In this series of posts, I will talk about the main serial modifications, operation features and the history of the development and use of this overseas unit. (I plan 3-4 parts in total. In the first part, about the main modifications made in the USA)

M4 "Sherman» - US main medium tank period of the Second World War, well, or almost the main tank in general, because they sawed a bunch of modifications for different tasks and I decided to unearth this whole pile in the name of the Satan of mankind.

History of creation (briefly, no seriously, very briefly):

By the beginning of the Second World War, the United States came up without a single adequate model of a medium or heavy tank in production and in service, there was only a handful of "medium" "tanks" M2. The M3 "Lee" tank, developed in an emergency, was considered obsolete in design already at the development stage, therefore, there were already requirements for a tank that would replace it ... We decided (not unreasonably) that using the components and assemblies of the "Lee" tank would be a good idea - so the development started February 1, 941, the prototype appeared on September 2 of the same year.

The tank inherited the undercarriage, lower part of the hull and the gun of its predecessor, however, they abandoned the stubborn design with a gun in the fuselage of the hull and stuffed it into the turret. True, the dimensions remained approximately the same. Tank received the designation M4, and in February 1942, its serial production was started. M4 turned out to be simpler, more technologically advanced and cheaper to manufacture than the M3.
On this, the history of creation can end and begin to disassemble quietly - what were they, "Shermans"?

T6 Sherman Prototype

Modifications:

There will be only serial American cars, Canadian, English and engineering cars, I will describe in another post. Only key differences will be indicated, riveters may not even write anything in comments

To begin with, it is worth saying that the feature of the production of the M4 was that almost all of its variants were not the result of upgrades, 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 differences in design (which will be discussed below). Modernizations, such as changing the ammo rack, equipping with a new turret and cannon, changing the type of suspension, all types underwent generally at the same time, receiving army designations W, (76) and HVSS. Factory designations are different, and include the letter E and a numerical index. For example, the M4A3(76)W HVSS had the factory designation M4A3E8.

The number in brackets indicated the gun mounted on the tank, if there is no numerical designation, then a standard 75mm gun is installed, and for example, in the M4A1 (105) marking it is clear that this is a Sherman with a cast hull and a 105mm howitzer.


M4 (as well as M4A1, the difference of which is only in the presence of a cast case)


Cast body. M4A1 (perhaps the most familiar appearance for me when you imagine the very first M4 Sherman)


Welded hull of the M4 tank


Perhaps the most interesting version from the Detroit factory: M4 Composite Hull (cast front plate with other welded parts)

In fact, the tank almost completely corresponded to the T6 Prototype prototype (in the cast hull version). The only difference was the gun (the prototype had the M2 gun) and the absence of two fixed and fucking useless machine guns. E its main armament was an American tank gun 75 mm M3 with a length of 37.5 calibers. The gun made it possible to deal with most enemy tanks at the time of adoption, although the tank as a whole was considered an infantry support vehicle, because the high-explosive action of the projectile was more important.

The highlight of the M4 tank (and subsequent modifications with a "regular" gun and not a howitzer) was a vertical stabilizer, quite primitive, but it reduced the time until the gun was completely stabilized after stopping (this was also facilitated by a rather soft suspension). So same tank M4 armed 105mm babahalka M4 howitzer and turned out to be somewhat more effective as an infantry support tank, but lost anti-tank properties and a vertical stabilizer.

During the war, SUDDENLY, it turned out that the Germans had both new models of tanks and improved old ones, because in 1944 they began to install 76 mm gun M1 with a barrel length of 55 calibers. True, to install the gun, I had to build a new turret (from an experimental T23 tank), but it's easier and cheaper than sawing a new tank. (As far as I understand, the stabilizer on this gun remained, but I could be wrong). In terms of anti-tank properties, it was on a par with the 85mm T-34-85 cannon, inferior to the 75mm Panther cannon and the 88mm Tiger cannon, surpassing the later modifications of the Panzer 4.


M4A1 with 76mm gun

The engine on the tank was a 350-horsepower radial, gasoline. He generally met the requirements for mobility, although he slightly increased the fire hazard of the car.
The booking was 51/38/38mm, front plate set at an angle of 56 degrees.

M4A2


M4A2(76)W. Let there be only 1/3 of all M4A2s released, but the piccha is here for a change. (By the way, here you can see the muzzle brake on the 76mm cannon. And also in the background you can see either the SU-85M or the SU-100. From here we can understand that these are Soviet Lend-Lease vehicles)

In fact, the A2 modification differed only in a twin diesel engine with a total power 375 pony horses (by the way, the tank could well move with one engine, this will be a little later in the story about "Shermans" in the USSR). It was the M4A2 that was supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease, since one of the requirements for the tank was the presence of a diesel engine. The tank was produced only in its welded version, the production of a cast hull was more laborious and had no advantages over a welded one. Booking identical to M4

M4A3 (and its modifications)


M4A3E8 "Easy Eight" ( "Easy Eight" - a new type of suspension, about which a little later)


M4A3

Again, essentially the same M4 with a welded hull, but the highlight of the tank is a 500-strong, 8-cylinder V-shaped gasoline engine from Ford, which, with approximately the same weight, noticeably increased mobility. Armament, as in previous modifications, ranged from 75-76mm to 105mm guns. Booking is identical to M4.

It is worth noting the modification M4A3E2 "Sherman Jumbo" and M4A3E8 "Easy Eight".

M4A3E2 "Sherman Jumbo" it differed from the "simple" "Sherman" in reinforced frontal armor in a 100mm frontal plate and a thick cast turret, the side armor was also increased to 76mm, however, due to the fact that the modification was conceived as an assault gun, the choice of guns fell on the 75mm and 105mm guns and from 76mm guns were abandoned due to the weak high-explosive impact of the projectile (no matter how strange it was, but the 75mm high-explosive projectile was more powerful than the 76mm). Later, at the numerous requests of the military, a certain number of 76mm cannons were supplied to fight tanks and on the tank, with a long-barreled cannon installed with virtually no significant modifications. For the increase in armor protection, Jimbo paid with a significant decrease in mobility. The maximum speed along the intersection was only 22 km / h. On the highway, the speed remained practically the same. The specific pressure on the ground also increased, which reduced its permeability.


