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The American Sherman tank is one of the legends of World War II. Serial modifications of the M4 Sherman tank What to install on the M4 Sherman

14-02-2017, 13:27

Hello, tank men and women, the site is here! Now we will talk about an interesting, strong and versatile vehicle, an American medium tank of the fifth level - this is M4 Sherman guide.

Once upon a time, this device instilled fear in equipment of its own and lower level thanks to its dangerous high-explosive weapon. Now its formidable cumulative charges are no longer so strong, and the accuracy of the guns has been nerfed, but it still has M4 Sherman TTX worthy of respect. If you understand the advantages and disadvantages of this tank and play it correctly, you can have a lot of fun and show good results.

TTX M4 Sherman

As usual, we will begin the analysis of the tank’s parameters with the fact that our American has a safety margin that is standard by the standards of its peers, but at the same time M4 Sherman review initially equal to 370 meters, which is significantly better than most ST-5s.

The situation with the survivability of our American is controversial. First of all, I would like to note the fact that the car has large and tall dimensions, that is, getting into M4 Sherman WoT not such a difficult task, and we glow at very decent distances.

If we talk about armor, it is there, but only when we are at the top of the list. Nominally, this vehicle has weak armor, however, in the front of the hull the entire VLD has a good slope, which allows the 50 mm armor plate to reach even 120 mm at its thickest point. If you further tighten the body, what M4 Sherman characteristics the armor will increase a little more, which will allow you to repel some of your classmates’ projectiles, but it will not protect you from level 6-7 vehicles.

The tower in frontal projection is also capable of surprising. There is a large 90-mm gun mantlet, and cheeks M4 Sherman World of Tanks Due to the pleasant bevels, the adjustment reaches about 120 millimeters. All this also does not provide guaranteed rebounds or non-penetrations, but sometimes it can save.

But nothing good can be said about the lateral projection. From the sides M4 Sherman tank it is extremely poorly protected; you cannot turn towards the enemy, nor can you turn your body too much.

As for mobility, our mobility is not bad and not good - average. It should be noted here that M4 Sherman WoT It has a decent maximum speed, dynamics and maneuverability, but you can’t call it very dynamic or playful.

gun

The situation with weapons in our case is worthy of no less attention, if only because the owners of this American have two completely different guns to choose from.

First of all, let's look at M4 Sherman gun caliber 105 millimeters, which is called a high explosive. With this barrel we have a very powerful alphastrike, which allows us to send many vehicles of our own and lower levels into the hangar with one shot.

However, this gun is only strong when M4 Sherman medium tank gets to the top of the list, because here a weak penetration will often be enough to cause significant damage. But the higher the enemy’s level and the stronger his armor, the less damage you will deal, and cumulative weapons do not provide any guarantees, although it is worth carrying about 10 pieces with you.

As befits high-explosive guns, this barrel is bad in that it has poor accuracy, expressed in huge dispersion, poor stabilization and prolonged aiming. But the vertical aiming angles are M4 Sherman WoT chic - we can lower the gun 10 degrees down, which is very comfortable.

The second weapon is considered classic. It has a quite standard alphastrike by the standards of its classmates, but its rate of fire is so low that with it M4 Sherman tank capable of delivering a measly 1437 units of pure damage per minute.

The good side of the 76 mm cannon is penetration; even with an ordinary armor-piercing projectile you can confidently fight against fives and sixes and only for strong sevens M4 Sherman World of Tanks must have about 20 sub-calibers with him.

In terms of accuracy, here again we will be slightly disappointed, since the scatter is again quite large, we would like to have faster convergence, and the situation with stabilization of the data is no better.

Summing up the weapons, I would like to say that with a high explosive American tank M4 Sherman turns into a fun machine, which at the ideal top will bring you a lot of fun, and at the bottom will give you the opportunity to consistently knock down at least some damage even from strong targets and often damage modules. The second gun is suitable for a more stable game, but remember that its DPM is very low, this is the biggest problem.

Advantages and disadvantages

Without understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your tank, the game will be much more difficult, because you will not know how to equip the vehicle and what you can rely on in battle. Let's highlight the main pros and cons M4 Sherman World of Tanks, but taking into account the installed high explosive.
Pros:
Excellent basic overview;
Very good elevation angles;
Powerful alphastrike;
Good mobility.
Minuses:
Still weak armor;
Large silhouette;
Poor accuracy;
The high explosive has weak penetration.

If we talk about an alternative weapon, then the advantages of the tank include good penetration, and the disadvantages are extremely weak damage per minute.

Equipment for M4 Sherman

No self-respecting tanker can do without a correct and balanced selection of additional modules, because this is a great way to improve your tank. In our case, the emphasis should be on improving shooting comfort, and in general on M4 Sherman tank equipment It's better to put it like this:
1. is an excellent option for both guns, because with it we will be able to shoot more often, and therefore deal more damage.
2. – there is no other way to improve the accuracy on this machine, and yet it really needs to improve this parameter.
3. is a standard option for a mobile medium tank, which in our case will make an already good overview excellent.

However, some players will want to neglect the review in favor of increasing firepower and the comfort of dealing damage, in which case it is preferable to replace the last point with, which will give a 5% boost to the most important characteristics.

Crew training

Of course, you will have to spend more time and effort on this, but with a pumped-up crew, the game changes greatly for the better, since you can not only improve the parameters necessary for dealing damage, but also increase the survivability of the tank. To achieve good results on M4 Sherman perks It’s better to download in this order:
Commander - , , , .
Gunner – , , , .
Driver mechanic - , , , .
Radio operator - , , , .
Loader – , , , .

Equipment for M4 Sherman

The choice of consumables, as always, remains complete. The standard aspect in which if you do not have enough silver credits, it is better to give preference to , , . But for those who are accustomed to relying on reliability in battle and are not constrained by funds, we recommend transporting M4 Sherman equipment from , , . In addition, you can also use it instead of a fire extinguisher; this car doesn’t burn often.

Tactics for playing the M4 Sherman

We all understand perfectly well that the strategy of behavior in battle is, first of all, based on understanding and taking advantage of the strengths and weaknesses of the tank. For these reasons, it is important to understand that for M4 Sherman tactics cannot be reduced to fighting at close ranges, the reason for this is rather weak armor.

In addition, we feel differently depending on who we are fighting with. If we talk about fights at the top, M4 Sherman medium tank here he is a very formidable opponent. Thanks to the high explosive, you have the chance to send weakly armored opponents of level 4 and even 5 into the hangar with one shot, which is a lot of fun. But even here you can’t rely heavily on armor and you need to act carefully.

In battles against sixth and especially seventh levels, the situation changes greatly. Damage M4 Sherman tank will be able to apply much less and will have to act much more carefully. Here we turn into a support tank, which must either fire from the second line or shoot while leaning out from behind the allies.

As for dealing damage, it is important to always go all the way, and in order to knock out more strength points from the enemy, playing on M4 Sherman WoT try to target weak points, because the thinner the armor where our projectile hits, the more damage the landmine will cause.

You know the rest of the truisms: watch the mini-map, take care of your safety margin, use your mobility to make smart maneuvers, and resort to cunning more often. Remember tank M4 Sherman World of Tanks is still strong, you just need to act on it wisely and carefully.

The M4 Sherman is an American tier 5 medium tank that is loved by many tankers and is considered the best vehicle at its tier. Is it so? We'll learn about this a little later, but now let's try to understand this tank in more detail.

Short description

The M4 Sherman is America's medium tank that was used in World War II. Initially, it had only the index M4 in its name - the modification number in order. When the tank went to serve in Britain, a nominal part was added to the name - “Sherman”, in honor of William Sherman, who was a general in the Northern army during the Civil War. At one time the tank was also called “Emcha”.

Story

The history of the creation of the tank begins in 1941. When World War II began in Europe, the United States had only so-called medium tank prototypes in stock. At that time, in addition to the M3 "Li" and M2A4 "Medium", a stronger tank with a radically different design was required. At the same time, the Americans wanted it to remain as cheap as its previous brothers. On February 1, 1941, accelerated development of the tank began, and within six months the M4 Sherman was presented at the training ground. Photos of the tank immediately began to appear in the press and have since acquired enormous historical value.

Then there was no choice, and the car turned out to be of fairly high quality and relatively cheap. Therefore, the Sherman immediately passed standardization and was put into mass production. By 1945, almost 50 thousand vehicles of this model had been created, and the tank became the most popular in America.

Design

Now let's talk about the appearance of the M4 Sherman. A historical review shows that its features are also visible in German cars. This is not surprising, because initially the very idea of the layout was borrowed from the Germans. The engine compartment was located at the rear of the hull, but the transmission compartment was moved forward. In the center there was a combat zone, which reached right up to the tower.

Throughout the war, this arrangement was used by almost all German and American designers for medium and heavy tanks. The height of the hull, despite the unloading of all parts, continued to be quite significant. This was due to the location of the engine here, which was shaped like a star. The main elements of the transmission also took place here.

The Sherman's combat crew was 5 people: the commander always took a place at the turret and observed the terrain, the loader and gunner sat on either side of the commander, the driver himself, and with him the gunner-radio operator, were in the front of the hull.

Historical characteristics of the tank

Continuing to talk about the M4 Sherman, the review should be moved from the visual aspect to a more significant one - the technical one. Let's start with protective equipment. The armor was rolled steel. It was from such sheets that the entire body was created. In the very first modification, the M4 had 51 mm of frontal armor. The parts are located at an angle of 56 degrees. The side and stern received 38 mm of protection, while the roof and bottom received only 25 mm.

The tower was made by casting. Its frontal part is covered with 76 mm of armor, on the sides - 51 mm. The tower was installed using a shoulder strap and a ball bearing. A hole was made in the front part of the turret for the gun mantlet and machine gun.

Several types of engines were initially used for the Sherman. One of the modifications included an aircraft engine that developed a power of 350 horsepower. There was a version of the tank with twin Ford engines, and the car could accelerate thanks to 500 horsepower.

The chassis was completely taken from its younger brother, the Lee. At that time, there was a popular blocked type using three support trolleys. The track was shallow, with 79 tracks and a width of 420 mm. Initially, a rubber-metal hinge was used here, but later it was completely replaced with a metal one.

The 75-mm cannon from the Medium and Lee tanks was also used for the gun. But, naturally, after several months of development, more modern weapons were installed. Also, the tank was re-equipped more than once to fight heavier opponents; anti-tank guns were installed on it.

To battle

The first combat use of the M4 Sherman took place in 1942. The battle at El Alamein was a confrontation between British (including the Sherman) and a similar class of German equipment. Many historians to this day believe that it was this tank that made the maximum contribution to the victory.

But the first combat use of the M4 Sherman by the Americans occurred in December of the same year in Tunisia. But the Americans were played a cruel joke by their inexperience and inability to use this miracle machine. As a result, the troops were mercilessly defeated. Within a couple of months, the Shermans again met German tanks in the same area. And again, problems arose in the battles, which gave an idea of the imperfection of the layout and the weakness of military weapons.

By the way, in 1942 the tank was supplied to the Red Army. Here the M4 was successful in almost all battles. The tanks were good, they confidently helped end the war and reached Berlin together with the troops of our country. After the war, Soviet tank crews spoke very positively about the Sherman, the only thing noted was the frequent rate of fires and a weak gun.

The last gasp for this vehicle was the battles in the Far East already in 1945. The first use of the M4 Sherman brought popularity to this vehicle, and in addition to British, American and Soviet troops, the tank was used during the Korean War in the early 50s. the Chinese, and a little later - the Arabs.

Game version

Before we figure out how to play the M4 Sherman, let's take a closer look at the game version of the American medium tank. As you already know, in the game “Sherman” occupies an honorable fifth level and, as practice shows, can bend opponents well.

