United States of America - Tanks

M4 Sherman

US M4 sub-types
M4 
Continental radial engine; welded hull. 75mm barrel cannon. Users: US, Britain, Poland, France.
M4(105) - Upgraded with 105mm M4 Howitzer, designed for infantry support and assault, sacrificing anti-armour capability.
M4(105) HVSS - M4(105) w/ HVSS.

M4A1
Continental radial engine; one-piece cast hull; 75mm barrel cannon. Users: US, Britain, South Africa, Poland(M4A1(76)W), France (small numbers), China
M4A1E4/M4A1(76)W - Upgraded with 76 mm M1 gun.
M4A1E8/M4A1(76)W HVSS - Upgraded with widetrack Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS), fitted with the 76 mm M1 gun.
M4A1E9 - Late war remanufacturing, applique armor, new vision cupola and oval loader's hatch on the turret roof, spaced out VVSS suspension, extended end connectors on both sides of the tracks, but retaining the old 75 mm M3 gun. Users: Chile

M4A2
Diesel-powered with General Motors 6046 using powertrain from earlier M3A3/M3A5; first model manufactured with welded hull; 75mm cannon. Users: USSR, Britain, France, Poland, US. No US Army combat use except for DD conversions for the Omaha landings.
M4A2E4 - Upgraded with Torsion Bar suspension; never put into production.
M4A2E8/M4A2(76)W HVSS - Upgraded with widetrack Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS), fitted with the 76mm M1 gun.

M4A3
Ford GAA V-8 engine; welded hull; both 75mm and 76mm cannons used. Users: US, France (small numbers), Nicaragua (small numbers). The M4A3 was the preferred US Army vehicle.
M4A3(75) - M4A3 with 75mm M3 gun.
M4A3(105) - M4A3 with 105mm howitzer used for infantry support rather than anti-armour.
M4A3E2 Assault Tank - postwar nickname "Jumbo" - extra armour (including 1 inch on front), vertical sided turret, but about 3-4 mph slower. Built with 75mm gun but frequently re-armed by the using units with 76mm guns. Grousers fitted to the tracks. Users: US, France (one vehicle)
M4A3E4/M4A3(76)W - M4A3 with 76mm M1 gun.
M4A3E8/M4A3(76)W HVSS (Easy Eight) - Upgraded with widetrack Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS), fitted with the 76mm High Velocity cannon.
M4A3E9/M4A3(105) HVSS - Upgraded with widetrack Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS)[citation needed]

M4A4
Chrysler A57 engine; welded, lengthened hull; 75-mm gun only as-built. Users: Britain, France, China, Lebanon (Firefly), Nicaragua (small numbers).
Sherman Firefly/Sherman Vc - About 2,000 were re-armed by the British with their 17-pounder (76.2 mm) guns as the Sherman Firefly. (It should be noted that the Firefly variant wasn't exclusive to M4A4/Sherman V subtype, as 17-pounder gun was mounted on more Sherman subtypes.)

M4A5
No US vehicle was built with this designation; the number was meant to signify Canadian production. Known as the Ram, it was a parallel development from the M3 medium tank chassis, with an M4-like central turret.

M4A6
Caterpillar D200A turbocharged, air-cooled radial multi-fuel engine adapted from Wright G200; composite cast/welded hull lengthened similarly to the M4A4; 75mm gun only. Only 75 of this variant were built and none were used in combat.[1]
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US Sherman-based vehicles
Variants without the M4 designation but built on the M4 medium chassis (While some began on the M3 chassis, some subvariants were switched to the M4 chassis during production. These are the models listed here):
  • 105mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7B1 - self-propelled 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage (HMC) based on the M4A3 Sherman chassis.
  • 155mm Gun Motor Carriage M12 - self-propelled 155 mm Gun Motor Carriage (GMC).
  • Cargo Carrier M30 - Cargo Carrier (an M12 with crew and ammunition space in lieu of the gun).
  • 155mm Gun Motor Carriage M40 - self-propelled 155 mm GMC (Either M1A1 or M2 gun) based on the M4A3 (HVSS) chassis.
  • 8in Howitzer Motor Carriage M43 - self-propelled 8 inch HMC (standardized post-World War II).
  • 3in Gun Motor Carriage M10 - tank destroyer based on the M4A2 Sherman chassis.
    • 3in Gun Motor Carriage M10A1 - Same as the M10, but based on the M4A3 Sherman chassis.
  • 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 - tank destroyer based on M10A1 hull (M4A3 chassis); standard model.
    • 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36B1 - tank destroyer based on M4A3 Sherman hull and chassis; expedient model.
    • 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36B2 - tank destroyer based on M10 hull (M4A2 chassis, diesel); expedient model.

