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

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

These rearrangements were aimed at completely transferring the battalion to light tanks, since it was planned to use it in the amphibious assault in South Ozereyka.


Tank M4A2 "Sherman" Senior Lieutenant Sumarokov, 3rd Ukrainian Front, winter 1944.


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


Tanks М4А2 "Sherman", 71st separate tank regiment, 5th Guards Cavalry Corps, 2nd Ukrainian Front, Romania, September 1944.


М4А2 "Sherman", 6th Tank Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Botosani, Romania, August 1944.


Tanks М4А2 "Sherman", 6th Tank Army, Romania, August 1944.


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


German tank M4A2 "Sherman" from the 14th Panzer Division. Previously, the tank belonged to a part of the 2nd Baltic Front, October 1944.


Column of tanks М4А2 "Sherman", 5th Guards Tank Army, May 1944


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


M4A2 (76W) Sherman, 1st Guards Mechanized Corps. Tank supports infantry operations, Vienna, April 1945.


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


Tanks М4А2 (76) "Sherman", 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.


Tanks М4А2 (76) "Sherman", 2nd Ukrainian Front, Berlin, May 1945.


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

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


M4A2 (76) "Sherman", 64th Guards Tank Regiment of the 2nd Belorussian Front, Gdansk region, January 1945.


M4A2 "Sherman", unknown unit. Ferry in the Narva region, February-March 1944.


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

Bottom photo - M4A2 (76) W Sherman, 9th Mechanized Corps, 6th Panzer Army, Trans-Baikal Front, Manchuria, August 1945.


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

“Due to its high speed, the M4A2 tank is very convenient for pursuit and has great maneuverability. The armament is quite consistent with its design, as it has fragmentation and armor-piercing shells (blanks), the penetration of which is very high. The 75-mm cannon and two Browning machine guns are reliable in operation. The disadvantages of the tank include a high height, which is a target on the battlefield. The armor, despite its great thickness (60 mm), is of poor quality, since there were cases when at a distance of 80 meters it penetrated from the PTR. In addition, there were a number of cases when the Ju-87, during the bombing, fired at tanks from 20-mm cannons and pierced the side armor of the turret and side armor, as a result of which there were losses among the crews. Compared to the T-34, the M4A2 are more easily controllable, more enduring when making long marches, since the engines do not require frequent adjustments. These tanks work well in battle. "

The smooth running of the Shermans was appreciated by the paratroopers. Old soldiers recalled that in the second half of 1944, M4A2 tanks were used to hunt German Fausticians. Six to eight submachine gunners climbed onto the tank, tying 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.

Such tactical trick got the nickname "broom". Only "Shermans" were suitable for its implementation. On the T-34, due to the too rigid suspension, the landing was shaking and there was no question of any targeted shooting. It should also be noted the greater comfort for the crew of the Sherman compared to the thirty-four.

In July 1943, the 299th separate tank regiment, which had 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.

There are two types of units equipped with M4A2 Sherman tanks: separate mixed tank regiments and tank or mechanized corps. The regiments usually had 11 M4A2 tanks and ten Valentines IX. They acted 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 Belorussian Front on June 22, 1944, 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, there were 99 Shermans and 23 Valentine IXs in the corps. In May 1944, allied tanks equipped the 1st Mechanized Corps. Red Guard of the 1st Belorussian Front. In the brigades and regiments of the corps there were 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 near Slutsk and Baranovichi, and later took part in the liberation of Brest. The 5th Guards Tank Army, the main strike force of the 3rd Belorussian Front during Operation Bagration, was the largest strike force, equipped with a noticeable 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, 42 SU-85 self-propelled guns, 22 SU-76, 21 M10 and 37 SU-57.

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

On July 2, 1944, five Sherman tanks, led by the 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. Then the tankers were ordered to immediately break into the town of Krasnoye, and in the absence of enemy resistance, take the place. The enemy garrison did not expect an attack, so the tanks burst into the streets of the town, crammed with German trucks. Shooting from cannons and machine guns, throwing hand grenades, crushing the tracks of tanks, the tankers destroyed Hitler's equipment. Several tanks broke through to a nearby train station.

The commander of another platoon, Lieutenant Smirnov, received a radio message from Kiyashko and managed to intercept two steam locomotives and several carriages from which military equipment was being 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 AE Bashmakov. Tankers cut the highway and the railway leading to Minsk. Kiyashko ordered that three serviceable "Shermans" organized an ambush, and E. N. Smirnov's car, which was damaged by the ramming mechanism of the turret turnover, 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 through Krasnoe. 20 tanks and self-propelled guns (including several "Panthers") and up to an infantry battalion were thrown against the crews of three Soviet tanks. Within a few hours of the battle, three Shermans knocked out six German PzKpfw IV tanks, one Panther and a StuG III self-propelled artillery mount, and destroyed up to an infantry company. But the forces were not equal. All Soviet tanks were knocked out, the rest of the crews managed to get through to their own.

Meanwhile, with the approach of the main forces of the brigade, battles for the city of Krasnoe flared up with new strength... On July 3, having lost seven Shermans, the tankers did not take the city. The German defenses were solid. The next day, flanking the city, our units forced the enemy to start withdrawing, and on July 5 the Soviet cavalry of General Oslikovsky broke into Krasnoye and completely cleared the city of the Germans.


The chassis of the M4A2 (76) W HVSS "Sherman" tank 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 get a batch of such tanks, which it used in the war with Japan.


Tanks M4A2 (76) W "Sherman", 9th Mechanized Corps of the 6th Panzer Army. Trans-Baikal Front, formation before the start of the war with Japan, August 8, 1945.


Sherman tanks were used by 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 М4А2, five T-34s, 21 ISs, 21 SU-85s, 21 SU-76s, 53 "Scouts", 52 BA-64 and 19 ZSU M17. On August 10, 1944, the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front consisted of 100 М4А2, 40 Valentine IX and three SU-76s, and the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps on August 5, 1944 had 26 T-34s, 41 М4А2 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 2nd Tank and 33rd Armies). They finished their combat path in the Red Army in the Pacific Ocean: during the war with Japan, 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 a tank brigade - 65, and the 48th separate tank battalion has two T-34s, two Shermans and two SU-100s.

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 in their tactical and technical characteristics did not fundamentally differ from the basic version. The reasons that prompted the factories to start producing them were rather of a technological nature, taking into account the capabilities of this or that enterprise, traditional associated factories, etc. From February 1942 to July 1945, six main modifications of the M4 tank were in serial production. the main distinguishing features of 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 radial carburetor engines and had, respectively, a welded and cast hull. General Motors 6046 diesel engines were installed on the M4A2 variant tanks, Ford GAA carburetor engines were installed on the M4A3, Ford GAA carburetor engines were installed on the M4A4, and the M4A4 were blocks of five Chrysler A57 and, finally, on the М4А6 - the RD-1820 diesel engine. All these modifications had welded hulls.

General Motors 6046 and Ford GAA engines turned out to be the most successful from the point of view of the layout of the power compartment. 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, 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 US Marine Corps. As for the second, it became the "heart" of the most massive modification of "Sherman".