Please note that in stock condition the tank looks quite bad. He is slow, clumsy and weak. But all gamers of the famous World of Tanks know that any tank in its initial state is bad. Now let's talk a little about the main technical characteristics of the machine.

The M4 Sherman has 460 health units, a speed of 48 kilometers per hour, turret armor of 63 millimeters on all sides, the hull has 51 millimeters in the frontal area, and the sides and rear have 38 millimeters each. Thus, the historical inaccuracy can be immediately traced. Although we all understand that Wargaming is trying to balance the game so that tanks that are radically different in strength do not meet on the battlefield.

Pros and cons of "American"

In principle, at its fifth level, M4 is not particularly different from its colleagues. Some things are worse, some are better, but the car is balanced for playing with opponents. Despite the low speed, the tank is quite maneuverable, in which case it can change its position on the battlefield and be an excellent assistant to heavy vehicles.

The downside of the Sherman is its fairly large size. Although it all depends on what levels he comes across in battle. Nevertheless, its silhouette is quite large, so it is not difficult to hit it. In addition, remember that his armor is not the strongest.

By the way, some players believe that the M4 Sherman is ideal for farming silver. In direct hands, a tank can cause a lot of damage, while spending little on repairs and shells. Probably not everyone will agree with this. As practice shows, for some one tank can become their best friend, for others - their sworn enemy.

Gaming weapon

Well, it’s worth talking directly about the “American’s” weapons. In this section, perhaps, you will find the answer to the question of what gun to install on the M4 Sherman. There are two weapon options in the game. The first and most suitable is the sixth level 76 mm gun. Its advantage is its rate of fire. In 60 seconds it fires as many as 14.3 shots. At the same time, the armor penetration is 177 mm, but the damage from them is 110.

If you choose this weapon, keep in mind that you will have a heavy support burden on your shoulders. With such damage and penetration, you shouldn't fly forward and try to enlighten someone. It is best to hide somewhere in the bushes and wait for your opponents to spot you.

But the second gun is a high-explosive weapon with 105 mm. Few people will believe it, but sometimes this gun can destroy some roaming firefly with one shot. Fires 7.5 shots per minute, but armor penetration is 53 with damage of 410.

Looking at the characteristics, it should be said that the high-explosive weapon has very poor accuracy, so it is best to get close to the enemy and surprise him at a short distance. Many players even believe that this is an excellent, fun weapon that will bring a good mood in battle.

The following tips will help you improve your tank. Let's start by answering the question of what modules to install on the M4 Sherman. First of all, you will need to decide on the role of your car. Most players choose a rammer, reinforced aiming drives and a stabilizer, thereby improving the accuracy of the gun. In some cases, improved ventilation can be installed. And if you want to improve your already excellent visibility, install optics.

But when you have thoroughly upgraded the tank, or rather, the crew, another question will arise: “What skills are needed for the M4 Sherman crew?” First of all, you can bleed the light bulb and repair it. Then we can take perks for review to again improve our search abilities. Then we reduce the spread of the gun and upgrade the perks for stabilization. Well, after that you can take care of the dynamics, and install camouflage for the loader.

How to play?

Having finished the review of the M4 Sherman tank, you can move on to the gameplay itself. There are no important or difficult moments here. The main thing is what was said in the section about the weapon. Depending on the choice of gun on the battlefield, you will become either an assistant or a destroyer. In the first case, you ride behind heavy tanks and distribute damage behind the backs of your courageous allies. In the second case, you should be more careful, but approach the victim closer so that the accuracy of the weapon does not fail at the most crucial moment.

The first 26 Shermans arrived in the USSR in November 1942. The first to receive new tanks were the 5th Guards Tank Brigade and the 563rd Separate Tank Battalion of the North Caucasus Front. On January 5, 1943, the 563rd separate battalion consisted of nine Shermans and 21 Stuart MZs, and the 5th Guards Tank Brigade on January 17, 1943 had only two Shermans, four Lee MZs, and 16 Stuart MZs. and 18 "Valsentynes".

In accordance with order No. 08/OR of the front commander, the 563rd separate battalion became part of the 5th Guards Tank Brigade. At the same time, all the Shermans from both units were assembled as part of the 5th Guards Tank Battalion, and the 563rd battalion received nine MZ Stuart tanks from the 5th Guards Brigade.

These reshuffles were intended to completely transfer the battalion to light tanks, since it was planned to be used in the amphibious landing in South Ozereyka.

Tank M4A2 "Sherman" by senior lieutenant Sumarokov, 3rd Ukrainian Front, winter 1944.

BT-5 and M3A1 "Stuart", 192nd Tank Brigade. Kalinin Front, December 1942.

M4A2 Sherman tanks, 71st Separate Tank Regiment, 5th Guards Cavalry Corps, 2nd Ukrainian Front, Romania, September 1944.

M4A2 "Sherman", 6th Tank Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Botosani, Romania, August 1944.

M4A2 Sherman tanks, 6th Tank Army, Romania, August 1944.

Damaged and abandoned M4A2 Sherman cars from an unidentified unit, Kovel area, April 1944.

German M4A2 Sherman tank from the 14th Tank Division. The tank previously belonged to part of the 2nd Baltic Front, October 1944.

Column of M4A2 Sherman tanks, 5th Guards Tank Army, May 1944.

M4A2 "Sherman", 2nd Tank Army, Lublin area, July 1944. Column of Polish infantry from the 1st Infantry Division.

M4A2(76W) "Sherman", 1st Guards Mechanized Corps. Tank supporting infantry actions, Vienna, April 1945.

Lieutenant I. G. Dronov and Sergeant N. Idrisov against the background of a Sherman, 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, Vienna, April 16, 1945.

M4A2(76) Sherman tanks, 9th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 6th Guards Tank Army, Vienna, April 1945.

M4A2(76)W "Sherman", 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, Vienna, April 1945.

M4A2(76)W "Sherman", 2nd Tank Army of the 1st Belorussian Front, Berlin, April 1945.

M4A2(76) Sherman tanks, 2nd Ukrainian Front, Berlin, May 1945.

Top photo - M4A2 Sherman medium tanks, unknown cavalry unit, Poland, autumn 1944. The tank is equipped with T49 tracks.

Bottom photo - M4A2(76)W "Sherman", 2nd Tank Army of the 1st Belorussian Front, Berlin, April 1945.

М4А2(76) "Sherman", 64th Guards Tank Regiment of the 2nd Belorussian Front, Gdansk region, January 1945.

M4A2 Sherman, unknown part. Crossing near Narva, February-March 1944.

Top photo - Sherman, 2nd Tank Army, outskirts of Lublin, July 26, 1944.

Bottom photo - M4A2(76)W "Sherman", 9th Mechanized Corps, 6th Tank Army, Transbaikal Front, Manchuria, August 1945.

Soviet tankers received the M4A2 Sherman tanks well. On October 23, 1943, the 5th Guards Tank Brigade reported:

“Thanks to its high speed, the M4A2 tank is very convenient for pursuit and has great maneuverability. The armament is fully consistent with its design, since it has fragmentation and armor-piercing shells (blanks), the penetration ability of which is very high. The 75-mm cannon and two Browning machine guns operate flawlessly. The disadvantages of the tank include its high altitude, which makes it a target on the battlefield. The armor, despite its large thickness (60 mm), is of poor quality, as there were cases when it was penetrated by anti-tank guns at a distance of 80 meters. In addition, there were a number of cases when Yu-87 bombed tanks with 20-mm cannons and pierced the side armor of the turret and side armor, resulting in losses among the crews. Compared to the T-34, the M4A2 is easier to control and more durable during long marches, since the engines do not require frequent adjustments. These tanks perform well in battle.”

The smooth ride of the Shermans was appreciated by the infantry paratroopers. Old soldiers recalled that in the second half of 1944, M4A2 tanks were used to hunt German Faustians. Six to eight machine gunners climbed onto the tank and tied themselves with belts to brackets on the armor. The tank was driving, and the soldiers fired at all suspicious objects at a distance of 100–150 m from the tank.

This tactical technique was nicknamed "broom". Only Shermans were suitable for its implementation. On the T-34, due to the too rigid suspension, the landing party was shaking and there was no talk of any targeted shooting. It should also be noted the greater comfort for the Sherman crew compared to the Thirty-Four.

In July 1943, the 299th separate tank regiment, equipped with 38 M4A2 tanks, arrived in the 48th Army of the Central Front. But the mass equipping of tank units of the Red Army with Sherman tanks began only in the spring of 1944.

Two types of units equipped with M4A2 Sherman tanks can be distinguished: separate mixed tank regiments and tank or mechanized corps. Regiments usually had 11 M4A2 tanks and ten Valentine IX tanks. They operated as part of combined arms armies on various fronts.

Tank and mechanized corps were part of the tank armies. For example, the 3rd Stalingrad Guards Mechanized Corps operated as part of the 3rd Belarusian Front on June 22, 1944, and had 196 tanks: 110 M4A2, 70 Valentine IX, 16 T-34. The 2nd and 4th Guards Mechanized Corps were fully equipped with Soviet tanks.

The 3rd Guards Tank Corps (1st Baltic Front) was also equipped with allied tanks. On August 15, 1944, the corps had 99 Shermans and 23 Valentine IXs. In May 1944, allied tanks were equipped with the 1st Mechanized Corps named after. Red Guard of the 1st Belorussian Front. The brigades and regiments of the corps contained 136 M4A2 tanks, 44 Valentine IX, five Valentine X, 21 SU-76 self-propelled guns, 21 SU-85 self-propelled guns, 43 BA-64 armored vehicles and 47 Scout cars. From July 29, 1944, the corps took part in the battles of Slutsk and Baranovichi, and later participated in the liberation of Brest. The 5th Guards Tank Army - the main striking force of the 3rd Belorussian Front during Operation Bagration - was the largest strike formation, equipped with a significant number of Western equipment. In total, the army had 350 T-34 tanks. 64 Shermans, 38 Valentine IX tanks, 29 IS-2 tanks, 23 ISU-152 self-propelled guns, 42 SU-85:, 22 SU-76, 21 M10 and 37 SU-57.

With the liberation of Belarus, the qualitative development of Soviet tank forces begins. In terms of training, experience and ability to conduct combat operations, Soviet tank units were on par with units and formations of all levels of the Wehrmacht and SS troops.

On July 2, 1944, five Sherman tanks, led by Guard Senior Lieutenant G. G. Kiyashko (from the 9th Guards Mechanized Brigade of the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps) attacked the enemy and crossed the Berezina in the first echelon. Here the tankers received an order to immediately break into the town of Krasnoye, and if there was no enemy resistance, take the place. The enemy garrison did not expect an attack, so the tanks burst into the streets of the town, clogged with German trucks. Shooting from cannons and machine guns, throwing hand grenades, crushing tank tracks, the tankers destroyed Nazi equipment. Several tanks broke through to the nearby railway station.

The commander of another platoon, Lieutenant Smirnov, received a radio message from Kiyashko and managed to intercept two locomotives and several cars from which military equipment was unloaded. Soon the Nazis were finally driven out of the town. During the battle, the guards destroyed four field guns, almost 30 vehicles, killed 80 German soldiers, while losing only one Sherman, Sergeant Major A.E. Bashmakov. Tankers cut the highway and railway leading to Minsk. Kiyashko ordered that three serviceable Shermans organized an ambush, and E.N. Smirnov’s vehicle, which as a result of the ramming received damage to the turret rotation mechanism, took the wounded and retreated to the location of the main forces of the brigade.

Soon the remaining Soviet tanks were attacked by a German group retreating from Minsk to Molodechno via Krasnoye. 20 tanks and self-propelled guns (including several Panthers) and up to an infantry battalion were thrown against the crews of three Soviet tanks. In just a few hours of battle, three Shermans knocked out six German PzKpfw IV tanks, one Panther and a StuG III self-propelled artillery mount, destroying up to a company of infantry. But the forces were not equal. All Soviet tanks were knocked out, the remnants of the crews managed to break through to their own.

