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While the Medium Tank M3 was beingrushed into production, a new designof medium tank with a turret-mounted75-mm (2,95-in) main gun was beingpushed through the drawing boardstages. To save time this was to use thesame basic hull and suspension as theM3, but the upper hull was revised toaccommodate the gun turret. The firstexample of the new tank was rolled outin September 1941 as the MediumTank T6 and proved to be a very gooddesign. The upper hull was cast, andthis not only provided added protectionbut speeded production, at thattime a definite asset.The new weapon was rushed intoproduction as the Medium Tank M4,with a 75-mm (2.95-in) main gun andco-axial 7.62-mm (0.3-in) machine-gun,7.62-mm (0.3-in) bow gun and 12.7-mm(0.5-in) gun for AA defence. This baselinemodel had minimum and maximumarmour thicknesses of 15mm(0,59m) and 76mm (2.99 in) respectively.It proved to be an excellentfighting platform and went on to be oneof the war-winning weapons of theAllies, being constructed in thousands.By the time the production lines stoppedrolling in 1945 well over 40,000 hadbeen made, and the type was built in abewildering array of marks, submarksand variants of all kinds. Thereis no space in these pages even toattempt a complete listing of all thenumerous versions, but suffice to saythat once in service the M4 series wasdifferently engined: up-gunned toeven more powerful 75-mm (2.95-in),76-mm (2.99-in) and 105-mm (4.13-in)main weapons; and developed intonumerous 'specials' such as engineertanks, assault tanks, tank destroyers,flamethrowers, bridging tanks, recoveryvehicles, rocket launchers, selfpropelledartillery carriages, antiminevehicles and so on, which wereproduced from scratch or improvisedin the field. Gradually the M4 seriesbecame the T-34 of the Western Allies.The British army purchased largenumbers of M4s or took them over aspart of the Lend-Lease programme. Tothe British the M4 was the GeneralSherman (or simply Sherman) and theyThe M4A3 was one of the most developed of all theSherman variants used until 1945, as it had a 76-mm (2.99-in) gun andHVSS (horizontal volutespring suspension).too added their variations to the longlist of M4 specials: one of the bestknownof these was the 1944 ShermanFirefly, which had a 17-pdr main gun.The first Shermans went into actionwith the British at El Alamein in October1942. Thereafter the Sherman wasthe most numerous tank in British armyservice for the rest of World War II.The main models of this seminallyimportant armoured fighting vehiclewere as follows: the M3 (Sherman I)already mentioned, engined with the263-kW (353-hp) Wright Whirlwind or298-kW (400-hp) Continental R-975 radialengines; the M4A1 (Sherman II)with a fully cast rather than cast/welded hull, and alternatively enginedwith the 336-kW (450-hp) Caterpillar9-cylinder diesel; the M4A2 (ShermanIII) with a welded hull and a 313-kW(420-hp) General Motors 6-71 twindieselpowerplant; the M4A3 (ShermanIV) with a 373-kW (500-hp) FordGAA III engine and horizontal- ratherthan vertical-volute suspension; andthe M4A4 (Sherman V) with the 317-kW (425-hp) Chrysler five-bank engine.It is also worth noting that in Britishservice the mark numbers weresuffixed whenever the main armamentwas not the standard 75-mm (2.95-in)gun, A indicating a 76-mm (2.99-in)gun, B a 105-mm (4.13-in) howitzer andC a 17-pdr anti-tank gun. The suffrx Win US designations denoted the provisionof wet ammunition stowage for reducedfire risk, Armour protection wasalso considerably developed in thelengthy production run, the M4A2 havinga minimum and a maximum of 13and 105 mm (0.51 and 4.13 in), equivalentfigures for the M4A3 and M4A4being 15 and 100 mm (0.59 and 3.94 in),and 20 and 85 mm (0.8 and 3.35 in) respectively.It was the numerical superiority ofthe M4 that in the end made it a warwinner,The M4 had many drawbacksand was far from being the ideal battletank. It was often left behind in firepoweras the German tank guns increasedin power and calibre, and thearmour thicknesses and arrangementwere frequently found wanting, Indeedmany field improvizations had tobe used to beef up the armour, theseincluding the simple expedient of usingstacked sandbags. The silhouettewas too high for comfort and the interiorarrangements far from perfect.Another problem frequently encountredwas that with so many variants inuse spares were often not availableand engine interchangeability was frequentlyimpossible, causing considerablelogistical troubles.SpecificationMedium Tank M4A3Crew: 5Weight: in action 32.284 tonnesPowerplant: one Ford GAA V-8 petrolengine developing 335.6 or 373 kW(450 or 500 hp)Dimensions: length, with gun 7,52 m(24 ft 8 in), and over hull 6.27 m (20 ft7 in); width 2.68 m (8 ft 9.5 in); height3.43 m (11 ft 2,875 in)Performance: maximum road speed47 km/h (29 mph); maximum roadrange 161 km (100 miles); fording0.91 m (3 ft); gradient 60 per cent;vertical obstacle 0.61 m (2 ft); trench 2.26 m (7 ft 5 in)
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