The first copy of the new tank, designated M4AZ, was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company at the end of May 1942. Early production vehicles still had inspection slots in the frontal part of the hull, but the transmission hatch cover was already solid, and the upper frontal plate of the hull, unlike other models, was welded from fewer parts. The production of the first M4AZ series with a 75-mm cannon and dry ammunition rack was completed in September 1943, and in February 1944, the Fisher Tank Arsenal plant began production of these tanks, but with a wet ammunition rack (model M4A3 (75) W). Tanks with a 76mm cannon began leaving the Chrysler Detroit Tank Arsenal plant in March 1944. Until the end of September, 1400 M4A3 (76) W were manufactured, which also had vertical suspension and 421 mm wide tracks. But already in August, the M4A3 (76) W HVSS version with a horizontal suspension began to be produced, in the production of which from September to December 1944 the Fisher Tank Arsenal plant took part, which produced 525 units. The release of the M4A3 (76) W HVSS in Detroit ended in June 1945, when the last 1217th tank of this modification came out of the factory gates. Thus, a total of 1,742 M4A3 (76) W HVSS tanks were hulled.

At the same time, it should be noted 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 the modernization of the M4AZ tank ("76" - 76-mm gun, W - wet ammo rack, HVSS - horizontal suspension system), did not take root in the troops. A simpler version of the index - M4A3E (J, with which this tank was designated at the test stage, on the contrary, gained wide popularity. That is how everyone called this vehicle - from a soldier to a general. The letter "E" in the index, which prototypes receive in the American designation system, the soldiers deciphered it in their own way, giving their favorite tank the nickname Easy Eight - “comfortable eight.” On this machine, deservedly considered the best version of the M4AZ, it makes sense to dwell in more detail.

The body of the M4AZE8 tank was welded from rolled armor plates. Its frontal part consisted of a massive cast part, which served both as a cover for the transmission hatch and a crankcase for the swing mechanism, and a top sheet 108 mm thick, located at an angle of 56 ° to the vertical. In the lower part of it, on the right, the ball mount of the 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 displaced relative to the lower one so that a pocket was formed between them for the outlet of air coming from the fans. In the front part 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 the hatches - an exhaust fan. In the middle part of the roof of the hull, a stationary shoulder strap of the tower was attached, around which a protective armor 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 cast T23 turret there was a commander's cupola with six triplex glass blocks and an MB periscope observation device, an oval loader hatch, an MB observation device hatch, an anti-aircraft machine gun bracket and an antenna input. In the left side of the tower there was a hatch for firing personal weapons, and a fan of the fighting compartment was mounted at the stern. The walls of the tower were 63.5 mm thick and the roof 25.4 mm thick. In the front of the turret in the M62 mask installation (armor shield thickness - 90 mm) there was a 76-mm M1A1C or M1A2 cannon with a 52 caliber barrel length. The gun barrel was equipped with a two-chamber muzzle brake. Vertical guidance was possible in the range from -10 ° to + 25 °. The gun had a vertical wedge breech and a copy-type semiautomatic device. A coaxial Browning М1919А4 machine gun was installed next to a masked cannon, and a 12.7 mm Browning М2НВ anti-aircraft machine gun was mounted on the turret roof. A 2-inch MZ smoke grenade launcher was located in the front left part of the turret roof. The aiming of the gun at the target was carried out using the M71D telescopic sight and the M4A1 periscopic sight with the M47A2 built-in telescopic sight. The gun was stabilized in the vertical guidance plane. The Westinghouse stabilizer was a type of gyroscopic stabilizer with indicator pendulum gyroscopes and a hydraulic power tracking system.

The tower was driven into rotation 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 of ammunition, as evidenced by the letter W in its designation (W - wet - wet). Ammunition was stored in two boxes located on the bottom of the hull and flooded with water. To prevent the water from freezing in winter, ethylene glycol was added to it. Placing ammunition on the floor of the fighting compartment increased the survivability of the vehicle, and filling it with water helped save it from detonation.

The power compartment was equipped with an 8-cylinder V-shaped liquid-cooled Ford GAA carburetor engine with a maximum power of 500 hp. 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 propeller shaft passing under the rotating turret floor, was transmitted to the two-disk main engine located in the control compartment in the bow of the tank

dry friction clutch, gearbox, double cylindrical differential and final drives Five-speed, mechanical gearbox with constant meshing gears with synchronizers in all gears, except for 1st and reverse gears

The undercarriage of the M4AZE8 tank, applied to one boat, consisted of six double rubberized road wheels interlocked in pairs in three balanoir bogies suspended on two horizontal buffer springs each, three single and two double supporting rollers of a rubberized guide wheel of the drive wheel front location with removable toothed rims (pinned engagement) Each track had 79 single-ridged Toaks, 584.2 mm (23 inches) wide track pitch - 152 mm. Metal or rubber-metal tracks with silent-block. Each suspension bogie was fitted with a hydraulic shock absorber

The engine, transmission and chassis allowed the 33.7-ton combat vehicle to reach a maximum speed of 42 km / h on the highway, while the power reserve was 160 km.

All tanks were equipped with SCR 508, 528 and 538 radios. SCR 506 radios were available only on command tanks.

M4AZE8 tanks began to enter the American troops in Europe in December 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 - М4A3 (76) W - these tanks differed only in the chassis, but also this turned out to be a lot. Wide tracks made it easier for new tanks to move through snow and soggy ground, for which tankers immediately fell in love with them. And no wonder - // the body pressure for М4АЗЕ8 was 0.77 kg / cm2 versus 1 kg / cm2 for М4А3! The use of greasy T66 tracks with developed grousers further improved cross-country ability. The crews also assessed the characteristics of the horizontal suspension - it turned out to be significantly softer than the vertical one. When driving over rough terrain, the tank got rid of longitudinal sway, and on the highway, in terms of ride comfort, it became comparable to a car. The increased smoothness of the movement had a positive effect on firing accuracy, reducing the load on the gun aiming stabilizer. All these advantages of М4АЗЕ8, combined with reliability and ease of use, traditional for "Shermans", apparently became the reason for the emergence of its nickname.

In the troops, the "comfortable eights" were not subjected to any alterations and modifications, with the exception, perhaps, of the constant desire of the crews to at least somehow strengthen their armor protection. ... tanks of those years, the Soviet T-34-85 and the German Pz.IV. With the latest M4AZE8 could generally fight on an equal footing! But the Germans also had a "Panther" and an 88-mm cannon Cancer 43 - the worst nightmare American tank crews Both the one and the other easily "pierced" 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 garlands of tracked tracks on the sides of combat vehicles.In the 14th Tank Division, they went even further and welded frame structures filled with sandbags on the sides. But perhaps the most professional and thorough approach to this issue was the 3rd Army of General George Patton. After the end of the fighting in the Ardennes, armor plates were welded onto the M4A3E8 corps. carved from damaged American and German tanks. Moreover, exactly the same was welded onto the inclined butting sheet, which doubled its thickness. Thinner sheets were fastened to the cast cover of the transmission of the hull and turret sides Very quickly, the 3rd Army realized that it would not be possible to cope with such work with the help of some Army repair shops. Therefore, in February 1945 Belgian enterprises in Bastonm were involved in strengthening the armor protection of tanks. By the end of the month, 106 M4AZE8 tanks for three tank divisions - 4th, 6th and 11th - were converted to them. Thus, each received 36 cars.