Meanwhile, with the approach of the main forces of the brigade, the battles for Krasnoye flared up with renewed vigor. On July 3, having lost seven Shermans, the tankers did not take the city. The German defenses were strong. The next day, having bypassed the city from the flanks, our units forced the enemy to begin retreating, and on July 5, the Soviet cavalry of General Oslikovsky burst into Krasnoye and completely cleared the city of the Germans.

M4A2(76)W HVSS Sherman tank chassis with 23-inch tracks. The chassis was used to start generators until the end of the 60s. Some machines were put into practice as early as 1996! In the summer of 1945, the USSR managed to receive a batch of such tanks, which it used in the war with Japan.

M4A2(76)W Sherman tanks, 9th Mechanized Corps, 6th Tank Army. Transbaikal Front, formation before the start of the war with Japan, August 8, 1945.

Sherman tanks were used in the Red Army until the end of the war. For example, the 8th Guards Alexandria Mechanized Corps of the 2nd Belorussian Front on January 14, 1945 had 185 M4A2, five T-34, 21 IS, 21 SU-85, 21 SU-76, 53 Scouts, 52 BA-64 and 19 M17 ZSU. The 9th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front on August 10, 1944 consisted of 100 M4A2, 40 Valentine IX and three SU-76s, and the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps on August 5, 1944 had 26 T-34, 41 M4A2 and 19 SU-76. Sherman tanks took Vienna (as part of the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps) and participated in the Berlin operation (as part of the troops of the 2nd Tank and 33rd Armies). They ended their combat career in the Red Army in the Pacific Ocean: during the war with Japan, the troops of the Trans-Baikal Front had more than 250 of these vehicles, in the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 6th Guards Tank Army there were 137 Shermans, in the 201st tank brigade - 65, and the 48th separate tank battalion has two T-34s, two Shermans and two SU-100s.

In the USA in the 20s and 30s, despite intensive work in the field of experimental tank building and the creation of several very successful models (Christie tanks, for example), the importance of tank forces was clearly underestimated. By the beginning of World War II, the US Army tank fleet consisted of about 400 tanks, including only 18 medium ones. The results of the German Blitzkrieg in Poland and France caused a stir in US military circles and contributed to a sharp turn towards mechanization of the army.

In 1941, production of the M3 medium tank began. It was armed with a 75-mm cannon mounted in a sponson. The overall firepower of the tank was quite large. But the 75-mm cannon had a limited horizontal firing angle (32°), which reduced its effectiveness. The tank's hull was also unsuccessful in terms of dimensions and configuration. Its excessively high height (3130 mm) made it a good target; Driving performance was also low.

M4A1 with M3 cannon

The Americans were well aware of the shortcomings of this tank, so immediately after the start of its serial production, work began on creating a new, more advanced medium tank with a 75-mm cannon in a circular rotation turret. In September 1941, its prototype, designated T6, was transferred to the Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Production of the pilot batch began in November. In the American army, the tank, standardized under the designation M4, was called the “General Sherman”, in honor of the general who commanded the northern troops during the American Civil War; in English it’s just “Sherman”.

Fundamentally, all models of the General Sherman tank (M4, M4A1, M4A2, M4A3, M4A4, M4A6) were no different from each other. In appearance, only the M4A1 with its cast body stood out. Guns, turrets, placement of components and assemblies, chassis - everything was the same. All models received a single cast frontal part - the transmission compartment cover (instead of the three-part assembly used previously), the oval loader hatch, bulwarks, applied side armor and much more. Initially, the tanks had inspection slits in the front hull; then they were covered with armored casings and periscopes were introduced, and finally, at the end of 1943 - beginning of 1944, a solid frontal plate appeared, and the hatches were moved to the roof of the hull. True, we had to change the angle of the frontal armor from 47° to 56°.

The main difference between the Shermans and each other was the type of power plant. Thus, the M4 and M4A1 used the Continental R-975 9-cylinder radial carburetor engine; on the M4A2 - a pair of GMC diesel engines; for the M4A3, a carburetor 8-cylinder Ford GAA-8 engine was designed (by the way, the most powerful of all those used on Shermans - 500 hp at 2600 rpm) and, finally, on the M4A4 five Chrysler Multibank A-57 gasoline engines. To install such a unit, the body had to be slightly lengthened. The M4A6 had a body of the same length, but the Caterpillar RD1820 diesel engine was used as a power plant. On all modifications, the transmission was located in the front part of the hull, which determined the relatively high height of the tank.

The Shermans received their first baptism of fire in North Africa, where, as part of the Anglo-American troops, they took part in the defeat of Rommel's African Corps, turning out to be the strongest Allied tanks in this theater. At the end of 1942 - beginning of 1943, they appeared on the Soviet-German front.

By this time, the command of the US Army armored forces had come to the conclusion that the war could not be ended with tanks of the modifications being produced. This view led to the first major modernization, which involved the installation of new cast turrets with 76 mm long-barreled guns and 105 mm howitzers. The modernization did not affect only the M4A4 and M4A6 tanks.

By February 1944, Chrysler had developed design documentation and produced prototypes of all new models. In these tanks, the ammunition stowage was moved from the fender niches of the hull to the floor of the fighting compartment and placed on both sides of the driveshaft. An interesting feature of this so-called “wet” ammunition rack was the placement of cannon shots in cassette boxes, the double walls of which were filled with water. It was assumed that if a shell hit the ammunition rack, water would spill out and prevent a fire. On tanks with 105 mm howitzers, the ammunition stowage was “dry”, in armored boxes.

The appearance of a commander's cupola with a periscope device and six beveled triplex blocks made it possible to dramatically improve the visibility from the commander's seat. Somewhat later, the oval loader's hatch was replaced with a round double-leaf one.

Sherman and the Marines on Saipan.

The installation of a powerful 76-mm M1A1 cannon (with a muzzle brake - M1A2) with an initial armor-piercing projectile speed of 810 m/s allowed the Shermans to fight heavy German tanks.

Our press traditionally wrote that only the M4A3E8 tanks (military designation M4A3 (76)W HVSS), which were, as it were, the “crown” of the development of the Shermans, received a new chassis. This is not true. All modifications received a new chassis. released at that time. It is quite difficult to single out any of them as the best, since there were no fundamental differences in tactical and technical data between them. This has already been discussed above. M4AZ tanks of various variants were not supplied to anyone under Lend-Lease and, as a result, made up more than half of the Shermans available in the US Army. The remaining modifications were intensively exported. Suffice it to say that 17,174 M4 (Sherman I), M4A1 (Sherman II), M4A2 (Sherman III) and M4A4 (Sherman V) tanks were delivered to England alone under Lend-Lease. The M4A3 received the name “Sherman IV”; 7 of them were delivered to England - the only tanks of this modification exported.

On some of the M4A1 and M4A4 tanks, the British, having installed their 17-pound (approx. 76 mm) MkIV cannon with an initial armor-piercing projectile speed of 908 m/s, received the strongest modifications “Sherman IIC” and “Sherman VC”, better known as “Sherman” Firefly."

According to American data, 4063 M4A2 tanks of various variants and two M4A4 tanks were delivered to the Soviet Union. M4A2 tanks accounted for more than a third of all tanks our country received from the Lend-Lease allies during the war.

It was customary to criticize Allied tanks more often than to praise them. “General Sherman” did not escape this fate either. The traditional list of shortcomings included poor cross-country ability and maneuverability, weak weapons and armor. All this is more than controversial.

Indeed, the cross-country ability of the first production tanks with a 16-inch wide rubber track was limited, although in the conditions of the Western European theater of operations this factor was not of decisive importance. However, very soon the Shermans received a new track - not rubberized, but with a rubber-metal hinge, which increased its survivability (Soviet tanks received such a hinge only after the war). The caterpillars began to be equipped with lug lugs. The specific ground pressure indicators (as well as the specific power) of the General Sherman tank are similar to those of the T-34 tank. As for the maximum speed (48 km/h for the Sherman and 55 for the T-34), it should be remembered that it has only a purely theoretical value and is achieved during testing of the tank. The speed on the ground, in battle, is approximately the same for all tanks - 20-30 km/h. True, a noticeable drawback, especially for tanks with gasoline engines, is the limited range.

As for the armor, the first Shermans were protected by 50-75 mm viscous armor, which was praised by Soviet tank crews (for the T-34-76: 45-52 mm); tanks produced in 1944-1945 had armor of 75-100 mm (T-34-85: 45-90 mm). The indicators, as we see, are quite comparable and even higher for the American tank.

And the Sherman guns were not at all weak, as is commonly believed. The 75-mm M3 cannon had an initial armor-piercing projectile speed of 620 m/s and, before the appearance of the Tigers and Panthers on the battlefield, was capable of hitting all types of German tanks. The M3 cannon could no longer fight the latter (just like the Soviet F-34). The new 76-mm cannon with a barrel length of 52.8 caliber was capable of penetrating 100-mm armor at a distance of up to 500 m. It is especially worth emphasizing that all Shermans, without exception, were equipped with a gyroscopic stabilizer for aiming the gun in the vertical plane, which significantly increased the efficiency of firing on the move. A similar device appeared on Soviet tanks in the early 50s (T-54A).

An important advantage of the Sherman was the installation of an anti-aircraft machine gun on the turret. Let us remember that a similar DShK, although more powerful than the American Browning M2NV, appeared on our combat vehicles only in 1944 and exclusively on the heavy IS-2.

Of course, the American tank is certainly not without its shortcomings, which include its already mentioned great height. Overall, it was a reliable machine, easy to manufacture and maintain. It made maximum use of automotive components and assemblies (and the high level of automotive production in the USA is well known). Considering the absence of a corresponding industry and a tank building school as such in the United States at the beginning of the war, the creation of the General Sherman tank can be considered a major success for American designers. And the number of vehicles produced—49,234 units from February 1942 to July 1945—also speaks volumes. After the T-34, it was the most popular tank of the Second World War.

M4A4(105) HVSS

The hull of the M4A2 tank was welded from rolled armor plates. The upper frontal plate, 50 mm thick, was located at an angle of 47°. The sides of the hull are vertical. The angle of inclination of the feed plates is 10-12°. The armor of the sides and stern had a thickness of 38 mm, the hull roof was 18 mm thick. The cast nose section was bolted to the upper frontal plate, to the sides and to the bottom. The upper front plate was welded in seven parts; It is clear how necessary it was to ensure high quality welds. And this was completely successful, as can be judged by the two M4A2 tanks located in the village of Snigiri, Moscow Region - red with rust, but with dazzling welds without a single crack.

On tanks produced in 1943-1944, two armor linings were welded to the upper right side plate (before the ammunition rack was transferred to the floor of the fighting compartment) and one to the upper left side plate.

The tower is cast, cylindrical, mounted on a ball bearing. The forehead and sides were protected by 75 mm and 50 mm armor, respectively, the rear by 50 mm, and the turret roof by 25 mm. A mantlet for a twin weapon installation was attached to the front of the turret (armor thickness - 90 mm). In the back there was a niche for installing a radio station. On the roof of the tower there was an entrance hatch, closed with a double-leaf lid mounted on hinges in a rotating chase of the anti-aircraft machine gun turret. Since December 1943, a small oval loader's hatch appeared on the roof of the turret.

On M4A2 (76)W tanks with a 76-mm cannon, a modified turret with a commander's cupola was installed. The tower fan was moved from the roof to the rear wall. The thickness of the frontal armor was increased to 100 mm. From August 1944, a round double-leaf hatch was introduced for the loader.