M32 TRV.

M32A1B1 Armored Recovery Vehicle at the Patton Museum, 2003.

M74 Tank Recovery Vehicle.
  • Tank Recovery Vehicle M32
based on M4 chassis with turret replaced by fixed superstructure, 60.000 lb winch and an 18 feet long pivoting A-frame jib installed. An 81mm Mortar was also added into the hull, primarily for screening purposes.
    • Tank Recovery Vehicle M32B1 - M32s converted from M4A1s.
      • Tank Recovery Vehicle M32A1B1 - M32B1's with HVSS, later removing the 81mm Mortar and incorporating crane improvements.
    • Tank Recovery Vehicle M32B2 - M32's converted from M4A2's.
    • Tank Recovery Vehicle M32B3 - M32's converted from M4A3's.
      • Tank Recovery Vehicle M32A1B3 - M32B3's brought to the same standard as the M32A1B1.
    • Tank Recovery Vehicle M32B4 - M32's converted from M4A4's.
  • M74 Tank Recovery Vehicle
Upgrade of the M32 to provide the same capability with regards to heavier post-war tanks, converted from M4A3 HVSS tanks. In appearance the M74 is very similar to the M32, fitted with an A-Frame crane, a main towing winch, an auxiliary winch, and a manual utility winch. The M74 also has a front-mounted spade that can be used as a support or as a dozer blade.
    • M74B1 - Same as the M74, but converted from M32B3s.
  • M34 Prime Mover - M32B1 TRV converted to the artillery tractor role. 24 vehicles were converted by Chester Tank Depot in 1944.

US Special Attachment variants
M4 with 105 mm howitzer and an M1 dozer blade.Rocket-firing, flame-thrower, mine-clearing, amphibious, engineer; mostly experimental (indicated by T instead of M)
  • Sherman DD (Duplex drive) - Amphibious M4.
  • M4 Mobile Assault Bridge.
  • M4 Dozer - fitted with M1 (side arm) or M2 (hydraulic mount) dozer blade.
  • T15/E1/E2 - Series of mine resistant Shermans based on the T14 kit. Cancelled at war's end.
 