Work on strengthening the armor of tanks proved to be very popular with the crews of Tak nappimer. according to tank crews from the 6th Panzer Division, the tanks with additional armor could easily withstand the shelling of the 75-mm gun of the Panther tank. As a result, in March 1945, the re-booking of military 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 to the conversion developed in the army of General Paton, in others they created their own schemes.

In the meantime, in the 3rd Army, not being satisfied with the armoring alone, they began to re-equip the "comfortable eights". On some vehicles, a coaxial 7.62-mm machine gun for a large-caliber one - 12.7 mm. 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, a bracket for a non-standard 7.62-mm Browning М1919А4 machine gun was placed. But for a fight in a village, for shelling the upper floors of buildings, where the German "faustics" could sit down. two machine guns came in handy

Tanks М4АЗЕ8, like, however, and "Shermans" of other modifications, fought until the completion of World War II, and then were in service with a battalion of medium tanks of tank divisions until the mid-1950s. These combat vehicles were actively used in the war in Korea

It must be said that the situation with the tank units of the USA by the summer of 1950 was lamentable. Numerous American armored troops 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 (tanks M26 ", 70th training in Fort Knox (M4AZ and M26 / and 73rd in the infantry school in Fort Benying (M26; In these conditions, the commanders 8th Army, Voiska, which were 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 entered the battle on August 2. A company of "Shermans" attacked the Sery-Korean positions near Masan, "ran into" the position of a platoon of 45-mm anti-tank guns lost 8 tanks and withdrew

There were few tank battles in Korea. The main losses of the side were from artillery fire, "bazookas" and anti-tank rifles. In response to the Kopean T 34-85 tanks, the Americans sought to use their M26 and M46, which surpassed the Soviet vehicle both in firepower and in armor protection. A second clash between the T-34-85 and M4AZE8 occurred at the end of September 1950, when American troops landing at Incheon fought their way to meet the troops from the Pusan ​​bridgehead. М4АЗЕ8 were hit in a matter of seconds. Then one T-34-85 “ironed” the transport convoy, smashing 15 trucks and jeeps into chips, and was hit by a point-blank shot from a 105-mm howitzer. Four more T-34-85s became victims of bazooka fire, and the fire of the Sererokoreiskih tanks knocked out the main forces of the 70th tank battalion, which had approached from the rear.

At the end of 1950, the American troops in Korea numbered 1326 tanks, 679 of which were M4AZE8. The Chinese People's Volunteer Troops, which went on the offensive in October 1950, at first had no tanks at all. However, throwing 31 infantry division against 18 American, the Chinese by the beginning of 1951 pushed them over the 38th parallel. By mid-January, 670 tanks remained in the 8th Army, of which 317 М4АЗЕ8 and М4АЗЕ5). In April, active fighting on the land front in Korea ended Simultaneously, the combat career of the "Convenient Eight" practically ended.

In other countries, they were delivered little - there were enough "Shermans" of other modifications, which were 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, partisans seized five Shermans without a fight - Che Guevara sagged the tankers and they went over to the side of the rebels. On January 1, 1959, Havana revolted, the Batista regime was swept away. And on January 8, the Rebel Army entered the city. Fidel Castro greeted the jubilant Havanzer, standing comfortably in the open hatchway of the eight. "

M. Baryatinsky,
"Model-constructor" No. 3 "2006

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

From 1942 until the end of the war, the M4 formed the backbone of the American armored forces, fighting the Japanese militarists in Asia and the Nazis in Europe. As part of the British troops, the Shermans fought in Africa and landed in Italy. Soviet M4s liberated Ukraine and reached Berlin. And for many years, the tank, developed in the early forties, was actively used and won in battles with more modern vehicles.

The history of the creation of the tank

The beginning of World War II was met by the United States, having just begun 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 as training ones.

To replace the M2 in an emergency (not even prototypes were made), the M3 tank was developed (later named "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 "Lee".

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

Specifically, the engine, Bottom part the 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 production vehicles in the presence of two additional machine guns in the forehead of the hull, as well as in the presence of a hatch for the crew in the side of the hull.

Serial production of the M4 tanks began in the winter of 1942. The first tanks were assembled at the Lima steam 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 housing 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 hull was cast. Common to all versions was the lower frontal part of the body, 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 aft armor has the same thickness.

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


In the event of a failure of the mechanism, the possibility of manual rotation was provided.

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

Armament

The original armament of the Sherman was the 75mm M3 gun. This cannon was a development of the 1897 French field gun adopted in the United States. In the M2 version, the gun was installed on the early M3 tanks, and the later "Lee" and "Shermans" received the M3 with the 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 pierced armor a little worse - up to 90 mm. In the initial period of the 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 was too heavy for the Sherman.

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 fight 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 cannon did not stop - the previous 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 two thousand Shermans of the M4A1 and M4A4 modifications supplied to Great Britain were rearmed with a “17-pounder” 76.2 mm cannon. 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 was removed from the Fireflies in order to increase the ammunition load of the gun. This led to the reduction of the crew to four people. The gun stabilizer was dismantled.


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

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

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

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

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

Since 1943, all Shermans have been fitted with a smoke screen mortar.

Crew accommodation and tank equipment

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


On the linear "Shermans" installed a VHF radio station, located in the rear niche of the tower. Its antenna was displayed on the roof of the tower. The command tanks additionally had a shortwave radio station in the right fender, with an antenna extending through the frontal armor plate.

The tank intercom was part of a standard radio station; in addition, a telephone could be installed to communicate with the tank of the accompanying infantry.
For driving in difficult weather conditions, the tank was equipped with a gyrocompass.

The tank with a 75mm gun was equipped with a three-time telescopic sight M55 and a backup sight M38A1, built into the gunner's periscope.

Howitzer tanks had the M77C model instead of the М38А1 sight. Long-barreled M4s were equipped with M51 and M47A2 sights.

Later, they were replaced by the M10 universal periscope, into which two telescopic sights were built - sixfold and not having a magnification. This device replaced all the former variety of scopes. For shooting from closed positions, the gun aiming angle indicator was used. The M3 and M1 guns had a gyroscopic stabilizer.

Engine and transmission

Different versions of the Sherman had different engines. The R975 aircraft 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 (developed as an aviation one, but found application only on 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 small-scale 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 body, and its outer body made of armored steel at the same time served as the lower frontal part.

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

Chassis

The suspension of the tank is generally similar to that used on the M3 tanks, with three two-wheel bogies. Each of the carts has two vertical springs. During the combat use, the disadvantages of such a suspension were revealed - on a soft surface the tank's passability dropped, 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 rollers went into production.

The early suspension was designated VVSS, the late 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 38mm thick were welded onto the frontal plate and the top of the side, and the transmission cover was reinforced. “Jumbo” was not intended for tank battles, it carried an M3 cannon, but later some tanks were re-equipped with a long-barreled M1 and used as heavy tank destroyers.


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

"Shermans" equipped with mine trawls and bulldozer knives were used in engineering units. Amphibious modification DD was used when crossing rivers.
On the basis of "Sherman" were built "tank destroyers" - highly mobile light armored vehicles with an open turret. These include the M10 with a 76mm cannon and the M36 with a 90mm cannon.