The 75 mm M3 cannon or the 76 mm M1A1 cannon (M1 A2) was paired with a 7.62 mm Browning M1919A4 machine gun. The elevation and descent angles of the guns were the same, +25° and -10°. The ammunition load of the M4A2 tank consisted of 97 rounds of 75 mm, 300 12.7 mm and 4750 7.62 mm cartridges; The M4A2(76)W tank has 71 rounds of 76 mm, 600 12.7 mm and 6250 7.62 mm rounds.

The tank had a power plant consisting of two 6-cylinder GMC6046 diesel engines, arranged in parallel and connected to one unit: torque from both was transmitted to one driveshaft. The power plant had a power of 375 hp. With. at 2100 rpm. The fuel range reached 190 km. The gearbox was a 5-speed manual (5 - forward, 1 - reverse). A double differential was used as the turning mechanism.

The tank's suspension consisted of six balancing bogies, three per side. Each had two single rubber-coated road wheels, one support roller and two vertical buffer springs. The caterpillar was small-linked and consisted of 79 metal or rubber-metal tracks.

Sherman M4A2 in North Africa.

Since the end of March 1945, significant changes were made to the design of the suspension of the M4A2 (76) W tanks: instead of two rollers, four rollers were installed in the bogie (two double), the buffer springs were moved from a vertical position to a horizontal position, and the design of the balancers was changed accordingly. Each trolley is equipped with a hydraulic shock absorber.

10,968 M4A2 tanks of all variants were produced, of which 8,053 were equipped with a 75-mm cannon. Since the American army received only tanks with gasoline engines, the M4A2s were used in the USA as training tanks and were supplied under Lend-Lease to other countries, mainly to England (7418 units). A number of M4A2s were used by the Americans in Tunisia and, somewhat later, by the Marine Corps in Okinawa. The main manufacturers were Fisher Tank Arsenal and Pullman Standard; at the end of 1942 they were joined by American Locomotive, Federal Machinery and Welder and Baldwin. Production of the M4A2 with 75 mm guns was completed in May 1944. Then the Fisher Tank Arsenal company, the main manufacturer of diesel Shermans, switched to the production of M4A2 (76)W and until May 1945 produced 2894 tanks, 21 of which were produced by the Pressed Steel Car company. Total production of the M4A2 with the 76 mm gun was 2,915 units.

M4A2 "Sherman" with troops on board.

According to American data, 1,990 tanks with a 75-mm gun and 2,073 with a 76-mm gun were delivered to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease. In May 1945, the Red Army also received a number of tanks with horizontal suspension, which took part in the defeat of the Kwantung Army.

<Шерманы>took part in the liberation of Ukraine and Belarus, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Austria; took part in the storming of Berlin.

Main production variants

A feature of the production of the M4 was that almost all of its variants were not the result of modernization, but had purely technological differences and were produced almost simultaneously. That is, the difference between the M4A1 and the M4A2 does not mean that the M4A2 denotes a later and more advanced version, it only means that these models were produced at different factories and have different engines (as well as other minor differences). All types underwent modernizations, such as changing the ammunition rack, equipping them with a new turret and gun, and changing the type of suspension, generally at the same time, receiving the army designations W, (76) and HVSS. Factory designations are different and include the letter E and a numeric index. For example, the M4A3(76)W HVSS was factory designated M4A3E8.

The production versions of the Sherman were as follows:
The M4 is a tank with a welded hull and a carburetor Continental R-975 radial engine. It was mass-produced from July 1942 to January 1944 by Pressed Steel Car Co, Baldwin Locomotive Works, American Locomotive Co, Pullman Standard Car Co, Detroit Tank Arsenal. A total of 8,389 vehicles were produced, 6,748 of them were armed with the M3 cannon, 1,641 M4 (105) received a 105 mm howitzer. The M4s produced by Detroit Tank Arsenal featured a molded front section and were called the M4 Composite Hull.

The M4A1 was the very first model to go into production, a tank with a die-cast hull and a Continental R-975 engine, almost identical to the original T6 prototype. Produced from February 1942 to December 1943 by Lima Locomotive Works, Pressed Steel Car Co, Pacific Car and Foundry Co. A total of 9,677 vehicles were produced, 6,281 of them were armed with the M3 cannon, 3,396 M4A1(76)W received the new M1 gun. The tanks of the very first series had a 75 mm M2 cannon and two fixed forward machine guns.
M4A2 is a tank with a welded hull and a power plant of two General Motors 6046 diesel engines. Produced from April 1942 to May 1945 by Pullman Standard Car Co, Fisher Tank Arsenal, American Locomotive Co, Baldwin Locomotive Works, Federal Machine & Welder Co. A total of 11,283 tanks were produced, 8,053 of them were armed with the M3 cannon, 3,230 M4A2(76)W received the new M1 gun.
M4A3 - had a welded body and a Ford GAA carburetor engine. Produced by Fisher Tank Arsenal and Detroit Tank Arsenal from June 1942 to March 1945 in the amount of 11,424 units. 5015 had an M3 gun, 3039 M4A3(105) a 105 mm howitzer, 3370 M4A3(76)W a new M1 gun. In June-July 1944, 254 M4A3s with the M3 cannon were converted into M4A3E2.
The M4A4 is a vehicle with a welded extended body and a Chrysler A57 Multibank power unit consisting of five automobile engines. Produced in the amount of 7499 pieces by Detroit Tank Arsenal. All were armed with the M3 gun, and had a slightly modified turret shape, with a radio in the rear bay and a pistol firing port on the left side of the turret.
M4A5 is a designation reserved for the Canadian Ram Tank, but never assigned to it. The tank is interesting because, in fact, it was not a version of the M4, but a very heavily modernized version of the M3. The Ram Tank had a British 6-pounder gun, a cast hull with a side door like the T6 prototype, a cast turret of the original shape, and the chassis was the same as the M3, except for the track tracks. Montreal Locomotive Works produced 1,948 units. The Ram did not participate in battles due to its too weak gun, but it served as the basis for numerous armored vehicles, for example the Kangaroo TBTR.
M4A6 - welded body, similar to M4A4, with a cast frontal part. The engine is a Caterpillar D200A multi-fuel diesel engine. 75 tanks were produced by the Detroit Tank Arsenal plant. The turret was the same as the M4A4.
The Grizzly Bear is an M4A1 tank mass-produced in Canada. Basically similar to the American tank, it differed from it in the design of the drive wheel and track. A total of 188 were produced by Montreal Locomotive Works.

Flamethrower "Sherman" on Iwo Jima.

Prototypes:
Tank AA, 20mm Quad, Skink - English prototype of an anti-aircraft tank on a Canadian-made M4A1 chassis. The tank was equipped with four 20-mm Polsten anti-aircraft guns, which were a simplified version of the 20-mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun. Although the Skink was brought into mass production in January 1944, only a few were made, as total Allied air superiority precluded the need for air defenses.
M4A2E4 - experimental version of the M4A2 with independent torsion bar suspension, similar to the T20E3 tank. Two tanks were built in the summer of 1943.
Centipede is a prototype of the M4A1 with leaf spring suspension from the T16 half-track.
The T52 is an American prototype anti-aircraft tank on the M4A3 chassis with one 40 mm M1 gun and two .50 M2B machine guns.

Special tanks based on the Sherman: The conditions of the war, and especially the desire of the Allies to provide heavy armored vehicles for their large-scale landing operations, led to the creation of a large number of specialized Sherman tanks. But even ordinary combat vehicles often carried additional devices, for example, blades for passing through the "hedges" of Normandy. Specialized versions of tanks were created by both the Americans and the British, the latter being especially active.

The most famous specialized options:
M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo with 75 mm M3 gun
Sherman Firefly - M4A1 and M4A4 tanks of the British Army, rearmed with a 17-pounder (76.2 mm) anti-tank gun. The modifications consisted of changing the gun and mask mount, moving the radio station to an external box mounted on the rear of the turret, eliminating the driver's assistant (in its place was part of the ammunition) and the front-mounted machine gun. In addition, due to the large length of the relatively thin barrel, the traveling fixation system for the gun was changed; the Sherman Firefly turret in the traveling position was rotated 180 degrees, and the gun barrel was fixed to a bracket mounted on the roof of the engine compartment. A total of 699 tanks were converted and supplied to British, Polish, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand units.
The M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo is a heavily armored assault variant of the M4A3(75)W. It differed from the regular M4A3 Jumbo by additional 38 mm thick armor plates welded onto the VLD and sponsons, a reinforced transmission compartment cover, and a new turret with reinforced armor, developed on the basis of the T23 turret. The M62 mask installation was strengthened by welding on additional armor, and received the name T110. Despite the fact that the M62 was usually equipped with an M1 cannon, the Jumbo received a 75 mm M3, since it had a greater power as a high-explosive projectile, and the Jumbo was not intended for tank combat. Subsequently, several M4A3E2s were rearmed in the field, given the M1A1 gun, and used as a tank destroyer. The Sherman Jumbo's armor was as follows: VLD - 100 mm, transmission compartment cover - 114-140 mm, sponsons - 76 mm, gun mantlet - 178 mm, forehead, sides and rear of the turret - 150 mm. Due to the enhanced armor, the weight increased to 38 tons, as a result of which the top gear ratio was changed.

Sherman DD with screen down.

Sherman DD is a specialized version of the tank, equipped with the Duplex Drive (DD) system to overcome water obstacles by swimming. The tank was equipped with an inflatable rubberized canvas casing and propellers driven by the main engine. The Sherman DD was developed in England in early 1944 to carry out numerous amphibious operations that the Allied armies were to conduct, most notably the Normandy landings.
Sherman Crab is the most common English specialized tank minesweeper, equipped with a striker trawl for making passages in minefields. Other variants of mine-resistant Shermans are AMRCR, CIRD, and others, mainly of the roller type.

An M4A3 T34 Sherman Calliope fires in France.

The Sherman Calliope is an M4A1 or M4A3 tank equipped with a turret-mounted T34 Calliope multiple rocket launcher system, with 60 tube rails for 114 mm M8 rockets. Horizontal guidance of the launcher was carried out by turning the turret, and vertical guidance was carried out by raising and lowering the tank gun, the barrel of which was connected to the launcher guides with a special rod. Despite the presence of missile weapons, the tank fully retained the armament and armor of the conventional Sherman, which made it the only MLRS capable of operating directly on the battlefield. The crew of the Sherman Calliope could fire missiles while inside the tank; withdrawal to the rear was required only for reloading. The downside was that the rod was attached directly to the gun barrel, which prevented it from being fired until the launcher was reset. This deficiency has been eliminated in the T43E1 and T34E2 launchers.
The T40 Whizbang is a missile tank variant with a launcher for 182mm M17 missiles. In general, the launcher was structurally similar to the T34, but had 20 guides and armor protection. Such tanks were used mainly in assault operations, including in Italy and the Pacific theater of operations.

M4 Dozer.

The M4 Dozer is a Sherman variant with an M1 or M2 bulldozer blade mounted in the front. The tank was used by engineering units, including for mine clearance, along with special mine-resistant variants. Sherman Crocodile, Sherman Adder, Sherman Badger, POA-CWS-H1 - English and American flamethrower versions of the Sherman.

Self-propelled guns based on Sherman
Since the Sherman was the main tank platform in the American army, a fairly large number of self-propelled artillery systems for various purposes, including heavy tank destroyers, were built on its base. The American concept of self-propelled guns was somewhat different from the Soviet or German, and instead of installing a gun in a closed armored cabin, the Americans placed it either in a rotating turret open on top (on tank destroyers), in an open armored cabin (M7 Priest) or on an open platform, in the latter case the gun the shooting was carried out by personnel located outside.