  • Mine Exploders / Mine Excavators - fitted with various mine exploding devices including plungers, rollers, mortars. Most of those remained experimental vehicles.
    • Mine Exploder T1E1 Roller (Earthworm) - Discs made from armor plate.
    • Mine Exploder T1E2 Roller - Two forward units with 7 discs only. Experimental.
    • Mine Exploder T1E3/M1 Roller (Aunt Jemima) - Two forward units with 5 10' discs. Most widely used T1 variant, adopted as the M1.
    • Mine Exploder T1E4 Roller - 16 discs
    • Mine Exploder T1E5 Roller - T1E3/M1 w/ smaller wheels. Experimental.
    • Mine Exploder T1E6 Roller - T1E3/M1 w/ serrated edged discs. Experimental
    • Mine Exploder T2 Flail - British Sherman Crab I mine flail.
    • Mine Exploder T3 Flail - Based on British Scorpion flail. Development stopped in 1943.
      • Mine Exploder T3E1 Flail - T3 w/ longer arms and sand filled rotor. Cancelled.
      • Mine Exploder T3E2 Flail - E1 variant, rotor replaced with steel drum of larger diameter. Development terminated at war's end.
    • Mine Exploder T4 - British Crab II mine flail.
    • Mine Exploder T7 - Frame with small rollers with two discs each. Abandoned.
    • Mine Exploder T8 (Johnny Walker) - Steel plungers on a pivot frame designed to pound on the ground. Vehicle steering was adversely affected.
    • Mine Exploder T9 - 6' Roller. Difficult to maneuver.
      • Mine Exploder T9E1 - Lightened version, but proved unsatisfactory because it failed to explode all mines.
    • Mine Exploder T10 - Remote control unit designed to be controlled by the following tank. Cancelled.
    • Mine Exploder T11 - 6 forward firing mortars to set off mines. Experimental.
    • Mine Exploder T12 - 23 forward firing mortars. Apparently effective, but cancelled.
    • Mine Exploder T14 - Direct modification to a Sherman tank, upgraded belly armor and reinforced tracks. Cancelled.
    • Mine Excavator T4 - Plough device. Developed during 1942, but abandoned.
    • Mine Excavator T5/E1/E2 - T4 variant w/ v-shaped plough. E1/E2 was a further improvement.
    • Mine Excavator T5E3 - T5E1/E2 rigged to the hydraulic lift mechanism from the M1 dozer kit to control depth.
    • Mine Excavator T6 - Based on the v-shape/T5, unable to control depth.
    • Mine Excavator T2/E1/E2 - Based on the T4/T5's, but rigged to the hydraulic lift mechanism from the M1 dozer kit to control depth.

T34 rocket launcher in France.

A M4A3R3 used by the USMCduring the Battle of Iwo Jima.
  • Rocket Launchers:
    • Rocket Launcher T34 (Calliope) - armed with 60 4-6" rocket tubes mounted above the turret. Saw limited combat in 1944-1945.
    • Rocket Launcher T34E1 - T34 with 14 tubes in the 2 bottom units.
    • Rocket Launcher T34E2 - T34 modified to accept 7.2" rockets.
    • Rocket Launcher T39 - Enclosed box mount with doors, with 20 7.2" rockets.
    • Rocket Launcher T40/M17 WhizBang - armed with 20 7.2" rockets. Saw limited combat in 1944-45. A short variant of the T40 was also developed, but saw little usage.
    • Rocket Launcher T72 - T34 short tube variant. Never used.
    • Rocket Launcher T73 - Similar to the T40, but with only 10 tubes. Never used.
    • Rocket Launcher T76 - M4A1 w/ 7.2" rocket launcher in place of main gun. Never used.
    • Rocket Launcher T105 - M4A1 w/ rocket case instead of main gun. Never used.
    • Multiple Rocket Launcher T99 - 2 box mounts with 22 4.5" rockets, mounted on the turret. Never used.
  • Flame Throwers:
    • M4A3R3 Flame thrower - Also known as "Zippo tanks" or more commonly Flame tanks.
    • M4 Sherman Crocodile - M4 tank modified with the flamethower and fuel trailer from a Churchill Crocodile. Four built and issued to 739th Tank Battalion which was attached to the 29th Division for Operation Grenade in February 1945, where they cleared the Old Citadel in the town of Julich. After the Rhine had been crossed, they were attached to 2nd Armoured division but saw little further use.[2]