The M7 self-propelled guns were equipped with a 105mm howitzer in an open wheelhouse, 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 modernized version 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 the latest tanks tried to improve the Sherman's efficiency with upgrades.

In Israel, the Shermans underwent their first rearmament in 1956. They were assigned the M50 index. Three hundred of these tanks received a French 75mm gun. During the next modernization, in 1962, the Israeli M4A1 was equipped with Cummins VT8-460 diesels, replaced the cannon with a 105mm gun, and named the M51. In the 1970s, some of the vehicles 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, a swinging one from an AMX-13 light tank was installed. The turret included a 75mm gun and an automatic loader.

Lend-Lease deliveries and combat use

17181 tanks from the released "Shermans" were received by British troops. The Shermans were refined to meet British standards and received new designations. The changes included, for example, the replacement of radios with British ones, the installation of a smoke mortar, and additional fire extinguishing systems.

For the first time the 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 has proven high fighting qualities M4, but after the appearance of the German Tiger tanks in Tunisia, 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 devices and communications. The Sherman's less noise made them perfect for stealth attacks. At the same time, there was a lack of cross-country ability in winter conditions and a tendency to overturns due to the high center of gravity.

In the Soviet Union, the first Shermans took part in the Battle of Kursk. True, then these tanks were few. But since 1944, the number of incoming Shermans made it possible to create even separate corps from them. Soviet M4A2s took part in all subsequent battles of the war, including the defeat of the Kwantung Army.


In Europe, the 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, it became apparent that the Sherman was not well adapted to urban battles. But by this time the tank was already assessed as obsolete, and new tanks had to solve this problem.

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

To the beginning korean war The Sherman was already considered obsolete, but only the 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 equal opponents, and often the outcome of the battle was decided by the best training of American tankers.

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


For the 1967 war, Israel's Shermans were used in secondary directions, but managed to prove themselves there too, destroying, for example, a convoy of Egyptian T-54s.
As machines of the second line, "Shermans" were used by both sides 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 counterparts.

Performance characteristics of the main modifications of the M4 tanks and their closest analogues
M4A1M4A3 (76) W HVSST-34 mod. 1942 g.T-34-85 mod. 1944 yearPz.KpfW.IV Ausf.H
Dimensions (edit)
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
Reservation, mm
Body forehead51/56 °64/47 °45/60 °45/60 °80
The sides and stern of the hull38 38 45-40 / 40 °45-40 / 40 °30-20
Tower forehead76 64…89 53 90 50
Sides and stern of the tower51 51 53 52-75 30
Armament
A gun75 mm M376 mm M11 × 76 mm F-341 × 85 mm S-5375 mm KwK.40 L / 48
Machine guns1 × 12.7 mm M2HB, 2 × 7.62 mm 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
EngineGasoline 9-cylinder radial "Continental" R975 C1, 350 HP With.Gasoline 8-cylinder V-shaped "Ford" GAA, 450 hp. With.12 cyl. V-shaped diesel engine V-2, 500 hp With.Gasoline 12-cylinder Maybach HL 120TRM, 300 HP With.
Maximum speed on the highway, km / h39 42 54 54 38
Cruising on the highway, km190 160 300 300 210

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

Machine appraisal

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, making it possible to fight any enemy medium tanks. The appearance of the Pz.IV tanks with enhanced armor, as well as the Tigers and Panthers, made it ineffective.


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

In general, the M4 in terms of armament corresponded to modern medium tanks, and even surpassed in its effectiveness, due to high-quality optics and the presence of a stabilizer.

When assessing the security of the Sherman, it should be remembered that during the years of its development, the typical armament of most tanks was 40-45mm guns.

And the infantry had at their disposal only anti-tank rifles and large-caliber machine guns. In comparison with the T-34 "Sherman" was inferior to him in the thickness of the sides, devoid of inclination. But the sides of even the late versions of the German Pz.IV were thinner than those 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, outnumbered the competition, but there were few such tanks.

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


The tactical and strategic mobility of the Sherman was highly rated. Due to its small dimensions, the tank was easily loaded onto all types of transport, including rail. When moving on its own, the motor resource allowed to travel long distances, rubberized tracks did not break roads, and the suspension design provided the crew with some comfort.

“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 assemblies did not require frequent adjustments. The maintainability of the tank also 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 units had to be adjusted manually.

The downside was the exactingness of tanks to the skill level service personnel.

Tank analogs

The Soviet counterpart, the T-34, somewhat surpassed the Sherman in terms of the effectiveness of the side armor, was approximately similar in armament, and was significantly inferior in terms of the comfort of the crew.


The later T-34-85 possessed a powerful high-explosive fragmentation projectile (the absence of which forced the production of “short-barreled Shermans” to be maintained), and its efficiency improved due to the separation of gunner and commander duties. It is worth noting that in the "fire-hazardous" "Sherman" fuel tanks were located in the engine compartment, and in 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 roughly equal in armament and armor protection. At the same time, the late Panthers (Pz.V (T-5)) were notable for poor build quality.

Although the "Panther" was superior to the "Sherman" and the power of weapons (with the same caliber of the gun) and the thickness of the armor. Its main disadvantage was its low reliability.
The British Army had two tanks of its own design, roughly similar to the Sherman. The first is Cromwell, which went into battle in 1944. Its 57mm cannon 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 cannon. In terms of firepower, it was approximately equal to the American "Shermans" (but somewhat inferior to the "Fireflies"), had equal protection and greater, due to the powerful engine, mobility.

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, maintaining the high quality of workmanship and decoration. And the modernization potential of the “Sherman” allowed it to successfully withstand more modern tanks.

Video

Almost in parallel with the design of the MZ, the development of a new tank began, in which it was supposed to eliminate the shortcomings of the latter, in particular the unsuccessful placement of the 75-mm cannon, and at the same time make the most of the existing components and assemblies. In June 1941, a full-size wooden mock-up of the tank was made, designated T6. Then assembly of a prototype with a cast upper body began in Aberdeen. At the same time, a machine with a welded hull, but without a turret, was created in the Rock Island arsenal. The Aberdeen prototype was ready by September 2, 1941 and was demonstrated to representatives of the Panzer Command and the Department of Armaments.

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


Medium tank M4A2 during tests at the NIIBT proving grounds in Kubinka. Summer 1942.



Tank M4A2 (76) W at the NIIBT proving grounds in Kubinka outside Moscow. 1945 year. Under its American index, this modification of the Sherman never appeared in Soviet documents during the war years.



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


From February 1942 to July 1945, 6 main modifications of the M4 tank were in serial production. Basically, all models of the Sherman tank (М4, М4А1, М4А2, М4АЗ, М4А4, М4А6) were no different from each other. By outward appearance only the M4A1 with its cast body stood out sharply. Cannons, turrets, placement of components and assemblies, chassis - everything was the same. Over time, all models received a single cast frontal part - the transmission compartment cover (instead of the three-piece assembly used previously), the oval loader hatch, bulwarks, side armor, and much more. Initially, the tanks had viewing slots in the frontal sheet of the hull, then they were closed with armored casings and periscopes were introduced, and finally, in late 1943 - early 1944, a one-piece frontal plate appeared, and the hatches were moved to the roof of the hull. True, it was necessary to reduce the angle of inclination of the frontal armor from 56 ° to 47 ° from the vertical.

The main difference between the "Shermans" from each other was the type of power plant. Thus, the 9-cylinder radial carburetor engine "Continental" R-975 was used on the M4 and M4A1; on М4А2 - twin GMC diesel engines; for 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, five gasoline engines "Chrysler Multibank" A-57. To install such a unit, the body had to be slightly lengthened. The M4A6 had the same length, but the Caterpillar RD1820 diesel was used as the power plant. On all modifications, the transmission was located in the front of the body, which caused a relatively great height tank.

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

By February 1944, Chrysler had developed design documentation and prototyped all new models. In these tanks, the ammunition stowage was moved from the hull fenders to the floor of the fighting compartment and placed on both sides of the propeller shaft. 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 in the event of a projectile hitting the ammunition stowage, water would spill and prevent a fire. On tanks with 105-mm howitzers, the ammunition stowage was "dry", in armored boxes.

The appearance of the commander's cupola with a periscope device and six sloped triplex units made it possible to dramatically improve the view from the commander's place. Somewhat later, the oval loader hatch was replaced with a round bivalve one.

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 against 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 as M4E8, M4A1E8, M4A2E8 and M4AZE8. The mass of the tank increased slightly, but due to the use of wider tracks, the specific pressure on the ground decreased, and the permeability not only did not decrease, but even increased. At the end of March 1945, the production of General Sherman tanks with horizontal suspension began. All modifications that were produced at that time received a new chassis. It is rather 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, accounted for more than half of the Shermans in the US Army. The rest of the modifications were intensively exported. Suffice it to say that only 17,174 M4 (Sherman I), M4A1 (Sherman II), M4A2 (Sherman III) and IW4A4 (Sherman V) tanks were delivered to England under Lend-Lease. The name "Sherman IV" was given to the M4AZ, they were delivered to England 7 vehicles - the only exported tanks of this modification.



Medium tank M4A2 (76) W HVSS with horizontal suspension and 23-inch track during tests at the NIIBT proving grounds 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 the M4A2 tanks accounted for more than a third of all the tanks received by our country from the allies under Lend-Lease during the war, it makes sense to dwell on the design of these combat vehicles in more detail.

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 from three parts), which simultaneously served as a cover for the transmission hatch and a crankcase for the swing 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 plate, side plates and the bottom. From the outside, final drive housings were attached to it from the sides.

The upper frontal plate was welded to the sides and roof of the hull. In its lower part, on the right, a ball mount of a machine gun was mounted, to the right and above which there was a cylindrical socket for the antenna input (in case the tank was equipped with two radio stations). In the upper part of the frontal sheet there were two protrusions in which there were viewing slots with triplexes that opened from the inside of the tank. From the second half of 1942, armor plates were welded to the protrusions, and then cast caps; instead of viewing slots, MB periscopic observation devices were installed. At the end of 1943, a one-piece 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 transfer of the ammunition rack 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 displaced relative to the lower one so that a pocket was formed between them for the outlet of air coming from the fans. The armor of the sides and stern was 38 mm thick, and the hull roof was 18 mm thick.

In the front part of the roof of the hull, above the control compartment, there were oval landing hatches for the driver and his assistant, located along the hull and having observation devices built into the covers. Two fans were installed on either side 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 stern - 50-mm, the roof of the tower - 25-mm. In front of the turret, a mask installation was attached (armor thickness - 90 mm). On the roof of the tower there was a landing hatch, a ventilation hatch for the fighting compartment, covered with an armored cap, two hatches for observation devices and an antenna input. The landing hatch was closed by a double-leaf lid hinged in a rotating anti-aircraft machine gun turret. From December 1943, an oval loader hatch appeared on the turret roof.

The tower was driven into rotation by a hydroelectric rotary mechanism or manually. With the help of 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 turret ring diameter in the light. The armament was 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 periscopic observation device, an oval loader hatch, an observation device hatch, an anti-aircraft machine gun bracket and an antenna input. In the left side of the tower there was a hatch for firing personal weapons, and a fan of 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 body, 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 caliber. Since 1944, the M4A2 (76) W tank was equipped with a 76 mm M1A1 cannon, and then an M1A1C or M1A2 with a 52 caliber barrel length. All guns had vertical wedge breeches and semiautomatic copier type. Vertical guidance - 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 paired with a cannon, the other a course one, and a 50.8 mm MZ smoke grenade launcher. A large-caliber anti-aircraft 12.7 mm Browning M2HB machine gun was mounted on the roof of the turret.

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

On the M4A2 tank, the power plant GMC 6046 model 71 was installed, which consisted of two 6-cylinder two-stroke, compressor-less in-line diesel engines located in parallel and connected into one unit with a capacity of 375 hp. at 2100 rpm. The engines were started by electric starters. To facilitate winter start-up, two flame nozzles with glow plugs were used for each engine.

The transmission consisted of two single-disk main dry friction clutches (one per engine), a transverse connecting gear, a propeller shaft, a gearbox, a steering mechanism and final drives. Transmission - mechanical, five-speed (5 + 1), with synchronizers in all gears, except for 1st and reverse gears. Swing mechanism - double differential type "Kletrak".



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



A column of M4A2 tanks with an armored landing party. 1943 year. Despite the smooth ride, it was difficult to stay on the Sherman, since the tank was completely missing any handrails or braces. In the American army, motorized infantry was transported in armored personnel carriers and cars.



Tanks M4A2 on the march to the front line. 1944 year.


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

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

M4A2 tanks of all variants were produced 10,968 pieces, of which 8053 - with a 75-mm cannon. Since the American army received only tanks with gasoline engines, the M4A2 were used in the United States as training and supplied under Lend-Lease to other countries, mainly to England (7418 units). A number of M4A2s were used by the US Marine Corps in battles in the Pacific. The main producers were Fisher Tank Arsenal and Pullman Standard; in late 1942, they were joined by American Locomotive, Federal Machinery & Welder and Baldwin. The production of the M4A2 with 75 mm cannons was completed in May 1944. Then the company "Fisher Tank Arsenal" - the main manufacturer of diesel "Shermans" - switched to the production of М4А2 (76) W and until May 1945 produced 2894 tanks, 21 machines were produced by the company "Pressed Steel Car". The total production of the M4A2 with the 76 mm cannon was 2,915.

According to American data, 1,900 tanks with a 75-mm cannon and 2,073 with a 76-mm cannon were delivered to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease. In May 1945, the Red Army also received a number of horizontal suspension tanks.

The first Shermans arrived in the USSR in November 1942. This modification was not chosen by chance. The Soviet specialists, with whom the nomenclature of the supplied equipment was coordinated, were well aware of the difficulties that arose during the operation of the 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 machines sent does not match the number of machines received. So, according to admissions committees 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 Caucasian Front. In the latter, on January 5, 1943, there were 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 staff the 563rd battalion light tanks, which were planned to be used in the implementation of the landing in South Ozereyka. In July 1943, the 299th separate tank regiment was included in the 48th Army of the Central Front, armed with 38 М4А2.

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

“Due to its high speed, the M4A2 tank is very convenient for pursuit and has great maneuverability. The armament is quite consistent with its design, as it has fragmentation and armor-piercing shells (blanks), the penetration of which is very high. The 75-mm cannon and two Browning machine guns are reliable in operation. The disadvantages of the tank include a high height, which is a target on the battlefield. The armor, despite its great thickness (60 mm), is of poor quality, since there were cases when at a distance of 80 meters it penetrated from the PTR. In addition, there were a number of cases when the Ju-87, during the bombing, fired at tanks from 20-mm cannons and pierced the side armor of the turret and side armor, as a result of which there were losses among the crews. Compared to the T-34, the M4A2 are more easily controllable, more enduring when making long marches, since the engines do not require frequent adjustments. These tanks work well in battle. "

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



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



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



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


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

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

Tank manufactured in 1942 by the Fisher Tank Arsenal plant.

Before the start of summer tests, the M4A2 tank passed 1285 km in winter and spring conditions. The engines worked for 89 hours.

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

By the end of the tests, the tank had covered 3,050 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 volume of maintenance of the tank specified in the "Memo to the crew of the M4A2 tank" compiled by the Research Institute BT Polygon, fully ensures the normal and reliable operation of the tank.

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

4) The transmission of the tank can normally work 4000-5000 km without changing the American filling with SAE-50 oil, with which M4L2 tanks arrive in the USSR. Refueling of the transmission must be carried out 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 the M4A2 tank is operated on a metal track, the reliability of the undercarriage decreases (especially the service life of the rubber tires of the road wheels decreases). "

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 road wheels during intensive operation of tanks on a metal track has also been confirmed. Such a misfortune, for example, happened in units of the 5th Mechanized Corps during the Yasso-Kishinev operation in August 1944.

Mass equipment different parts and formations of the Red Army "Shermans" began in the spring of 1944.

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

On March 13, 1944, at the M4A2 tank of the guard of junior lieutenant V.A. The crew repaired the tank all day. 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, the driver-mechanic Senior Sergeant Ivan Volodin and the gunner of the gun Sergeant Boris Kalinichenko were killed. There were only two left in the crew - the commander and the gunner-radio operator, Private P.K. Krestyaninov.

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

Under cover of the evening twilight, the tank headed 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 with. I'm in the cinema. What happened next, you can find out from the award list:

“... Second Lieutenant V. A. Sivkov on the night of March 13-14, following the regiment's route, on the way learned that the enemy was on his route in the village of Yavkino. This did not bother him, and he decided, by all means, to fight his way to his unit. Coming close to the village of Yavkina, junior lieutenant Sivkov opened a hurricane of 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 he fell under a hurricane of fire and tank tracks ...

On the night of March 14-15, the enemy, bringing up significant forces, launched a counterattack on the village of Yavkino. Reflecting the enemy's attack, maneuvering around the village, the tank hit an anti-tank ditch. Unable to use a cannon and machine guns, he made it possible for the enemy to come close to the tank and invite the crew to surrender, to which Sivkov responded by opening fire and exclaiming: “Komsomol members do not surrender!” - threw grenades at them.

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

Conclusion: I represent 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, found an exploded Soviet tank. Inside it was found a small package and in it two sheets of finely scribbled paper, which said:

“We, the remaining two in tank 17, Vadim Aleksandrovich Sivkov (tank commander, junior lieutenant) and radio operator Pyotr Konstantinovich Krestyaninov, decided it would be better to die in our own tank than to leave it.

We don’t think to surrender, leaving two or three cartridges for ourselves ...

The Germans approached the tank twice, but could not open it. At the last minute of our life, we will blow up a tank with grenades so that we don't hit the enemy. "

For courage, courage and unlimited 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.



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



"Emcha" forces a water barrier along floating bridge on the outskirts of Vienna. April 1945.



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


The arrival of a significant number of "Shermans" made it possible to arm large formations with them. So, for example, on June 22, 1944, the 3rd Guards Stalingrad Mechanized Corps, which operated as part of the 3rd Belorussian Front, had 196 tanks, mostly of foreign production: 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 at the head outpost under the command of the Guard Senior Lieutenant G.G.Kiyashko, crossed the river. Berezin and received the task of breaking into the town of Krasnoe and, in case of a successful development of events, capture it. The enemy garrison did not expect the appearance of Soviet troops. Tanks burst into the streets filled with German vehicles. Firing from cannons and machine guns, armor and tracks, the guards smashed the enemy's manpower 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" of junior lieutenant AE Bashmakov. Tankers cut the highway and railroad going to Krasnoe from Minsk. In order to hold out until the approach of the main forces, Kiyashko set three tanks in an ambush. By this time, the tank of Lieutenant E.N.Smirnov, whose rotary mechanism of the gun was damaged during the ram, 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 through Krasnoe. Against three Soviet tanks, the Germans threw 20 tanks and self-propelled guns, including several "panthers", and up to an infantry battalion. In a few hours of unequal battle, three Shermans knocked out six German Pz tanks. IV, one "Panther" and an assault gun StuG III, destroyed up to a company of infantry. But the forces were unequal. All Soviet tanks were knocked out, the rest of the crews managed to get through to their own.

And here is another combat example. On July 26, 1944, tankmen of the 44th Guards Tank Regiment started fighting on the outskirts of Shauliai.

“Tank crews of Guards Lieutenant G. Milkov, V. Silysh and A. Safonov exterminated the Nazis with crushing fire from their cannons. The commander of the 1st tank company of the guard, Captain Volkov, who was in one of the vehicles, skillfully led the battle. The walls of houses were crumbling, and under their rubble the enemy guns and machine guns were silent. Enemy vehicles caught fire and ammunition boxes in their bodies were torn. House by house, street by street, brave Soviet soldiers were cleared of the resisting enemy. "

The Shermans of the 43rd, 44th and 45th Guards Tank Regiments of the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps liberated Shauliai and Jelgava, took part in the defeat of the enemy's Kurland grouping.

NZ Aleksandrov, a veteran of the 44th Guards Tank Regiment, shares his impressions of his acquaintance with the Sherman.

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

We walked along the road through a field surrounded by forest. They fired at us in front of the village. The Germans had an SPG and an anti-tank gun on the defensive. They retreated a little bit back and along the edge of the forest, crushing the bushes, at low throttle went out to their flank. I walked on foot with four submachine gunners, and the tank was behind. We crept up about three hundred meters. He ordered the submachine gunners to take up defenses so as not to let anyone in, and he himself returned to the tank. The self-propelled gun was burned with an armor-piercing gun, and then the gun was destroyed. The German infantry scattered. Thus, the road was opened.

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

To be honest, some of the opinions of the veteran tanker are surprising, in particular criticism about the "non-sloping" armor and "weak" 75-mm cannon. It is clear that neither one nor the other is unfair. Compared to the T-34, the Sherman had only side armor that was not sloped. However, the main indicator of a tank's security is its frontal armor. According to the characteristics of the side armor, 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 own ballistic performance it was identical to our F-34. Due to the better quality of ammunition, the American gun was superior to the Soviet one in terms of armor penetration. The Sherman, which had a double differential as a steering mechanism, really could not turn around in place. However, the veteran does not mention how much physical effort it cost the T-34 driver to turn on the spot. The quiet course of the American tank was noted by all Soviet tankers. This was especially noticeable against the background of the T-34. "Thirty-four" with its roaring engine without mufflers and rumbling ridged caterpillars, according to the testimony of front-line soldiers, could be heard for 3 km on a quiet moonlit night!

And, finally, something does not fit with the veteran and rearmament on the T-34-85. According to the documents, by January 1945, already operating as part of the 1st Baltic Front, the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps had 176 М4А2 (108 of them with a 76-mm cannon) and 21 Valentine IX. There was no trace of T-34–85.



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



Column of "Shermans" on the street of 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.



Tankers are greeted by Soviet girls freed from Nazi captivity. In the background is the M4A2 tank. Berlin, May 1945.


By the way, the "Sherman" was distinguished not only by its quiet, but also smooth running, which was especially appreciated by the motorized infantry-tank paratroopers. According to the recollections of many veterans, from the second half of 1944, the M4A2 tanks were actively used to combat the "fausts". This is how it was done. Four or five submachine gunners sat on the tank, which were tied to brackets on the turret with waist belts. When the vehicle was moving, the infantrymen fired at any shelters within a radius of 100–150 m, behind which the “fa-ostniks” could be located. This technique is called "broom". And for the "broom" only "Shermans" were suitable. On the T-34, because of its candlestick suspension and its inherent longitudinal swing, it was almost impossible for the infantrymen, tied with a waist belt, to resist.

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

“I must say that the quality of the radio stations on the Sherman tanks aroused the envy of the tankers who fought in our tanks, and not only among them, but also among the soldiers of other military branches. We even allowed ourselves to make gifts by 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 check in the January-March battles of the forty-fourth year in the Right-Bank Ukraine and near Yassy.

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

And one more unit in an American tank still causes my admiration. In my opinion, we have not spoken about him before. This is a small-sized gasoline engine designed for recharging batteries. A wonderful thing! It was located in the fighting compartment, and its exhaust pipe was brought out on the starboard side. It was possible to launch it to recharge the batteries at any time. On Soviet T-34s during the Great Patriotic War, to maintain the battery in working order, it was necessary to drive five hundred Horse power engine, which was quite an expensive pleasure, given the consumption of motor resources and fuel ...

In offensive battles on the territory of Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Austria, communications worked smoothly. Even when the forward subunits were separated from the main forces by a distance of 15–20 kilometers, communication was carried out by a microphone or a key, if the terrain turned out to be rugged. "

The presence of radio stations generally distinguished all Lend-Lease tanks from domestic ones for the better. The latter, as you know, 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 supplied to the USSR, including the Shermans, were equipped with English Wireless Sets No. 19 Mk. II. WS 19 radios have been produced in England since 1941, and since 1942 they have also been produced in Canada and the USA. WS 19 began to arrive in the USSR already at the end of 1941, together with British tanks "Matilda" and "Valentine", and from 1942, in addition to British ones, radio stations of Canadian and American production began to arrive. The latter had all service labels in English and Russian. Equipping all imported armored vehicles with radio stations of English design is not accidental, but this is not a tribute to unification. The fact is that American tanks communicated in the 20 ... 28 MHz range using frequency modulation, while the WS 19 radio stations had the 2 ... 8 MHz and 229 ... 241 MHz ranges, operating 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 4 ... 5.63 MHz frequency range, in which tank radio stations operated Soviet production, and could be used without modifications in the armored and mechanized troops of the Red Army.

In 1944, the Shermans ousted foreign tanks of other brands from the tank units of the Red Army, with the exception of the Valentine. For example, the 5th Guards Tank Army, the main striking force of the 3rd Belorussian Front in Operation Bagration, was equipped with both domestic and foreign equipment. It consisted of 350 T-34 tanks, 64 Sherman tanks, 39 Valentine IX tanks, 29 ISs, 23 ISU-152s, 42 SU-85s, 22 SU-76s, 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, the number of Shermans was second only to the T-34.

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 included 185 М4А2, five T-34s, 21 ISs, 21 SU-85s, 21 SU-76s, 53 "scouts" MZA1, 52 BA-64 and 19 3SU Ml7.

During the Vistula-Oder operation, the 1st Mechanized Corps, equipped with the Sherman and Valen-Tain tanks, was part of the 2nd Guards Tank Army. Subsequently, the corps took part in the storming of Berlin.

M4A2 tanks, especially in the version with a powerful 76-mm cannon, fell in love with Soviet tank crews... They were given quite a few friendly nicknames and nicknames. "Emcha" (from "em four"), "Gorbach", "May beetle", "Brontosaurus" in the hands of an experienced crew who knew their car well, its strong and weaknesses, was terrible to the enemy. This is evidenced by many combat examples.

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

As Dmitry Loza himself recalls, it was like this:

“The sent reconnaissance - a platoon of the guard of Lieutenant Ivan Tuzhikov - came to the approaches to Veszprem and disguised themselves in the forest, to the left of the highway. She found a large enemy tank column. "Fascist tanks are pressing towards you," the platoon commander reported to me ... It was necessary to quickly withdraw the battalion and deploy it, preparing an ambush for the approaching convoy ... I give the command: "Do not linger! Everyone, follow the crossing! “Ionov reported that he was behind the steel highway. I order him to go another kilometer and turn around to the right of the road. He knows about the approach of an enemy column, like all officers of the battalion.

Danilchenko's platoons reached the southern outskirts of Khaimashker. From the west, twelve cars were moving towards it along a country road at speed. An excellent target! .. From everything it was clear that the enemy did not know the latest data on the situation in the area. He did not have intelligence and security ...

At the signal, eight "Shermans" of Grigory Danilchenko fired from the cannons. The trucks were engulfed in flames. The surviving infantry began to jump out of the car bodies and scatter in different directions, but only a few managed to get away ...

I order Danilchenko's company to follow me. We skip the crossing, the fork in the road, go about eight hundred meters ahead, leave the highway to the right and deploy into battle formation. How lucky we are! The units found themselves at the enemy's artillery range, pitted with countless positions for guns of various calibers and shelters for their tractors. Well, just a chance! We took the ones that fit 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. The visibility has improved. The time elapsed from the moment the Shermans occupied their positions until the appearance of the head fascist tank seemed to us an eternity ... Finally, at a bend in the highway, we saw the head of an enemy column. The tanks went at reduced 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 the cannon of my tank has been fired and all the tanks are silent. I am patiently waiting for the moment when the entire column will be in our field of vision. The commander of the gun of my guard tank, senior sergeant Anatoly Romashkin, constantly keeps the lead enemy vehicle at gunpoint. Behind the rear German tanks, the barrels of the guns of the Shermans of the Tuzhikov platoon are relentlessly "watching". All enemy tanks are distributed and taken at gunpoint. “Just a little more, just a second,” I restrain myself. And now all the enemy tanks are in full view. I command: "Fire!" The lead car immediately caught fire. Measured in place and the tank in the tail of the stopped column. Having come under unexpected massive fire, the Nazis rushed about. Some tanks began to turn right on the road to expose thicker frontal armor for our shots. Those who managed to do this fired back, which knocked out one Sherman. The guard's gun commander, Sergeant Petrosyan, and the guard's driver-mechanic, Senior Sergeant Ruzov, survived. Together they continued to fire from their place, not allowing the enemy to enter the flank of the battalion. The resistance of the Germans was short-lived, and after fifteen minutes it was all over. The highway was blazing with bright bonfires. Enemy tanks, cars, fuel tankers were burning. The sky was clouded with smoke. As a result of the battle, twenty-one tanks and twelve enemy armored personnel carriers were destroyed.