The following variants of self-propelled guns were produced:
The 3in Gun Motor Carriage M10 is a tank destroyer also known as the Wolverine. Equipped with a 76 mm M7 gun.
The 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 is a tank destroyer known as the Jackson. Equipped with a 90 mm M3 gun.
105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 is a Priest self-propelled 105 mm howitzer.
155 mm GMC M40, 203 mm HMC M43, 250 mm MMC T94, Cargo Carrier T30 - heavy gun, howitzer and ammunition transporter based on the M4A3 HVSS.

The British had their own self-propelled guns:
Tracked self-propelled 25 pounder Sexton I, II is an approximate analogue of the M7 Priest on the chassis of the Canadian Ram Tank.
Achilles IIC - M10, rearmed with a British 17-pounder Mk.V gun.

The Sherman chassis also served as the basis for the creation of self-propelled guns in some other countries, such as Israel and Pakistan.

ARV
The American army had a fairly wide range of armored repair and recovery vehicles, created mainly on the basis of the M4A3:
M32, M4A3 chassis, with an armored superstructure installed instead of the turret. The ARV was equipped with a 6-meter, thirty-ton A-shaped crane, and had an 81-mm mortar to provide protection for repair and evacuation work.
M74, a more advanced version of the ARV based on tanks with HVSS suspension. The M74 featured a more powerful crane, winches, and a front-mounted bulldozer blade.
M34, an artillery tractor based on the M32 with the crane removed.

The British had their own versions of BREM, Sherman III ARV, Sherman BARV. Canadians also produced the Sherman Kangaroo TBTR.

Post-war options.

Several hundred M4A1 and M4A3 tanks with 75 mm guns were rearmed with 76 mm M1A1 guns without replacing the turret. The conversion was carried out at the Bowen-McLaughlin-York Co. (BMY) in York, Pennsylvania and Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois. The tanks received the index E4 (76). These machines were supplied in particular to Yugoslavia, Denmark, Pakistan and Portugal.

Of all the numerous post-war modifications of the Shermans, perhaps the most interesting are the M50 and M51, which were in service with the IDF. The history of these tanks is as follows:

Israel began purchasing Shermans during the War of Independence, in September 1948, mainly M1(105) purchased in Italy in an amount of about 50 units. Subsequent purchases of Shermans were carried out from 1951 to 1966, in France, Great Britain, the Philippines and other countries, in total about 560 units of various modifications were purchased. Basically, dismantled tanks left over from the Second World War were purchased, their restoration and completion were carried out in Israel.

In the IDF, "Shermans" were designated by the type of gun installed, all tanks with an M3 cannon were called Sherman M3, tanks with a 105 mm howitzer were called Sherman M4, tanks with a 76 mm gun were called Sherman M1. Tanks that had HVSS suspension (these were M4A1(76)W HVSS purchased in France in 1956) were called Super Sherman M1 or simply Super Sherman.

In 1956, Israel began re-equipping the Shermans with the French 75 mm CN-75-50 gun, developed for the AMX-13 tank, in Israel it was called the M50. Ironically, this gun was a French version of the German 7.5 cm KwK 42 mounted on Panthers. The prototype was made by Atelier de Bourges in France, and the rearmament work itself was carried out in Israel. The gun was installed in an old-style turret, the rear part of the turret was cut off, and a new one with a large niche was welded in its place. The IDF designated the tanks Sherman M50, and in Western sources they are known as “Super Sherman” (despite the fact that in Israel they never bore that name). In total, approximately 300 tanks were rearmed before 1964.

In 1962, Israel expressed interest in rearming its Shermans with even more powerful guns to counter the Egyptian T-55s. And here the French helped again, offering the 105-mm CN-105-F1 gun, shortened to 44 calibers, developed for the AMX-30 (in addition to the shortened barrel, the gun also received a muzzle brake). In Israel, this gun was called M51, and was installed on Israeli Sherman M4A1(76)W in a modified T23 turret. In order to compensate for the weight of the gun, the tanks received a new SAMM CH23-1 recoil system, new American Cummins VT8-460 diesel engines, and modern sighting equipment. The suspension of all tanks was replaced with HVSS. In total, about 180 tanks were modernized, designated Sherman M51, and became better known in Western sources as the “Israeli Sherman”, or simply “I-Sherman”. Israeli Shermans took part in all the Arab-Israeli wars, during which they faced both tanks from the Second World War and much newer Soviet and American tanks.

In the late 1970s, approximately half of the 100 M51s remaining in Israel were sold to Chile, where they remained in service until the end of the twentieth century. The other half, along with some M50s, was transferred to South Lebanon.

In addition to the original Shermans, as well as the modifications mentioned, Israel also had a large number of self-propelled guns, armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers of its own production based on the Sherman. Some of them are still in service today.

Egyptian Shermans:

Egypt also had Shermans in service, and they were also rearmed with French CN-75-50 guns. The difference from the Israeli Sherman M50 was that the M4A4 was equipped with an FL-10 turret from the AMX-13 tank, along with a gun and a loading system. Since the Egyptians used diesel fuel, gasoline engines were replaced with diesel engines from the M4A2.

All work on the design and construction of the Egyptian Shermans was carried out in France.

Most of the Egyptian Shermans were lost during Operation Kadesh of 1956, and during the Six Day War of 1967, including in clashes with Israeli Shermans

M4 Sherman
Classification:

medium tank
Combat weight, t 30.3
Layout diagram: control compartment at the front, engine compartment at the rear
Crew, people 5

Story
Years of production 1942—1945
Years of operation since 1942
Number of issued, pcs. 49 234

Dimensions
Case length, mm 5893
Case width, mm 2616
Height, mm 2743
Ground clearance, mm 432

Booking
Armor type steel homogeneous
Body forehead (top), mm/deg. 51 / 56°
Body forehead (bottom), mm/deg. 108 / 0—56°
Hull side, mm/deg. 38 / 0°
Hull feed, mm/deg. 38 / 0…10°
Bottom, mm 13—25
Housing roof, mm 19—25 / 83—90°
Turret front, mm/deg. 76 / 30°
Gun mask, mm/deg. 89 / 0°
Tower side, mm/deg. 51 / 5°
Tower feed, mm/deg. 51 / 0°
Tower roof, mm 25

Armament
Caliber and brand of 75 mm M3 gun
Gun type: rifled
Barrel length, caliber 36.5
Ammunition for gun 97
Angles VN, degrees. −10…+25
Telescopic sights M55, M38, periscope M4
Machine guns 1 × 12.7 mm M2HB, 2 × 7.62 mm M1919A4

Mobility
Engine type radial
9‑cylinder carburetor air-cooled
Engine power, l. With. 400 (395 European hp)
Highway speed, km/h 39
Cruising range on the highway, km 190
Specific power, l. s./t 13.0
Suspension type: interlocked in pairs, on vertical springs
Specific ground pressure, kg/cm² 0.96
Wall to be overcome, m 0.6
Ditch to be overcome, m 2.25
Fordability, m 1.0

Almost in parallel with the design of the MZ, the development of a new tank began, which was supposed to eliminate the shortcomings of the latter, in particular the unsuccessful placement of the 75-mm gun, and at the same time make maximum use of existing components and assemblies. In June 1941, a full-size wooden model of the tank was made, designated T6. Assembly of the prototype with a cast upper hull then began in Aberdeen. At the same time, a vehicle with a welded body, but without a turret, was being created at the Rock Island Arsenal. The Aberdeen prototype was ready by September 2, 1941 and was demonstrated to representatives of the command of the tank forces and the Weapons Department.

Taking into account a number of amendments, the Armaments Committee of the US Congress on September 5, 1941 recommended that this vehicle be adopted by the United States Army under the designation “M4 medium tank.” By a protocol dated December 11, 1941, the Armaments Committee assigned the designation M4 to a tank with a welded hull, and M4A1 to a tank with a cast hull. In the American army, all models of the M4 medium tank were called “General Sherman”, and in the English simply “Sherman”. However, thanks to the light hand of the British, it was the second name that became the most common.

Medium tank M4A2 during testing at the NIIBT Test Site in Kubinka. Summer 1942.

Tank M4A2(76)W at the NIIBT Test Site in Kubinka near Moscow. 1945 Under its American index, this modification of the Sherman never appeared in Soviet wartime documents.

One of two M4A4 tanks delivered to the USSR during World War II at the Kubinka training ground. 1945

From February 1942 to July 1945, 6 main modifications of the M4 tank were in serial production. Fundamentally, all models of the Sherman tank (M4, M4A1, M4A2, M4AZ, M4A4, M4A6) were no different from each other. In appearance, only the M4A1 with its cast body stood out. Guns, turrets, placement of components and assemblies, chassis - everything was the same. All models eventually received a single cast frontal part - the transmission compartment cover (instead of the three-part assembly used previously), the oval loader hatch, bulwarks, applied side armor and much more. Initially, the tanks had viewing slots in the front hull plate, then they were covered with armored casings and periscopes were introduced, and finally, at the end of 1943 - beginning of 1944, a solid front plate appeared, and the hatches were moved to the roof of the hull. True, it was necessary to reduce the angle of the frontal armor from 56° to 47° from the vertical.

The main difference between the Shermans and each other was the type of power plant. Thus, the M4 and M4A1 used a 9-cylinder radial carburetor engine “Continental” R-975; on the M4A2 - a pair of GMC diesel engines; for the M4AZ, a carburetor 8-cylinder Ford GAA-8 engine was designed (by the way, the most powerful of all those used on Shermans - 500 hp at 2600 rpm) and, finally, on the M4A4 five Chrysler Multibank A-57 gasoline engines. To install such a unit, the body had to be slightly lengthened. The M4A6 had a body of the same length, but the Caterpillar RD1820 diesel engine was used as a power plant. On all modifications, the transmission was located in the front part of the hull, which determined the relatively high height of the tank.

By the beginning of 1943, the command of the US Army armored forces came to the conclusion that the war could not be ended with tanks of the modifications being produced. This view led to the first major modernization, which involved the installation of new cast turrets with 76 mm long-barreled guns and 105 mm howitzers. The modernization did not affect only the M4A4 and M4A6 tanks.

The installation of a powerful 76-mm M1A1 cannon (with a muzzle brake - M1A2) with an initial armor-piercing projectile speed of 810 m/s allowed the Shermans to fight heavy German tanks.

The second major modernization of the General Sherman tanks was the introduction of the so-called horizontal suspension and a new 24-inch track. The prototypes were designated M4E8, M4A1E8, M4A2E8 and M4AZE8. The weight of the tank increased slightly, but due to the use of wider tracks, the specific pressure on the ground decreased, and the maneuverability not only did not decrease, but even increased. At the end of March 1945, production of General Sherman tanks with horizontal suspension began. All modifications produced at that time received a new chassis. It is quite difficult to single out any of them as the best, since there were no fundamental differences in tactical and technical data between them. It should be noted that only M4AZ tanks of various variants were not supplied to anyone under Lend-Lease and, as a result, made up more than half of the Shermans available in the US Army. The remaining modifications were intensively exported. Suffice it to say that 17,174 M4 (Sherman I), M4A1 (Sherman II), M4A2 (Sherman III) and IW4A4 (Sherman V) tanks were delivered to England alone under Lend-Lease. The M4AZ received the name “Sherman IV”; 7 of them were delivered to England - the only tanks of this modification exported.

Medium tank M4A2(76)W HVSS with horizontal suspension and 23-inch track during testing at the NIIBT Test Site in Kubinka in 1945.

According to American data, 4063 M4A2 tanks of various variants and two M4A4 tanks were delivered to the Soviet Union. Since M4A2 tanks accounted for more than a third of all tanks our country received from the allies under Lend-Lease during the war, it makes sense to dwell in more detail on the design of these combat vehicles.