Allied Shermans and Variants
The British received far more M4 medium tanks, approximately 17,000 (roughly 34% of all M4s produced), than any other Allied nation. The British practice of naming American tanks after American Civil War generals was continued, giving it the name General Sherman after Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, usually shortened to Sherman. The US later adopted the name and the practice of naming tanks after generals.
In the British naming system, the major variants were identified by Mark numbers, the M4 being "Sherman I", the M4A1 "Sherman II" and so on. Letters after the mark number denoted modifications to the base model: "A" for the 76 mm L/55 gun instead of the 75mm, "B" for the 105 mm M4 L/22.5 howitzer, "C" for the (British) QF 17 pounder (76.2 mm) gun, and "Y" for the later wider-tracked Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS) type suspension. Gun and suspension letters were used in combination, e.g. Sherman IBY. However, no production 75mm Shermans were built with HVSS and no HVSS Firefly conversions (CY) therefore existed. HVSS Shermans were only fitted with 76mm M1 guns or 105mm M4 howitzers, AY and BY respectively in British service.
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  • Sherman I - M4 with 75 mm M3 L/40 gun and Continental R975 9-cylinder radial petrol engine
    • Sherman Hybrid I - Sherman I with composite hull (cast front, welded rear)
    • Sherman IB - Sherman I with 105 mm M4 L/22.5 howitzer
      • Sherman IBY - Sherman IB with HVSS
  • Sherman II - M4A1 with 75 mm M3 L/40 gun and Continental R975 radial petrol engine
    • Sherman IIA - M4A1(76)W, Sherman II with 76 mm M1 L/55 gun
      • Sherman IIAY - M4A1(76)W HVSS, Sherman IIA with HVSS
  • Sherman III - M4A2 with 75 mm M3 L/40 gun and GM6046 twin 6-cylinder diesel engine
    • Sherman IIIA - M4A2(76)W, Sherman III with 76 mm M1A2 L/55 gun (unlikely to have been used by UK troops)
      • Sherman IIIAY - M4A2(76)W HVSS, Sherman IIIA with HVSS (not used operationally by UK troops)
  • Sherman IV - M4A3 with 75 mm M3 L/40 gun (no Sherman IVs used operationally) and Ford GAA V8 petrol engine
    • Sherman IVA - M4A3(76)W, Sherman IV with 76 mm M1A2 L/55 gun
    • Sherman IVB - M4A3(105), Sherman IV with 105 mm M4 L/22.5 howitzer
      • Sherman IVBY - M4A3(105) HVSS, Sherman IVB with HVSS
  • Sherman V - M4A4 with 75 mm M3 L/40 gun and Chrysler A57 multibank 30-cylinder "cloverleaf" petrol engine in a longer rear hull with more widely spaced bogies
  • Sherman VI - M4A5 (paper designation for Canadian production)
  • Sherman VII - M4A6 with 75 mm M3 L/40 gun, composite cast/welded hull and Ordnance RD-1820 9-cylinder radial diesel engine. Only 75 M4A6 were built and none are believed to have reached the UK
  • Sherman II ARV III - M32B1 TRV (M4A1 Sherman II chassis) recovery vehicle
  • Sherman V ARV III - M32B4 TRV (M4A4 Sherman V chassis) recovery vehicle. Extremely rare, almost mythical, vehicle. Production records are sketchy and British use is uncertain, but a photo does exist of an M32B4 in post-war Greek service

Allied variants
Sherman III ARV I - British Armoured Recovery Vehicle conversions of Sherman III (M4A2), REME, 79th Armoured Division, Summer 1944. Note large winch pulley on front glacis plate and specialized storage on hull sides.Conversions and modifications of the M4 by their foreign users included the British-Commonwealth Firefly with the potent British QF 17 pounder (76.2 mm) anti-tank gun; Adder, Salamander, Crocodile, and Badger[1] flame-throwing Shermans; Kangaroo armoured personnel carrier; Armoured recovery vehicles (ARV); artillery tractors, and the specialist military engineering vehicles of "Hobart's Funnies" designed specifically for Operation Overlord ("D-Day") and the Battle of Normandy. In 1945, the 1st Coldstream Guards at the Rhine fitted Sherman turrets with two "60 lb" RP-3air-to-ground rockets on rails to create the Sherman Tulip. Canada created a prototype anti-aircraft vehicle with four 20 mm Polsten cannons mounted in a turret on Canadian-made M4A1 hull, which was called Skink. The Soviets reportedly replaced the US 75 mm gun on some M4A2s with the 76.2mm F-34 gun of the T-34 medium tank to create the M4M; they discontinued the practice when assured of US ammunition supply (Zaloga 1984:217). For the D-Day landings, the British developed special and specific deep wading kits for Shermans I/II, III and V. US forces in the Pacific suffered many drowned M4s by not having such kits early in the island landing campaigns, and they were rapidly copied for later landings.

