine and Welder Company Fisher Tank Arsenal Ford Motor Company Lima Locomotive Works Pacific Car and Foundry Company Pressed Steel Car Company Pullman-Standard Car Company
Unit cost	$44,556–64,455 in 1945 dollars, depending upon variant ($607,861–879,336 in 2017 dollars)[1]
Produced	September 1941 (prototype) February 1942 – July 1945
No. built	49,234, excluding prototype[2]
Variants	See U.S. variants and foreign variants
Specifications
Mass	66,800–84,000 lb (33.4–42.0 short tons, 30.3–38.1 tonnes) depending upon variant[3]
Length	19 ft 2 in–20 ft 7 in (5.84–6.27 m) depending upon variant[3]
Width	8 ft 7 in (2.62 m) to 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) depending upon variant[3]
Height	9 ft 0 in–9 ft 9 in (2.74–2.97 m) depending upon variant[3]
Crew	5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, assistant driver/bow gunner)
Armor	12.7 to 177.8 mm (0.50 to 7.00 in) depending on location and variant[3]
Main armament	75 mm gun M3 (90–104 rounds) or 76 mm gun M1A1, M1A1C, or M1A2 (71 rounds) or 105 mm howitzer M4 (66 rounds)[3]
Secondary armament	.50 caliber Browning M2HB machine gun (300–600 rounds), 2-4.30 caliber Browning M1919A4 machine guns (6,000–6,750 rounds) depending on variant[3][4]
Engine	M4 and M4A1 model: Continental R975-C1 or -C4 9–cylinder radial gasoline engine 350 or 400 hp (261 or 298 kW) at 2,400 rpm[3] M4A2 model: General Motors 6046 twin inline diesel engine; 375 hp (280 kW) at 2,100 rpm[3]> M4A3 model: Ford GAA V8 gasoline engine; 450 hp (336 kW) at 2,600 rpm[3] M4A4 model: Chrysler A57 multibank ~(30 cylinder) gasoline engine; 370 hp (276 kW) at 2,400 rpm[3] M4A6 model: Caterpillar D-200A (Wright RD-1820) 9 cylinder radial diesel engine; 450 hp (336 kW) at 2,400 rpm[3]
Power/weight	10.46–13.49 hp/short ton (8.60–11.09 kW/t) depending upon variant[3]
Transmission	Spicer manual synchromesh transmission, 5 forward and 1 reverse gears[5]
Suspension	Vertical volute spring suspension (VVSS) or horizontal volute spring suspension (HVSS)
Fuel capacity	138–175 US gal (520–660 L; 115–146 imp gal) depending upon variant[3]
Operational range	Road: 100–150 mi (160–240 km) depending upon variant[3] Cross-country: 60–100 mi (97–161 km) depending upon variant[3]
Maximum speed	22–30 mph (35–48 km/h) on road, 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h) off-road depending upon variant[6][3]

The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It was also the basis of several other armored fighting vehicles including self-propelled artillery, tank destroyers, and armored recovery vehicles. Tens of thousands were distributed through the Lend-Lease program to the British Commonwealth and Soviet Union. The tank was named by the British after the American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman.^[7]

The M4 Sherman evolved from the M3 Medium Tank,^[b] which – for speed of development – had its main armament in a side sponson mount. The M4 retained much of the previous mechanical design but moved the main 75 mm gun into a fully traversing central turret. One feature, a one-axis gyrostabilizer, was not precise enough to allow firing when moving but did help keep the gun aimed in roughly the right direction for when the tank stopped to fire.^[8] The designers stressed reliability, ease of production and maintenance, durability, standardization of parts and ammunition in a limited number of variants, and moderate size and weight (to facilitate shipping and for compatibility with existing bridging equipment size and weight limit restrictions^[9]). These factors, combined with the Sherman's then-superior armor and armament, outclassed German light and medium tanks fielded in 1939–42. The M4 was the most-produced tank in American history, with 49,324 produced (including variants).^[c] During World War II, the Sherman spearheaded many offensives by the Allies after 1942.

When the M4 tank went into combat in North Africa with the British Army at the Second Battle of El Alamein in late 1942, it increased the advantage of Allied armor over Axis armor and was superior to the lighter German^[11] and Italian tank designs. For this reason, the US Army believed that the M4 would be adequate to win the war, and relatively little pressure was initially applied for further tank development. Logistical and transport restrictions, such as limitations imposed by roads, ports, and bridges, also complicated the introduction of a more capable but heavier tank.^[12][d] Tank destroyer battalions using vehicles built on the M4 hull and chassis, but with open-topped turrets and more potent high-velocity guns, also entered widespread use in the Allied armies. Even by 1944, most M4 Shermans kept their dual-purpose 75 mm gun.^[13] By then, the M4 was inferior in firepower and armor to increasing numbers of German upgraded medium tanks and heavy tanks but was able to fight on with the help of considerable numerical superiority, greater mechanical reliability, better logistical support, and support from growing numbers of fighter-bombers and artillery pieces.^[14] Later in the war, a more effective armor-piercing gun, the 76 mm gun M1, was incorporated into production vehicles. For anti-tank work, the British refitted Shermans with a 76.2 mm Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun (as the Sherman Firefly). Some were fitted with a 105 mm gun to act as infantry support vehicles.

The relative ease of production allowed large numbers of the M4 to be manufactured, and significant investment in tank recovery and repair units allowed disabled vehicles to be repaired and returned to service quickly. These factors combined to give the Allies numerical superiority in most battles, and many infantry divisions were provided with M4s and tank destroyers. By 1944, a typical U.S. infantry division had attached for armor support an M4 Sherman battalion, a tank destroyer battalion, or both.^[15]

After World War II, the Sherman, particularly the many improved and upgraded versions, continued to see combat service in many conflicts around the world, including the U.N forces in the Korean War, with Israel in the Arab–Israeli wars, briefly with South Vietnam in the Vietnam War, and on both sides of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.^[16]

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