The hull of the M4A2 tank was welded from rolled armor plates. Its frontal part consisted of a massive cast part (on tanks of the first series - welded, detachable in three parts), which simultaneously served as a transmission hatch cover and a housing for the turning mechanism, and a top sheet 50 mm thick, located at an angle of 56° to the vertical. The cast frontal part was bolted to the top sheet, side sheets and bottom. From the outside, the final drive housings were attached to it from the sides.

The upper frontal sheet was welded to the sides and roof of the hull. In its lower part, on the right, a ball mount for a machine gun was mounted, to the right and above which there was a cylindrical antenna input socket (in case the tank was equipped with two radio stations). In the upper part of the front plate there were two protrusions in which there were viewing slots with triplexes that opened from inside the tank. From the second half of 1942, armor plates were welded to the protrusions, and then cast caps; instead of viewing slits, periscope observation devices were installed. At the end of 1943, a solid upper frontal sheet without viewing slots was introduced, located at an angle of 47° to the vertical.

The sides of the hull are vertical. On tanks produced in 1943–1944, before the ammunition rack was transferred to the floor of the fighting compartment, two armor plates were welded to the upper right side plate and one to the upper left side plate. The aft part of the hull consisted of two inclined (10... 12°) sheets - upper and lower. The upper one was shifted relative to the lower one so that a pocket was formed between them for the air coming from the fans to escape. The armor of the sides and stern had a thickness of 38 mm, the hull roof - 18 mm.

In the front part of the hull roof above the control compartment there were oval landing hatches for the driver and his assistant, located along the hull and with observation devices built into the covers. Two fans were installed on both sides of the hatches. From the end of 1943, the hatches were located across the hull, the design of the covers was changed, and one fan, located between the hatches, was retained.

The tower is cast, cylindrical in shape with a small aft niche. The forehead and sides were protected by 75 mm and 50 mm armor, respectively, the rear - 50 mm, and the turret roof - 25 mm. A mask installation was attached to the front of the turret (armor thickness - 90 mm). On the roof of the turret there was a landing hatch, a ventilation hatch for the fighting compartment, covered with an armored cap, two hatches for surveillance devices and an antenna input. The landing hatch was closed with a double-leaf lid mounted on hinges in the rotating turret of the anti-aircraft machine gun. Since December 1943, an oval loader's hatch appeared on the roof of the turret.

The tower was rotated by a hydroelectric turning mechanism or manually. Using a hydroelectric mechanism, the tower could be rotated 360° in a time from 16 to 840 s, depending on the angle of rotation of the control handle. The mechanism had an additional drive to the tank commander, when turned on, the gunner's drive was turned off.

Since May 1944, a new cast turret of increased size was installed on the tank, but with the same clear diameter of the turret ring. The weapons were mounted in a new mask installation (armor thickness - 100 mm). On the roof of the tower there was a commander's cupola with six triplex glass blocks and a periscope observation device, an oval loader hatch, an observation device hatch, an anti-aircraft machine gun bracket and an antenna input. There was a hatch on the left side of the turret for firing personal weapons, and a fan for the fighting compartment was mounted at the stern.

The Sherman tractor from the Morozovskaya railway station in the North Caucasus is now on display in the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow. On the frontal armor of the hull traces of welding of the crane-boom attachment points are clearly visible.

The M4A2 was equipped with a 75-mm MZ cannon with a barrel length of 37.5 calibers. Since 1944, the M4A2(76)W tank was equipped with a 76-mm M1A1 gun, and then an M1A1C or M1A2 with a 52-caliber barrel length. All guns had vertical wedge breech gates and semi-automatic copy type. Vertical aiming - from -10° to +25°. The guns were stabilized in the vertical guidance plane.

The tank was equipped with two 7.62-mm Browning М1919А4 machine guns, one coaxial with a cannon, the other with a forward-facing one, and a 50.8-mm MZ smoke grenade launcher. A 12.7 mm Browning M2HB anti-aircraft heavy machine gun was mounted on the roof of the turret.

The ammunition load of the M4A2 tank consisted of 97 artillery rounds, 300 12.7 mm and 4750 7.62 mm cartridges, 12 smoke grenades; tank M4A2(76)W - 71 artillery rounds, 600 12.7 mm and 6250 7.62 mm cartridges, 14 smoke grenades.

The M4A2 tank was equipped with a GMC 6046 model 71 power plant, which consisted of two 6-cylinder two-stroke uncompressor in-line diesel engines, arranged in parallel and connected into one unit with a power of 375 hp. at 2100 rpm. The engines were started by electric starters. To facilitate winter starting, two flare nozzles with glow plugs were used for each engine.

The transmission consisted of two single-disc main dry friction clutches (one per engine), a transverse connecting gear, a driveshaft, a gearbox, a turning mechanism and final drives. The gearbox is mechanical, five-speed (5+1), with synchronizers in all gears except 1st and reverse. The turning mechanism is a double differential of the “Kletrak” type.

M4A2 tank of senior lieutenant N. Sumarokov. 3rd Ukrainian Front, 1944.

A column of M4A2 tanks with troops on armor. 1943 Despite the smooth ride, it was difficult to stay on the Sherman, since the tank completely lacked any handrails or brackets. In the American army, motorized infantry was transported in armored personnel carriers and cars.

M4A2 tanks on the march to the front line. 1944

The chassis of the M4A2 and M4A2(76)W tanks, applied to one side, consisted of six single rubber-coated road wheels, interlocked in pairs into three balance bogies, suspended on two vertical buffer springs each; three support rollers, a guide wheel, a front drive wheel with removable toothed rims (pinion engagement). Each caterpillar has 79 double-ridge tracks with a width of 420.6 mm, and a track pitch of 152 mm. Metal or rubber-metal tracks with a silent block.

The chassis of the M4A2(76)W HVSS tank, applied to one side, consisted of six double rubberized road wheels, interlocked in pairs into three balance bogies, suspended on two horizontal buffer springs each; three single and two double support rollers, a rubber-coated guide wheel, a front drive wheel with removable gear rims (pinion engagement). Each caterpillar has 79 single-ridge tracks with a width of 584.2 mm, and a track pitch of 152 mm. Metal or rubber-metal tracks with a silent block. A hydraulic shock absorber was installed in each suspension bogie.

10,968 M4A2 tanks of all variants were produced, of which 8,053 were equipped with a 75 mm cannon. Since the American army received only tanks with gasoline engines, the M4A2s were used in the USA as training tanks and were supplied under Lend-Lease to other countries, mainly to England (7418 units). A number of M4A2s were used by the US Marine Corps in combat in the Pacific. The main manufacturers were Fisher Tank Arsenal and Pullman Standard; at the end of 1942 they were joined by American Locomotive, Federal Machinery and Welder and Baldwin. Production of the M4A2 with 75 mm guns was completed in May 1944. Then the Fisher Tank Arsenal company, the main manufacturer of diesel Shermans, switched to the production of M4A2 (76)W and until May 1945 produced 2894 tanks, 21 vehicles were produced by the Pressed Steel Car company. Total production of the M4A2 with the 76 mm gun was 2,915 units.

The first Shermans arrived in the USSR in November 1942. This modification was not chosen by chance. The Soviet specialists, with whom the range of supplied equipment was agreed upon, were well aware of the difficulties that arose during the operation of MZs and MZL tanks in the USSR, whose gasoline engines could only run on imported high-octane gasoline.

It should be noted that the above number of vehicles sent does not match the number received. Thus, according to the admissions committees of the GBTU of the Red Army, in 1942 36 M4A2 tanks arrived in the USSR, in 1943 - 469, in 1944–2345, in 1945 - 814. In total, in four years - 3664 vehicles.

The M4A2 tank supports the infantry attack. 2nd Ukrainian Front, 1944.

The first to receive new American tanks were the 5th Guards Tank Brigade and the 563rd Separate Tank Battalion of the North Caucasus Front. On January 5, 1943, the latter had nine M4A2 tanks and 21 MZL tanks. Soon, by order of the front commander, the 563rd separate tank battalion transferred its Shermans to the 5th Guards Tank Brigade, receiving MZL in return. Such an exchange was necessary to equip the 563rd battalion with light tanks, which were planned to be used in the landing in South Ozereyka. In July 1943, the 299th Separate Tank Regiment, armed with 38 M4A2s, was included in the 48th Army of the Central Front.

The new American tanks were well received by the armored units of the Red Army. For example, the report of the 5th Guards Tank Brigade, dated October 23, 1943, noted:

“Thanks to its high speed, the M4A2 tank is very convenient for pursuit and has great maneuverability. The armament is fully consistent with its design, since it has fragmentation and armor-piercing shells (blanks), the penetration ability of which is very high. The 75-mm cannon and two Browning machine guns operate flawlessly. The disadvantages of the tank include its high altitude, which makes it a target on the battlefield. The armor, despite its large thickness (60 mm), is of poor quality, as there were cases when it was penetrated by anti-tank guns at a distance of 80 meters. In addition, there were a number of cases when Yu-87 bombed tanks with 20-mm cannons and pierced the side armor of the turret and side armor, resulting in losses among the crews. Compared to the T-34, the M4A2 is easier to control and more durable during long marches, since the engines do not require frequent adjustments. These tanks perform well in battle.”

According to reviews from the troops, when tanks were fired upon even with fragmentation ammunition, small fragments broke off from the inside of the armor. This did not happen on all vehicles, but the Americans were nevertheless notified of this defect already in April - May 1943. Almost immediately after this, the shipment of M4A2 to the USSR was suspended, and the vehicles arriving from November 1943 had better quality armor.

M4A2 tanks pass through the Romanian city of Batosani. April 1944.

Residents of the liberated city of Balti welcome Soviet tankers entering the city on M4A2 tanks. August 31, 1944.

An M4A2 tank from one of the units of the 8th Guards Tank Corps passes along the street of liberated Lublin. Poland, July 27, 1944.

In addition to summarizing the experience of military operation, during 1943 the Shermans were subjected to intensive testing at specialized training grounds. Here are some excerpts from the “Report on testing the medium American tank M4A2 in summer conditions. 1943 NIIBT Testing ground GBTU KA":

“Goal: to establish the reliability of the tank as a whole and its individual units and mechanisms.

Tank produced in 1942 by Fisher Tank Arsenal.

Before the start of summer testing, the M4A2 tank covered 1,285 km in winter and spring conditions. The engines worked for 89 hours.

During summer testing, the tank covered 1,765 km, 450 km along the highway. The engines worked in summer conditions for 87 hours.

By the end of the tests, the tank had covered 3050 km, the engines had worked for 176 hours.

Conclusion.

1) The American M4A2 tank has good operational reliability and requires minimal maintenance time.

2) Compliance with the frequency and scope of tank maintenance specified in the “Memo to the crew of the M4A2 tank” compiled by the Research Institute BT Polygon completely ensures normal and reliable operation of the tank.

3) GMC engines installed on the M4A2 tank operate reliably on domestic DT diesel fuel and diesel oil. The engine oil must be changed after 50–60 hours of operation.

4) The tank’s transmission can operate normally for 4000–5000 km without changing the American refill with SAE-50 oil, with which M4L2 tanks arrive in the USSR. The transmission must be refueled with domestic aviation oil “MK” or “MS”.

5) Metal and rubber-metal tracks are equivalent in their adhesion to the ground in summer conditions. When operating the M4A2 tank on a metal track, the reliability of the chassis is reduced (the service life of the rubber tires of the road wheels is especially reduced).”

It is difficult to add anything to this assessment of the Sherman’s reliability given by Soviet test officers. It is worth emphasizing that during the hostilities of 1944–1945 it was fully confirmed. Looking ahead, we will say that, unfortunately, the fact of increased wear of the rubber tires of the road wheels during intensive use of tanks on metal tracks has also been confirmed. Such a disaster, for example, happened to units of the 5th Mechanized Corps during the Iasi-Kishinev operation in August 1944.