M4A3E2 (in the photo we can see the 76mm M1 gun)

M4A3E8 "Easy Eight"- It differed from the M4A3 in the presence of a new, horizontal type of suspension. At the end of March 1945, the suspension was modernized, the rollers became double, the springs were horizontal, the shape and kinematics of the balancers were also changed, hydraulic mortizers . Suspension received wider, 58 cm, caterpillars. Tanks with such a suspension (dubbed Horisontal Volute Spring Suspension, "horizontal") had the abbreviation HVSS in designation. The "horizontal" suspension differs from the "vertical" one by lower specific pressure on the ground, and gives the upgraded tanks a slightly higher cross-country ability. In addition, this suspension is more reliable and requires less maintenance. Due to slightly less ground pressure, they received the nickname "Easy Eight"

M4A4


М4А4(76)W

It features a simple propulsion system consisting of 5 gasoline engines with a total capacity of 470 horses. The hull had to be lengthened so that this miracle would fit, which had a little effect on the growth of the tank's mass. Also (as seen in the photo above), the place of the Driver and his assistant was protected by additional armor plates due to the fact that they are located at a smaller angle of inclination with the same thickness.
Basically, the car was used in the British army under the index Sherman V and went to rework under Sherman Firefly (about which in another post)

M4A6


M4A6
It features a multi-fuel engine installation. Similar in design to the M4A4. Only 75 pieces were produced, so there is not much information about it. M4A6 did not take part in the battles and were used to train crews in the 777th tank battalion at Fort Knox

On this with the main modifications, I will finish. About engineering machines and foreign-made machines - in the next post

P.S. I apologize for some inconsistencies with M4A3E2, I fixed everything after reading some additional information

The American medium tank M4 Sherman was actively used in several wars and became truly massive, losing in numbers only to the T-34 along with the T-54. It got its name in honor of General William Sherman, and it was given by the British and, only with time, it was finally fixed, although in the USSR they used to call it "emcha".

Appearing in 1942, the M4 Sherman entered service with several countries and received 8 modifications, and also served as the basis for an even larger number of special vehicles and self-propelled guns.

Creation

When did the second World War, America was not armed with modern medium tanks. Therefore, the engineers tried to create a new car based on the M2, later called the M3 Lee. However, even during development, it became clear that it was not suitable for the army, so a new tank had to be developed.

On September 2, 1941, the T6 prototype was developed, in which it was decided to use the M3 units and a new layout.

They passed the tests very quickly and in mid-February of the following year, the first Sherman was released under the M4 index.

Design

As already mentioned, the tank borrowed a lot from its predecessor. For example, the engine, transmission, chassis and main armament. At the same time, he received a completely new hull with a traditional US and German layout with a transmission in front and armament in a rotating turret, thus getting rid of the main drawback of the M3.

The crew of the car was 5 people, the driver, along with the gunner-radio operator, were located in front of the hull, and the remaining 3 were in the turret.

Sherman weighed about 30 tons.

Frame

As already mentioned, the layout has become more traditional compared to the M3, with the transmission compartment in front, the combat in the middle and the engine compartment in the back.

Despite the fact that the armament was in the tower, the hull remained very high due to the fact that it was vertically mounted radial engine designed for aviation.

This feature did not affect Sherman in the best way, reducing his camouflage and stability.

The hull of all modifications, except for the M4A1, was made of rolled armor plates, interconnected by welding, since the casting turned out to be too complicated for mass production.

The upper frontal part was made up of 7 parts, so welding was carried out very high quality, and the lower part of 3, but interconnected with bolts. Later, the NLD was immediately made integral.

The thickness of the upper frontal armor of the Shermans of the first series was 50 mm at an angle of 47 ° but was weakened by observation hatches. A little later they were removed, but the angle of inclination was also changed, which became equal to 56 °.

The sides of the hull received a thickness of 38 mm and were located vertically, the stern received the same thickness, but at the same time the angle of inclination was about 10 °, and the bottom - 13-25 mm.

A feature of the armor was its viscosity, which slightly reduces strength, but significantly reduces the number of fragments inside the tank.

There was a hatch in the bottom of the hull, which increased the chances of saving the crew from a wrecked tank.

Another hatch, the driver's, located on the roof of the hull, turned out to be a very unsuccessful design, as it leaned up, because of which the gun could hit it and literally slam the driver with it, twisting his neck. Later, this drawback was eliminated by making the hatch sliding to the side.

Part of the ammunition was located on the sides of the hull, because of which the powder gases easily ignited when a projectile hit the hull.

Later, around the middle of 1944, a new ammunition rack appeared, moved to the floor of the fighting compartment and with water between the ammunition nests, which significantly increased its protection.

Tower

The cast tower received a cylindrical shape, aft niche and a pistol embrasure on the left. The thickness of her forehead was 76 mm, and the angle of inclination was 60 °; an 89 mm thick gun mask served as additional protection. The sides and rear of the tower received the same thickness of 51 mm.

The rotation was carried out using an electro-hydraulic or electric drive, depending on the modification of Sherman, there was also the possibility of a manual drive, and in just 15 seconds a 360 ° turn was made.

Inside, the place of the loader was located on the left, and on the other side were the gunner and the commander behind him.

On the roof of the tower of early modifications there was one hatch, later a second hatch appeared for the loader, and on the commander's cover there was an anti-aircraft machine gun turret.

Part of the ammunition was located on the floor of the tower, and another part in the back of the basket.

Armament

The main gun of the first series of tanks was the 75 mm M3 L / 37.5 cannon mounted on the M3, a little later, in October 1942, an improved gun mask, a coaxial machine gun and a telescopic sight for the gunner were installed on the Sherman.

The weapons had several interesting features, namely vertical stabilization with a gyroscope, installation of a gun, with a rotation of 90 ° in order to control the shutter in a horizontal and not vertical plane and large aiming angles from -10 ° to + 25 °.

In general, in terms of its effectiveness, such a gun approximately corresponded to the F-34 mounted on the Soviet T-34 and was capable of hitting all early German vehicles, only the later versions of the PzKpfW VI were relatively protected from it.

Later, with the advent of the Panther medium tank and the heavy Tiger, it was necessary to install a long-barreled rifled gun M1 with a caliber of 76.2 mm and a barrel length of 55 calibers. She also received several options, for example, with a thread for a removable muzzle brake, with offset trunnions or a changed rifling pitch.

Using Shermans, the British army installed their 17-pounder MkIV guns, which did not require alteration of the tower.

American tanks used for infantry artillery support received a rifled 105 mm M4 howitzer and lost their stabilizer due to poor gun balance.

The ammunition load of different guns varied greatly, for example, for the M3 it was 90 rounds, for the MkIV 77, for the M4 howitzer 66.

As an auxiliary weapon, several machine guns were installed on the Sherman.

The gunner had a 7.62 mm caliber M1919A4 gun paired with an electric trigger, the same gunner-radio operator mounted in a ball mount on the VLD, their total ammunition load was 4750 rounds.

On the commander's hatch was a turret with a 12.7 mm M2H anti-aircraft machine gun and 300 rounds of ammunition.

In June 1943, Sherman received a 51 mm M3 smoke mortar on the roof of the tower on the left with the breech under the armor and controlled by the loader.

Engine and transmission

As already mentioned, the tank received a high hull height due to the vertical installation of the Continental R975 C1 radial aircraft engine, which develops 350 horsepower.

In addition to him, Sherman received 4 more power plant options, as a result, 6 modifications appeared.

M4 and M4A1 received the engine described above, and the M4A2 variant, used in the USSR under Lend-Lease, had to install a pair of six-cylinder GM 6046 engines with a capacity of 375 hp. with., since the Soviet troops are accustomed to using diesel fuel.

M4A3 received a powerful V8Ford GAA, developing 500 hp. with., and M4A4 an interesting power plant Chrysler A57 multibank with a capacity of 470 hp, assembled from 5 L6 automobile gasoline engines and forcing the developers to lengthen the body.