Armament conversions[edit]
Firefly with British 17 pdr gun. Compare to 75 mm gun Sherman at the top of this page.A number of Sherman tanks were converted to carry different armament other than that with which the tank was originally manufactured. Among these were:
  • Tank AA, 20 mm Quad, Skink - Canadian prototype anti-aircraft vehicle with four 20 mm Polsten cannon mounted in a turret on a Grizzly hull (tank made in Canada, not Lend-Leased).[2]
  • Sherman Duplex Drive (DD) - British-developed swimming gear fitted to British, Canadian, and US Shermans for the Normandy landings.
  • Sherman Firefly - British Sherman I or V re-armed with QF 17 pounder (76.2 mm) anti-tank gun with C added to designation (as in Sherman IC or VC). A few Sherman IIIC are believed to have existed, issued to units equipped with standard Sherman III for mechanical commonality: Aberdeen Proving Ground in the USA has one.
  • Sherman Tulip - British Sherman with two 3-inch ("60lb") RP-3 rockets on rails added to the turret. Used by the 1st Coldstream Guards at the Rhine in 1945.
  • M4M — Soviet M4A2s reportedly[by whom?] converted to 76.2mm F-34 gun, as mounted in the T-34. There was no shortage of U.S. 75 mm ammunition, however, so there was little need to continue converting Shermans. (Zaloga 1984:217).
  • RMASG Control Tank — While not strictly an armament conversion, as no new ordnance was involved, Sherman V tanks allocated to the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group for the D-Day landings were fitted with a dial sight in a protruding square cover on the top right of the turret. This permitted them to be used accurately in the indirect fire role as self-propelled artillery, initially from the decks of landing craft but later also ashore. Direct fire sights were retained. These tanks can be identified in photos by the 360 degree compass bearing markings around the turret.

Combat engineering vehicles[edit]
Sherman Crab Mk II.

A Sherman Twaby Ark bridging vehicle, with the ramps stowed in the travelling positionBritish developments for Shermans were extensive and included the fascine carrier (used by 79th Armoured Division), "Crib", "Twaby Ark", "Octopus",
  • Sherman Bridgelayer -
  • Sherman CIRD - fitted with "Canadian Indestructible Roller Device" landmine exploder
  • Sherman Crab - British Sherman with mine flail, one of a long line of flail devices

Recovery vehicles
  • Sherman ARV I and Sherman ARV II - British armoured recovery vehicle conversions of Sherman I, III and V. It was British policy to have ARVs using the same mechanical parts as the gun tanks they supported wherever possible. ARV I was a simple turretless towing vehicle with light jib while ARV II had much more sophisticated recovery and repair equipment, a raised box-like superstructure and heavier jib. It was considered superior to the US M32 ARV, very few of which were used by British units.
  • Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle (BARV) - British conversion of Sherman III with large boat-shaped superstructure that was capable of deep wading near the shore. A simple push/pull ARV that served until replaced by Centurion BARV in the mid-1960s. The diesel-engined Sherman III was considered less likely to be affected by the wet environment than petrol-engined versions.

Artillery
  • Sherman Gun Tower - British field conversion in Italy by removing turrets from M4A2 Sherman III tanks to tow 17 pdr AT gun and carry crew with ammunition. Some of the removed 75mm M3 guns may have been used for the Churchill NA75 field conversions unique to the Italian campaign.
  • Sherman Observation Post - an armoured mobile post for controlling artillery. The 75 mm gun was removed (with a dummy barrel fitted outside) to give room for map tables in the turret. Three radio sets were fitted (two Number 19 and a Number 18). Two more - both Number 38 - were carried for portable use outside the tank.[3]

Personnel carriers
Flame Tanks
  • Sherman Adder - A conversion kit to equip Sherman tanks, used in India on Sherman III and Sherman V
  • Sherman Badger - Canada's replacement of its Ram Badger, the Sherman Badger was a turretless M4A2 HVSS Sherman with Wasp IIC flamethrower in place of hull machine gun, developed sometime from 1945 to 1949. The 150 gallons at 250 psi was effective to 125 yards, with elevation of +30 to -10 degrees and traverse of 30 degrees left and 23 degrees right. This inspired the US T68.[4]




Vehicles that used the M4 chassis or hull: