Work horse of the US army World War 2 The M4 Sherman

 M4 Sherman History

By Sol Mathews


There are many iterations of the M4 Sherman tank. The M4 Sherman was the work horse of the United States Army during World War 2. The first iteration of the Sherman tank wasn't even called The M4 but the T6. Before the M4 during the beginning of Americas involvement in World War Two the US army lacked a formidable medium main battle vehicle. The main vehicle was the Stuart series light tanks. The M3 Light Stuart and the M5 light Stuart, as the US began its involvement in World War two amped up The US Army realized that they needed a medium battle tank that was capable of facing off against the German PZKPFW three and four series medium tanks. The first iteration of one such tank was the T4 Convertible medium Tank. The T4 medium tank was never actually listed as a Tank but a combat car. In 1939 the first official medium battle tank was born for the United States Army was the M2 medium.


M2 medium tank, photo: Tanks-encyclopedia.com

Following the M2 Medium the US Army began work on the M3 Lee series medium tanks. The M3 Lee tanks were unique tanks in being one of the only tanks since the British Mark five in World war one.in World War two to have Multiple turrets. The M3 Lee had its main cannon mounted in the hull Tank destroyer style. and another light cannon mounted traditionally atop the hull. (Fun fact: The United States leased the M3 to the British which renamed them to the M3 Grant)

M3 Lee Tank, Photo: Theshermantank.com

The first of the M4 series was the T6 and in 1942 the US Army designated the T6 as the M4 and thus the M4 Sherman was born. The M4 Sherman had many iterations from the M4A1 to the M4E8 The M4 Sherman was weak to say the least in the beginning of the conflict. While fighting Herr. Rommel's Forces in Africa the m4 Sherman had issues catching fire when hit by the superior PZKPFW three and four mediums of the German army. This was eventually solved by making fire control improvements and ammunition flooding. Not to mention the 75millimeter Main cannons most M4 Shermans had could not penetrate the armor of the infamous Tiger ones and Tiger two. These tanks often had to get to the rear of the more powerful tanks like the Tiger 1 and 2 just to disable and destroy the tank. It wasn't solely used by the allies the German army captured a few at one point in World War 2. There were other More capable variants of the M4 tank. The British version of the tank was the M4A1 Sherman hull with a 17-pounder cannon mounted in the turret. This version of the Sherman was called the Sherman Firefly this version of the Sherman could penetrate the heavy Armour of the Tigers. Then there was the M4A3E8 or the M4 Easy Eight Sherman. These Shermans saw the most combat and were the most reliable of the Shermans. Then there was the Canadian Sherman called the Ram II. The M4 Sherman is saw use in the second World War through to the present day. The M4 series tank also saw service in the Korean war, Arab- Israeli war, Vietnam and Indo-Pakistani war 1964. The M4 also saw use in Operation Desert Storm where the Iraqis used M4, M4/105 and M51 Sherman variants. The standard M4 Sherman saw standard use up until 1999 by the Chilean armed forces. The unique M4A3 FL-10 Saw use as an MBT until 2018 when Paraguay retired it from service marking 76 years of operational service. this makes the M4 Sherman the second longest serving tank behind the T34. There are many Shermans still out there being held in museums though few are used or still operable. One such example of operational Shermans lies with The Museum of the American G.I located in college station Texas. The Museum of the American GI has two operational M4 Shermans that drive and fire Blank rounds these are M4A2 and M4E3 variants. Twice a year the museum brings their tanks out for the public to see in action. One in March during their largest event Living History weekend then again in November for history in motion. If you have the chance to attend the event to see these armored beasts, I recommend it as I have attended them myself. If you're interested in the Museum of the American GI Go to the Website of the American GI by searching for the museum on google.

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