The last option was the M4A6 with a Caterpillar RD1820 450 hp diesel engine, but the order for it was soon canceled because the diesel engine was distinguished by poor performance.

To warm up the engine and charge the battery, an auxiliary single-cylinder power plant was installed on the Sherman, which made it possible to do without starting the main engine.

The transmission located in front additionally protected the crew, but, in case of penetration, it could burn with hot oil and increased the risk of immobilization even without penetration.

A mechanical five-speed gearbox with reverse gear was installed on the tank, and turns were carried out by two separate brakes controlled by servo levers.

The moment was transmitted using a cardan shaft and a Cletrac double differential.

The transmission did not undergo any special changes, except that its protection became completely cast, and the parking brake control was changed from manual to foot.

Chassis

The suspension was borrowed from the M3 with minimal changes, so on each side the tank received the usual three support bogies to which two rubber-coated road wheels and two buffer springs were mounted vertically.

This suspension was called VVSS (Vertical Volute Spring Suspension), that is, "vertical", in March 1945 it was upgraded, having received double rollers and horizontal springs along with hydraulic shock absorbers, wider tracks and the designation HVSS (Horisontal Volute Spring Suspension), i.e. "horizontal".

She gave the Sherman better cross-country ability and reliability along with maintainability.

In general, the suspension was successful, providing a smoother ride and less noise than the T-34, which allowed the armored infantry to fire on the move.

Combat use

This tank actively participated in World War II, later in the Korean, Arab-Israeli and Indo-Pakistani wars.

Sherman first went into battle on October 23, 1942 as part of the British Army. The battle took place near El Alamein, during which the new tanks had to face the German PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV. A successful design was demonstrated here, which has a reasonable combination of protection, firepower and mobility.

Since November, he began to enter the USSR, where it turned out that he was very similar to the T-34, had weaker side protection, but significantly superior in comfort, but the T-34-85 began to outperform american tank in security and firepower.

The US Army used Shermans a little later, on December 6 of the same year in Tunisia, their inexperience led to big losses, however, the tank itself showed itself on the good side.

The joy of the military ended on February 14 of the following year, when the new PzKpfw VI Tiger showed that Sherman was not capable of resisting them.

On June 6, 1944, when the well-known landing in Normandy began, the Americans once again faced the Tigers and Panthers, losing 1348 Shermans and another 600 tanks for other reasons in 10 months of fighting.

It finally became clear that the Sherman is poorly suited for anti-tank combat or urban battles due to weak protection and weapons, but it has excellent mobility and good conditions for the crew.

In Korea, the Shermans received a 76 mm gun, which allowed them to catch up with the Soviet T-34-85 in terms of firepower, while surpassing them in visibility, comfort, having a stabilizer and more experienced crews.

Epilogue

The M4 Sherman was produced in excess of 49,000 units, becoming the most massive American tank. It was used with pleasure in other countries, for example, in the USSR and Great Britain, since it turned out to be quite successful.

Sherman had an excessive height of the hull, his first versions caught fire easily, the armor did not protect very well, the power of the guns of the first versions was often not enough, and the design itself did not bring anything revolutionary or new, but was quite modern and left a lot of room for modernization.

The designers put a lot of effort into the convenience of the crew, maintainability, reliability and ease of mass production, and this is worth a lot in war.

Its armament corresponded to the T-34 or PzKpfw IV, yielding to the Panther with the Tiger, the armor was also at the level of medium tanks, second only to heavy ones.

Mobility, reliability, unpretentiousness and low noise level turned out to be significant advantages, which made it possible to use the tank in any operations. The only drawback in this regard was the high fuel consumption, which limited the cruising range to 190 kilometers, but good system software completely solved this problem.

M4 Sherman is not for nothing that many call one of best tanks World War II, because he successfully combined all the necessary features of a medium tank, without getting any strong shortcomings.

There is an interesting monument in the Israeli Armored Forces Museum. There are three tanks on a pedestal of stones - a British Cromwell and an American Sherman. The symbolism is clear: these are the machines that won the Second World War. And the lot of "Sherman" tests fell no less than the "thirty-four".

From 1942 until the end of the war, the M4 formed the basis of the American tank forces, having fought with the Japanese militarists in Asia and with the Nazis in Europe. As part of the British troops, the Shermans fought in Africa and landed in Italy. Soviet M4 liberated Ukraine and reached Berlin. And further long years the tank, developed back in the early forties, was actively used and won battles with more modern vehicles.

The history of the creation of the tank

The United States met the beginning of World War II by just starting production of the M2 medium tank. An analysis of the battles in Poland showed that the tank did not at all correspond to the real conditions of the war, after which the order was reduced, and the produced tanks were reclassified into training tanks.

To replace the M2 in an emergency (even prototypes were not made), the M3 tank was developed (later called "Lee" and "Grant"). It was considered a temporary measure, and the creation of a new modern tank began immediately after the completion of work on the Lee.

To reduce the time for development and implementation in production, the tank was unified as much as possible with the M3.

Specifically, the engine Bottom part cast body and suspension were borrowed with minimal changes.

In September 1941, a prototype with a cast body was built, which received the T6 index. It differed from subsequent serial vehicles by the presence of two additional machine guns in the forehead of the hull, as well as the presence of a hatch for the crew in the side of the hull.

Serial production of M4 tanks began in the winter of 1942. The first tanks were assembled at the Lima locomotive plant and belonged to the M4A1 series. And these first tanks were produced for Britain.

Design

The Sherman has the following layout: the transmission is in the front of the hull, the engine is in the stern. The fighting compartment and the tower are located between them, almost in the center. The height of the transmission box and the need to place a radial engine in the hull predetermined the size of the tank - it turned out to be high.

All modifications of the Sherman, except for the M4A1, had a welded hull made of rolled armor.

On the M4A1, the body was cast. Common to all versions was the lower front part of the hull, which at the same time served as a transmission cover. The upper armor plate had a thickness of 51 mm and was installed at an inclination of 56 degrees (later - 47 degrees). The sides are vertical, 38 mm thick, the stern armor has the same thickness.

The thickness of the forehead of the cast turret is 76mm (at an inclination of 60 degrees), the sides and stern are 51mm. Early towers had one hatch - for the commander and gunner, later a loader's hatch was added. The tower had an electro-hydraulic or electric drive for the turning mechanism.


In the event of a failure of the mechanism, it was possible to turn manually.

The tower of the "long-barreled" "Shermans" differed in the thickness of the armor - 64mm in a circle.

Armament

The original armament of the Sherman was a 75mm M3 gun. This gun was a development of the French field gun of the 1897 model, adopted by the United States. In the M2 variant, the gun was mounted on early M3 tanks, while the later Lees and Shermans received the M3 with a barrel length increased to 40 calibers.

The armor penetration of the gun when using a solid M72 projectile reached 110 mm, the M61 chamber projectile penetrated armor slightly worse - up to 90 mm. IN initial period war, however, this was enough to deal with any enemy tanks.

The three-inch M1 gun was developed in 1942, when the characteristics of the short-barreled M3 became insufficient, and the more powerful M7 gun for the Sherman turned out to be too heavy.

The “long-barreled” Shermans went into battle in 1944. The penetration of the M62 armor-piercing chamber projectile exceeded 120 mm, which was no longer enough to deal with the most heavily armored German vehicles. But the M93 sub-caliber projectile pierced over 200 mm at short distances.

Interestingly, the production of Shermans with the M3 gun did not stop - the former gun had a more powerful high-explosive fragmentation projectile, which was critically important for the American tank doctrine. Within its framework, the main task of the tanks was to support the infantry, with which the “long-barreled” Shermans coped weaker.


Over 2,000 M4A1 and M4A4 Shermans delivered to Great Britain were re-equipped with a 17-pounder 76.2 mm gun. These machines were named Firefly (firefly). A solid armor-piercing projectile fired from the “seventeen-pounder” pierced armor up to 157 millimeters thick, which made the “Firefly” capable of fighting any German tanks.

The course machine gun from the Fireflies was removed in order to increase the ammunition load of the gun. This led to a reduction in the crew to four people. The gun stabilizer was dismantled.


Some Shermans of the M4 and M4A3 series were armed with the 105mm M4 howitzer. They were supposed to become "assault guns" for the direct support of the infantry. Howitzer Shermans were not supposed to be used for anti-tank purposes, but, nevertheless, the ammunition included HEAT projectile M67, penetrating up to 130 mm of armor.

They had such machines and some design differences - the gun did not have a stabilizer, the frontal armor was strengthened.

Additional armament, according to the standards of that time, were a course machine gun mounted in a ball mask in the front sheet and a machine gun coaxial with a cannon.

In both cases, the M1919A4 model was used. Caliber - 7.62mm (.30-06). The gunner-radio operator fired from the course machine gun, and the gunner from the coaxial machine gun, with the help of an electric trigger.

Above the commander's hatch in the turret was a 12.7mm M2HB machine gun, suitable for anti-aircraft fire. Equipping a tank with a large-caliber anti-aircraft machine gun at that time was an innovation, and only towards the end of the war did it begin to be used everywhere.

Since 1943, a mortar was installed on all Shermans for setting smoke screens.

Crew accommodation and tank equipment

The crew of five was placed in the tank as follows: the seats of the driver and his assistant (he is also a gunner-radio operator) on both sides of the box with the transmission. Each had a hatch with an observation periscope, located in the ledge of the frontal part or in the roof in front of the turret. The gunner and the tank commander sit one after another in the right half of the tower, and the loader occupies the left.


On the linear Shermans, a VHF radio station was installed, located in the rear niche of the tower. Her antenna was displayed on the roof of the tower. The commander's tanks additionally had a shortwave radio station in the right fender, with an antenna brought out through the frontal armor plate.

The tank intercom was part of a regular radio station, and a telephone could be additionally installed to communicate with the accompanying infantry tank.
For heavy driving weather conditions the tank was equipped with a gyrocompass.

The tank with a 75mm gun was equipped with a triple M55 telescopic sight and an M38A1 backup sight built into the gunner's periscope.

Howitzer tanks had the M77C model instead of the M38A1 sight. “Long-barreled” M4s were equipped with M51 and M47A2 sights.

Later they were replaced by a universal M10 periscope, in which two telescopic sights were built - six-fold and without magnification. This device replaced all the previous variety of sights. For firing from closed positions, an indicator of gun aiming angles was used. The M3 and M1 guns had a gyroscopic stabilizer.

Engine and transmission

Different versions of the Sherman had different engines. The R975 radial engine was installed on the M4 and M4A1. M4A2 received a power plant from two interlocked two-stroke diesel engines GM 6-71. The M4A3 was equipped with a Ford GAA eight-cylinder gasoline engine (designed as an aircraft engine, but found use only in armored vehicles).

In the elongated body of the M4A4 tank, a structure of five automobile six-cylinder engines manufactured by Chrysler was mounted. Finally, the limited-edition M4A6 had a Caterpillar radial diesel engine. The power of the motors ranged from 350 to 500 hp.

In contrast to the variety of engines, there was only one gearbox for the Sherman - a five-speed mechanical, with synchronizers.

The transmission was located in the frontal part of the hull, and its outer body made of armored steel simultaneously served as the lower frontal part.

This placement of the transmission provided better weight distribution, increased its maintainability, and if it hit, its nodes could protect crew members from being hit. The disadvantage was the increased vulnerability of the transmission itself, which could be disabled by secondary armor fragments even without breaking through it.

Chassis

The suspension of the tank as a whole is similar to that used on the M3 tanks, with three two-roller bogies. Each of the carts has two vertical springs. During combat use, the shortcomings of such a suspension were revealed - on a soft surface, the tank's patency fell, the service life of the units was low.

As a result, by the end of the war, a suspension with horizontal springs and double rubber-coated rollers went into production.

Early suspension was designated as VVSS, later - HVSS.

Special tanks, self-propelled guns and armored vehicles

On the basis of the A3 series tank, the M4A3E2 Jumbo assault tank was created. Additional armor plates 38 mm thick were welded onto the frontal plate and the top of the side, and the transmission cover was reinforced. The Jumbo was not intended for tank battles, it carried the M3 cannon, but later some tanks were re-equipped with the long-barreled M1 and used as heavy tank destroyers.


On the roof of the turret of some tanks, the Calliope MLRS was installed - 60 guides for launching 114mm M8 missiles. There were several variants of the Sherman flamethrower.

"Shermans" equipped with mine trawls and bulldozer knives were used in engineering units. The amphibious modification DD was used for forcing rivers.
On the basis of the Sherman, "tank destroyers" were built - highly mobile lightly armored vehicles with an open turret. These include the M10 with a 76mm gun and the M36 with a 90mm gun.

The M7 self-propelled guns were equipped with a 105mm howitzer in an open cabin, and guns with a caliber of up to 203mm were installed on a special chassis with an open platform.

For repair and evacuation work, the M32 machines and its upgraded version of the M74 were created. They were equipped with a crane, winches and a bulldozer knife. M32 without evacuation equipment served as an artillery tractor.

Post-war options

After the war, countries that could not afford latest tanks, tried to increase the efficiency of the Sherman with upgrades.

In Israel, the Shermans underwent their first rearmament in 1956. They were assigned the index M50. Three hundred of these tanks received the French 75mm gun. During the next upgrade, in 1962, the Israeli M4A1 was equipped with Cummins VT8-460 diesels, the gun was replaced with a 105mm gun, and was named M51. In the 1970s, some cars were transferred to Chile, where they served until the 90s.

Egyptian "Shermans" were M4A4, with a diesel engine from M4A2. Instead of the “native” turret, an AMX-13, swinging from a light tank, was installed. The turret came with a 75mm gun and an automatic loader.

Lend-Lease supplies and combat use

British troops received 17181 tanks from the issued Shermans. "Shermans" were finalized to meet British standards and received new designations. The changes included, for example, the replacement of walkie-talkies with British ones, the installation of a smoke mortar, and additional fire extinguishing systems.

For the first time, British Shermans went into battle in Africa in mid-1942.

As part of the British forces, they took part in the battle of El Alamein, and, according to the British, made a significant contribution to the victory. At the end of the same year, American Shermans appeared in Tunisia. The African campaign proved high fighting qualities M4, but after the appearance in Tunisia German tanks“Tiger”, the insufficient armament of the tank became obvious.

Since 1943, diesel M4A2s have been supplied to the USSR, in the amount of 4065 units.

Tanks in the Red Army were appreciated - the crews praised the ease of use, the quality of instruments and communications. The Sherman's lower noise level made them well suited for stealth attacks. At the same time, insufficient cross-country ability in winter conditions and a tendency to overturn due to the high center of gravity were noted.

In the Soviet Union, the first Shermans took part in Battle of Kursk. True, at that time there were few of these tanks. But since 1944, the number of incoming Shermans made it possible to create even separate corps from them. Soviet М4А2 took part in all subsequent battles of the war, including the defeat of the Kwantung Army.


In Europe, "Shermans" appeared during the landing in Sicily. And by the time of the invasion of Normandy, modifications with enhanced weapons had already been prepared. But during the first battles, the M4 tanks failed to realize (due to specific natural conditions) their advantage in mobility, and the tankers suffered heavy losses.

The situation changed only after the Allied forces entered the operational space. Also during the battles, the lack of adaptability of the Sherman to urban battles became obvious. But by this time the tank was already assessed as obsolete, and this problem had to be solved with new tanks.

In the Pacific theater of operations, the Shermans were rarely encountered. The enemy tanks were too few and weak in armament to be an effective force. The nature of the fighting made it possible to fully reveal all the strengths of the American tank, as well as its missile and flamethrower modifications.

By the beginning of the Korean War, the Sherman was already considered obsolete, but only Shermans could be quickly transferred to the front from Japan.

And later it turned out that the more powerful and modern M26 in the Korean mountains have insufficient mobility. So the Sherman remained the main American tank in that war. In battles with the T-34-85, both tanks proved to be approximately equivalent opponents, and often the outcome of the battle was decided by the best preparation American tankers.

During Suez Crisis modernized Egyptian Shermans collided with modernized Israeli ones. As a result, most of the Egyptian vehicles were either destroyed or captured by the Israelis.


By the 1967 war, Israel's Shermans were used in secondary areas, but managed to prove themselves there too, destroying, for example, a convoy of Egyptian T-54s.
Both sides used the Shermans as second-line vehicles in the Indo-Pakistani wars. According to some reports, in the 1990s Shermans were used in Yugoslavia, but there is no exact confirmation of this.

Tactical and technical characteristics

The table shows the characteristics of the "early" and "late" Shermans in comparison with its closest analogues.

TTX of the main modifications of the M4 tanks and their closest analogues
M4A1M4A3(76)W HVSST-34 mod. 1942T-34-85 mod. 1944Pz.KpfW.IV Ausf.H
Dimensions
Length with gun, m5,84 7,54 6,628,10 7,02
Width, m2,62 3,00 3,00 3,00 2,88
Height, m2,74 2,97 2,52 2,72 2,68
Combat weight, t30,3 33,6 30,9 32,0 25,7
Booking, mm
Forehead of the hull51/ 56°64/ 47°45/60°45/60°80
Hull sides and stern38 38 45-40 / 40°45-40 / 40°30-20
Forehead of the tower76 64…89 53 90 50
Sides and stern of the tower51 51 53 52-75 30
Armament
A gun75mm M376mm M11 × 76 mm F-341 × 85 mm S-5375 mm KwK.40 L/48
machine guns1 x 12.7mm M2HB, 2 x 7.62mm M1919A42 × 7.62 mm DT2 × 7.62 mm DT2 × 7.92 mm MG-34
Ammunition, shots / cartridges90 / 300 + 4750 71 / 600 + 6250 77 / 2898 60 / 1890 87 / 3150
Mobility
EnginePetrol 9-cylinder radial "Continental" R975 C1, 350 hp With.Gasoline 8-cylinder V-shaped "Ford" GAA, 450 hp With.12 cyl. V-shaped diesel V-2, 500 l. With.Petrol 12-cylinder Maybach HL 120TRM, 300 hp With.
Maximum speed on the highway, km/h39 42 54 54 38
Range on the highway, km190 160 300 300 210

It should be noted that the modification of the Pz.IV tank given in the table is "intermediate" between early and late. But it differed from the previous T-4s mainly in its optimized design without changing the main characteristics, and in later series the changes were reduced to simplification and reduction in cost. So the Sherman was clearly not inferior to the main rival, and if he could meet him in 1941, he would have surpassed him.

Machine evaluation

Armament "Sherman" at the time of its appearance can be considered "adequate". The 75mm M3 cannon matched the characteristics of the Soviet F-34 and ZiS-5 guns in terms of its characteristics, allowing it to fight any enemy medium tanks. The appearance of Pz.IV tanks with enhanced armor, as well as Tigers and Panthers, made it ineffective.


The 76mm M1 gun was only slightly inferior to the Soviet 85mm D-5 gun in terms of armor penetration, and even surpassed it when using a sub-caliber projectile. Such “Shermans” could fight even heavy enemy tanks. The main drawback of the gun was the low power of the high-explosive fragmentation projectile. Due to the high initial speed the wall thickness of the projectile had to be increased, while reducing the mass of the explosive charge to a minimum.

On the whole, the M4's armament corresponded to modern medium tanks, and even surpassed it in terms of its effectiveness due to high-quality optics and the presence of a stabilizer.

Assessing the security of the Sherman, it should be remembered that during the years of its development, the typical weapons of most tanks were 40-45mm caliber guns.

And the infantry had at its disposal only anti-tank rifles and heavy machine guns. In comparison with the T-34, the Sherman was inferior to him in terms of the thickness of the sides, devoid of slope. But the sides of even the later versions of the German Pz.IV had a thickness less than that of the M4.

The frontal armor of the Sherman, according to the results of German tests, with a slight turn of the hull, could withstand hits from the 88mm gun of the Tiger. The M4A4E2, with enhanced armor protection, of course, outperformed its competitors, but there were few such tanks.

Early Shermans with ammo racks located in fenders suffered from detonation of ammunition when breaking through the hull. This shortcoming was corrected by placing the ammunition rack on the floor of the hull in boxes with a water jacket (the so-called “wet” ammunition rack).


The tactical and strategic mobility of the Sherman was highly rated. The tank, due to its small dimensions, was easily loaded onto all types of transport, including rail. When moving under its own power, the motor resource made it possible to travel long distances, rubber-coated tracks did not break roads, and the suspension design provided the crew with some comfort.

The Sherman had a good speed, good maneuverability, which was somewhat limited by the impossibility of turning on the spot. On tanks of the E2 series, other transmission ratios were used to maintain mobility with an increased mass.

Reliability

The high culture of production at American factories gave the Shermans high quality workmanship and very good reliability. Tank units did not require frequent adjustment. The maintainability of the tank deserves the highest praise. Soviet tanks were also inferior to the Sherman in this regard.

Due to the low culture of production and technological equipment, the tolerances were such that the nodes had to be adjusted manually.

The flip side was the exactingness of tanks to the level of qualification service personnel.

Tank analogues

The Soviet counterpart, the T-34, was somewhat superior to the Sherman in terms of the effectiveness of side armor, was approximately the same in armament, and significantly lost in terms of crew comfort.


The later T-34-85 had a powerful high-explosive fragmentation projectile (the absence of which forced the production of “short-barreled Shermans”), and its efficiency improved due to the separation of duties of the gunner and commander. It is worth noting that in the “fire hazardous” Sherman, the fuel tanks were located in engine compartment, and the T-34 - in the fighting compartment.

The main German analogue of the M4 was the Pz.IV.

Its early models were inferior to the Sherman in all respects, but by the middle of the war they were approximately equal in terms of armament and armor protection. At the same time, the late Panthers (Pz.V (T-5)) were distinguished by poor build quality.

Although the “Panther” was superior to the “Sherman” both in terms of armament power (with an equal gun caliber) and armor thickness. Its main disadvantage was low reliability.
The British army had two tanks of its own design, roughly similar to the Sherman. The first is the Cromwell, which went into battle in 1944. Its 57mm gun was inferior to American guns, and it was also weaker protected.

The second tank is the Komet, armed with a shortened version of the 17-pounder. In terms of firepower, it was approximately equal to the American Shermans (but somewhat inferior to the Fireflies), had equivalent protection and greater mobility due to a powerful engine.

The Sherman tank was a real triumph for American industry. Not having much experience in tank building, the Americans were not only able to develop a tank of a successful and well-thought-out design in the shortest possible time - they mass-produced it, while maintaining high quality workmanship and finish. And the modernization potential of the Sherman allowed him to successfully resist and more modern tanks.

Video

The M4 Sherman is a Tier 5 American medium tank that has become a favorite among many tank crews and is considered the best vehicle in its tier. Is it so? We will learn about this a little later, but now we will try to understand this tank in more detail.

Short description

The M4 Sherman is an American medium tank that was used in World War II. Initially, it had only the M4 index in the 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 army of the northerners at the time civil war. Also at one time the tank was called "Emcha".

Story

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

Then you didn’t have to choose, besides, the car turned out to be quite high-quality and relatively cheap. Therefore, the Sherman instantly went through standardization and was put into mass production. Already by 1945, almost 50 thousand vehicles of this model were created, and the tank became the most massive 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 ​​\u200b\u200bthe layout was borrowed from the Germans. The engine compartment here was located in the rear of the hull, but the transmission was moved forward. In the center is a combat zone, which reached right up to the tower.

Throughout the war, this layout 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 had the shape of a star. Also, the main elements of the transmission took their place here.

The combat crew of the Sherman - 5 people: the commander always took a place at the tower and watched the terrain, the loader and gunner sat on the sides of the commander, the driver himself, and with him the gunner-radio operator, were in 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 - 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. Parts are located at an angle of 56 degrees. The side and stern received 38 mm of protection, and the roof and bottom - only 25 mm each.

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 with a shoulder strap and a ball bearing. In the frontal part of the tower, a hole was made for the mask of the gun and machine gun.

For the Sherman, several types of engines were initially used. In one of the modifications, there was an aircraft engine that developed a power of 350 "horses". There was a version of the tank with twin engines from Ford, while the car could accelerate thanks to 500 horsepower.

The chassis was completely taken from the younger brother - "Lee". At that time, there was a popular blocked type using three support carts. The caterpillar 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.

They also began to use a 75-mm cannon from the Medium and Lee tanks for the gun. But, of course, 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

First combat use M4 "Sherman" was realized in 1942. The battle at El Alamein was a confrontation between the British (including the Sherman) and a similar class German technology. Many historians still believe that this tank 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 with the Americans, their inexperience and inability to use this miracle machine played a cruel joke. As a result, the troops were mercilessly defeated. A couple of months later, the Shermans met again on the same terrain with German tanks. And again there were problems 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 waiting for success in almost all battles. The tanks were good, confidently helped to end the war and reached Berlin together with the troops of our country. After the war Soviet tankmen they spoke very positively about the Sherman, the only thing that was noted was the frequent percentage of fires and a weak gun.

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

game version

Before we figure out how to play the M4 Sherman, let's get to know the playable 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.

It should be noted that in stock condition the tank looks rather bad. He is slow, clumsy and weak. But all gamers of the famous World of Tanks know that any tank in the 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, 63 mm turret armor on all sides, a hull with 51 mm frontal armor, and 38 mm sides and rear. Thus, one can immediately trace the historical inaccuracy. Although we all understand that "Wargaming" is trying to balance the game so that tanks of radically different strengths do not meet on the battlefield.

Pros and cons of "American"

In principle, at its fifth level, the M4 is not very different from its counterparts. Something in it is worse, something is better, but the car is balanced for playing with rivals. 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 rather large size. Although it all depends on what levels he gets in battle. Nevertheless, his silhouette is quite large, so it is not difficult to hit him. Also, remember that his armor is not the strongest either.

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

game tool

Well, it’s worth talking directly about the weapons of the “American”. In this section, you may also find the answer to the question of which gun to put on the M4 Sherman. There are two types of guns in the game. The first and most appropriate is the 76mm Tier 6 cannon. Its advantage is the rate of fire. In 60 seconds, she fires as many as 14.3 shots. At the same time, armor penetration is 177 mm, but their damage is 110.

If you choose this weapon, keep in mind that a heavy burden of support will fall on your shoulders. With this kind of damage and penetration, you should not fly forward and try to enlighten someone. It is best to hide somewhere in the bushes and wait for the light of rivals.

But the second gun is high-explosive, has 105 mm. Few will believe, but sometimes this gun can destroy some firefly on a spree with one shot. It fires 7.5 shots per minute, but armor penetration is 53 with 410 damage.

Looking at the characteristics, it should be said that the high-explosive gun has very poor accuracy, so it is best to get close to the enemy and take him by surprise at a short distance. Many players even believe that this is a great fun tool that will bring 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 machine. Most players choose a rammer, reinforced aiming drives and a stabilizer, thereby improving the accuracy of the gun. In some cases, you can install improved ventilation. And if you want to improve the already excellent view, install optics.

But when you have thoroughly pumped the tank, or rather, the crew, another question will arise: "What skills do the M4 Sherman crew need?" First of all, you can pump the light bulb and repair. Then you can take perks for review in order to again improve our search abilities. Then we reduce the spread of the gun and pump the perks for stabilization. Well, after that you can take care of the dynamics, and install a disguise for the loader.

How to play?

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

As you know, during the Second World War, several modifications of the most massive American medium tank M4 "General Sherman" were produced. It should be emphasized that all of them did not fundamentally differ from the basic version in terms of their tactical and technical characteristics. The reasons that prompted the factories to start producing them were more of a technological nature, taking into account the capabilities of a particular enterprise, traditional allied factories, etc. From February 1942 to July 1945, six main modifications of the M4 tank were in serial production. main distinctive features which were the type of power plant and the method of manufacturing the hull. So, the M4 and M4A1 models were equipped with Continental R-975 star-shaped carburetor engines and had a welded and cast body, respectively. General Motors 6046 diesel engines were installed on the tanks of the M4A2 variant, Ford GAA carburetor engines, M4A4 - blocks of five Chrysler A57 carburetor automobile engines and, finally, on the M4A6 - diesel RD-1820. All these modifications had welded hulls.

From the point of view of the layout of the power compartment, the General Motors 6046 and Ford GAA engines turned out to be the most successful. However, the first, which was a pair of automotive diesel engines, did not meet the requirements of the US Army, in which the carburetor engine was considered standard. Therefore, the M4A2 tanks were mainly supplied to the allies of the United States in the anti-Hitler coalition and only in small quantities entered service with the corps. marines USA. As for the second, it became the "heart" of the most massive modification of the Sherman.

The first copy of the new tank, designated M4AZ, was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company at the end of May 1942. Serial vehicles of early production still had viewing slots in the frontal part of the hull, but the transmission hatch cover was already cast, and the upper frontal hull sheet, unlike other models, was welded from a smaller number of parts. The release of the first M4AZ series with a 75-mm cannon and a dry ammo rack was completed in September 1943, and in February 1944, the production of these tanks, but with a wet ammo rack (model M4A3 (75) W), was started by the Fisher Tank Arsenal plant. Tanks with a 76-mm gun began to leave the shops of the Detroit Tank Arsenal plant, which was part of the Chrysler concern, in March 1944. Until the end of September, 1400 M4A3 (76) W were manufactured, which also had a vertical suspension and tracks 421 mm wide. But already in August, they began to produce the M4A3(76)W HVSS variant with a horizontal suspension, in the production of which from September to December 1944 the Fisher Tank Arsenal plant also took part, which produced 525 units. The production of the M4A3(76)W HVSS in Detroit ended in June 1945, when the last 1217th tank of this modification left the plant. Thus, a total of 1742 M4A3(76)W HVSS tanks were shelled.

At the same time, it is worth mentioning right away that the official index assigned by the Military Department is M4A3 (76) W HVSS, which contained in encrypted form all the main stages of modernization of the M4AZ tank (“76” - 76-mm cannon, W - wet ammo rack, HVSS - horizontal suspension system), did not take root in the troops. A simpler version of the index - M4A3E (J, which this tank was designated at the testing stage, on the contrary, gained wide popularity. Everyone called this car - from a soldier to a general. The letter "E" in the index, which prototypes receive in the American notation, the soldiers deciphered in their own way, giving the tank they loved the nickname Easy Eight - “convenient eight.” On this machine, deservedly considered best version M4AZ, it makes sense to dwell in more detail.

The hull of the M4AZE8 tank was welded from rolled armor plates. Its frontal part consisted of a massive cast part, which simultaneously served as a transmission hatch cover and a crankcase for the turning mechanism, and a top sheet 108 mm thick, located at an angle of 56 ° to the vertical. In its lower part, on the right, a ball mount of a 7.62 mm Browning М1919А4 machine gun was mounted. The sides of the hull were vertical and had a thickness of 38 mm.

The aft part of the hull consisted of two inclined (10 ° ... 12 °) sheets - upper and lower. The upper one was offset relative to the lower one so that a pocket was formed between them for the exit of air coming from the fans. In front of the hull roof above the control compartment, there were oval landing hatches for the driver and his assistant, located across the hull and having MB observation devices built into the covers; between hatches - exhaust fan. In the middle part of the roof of the hull, a fixed shoulder strap of the tower was attached, around which a protective armored visor was welded. In the aft part of the roof there was a large overhead hatch, closed with a double-leaf lattice cover.

On the roof of the T23 cast tower there was a commander's cupola with six triplex glass blocks and a MB periscope observation device, an oval loader hatch, an MB observation device hatch, an anti-aircraft machine gun bracket and an antenna input. On the left side of the tower there was a hatch for firing personal weapons, and a fan of the fighting compartment was mounted on the stern. The walls of the tower had a thickness of 63.5 mm, the roof - 25.4 mm. In front of the turret, in the M62 mask installation (armor shield thickness - 90 mm), a 76-mm M1A1S or M1A2 gun with a barrel length of 52 calibers was placed. The gun barrel was equipped with a two-chamber muzzle brake. Vertical aiming was possible in the range from -10 ° to + 25 °. The gun had a vertical wedge gate and copier-type semi-automatics. A coaxial Browning M1919A4 machine gun was mounted next to the cannon in a mask, and a 12.7 mm Browning M2NV anti-aircraft machine gun was mounted on the roof of the turret. A 2-inch MZ smoke grenade launcher was located on the left front of the turret roof. The aiming of the gun at the target was carried out using the M71D telescopic sight and the M4A1 periscope sight with the built-in M47A2 telescopic sight. The gun was stabilized in the vertical guidance plane. The Westinghouse stabilizer belonged to the type of gyroscopic stabilizers with indicator pendulum gyroscopes and a power hydraulic servo system.

The tower was driven by a hydroelectric rotary mechanism or manually. With the help of a hydroelectric mechanism, the tower could be rotated 360 ° in 15 seconds. The mechanism had an additional drive to the tank commander, when turned on, the gunner's drive was turned off.

The tank's ammunition consisted of 71 artillery arrows, 600 rounds of 12.7 mm caliber, 6250 rounds of 7.62 mm caliber and 12 smoke fans. The M4AZE8 tank had a so-called wet-type ammunition rack, as evidenced by the letter W in its designation (W - wet - wet). The ammunition was stored in two boxes located on the bottom of the hull and filled with water. So that the water does not freeze in winter, ethylene glycol was added to it. The placement of ammunition on the floor of the fighting compartment increased the survivability of the vehicle, and filling it with water helped save it from detonation.

In the power department, an 8-cylinder V-shaped Ford GAA liquid-cooled carburetor engine with a maximum power of 500 hp was installed. at 2600 rpm. The capacity of the fuel tanks was 635 liters of gasoline with an octane rating of at least 80.

The torque from the engine, located in the stern, with the help of a cardan shaft passing under the rotating polycom of the tower, was transmitted to the double-disk main located in the control compartment in the bow of the tank.

dry friction clutch, gearbox, double cylindrical differential and final drives Gearbox five-speed, mechanical with .. helical gears of constant mesh with synchronizers in all gears, except 1st and reverse

The undercarriage of the M4AZE8 tank in relation to one bot consisted of six double rubber-coated road wheels, interlocked in pairs in three balanoir trucks suspended on two horizontal buffer springs each, three single and two double support rollers of a rubber-coated guide wheel of the drive wheel of the front location with removable gear rims (engagement lantern) In each caterpillar there were 79 single-ridged toaks with a width of 584.2 mm (23 inches), the track pitch was 152 mm. Metal or rubber-metal tracks with a silent block. A hydraulic shock absorber was installed in each suspension bogie.