Massive equipping of various units and formations of the Red Army with Shermans began in the spring of 1944.

On February 13, 1944, the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps was assigned the 212th separate tank regiment, armed with M4A2 tanks. Together with other units and formations of the corps, the regiment took part in the Bereznegovato-Snigirevo offensive operation, carried out by troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

On March 13, 1944, the track chain of the M4A2 tank of Guard Junior Lieutenant V.A. Sivkov from the 212th Tank Regiment was torn by an aircraft bomb. The crew spent the whole day repairing the tank. And all this time, German planes, as soon as they detected the movement of people around the tank, immediately tried to shoot them with machine gun and cannon fire. In one of the enemy air raids, driver-mechanic senior sergeant Ivan Volodin and gunner sergeant Boris Kalinichenko were killed. There were only two left in the crew - the commander and gunner-radio operator, Private P.K. Krestyaninov.

Dusk was already falling on the ground, and air raids had stopped. The tank was ready for battle again, but exactly half of the crew was missing. There was no one to drive the tank, but the tankers did not think of staying in the desert steppe. Pyotr Krestyaninov took the place of the driver, and Vadim Sivkov took his place in the tower.

Under the cover of evening twilight, the tank rushed south at maximum speed. The tankers wanted to catch up with their regiment as quickly as possible, which, according to their calculations, was supposed to be in the area of the village. I'm in the cinema. You can find out what happened next from the award sheet:

“... Junior Lieutenant V. A. Sivkov, on the night of March 13-14, following the regiment’s route, learned along the way that there was an enemy along his route in the village of Yavkino. This did not bother him, and he decided to fight his way to his unit no matter what. Approaching close to the village of Yavkin, junior lieutenant Sivkov opened hurricane fire from all types of weapons of the M4A2 tank and burst into the village at top speed. Skillfully maneuvering through the streets, he created the appearance that at least 10 tanks had burst into the village. The enemy rushed in panic from one house to another, from one street to another, but everywhere they came under heavy fire and tank tracks...

On the night of March 14-15, the enemy, having pulled up significant forces, launched a counterattack on the village of Yavkino. While repelling an enemy attack and maneuvering through the village, the tank fell into an anti-tank ditch. Not being able to use a cannon and machine guns, he gave the enemy the opportunity to come close to the tank and invite the crew to surrender, to which Sivkov responded by opening fire and shouting: “Komsomol members do not surrender!” - he threw grenades at them.

The enemy fled, leaving a dozen corpses near the tank. Then junior lieutenant Sivkov, using an anti-aircraft gun, began to shoot the fleeing enemy. Having used up all the ammunition and unable to conduct further combat, junior lieutenant Sivkov blew himself up and set the tank on fire.

Conclusion: I submit posthumously for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
(Commander of the 212th Separate Tank Regiment of the Guard, Major Barbashin.")

Our troops, having entered Yavkino on March 15, discovered an exploded Soviet tank. Inside it was found a small package and in it two sheets of finely written paper, which stated:

“We, the remaining two in tank No. 17, Vadim Aleksandrovich Sivkov (tank commander, junior lieutenant) and radio operator Pyotr Konstantinovich Krestyaninov, decided it was better to die in our own tank than to leave it.

We don’t think about surrendering, leaving two or three cartridges for ourselves...

The Germans approached the tank twice, but were unable to open it. At the last minute of life, we will blow up the tank with grenades so that it does not hit the enemy.”

For courage, bravery and boundless devotion to the Motherland, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 3, 1944, junior lieutenant V. A. Sivkov and private P. K. Krestyaninov were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

M4A2(76)W tanks on the march. 2nd Ukrainian Front, Austria, March 1945.

"Emcha" crosses a water barrier along a floating bridge on the approaches to Vienna. April 1945.

Tankers of the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps of the Guard, Lieutenant I. G. Dronov and Guard Sergeant N. Idrisov, in their Sherman, were the first to break into Vienna. April 1945.

The arrival of a significant number of Shermans made it possible to equip large formations with them. So, for example, on June 22, 1944, the 3rd Guards Stalingrad Mechanized Corps, operating as part of the 3rd Belorussian Front, had 196 tanks, mostly foreign-made: 110 M4A2, 70 Valentine IX and 16 T-34.

On July 2, 1944, five Sherman tanks from the 9th Guards Tank Brigade of the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps, marching in the head outpost under the command of Guard Senior Lieutenant G.G. Kiyashko, crossed the river. Berezina and received the task of breaking into the city of Krasnoye and, in case of successful developments, capturing it. The enemy garrison did not expect the appearance of Soviet troops. Tanks burst into streets filled with German vehicles. Firing from cannons and machine guns, armor and tracks, the guards smashed enemy personnel and equipment. The enemy was driven out of the city. During the battle, the guards destroyed four guns, more than 30 vehicles, about 80 Nazis, losing only one Sherman, junior lieutenant A.E. Bashmakov. Tankers cut off the highway and railway leading to Krasnoye from Minsk. In order to hold out until the main forces arrived, Kiyashko placed three tanks in an ambush. By this time, the tank of Lieutenant E.N. Smirnov, whose gun’s rotating mechanism was damaged during the ramming, took the wounded and left to join the main forces of the brigade.

Soon, Soviet vehicles were attacked by German troops retreating from Minsk to Molodechno via Krasnoe. Against three Soviet tanks, the Germans threw 20 tanks and self-propelled guns, including several Panthers, and up to an infantry battalion. Over the course of several hours of unequal battle, three Shermans knocked out six German Pz tanks. IV, one Panther and a StuG III assault gun, destroyed up to a company of infantrymen. But the forces were unequal. All Soviet tanks were knocked out, the remnants of the crews managed to break through to their own.

Here's another combat example. On July 26, 1944, tank crews of the 44th Guards Tank Regiment began fighting on the outskirts of Siauliai.

“The tank crews of the Guard, Lieutenant G. Milkov, V. Silysh and A. Safonov, exterminated the Nazis with the crushing fire of their cannons. The commander of the 1st Tank Company of the Guard, Captain Volkov, who was on one of the vehicles, skillfully led the battle. The walls of houses collapsed, and under their rubble the enemy guns and machine guns fell silent. Enemy vehicles caught fire and the boxes of ammunition in their bodies exploded. House by house, street by street, brave Soviet soldiers cleared the resisting enemy.”

"Shermans" of the 43rd, 44th and 45th Guards Tank Regiments of the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps liberated Siauliai and Jelgava and participated in the defeat of the enemy's Kurland group.

Veteran of the 44th Guards Tank Regiment N.Z. Aleksandrov shares his impressions of his acquaintance with the Sherman.

“We received new materiel - Shermans. How we didn’t want to board these tanks! Their armor is not sloped. The T-34 has friction clutches - it can spin in place. And they have satellites, he turned around like a car in a circle. The short-barreled 75 mm gun was weak. One of the positive aspects is the presence of an anti-aircraft machine gun. The inside of the tank is very comfortable - everything is painted white, the handles are nickel-plated, the seats are covered in leather. Rubber tracks are very quiet. It was possible to sneak up on the enemy. I had such a case in the Baltic states.

We walked along the road through a field framed by forest. In front of a populated area we were fired upon. The Germans had a self-propelled gun and an anti-tank gun in their defense. We moved back a little and along the edge of the forest, crushing the bushes, at low throttle we reached their flank. I walked on foot with four machine gunners, and a tank behind. We crept up about three hundred meters. He ordered the machine gunners to take up defensive positions so as not to let anyone in, and he himself returned to the tank. The armor-piercing ones burned the self-propelled gun and then destroyed the gun. The German infantry fled. Thus, the road was opened.

We fought in Shermans for a short time, and by the fall of 1944 they were replaced with T-34-85s.”

To be honest, some of the veteran tankman’s judgments are surprising, in particular criticism about the “non-sloping” armor and the “weak” 75 mm gun. It is clear that neither one nor the other is unfair. Compared to the T-34, the Sherman only had non-sloping side armor. However, the main indicator of a tank's security is its frontal armor. In terms of side armor characteristics, tanks are never compared at all. And the frontal armor of the Sherman was more powerful than that of the T-34. As for the 75-mm cannon, its ballistic characteristics were identical to our F-34. Due to the better quality of ammunition, the American gun was superior to the Soviet one in armor penetration. The Sherman, which had a double differential as a turning mechanism, really could not turn around on the spot. However, the veteran does not mention how much physical effort it cost the driver of the T-34 to turn on the spot. All Soviet tank crews noted the quiet movement of the American tank. This was especially noticeable against the background of the T-34. The “Thirty-Four” with its roaring engine without mufflers and rattling ridge-toothed tracks, according to front-line soldiers, could be heard 3 km away on a quiet moonlit night!

And finally, something doesn’t fit in with the veteran’s rearmament with the T-34–85. According to documents, by January 1945, already operating as part of the 1st Baltic Front, the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps had 176 M4A2 (of which 108 with a 76-mm cannon) and 21 Valentine IX. There were no T-34–85s in sight.

"Shermans" of the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 6th Guards Tank Army on the street of Vienna. Austria, April 1945.

Column of "Shermans" on the street in Brno. 2nd Ukrainian Front, Czechoslovakia, April 1945.

On the street of Berlin - Sherman of the 219th Tank Brigade of the 1st Mechanized Corps. 1st Belorussian Front, May 1945.

The tankers are greeted by Soviet girls freed from fascist captivity. In the background is an M4A2 tank. Berlin, May 1945.

By the way, the Sherman was distinguished not only by its quiet, but also by its smooth running, which was especially appreciated by motorized infantry tank paratroopers. According to the recollections of many veterans, from the second half of 1944, M4A2 tanks were actively used to fight the Faustians. It was done like this. Four or five machine gunners sat on the tank, and they were tied with waist belts to brackets on the turret. While the vehicle was moving, the infantrymen fired at any cover within a radius of 100–150 m, behind which there could be “fa-ustniks”. This technique was called "broom". Moreover, only Shermans were suitable for the “broom”. On the T-34, due to its spark plug suspension and its inherent longitudinal swing, it was almost impossible for infantrymen tied with a waist belt to hold on.

Another advantage of the Shermans over domestic vehicles was appreciated by tankers - these were excellent radio stations that provided reliable and high-quality radio communications! Here is how D. F. Loza spoke about this:

“I must say that the quality of the radio stations on the Sherman tanks aroused the envy of the tank crews who fought on our tanks, and not only among them, but also among soldiers of other branches of the military. We even allowed ourselves to give gifts with radio stations, which were perceived as “royal”, primarily to our artillerymen...

For the first time, the radio communications of the brigade units were subjected to a comprehensive test in the January-March battles of 1944 in Right Bank Ukraine and near Iasi.

As you know, every Sherman had two radio stations: VHF and HF. The first is for communication within platoons and companies over a distance of 1.5–2 kilometers. The second type of radio station was intended for communication with the senior commander. Good equipment. We especially liked that, having established a connection, it was possible to firmly record this wave - no shaking of the tank could knock it down.

And one more unit in the American tank still evokes my admiration. I don’t think we’ve talked about it before. This is a small-sized gasoline engine designed to recharge batteries. Wonderful thing! It was located in the fighting compartment, and its exhaust pipe was located outside on the starboard side. It could be started to recharge the batteries at any time. On Soviet T-34s during the Great Patriotic War, to maintain the battery in working condition, it was necessary to drive five hundred horsepower of the engine, which was quite expensive, considering the consumption of engine life and fuel...

In offensive battles on the territory of Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Austria, communications worked uninterruptedly. Even when the advanced units were separated from the main forces at a distance of 15–20 kilometers, communication was carried out by microphone or key if the terrain turned out to be rough.”

The presence of radio stations generally distinguished all Lend-Lease tanks for the better from domestic ones. The latter, as is known, began to be 100% equipped with radio stations only from the second half of 1943.

It should be noted that all Lend-Lease armored vehicles that arrived in the USSR, including the Shermans, were equipped with English Wireless Sets No. 19 Mk radio stations. II. WS 19 radios were produced in England from 1941, and from 1942 they were also produced in Canada and the USA. WS 19 began to arrive in the USSR at the end of 1941, along with the British Matilda and Valentine tanks, and from 1942, in addition to the English ones, radio stations of Canadian and American production began to arrive. The latter had all operational inscriptions in English and Russian. It is no coincidence that all imported armored vehicles are equipped with English-designed radio stations, but this is not a tribute to unification. The fact is that American tanks communicated in the range of 20...28 MHz, using frequency modulation, while the WS 19 radio stations had ranges of 2...8 MHz and 229...241 MHz, working in them by telegraph or amplitude modulation, that is, they were completely incompatible with standard radio stations of American tanks.

At the same time, WS 19 completely covered the frequency range of 4...5.63 MHz, in which Soviet-made tank radio stations operated, and could be used without modifications in the armored and mechanized forces of the Red Army.

In 1944, the Shermans replaced foreign tanks of other brands, with the exception of the Valentines, from the tank units of the Red Army. For example, the 5th Guards Tank Army - the main striking force of the 3rd Belorussian Front in Operation Bagration - was equipped with equipment of both domestic and foreign production. It consisted of 350 T-34 tanks, 64 Sherman tanks, 39 Valentine IX tanks, 29 IS tanks, 23 ISU-152 tanks, 42 SU-85 tanks, 22 SU-76 tanks, 21 M10 self-propelled guns and 37 SU-57 (T48) . Thus, imported combat vehicles accounted for 25% of the entire army fleet. It should be noted that in the tank and mechanized units of the Soviet fronts that took part in Operation Bagration, Shermans were second only to T-34s in number.

Sherman tanks were used in the Red Army until the end of the war. For example, the 8th Guards Alexandria Mechanized Corps of the 2nd Belorussian Front on January 14, 1945 consisted of 185 M4A2, five T-34, 21 IS, 21 SU-85, 21 SU-76, 53 MZA1 “scouts”, 52 BA-64 and 19 3SU Ml7.

During the Vistula-Oder operation, the 2nd Guards Tank Army included the 1st Mechanized Corps, equipped with Sherman and Valentine tanks. Subsequently, the corps took part in the assault on Berlin.

M4A2 tanks, especially in the version with a powerful 76-mm cannon, were loved by Soviet tankers. They were given quite a few friendly nicknames and nicknames. “Emcha” (from “em four”), “humpback”, “chafer beetle”, “brontosaurus” in the hands of an experienced crew who knew their vehicle well, its strengths and weaknesses, was terrible for the enemy. This is evidenced by many combat examples.

On March 23, 1945, near the city of Veszprem in Hungary, the battalion of the 46th Guards Tank Brigade of the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps, commanded by Senior Lieutenant D.F. Loza, distinguished itself. The award sheet stated the following: “The battalion knocked out and burned 29 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, captured 20 and destroyed 10 vehicles, and destroyed about 250 enemy soldiers and officers.”

As Dmitry Loza himself recalls, it went like this:

“The reconnaissance sent out - a platoon of guard Lieutenant Ivan Tuzhikov - reached the approaches to Veszprém and camouflaged themselves in the forest to the left of the highway. She discovered a large enemy tank column. “Fascist tanks are pressing towards you,” the platoon commander reported to me... We had to quickly withdraw the battalion and deploy it, preparing an ambush for the approaching column... I give the command: “Don’t linger!” Everyone, follow to the crossing!“ Ionov reported that he was behind the steel highway. I order him to walk another kilometer and turn around to the right of the road. He knows about the approach of the enemy column, as do all the officers of the battalion.

Danilchenko’s platoons reached the southern outskirts of Khaimashker. Twelve cars were coming towards him from the west along the dirt road at speed. An excellent goal!.. It was clear from everything that the enemy did not know the latest information about the situation in this area. He had no reconnaissance or security...

At the signal, eight Shermans of Grigory Danilchenko fired their cannons. The trucks were engulfed in flames. The surviving infantry began to jump out of the bodies of vehicles and run away in different directions, but only a few managed to escape...

I order Danilchenko’s company to follow me. We pass a crossing, a fork in the road, walk about eight hundred meters forward, leave the highway to the right and deploy into battle formation. How lucky we are! The units found themselves on an enemy artillery range, pockmarked with countless positions for guns of various calibers and shelters for their tractors. Well, just a case! We took those that suited us in size.

Meanwhile, the enemy column, unaware of anything, continued to move north along the highway. Lieutenant Tuzhikov's platoon was still watching her. Behind the forest the sun had already risen above the horizon. Visibility has improved. The time that passed from the moment the Shermans occupied positions until the appearance of the lead fascist tank seemed like an eternity to us... Finally, at a turn in the highway, we saw the head of the enemy column. The tanks moved at shortened distances. Very good! If they suddenly stop, which is inevitable when they come under our fire, the enemy’s marching order will be “compressed,” and then the commanders of the “emcha” guns will not miss. I have given the strictest order not to open fire until my tank’s cannon fires, and all the tanks are silent. I patiently wait for the moment when the entire column is in our field of vision. The commander of the gun of my guard tank, senior sergeant Anatoly Romashkin, constantly keeps his sights on the lead enemy vehicle. The tail German tanks are constantly being “watched” by the barrels of the Sherman guns of Tuzhikov’s platoon. All enemy tanks are distributed and targeted. “A little more, just a second,” I restrain myself. And now all the enemy tanks are in full view. I command: “Fire!” The air was torn apart by seventeen shots that sounded like one. The lead car immediately caught fire. The tank froze in place at the tail of the stopped column. Having come under unexpected massive fire, the Nazis rushed about. Some tanks began to turn around right on the road in order to expose their thicker frontal armor to our shots. Those who managed to do this returned fire, which hit one Sherman. The only survivors were the guard gun commander, Sergeant Petrosyan, and the guard mechanic-driver, senior sergeant Ruzov. Together, they continued to fire from the spot, not allowing the enemy to enter the battalion’s flank. The German resistance was short-lived, and after fifteen minutes it was all over. The highway was blazing with bright fires. Enemy tanks, vehicles, and fuel tankers were burning. The sky was clouded with smoke. As a result of the battle, twenty-one enemy tanks and twelve armored personnel carriers were destroyed.

The Shermans began to emerge from the shelters they had occupied to continue moving towards Veszprém. Suddenly a sharp cannon shot sounded from the forest, and the left-flank vehicle of the guard company of Senior Lieutenant Ionov was pushed to the side, and it tilted to the right side and stopped. Four crew members were seriously injured. The stocky, sturdy mechanic-driver of the guard, Sergeant Ivan Lobanov, rushed to the aid of his comrades. He bandaged them and, pulling them out through the emergency hatch, laid them under the tank. For a split second his gaze lingered on the edge of the grove. Along it, breaking young bushes, Artshturm slowly crawled towards the road. Lobanov quickly returned to the tank, loaded the gun with an armor-piercing shell and, sitting in the gunner’s place, caught an enemy self-propelled gun in the crosshairs. The shell pierced the side of the armored vehicle, and its engine compartment was engulfed in flames. One after another, the Nazis began to jump out of the self-propelled guns. Lobanov, without wasting time, grabbed a machine gun, jumped out of the car and, hiding behind the body of the Emcha, shot the German tank crews. It should be noted that during moments of respite and during reorganization, the tank crews of the battalion always practiced the interchangeability of crew members. In this situation, the driver’s skills in handling tank weapons came in handy, which were later rewarded by the battalion command.

About half an hour later, the battalion units approached Veszprém. What we saw on the immediate approaches to the city was worthy of surprise. On both sides of the highway, in carefully equipped positions, there were eight “Panthers”, which did not respond to our fire and were shot from a short distance. The soon-to-be captured prisoners told stories that the German soldiers and officers were so shocked and depressed by the shooting of the tank column that when our units, raising clouds of dust, approached a well-equipped defensive line at full speed, the Panther crews abandoned their vehicles and, along with the infantry, They ran away in panic."

For skillful management of the battalion and personal courage of the guard, senior lieutenant Dmitry Fedorovich Loza was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The brilliant result of this battle is not particularly surprising. The battalion commander competently organized the ambush, and the crews skillfully used the firepower of their tanks.

Regarding the latter, one can sometimes hear undeserved criticism. Especially often, the 76-mm Sherman cannon is contrasted with the 85-mm T-34–85 cannon, reducing everything to a comparison of calibers. However, if the caliber is larger, this does not mean that the gun is better. In any case, the Soviet 85-mm cannon, due to its larger caliber, was superior to the American one only in terms of the high-explosive effect of shells. Otherwise, it did not have any advantages, as can be seen in the following example.

In the fall of 1944, shelling tests were carried out on the captured German heavy tank “Royal Tiger” at the Kubinka training ground. The test report states in black and white:

“American 76-mm armor-piercing shells penetrate the side plates of the Tiger-B tank from a distance 1.5–2 times greater than domestic 85-mm armor-piercing shells.”

Here, as they say, nothing can be added or subtracted...

Comrades in arms - Sherman and T-34–85 of the 6th Guards Tank Army in the mountains of Austria. May 1945.

Tank M4A2(76)W9-ro of the Guards Mechanized Corps in Manchuria. Transbaikal Front, August 1945.

Subsequently, M4A2(76)W tanks of the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps took part in the capture of Budapest and in repelling a German counterattack near Lake. Balaton, in the liberation of Vienna. After the end of hostilities in Europe, leaving, like all formations of the 6th Guards Tank Army, its equipment in the previous area of deployment, the corps was transferred to the Far East. Upon arrival in the Borzya and Choibalsan areas, the corps brigades received 183 brand new Shermans, just arrived from the United States. There is reason to believe that some of them were M4A2(76)W HVSS tanks with horizontal suspension. Together with the T-34–85 of the 5th Guards Tank and 7th Guards Mechanized Corps, the Shermans of the 9th Mechanized Corps crossed the Greater Khingan and reached the Central Manchurian Plain. The rapid actions of the 6th Guards Tank Army had a decisive influence on the course of the entire operation in Manchuria. Brigades of the 9th Mechanized Corps took part in the capture of Changchun and Mukden, the liberation of the Liaodong Peninsula, and after the end of the war with Japan, the Guards Shermans also became Red Banners. On September 20, 1945, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the 46th Guards Tank Brigade was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the 18th and 30th Guards Mechanized Brigades were given the honorary name of Khingan, and the 31st Guards Mechanized Brigade became Port Arthur.

Tank M4A2(76)W HVSS, converted after the war into a tractor.

Imported armored vehicles were in service with the Soviet army for some time after the end of World War II. For example, in the already mentioned 46th Guards Mechanized Brigade, Shermans were used until the summer of 1946. Then the order came to prepare the equipment for transfer to the Americans. However, it was soon cancelled: some of the tanks were written off, some of the vehicles were converted into tractors. In different parts, apparently, they were redone differently. In the 46th brigade, the turrets were simply removed, and the vehicles were then used in the Krasnoyarsk Territory for logging. There was another modification option: the hole formed in the roof of the hull was welded with a steel sheet, on which the commander’s cupola from the Sherman was mounted. The tractors were equipped with a traction winch and a boom crane. Most of the vehicles converted in this way entered the restoration trains of the railways of the North Caucasus and Ukraine, where they were operated until the end of the 1960s. Individual vehicles could be found in Ukraine in the 1980s, and the Sherman tractor was used in the restoration train at the Morozovskaya railway station in the North Caucasus until 1996!

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