The engine, transmission and chassis allowed the 33.7-ton combat vehicle to develop top speed on the highway 42 km / h The cruising range at the same time was 160 km

All tanks were equipped with radio stations SCR 508, 528 and 538 The SCR 506 radio station was available only on command tanks.

M4AZE8 tanks began to enter the American troops in Europe on December 1, 1944 - at the height of the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes. In particular, the 4th Panzer Division of the 3rd american army successfully used them in heavy battles near Bastogne in late December - early January 1945. From the previous version - M4A3 (76) W - these tanks differed only undercarriage, but this turned out to be a lot. Wide tracks made it easier for new tanks to move through snow and muddy ground, for which they immediately fell in love with tankers. And no wonder - // the body pressure in M4AZE8 was 0.77 kg / cm2 versus 1 kg / cm2 in M4A3! The use of T66 greasy caterpillars with developed grousers further improved patency. The crews also evaluated the characteristics of the horizontal suspension - it turned out to be much softer than the vertical one. When driving over rough terrain, the tank got rid of the longitudinal buildup, and on the highway, in terms of ride comfort, it became comparable to a car. The increased smoothness of the course also had a positive effect on the accuracy of shooting, reducing the load on the gun guidance stabilizer. All these advantages of the M4AZE8, combined with the reliability and ease of operation traditional for Shermans, apparently became the reason for its nickname.

In the troops, the “comfortable eights” were not subjected to any alterations and improvements, with the exception, perhaps constant desire crews to at least somehow strengthen their armor protection. And it’s not that it was too weak - - the frontal armor of the Shermans was superior, at least consistent with that of other middle ones. tanks of those years of the Soviet T-34-85 and the German Pz.IV. With the latest M4AZE8, he could generally fight on an equal footing! But the Germans also had a "Panther" and an 88-mm cannon Pak 43 - the worst nightmare of American tankers. Both of them easily "pierced" an American tank at a distance of 1000 m and even more. In fact, from the moment of landing in Normandy, American tankers began to hang on the sides of combat vehicles garlands of caterpillar tracks. In the 14th Panzer Division they went even further and welded frame structures filled with sandbags onto the sides. But perhaps the most professional and thorough approach to solving this issue was in the 3rd Army of General George Patton. After the end of the fighting in the Ardennes, armor plates began to be welded onto the M4A3E8 hulls. carved from wrecked American and German tanks. Moreover, exactly the same sheet was welded onto the inclined sidewall sheet, which doubled its thickness. Thinner sheets were fastened to the cast cover of the transmission side of the hull and turret. Very quickly, the 3rd Army realized that it would not be possible to cope with such work with the help of army repair shops alone. Therefore, in February 1945 By the end of the month, 106 M4AZE8 tanks for three tank divisions - the 4th, 6th and 11th - were involved in strengthening the armor protection of the tanks. Thus, each received 36 cars.

Work on strengthening the armor of tanks turned out to be very popular with the crews of Tak nappimer. according to tankers from the 6th Panzer Division, tanks with additional armor easily withstood the shelling of the 75-mm gun of the Panther tank. As a result, in March 1945, the armoring of combat vehicles continued. The example of the 3rd Army was followed by separate formations of the 7th and 1st armies. In some, for example, in the 3rd Panzer Division, additional armor was carried out according to the appeal developed in the army by General Paton, in others they created their own schemes.

In the meantime, in the 3rd Army, ridimo not satisfied with one additional armor, they started re-arming the "convenient eights" On the part of the machines, a coaxial 7.62-mm machine gun for yenili on a large-caliber - 12.7-mm At the same time, its barrel protruded noticeably beyond the dimensions of the anti-aircraft mask installation the large-caliber machine gun was moved forward by welding its bracket in front of the loader's hatch. Well, in front of the commander's cupola they placed the bracket of the non-standard 7.62-mm Browning М1919А4 machine gun. With such an additional armament, the air defense capabilities increased slightly, since it was impossible to shoot at the aircraft from both machine guns at once - they simply interfered with each other But for the battle in the village, for the shelling of the lower floors of buildings, where the German "faustniks" could sit down. two machine guns were most welcome

The M4AZE8 tanks, as well as the Shermans of other modifications, fought until the end of the Second World War, and then were in service with the battalions of medium tanks of tank divisions until the mid-1950s. These combat vehicles were actively used in the war in Korea

I must say that the situation with the tank units of the United States by the summer of 1950 was deplorable. Numerous American armored forces after the end of the Second World War were almost completely demobilized. On the territory of the country there were only three (!) Tank battalions of the 6th (M26 tanks), the 70th training in Fort Knox (M4AZ and M26 / and the 73rd in the infantry school in Fort Beniing (M26; Under these conditions, the command The 8th Army, which was located in Japan and South Korea, removed from storage and repaired 54 M4AZE8 tanks and formed the 89th battalion from them, which arrived at the Pusan ​​bridgehead at the end of July 1950, and 2 August entered the battle. A company of "Shermans" attacked the Serero-Korean positions near Masan, "ran into" the positions of a platoon of 45-mm anti-tank guns, lost 8 tanks and retreated

There were few tank battles in Korea. The main losses of the side were from artillery fire, bazooka and anti-tank rifles Against the Korean T 34-85 tanks, the Americans sought to use their M26 and M46, which surpassed the Soviet machine in both firepower and armor protection. The first clash between the T-34-85 and M4AZE8 occurred at the end of September 1950, when the American troops that landed at Inchon made their way towards the troops from the Pusan ​​bridgehead. M4AZE8 were knocked out in a matter of seconds. Then one T-34-85 “ironized” the transport convoy, smashing 15 trucks and jeeps to pieces, and was hit by a point-blank shot from a 105-mm howitzer. Another four T-34-85s became victims of bazooka fire, and the core of the Serero-Korean tanks knocked out the main forces of the 70th tank battalion that had approached from the rear

At the end of 1950, American troops in Korea numbered 1,326 tanks, 679 of which were M4AZE8. The Chinese People's Volunteer troops went on the offensive in October 1950, at first they had no tanks at all. However, throwing 31 infantry division against 18 Americans, by the beginning of 1951, the Chinese pushed them back beyond the 38th parallel. By mid-January, 670 tanks remained in the 8th Army, of which 317 were M4AZE8 and M4AZE5). Active in April fighting on the land front in Korea ended. At the same time, the combat career of the "convenient eight" was practically over.

They were not supplied to other countries - there were enough "Shermans" of other modifications, which turned out to be in abundance in the USA, Great Britain and France after World War II. Apparently, the most recent and noticeable combat episode with their participation is associated with Cuba. Seven M4AZE8 were in service with the Batista regime and were used against the rebels. In December 1958, in the city of Santa Clara, the partisans captured five Shermans without a fight - Che Guevara persuaded the tankers and they went over to the side of the rebels. On January 1, 1959, Havana rebelled, Batista's regime was swept away. And on January 8, the Rebel Army entered the city. Fidel Castro greeted the jubilant havanzers, standing in the open hatch of a comfortable figure eight.

M. Baryatinsky,
"Model designer" No. 3 "2006