The Shermans began to emerge from the hiding places they occupied to continue their journey towards Veszprem. Suddenly a sharp cannon shot sounded from the forest, and the left-flank car of the guard company of senior lieutenant Ionov was pushed aside, and it, banked to the starboard side, stopped. Four crew members were seriously injured. A stocky, robust driver-driver of the Guard Sergeant Ivan Lobanov rushed to the aid of his comrades. I bandaged them up and, pulling them out through the escape hatch, laid them under the tank. For a split second, his gaze lingered at 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 projectile and, sitting in the gunner's place, caught the enemy self-propelled gun in the crosshair of the sight. The shell pierced the side of the armored vehicle, and its engine compartment was engulfed in flames. One by one, the Nazis began to jump out of the self-propelled gun. Lobanov, wasting no time, grabbed a machine gun, jumped out of the car and, hiding behind the Emcha body, shot the German tankers. It should be noted that in moments of respite and during reorganization, the tankers of the battalion always practiced the interchangeability of crew members. In this situation, the skills of handling tank weapons were useful to the driver, which were subsequently rewarded by the battalion command.

After about half an hour, the battalion's divisions approached Veszprem. What we saw on the outskirts of the city was worthy of surprise. On both sides of the highway, eight "panthers" stood in carefully equipped positions, which did not respond to our fire and were shot from short distance... Captured soon captive stories that German soldiers and the officers were so shocked and suppressed by the shooting of the tank column that when our units, raising clouds of dust, at full speed approach the well-equipped defensive line, the crews of the "panthers" abandoned their vehicles and fled with the infantry in panic. "

For the skillful management of the battalion and the 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 fight is not particularly surprising. The battalion commander competently organized the ambush, and the crews skillfully used the firepower of their tanks.

In relation to the latter, one can sometimes hear undeserved criticism. Especially often the 76-mm Sherman cannon is opposed to 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 action of the shells. As for the rest, it had no advantages, as can be seen from the following example.

In the fall of 1944, at the Kubinka training ground, tests were carried out by shelling a captured German heavy tank "Royal Tiger". The test report reads 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 to add or subtract ...



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



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


Subsequently, the M4A2 (76) W tanks of the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps took part in the capture of Budapest, in repelling the German counterattack at the 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 former deployment area, the corps was transferred to Far East... Upon arrival in the Borzya and Choibalsan areas, the corps brigades received 183 new Shermans that had 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 overcame the Big Khingan and entered the Central Manchurian Plain. The swift 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 participated 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 Banner. On September 20, 1945, by the 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 title 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 was in service with the Soviet army for some time after the end of the Second World War. So, for example, in the already mentioned 46th Guards Mechanized Brigade, "Shermans" were exploited until the summer of 1946. Then an order was received to prepare the equipment for transfer to the Americans. However, it was soon canceled: some of the tanks were written off, some of the vehicles were converted into tractors. V different parts, apparently, they were reworked in different ways. In the 46th brigade, the towers were simply removed, and the machines were then used in the Krasnoyarsk Territory for logging. There was another version of the alteration: 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 installed. The tractors were equipped with a traction winch and a boom crane. Most of the cars converted in this way entered the recovery trains of the railways of the North Caucasus and Ukraine, where they were operated until the end of the 1960s. Individual machines could be found in Ukraine in the 1980s, and the Sherman tractor was operated in the recovery train of the Morozovskaya railway station in the North Caucasus until 1996!

The American M4 Sherman medium tank 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 over 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 World War II broke out, America was not armed with modern medium tanks. Therefore, engineers tried to create a new machine 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, a prototype T6 was developed, in which it was decided to use the M3 nodes and a new layout.

They passed the tests very quickly and in mid-February next 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 body of the traditional for the USA and Germany layout with a transmission in front and armament in a rotating turret, thus getting rid of the main disadvantage of the M3.

The crew of the car was 5 people, the driver-mechanic together with the gunner-radio operator were located in the 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 a transmission compartment in the front, a combat in the middle and a motor in the back.

Although the armament ended up in the turret, the hull remained very tall due to the fact that the radial engine, developed for aviation, was vertically installed in it.

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

The hull of all modifications except M4A1 was made of rolled armor plates, connected to each other by welding, since the casting turned out to be too difficult for serial production.

The upper frontal part was made up of 7 parts, so the welding was done very efficiently, and the lower one was made up of 3, but bolted together. Later, the NLD began to be made whole at once.

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 the hatches of the observation devices. 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 was 13-25 mm.

A special feature of the armor was its viscosity, which slightly reduces its 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 rescuing the crew from a wrecked tank.

Another hatch for the driver's mechanic, located on the roof of the hull, turned out to be a very unsuccessful design, since it was thrown upward, because of which it could be touched by the gun and literally slammed the driver with it, twisting his neck. Later, this deficiency was eliminated by making the hatch sliding to the side.

Part of the ammunition was located on the sides of the hull, which is why the powder gases easily ignited when a shell hit the hull.

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

Tower

The cast turret received a cylindrical shape, a stern niche and a pistol embrasure on the left. The thickness of her forehead was 76 mm, and the angle of inclination was 60 °; an additional protection was provided by a gun mantlet with a thickness of 89 mm. The sides and rear of the turret received the same thickness of 51 mm.

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

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

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

Part of the ammunition was located on the turret floor, and another part in the rear of the basket.

Armament

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

The armament had several interesting features, namely vertical stabilization with the help of a gyroscope, installation of the gun, with a rotation of 90 ° in order to control the shutter in a horizontal rather than vertical plane, and large aiming angles from -10 ° to + 25 °.

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

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

The Sherman-using English army set its 17 pound cannons MkIV, turret not requiring alteration.

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

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

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

The gunner was paired with an M1919A4 cannon with a caliber of 7.62 mm with an electric trigger, the gunner-radio operator was the same, installed in a ball mount on the VLD, their total ammunition was 4,750 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 a breech under the armor and controlled by a 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 a power of 350 hp.

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

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

М4А3 received a powerful V8Ford GAA, developing 500 hp. with., and М4А4 interesting power plant Chrysler A57 multibank with a capacity of 470 hp, assembled from 5 automobile gasoline engines L6 and forced the developers to lengthen the body.

The last option was the M4A6 with a 450 hp Caterpillar RD1820 diesel engine, but the order for it was soon canceled due to its 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 at the front additionally protected the crew, but, in the event of a penetration, it could burn with hot oil and increased the risk of immobilization even without a penetration.

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

The torque was transmitted by means of a propeller 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 were attached two rubberized road wheels and two buffer springs installed vertically.

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

It gave the Sherman the best flotation and reliability along with maintainability.

In general, the suspension turned out to be successful, providing a smoother ride and less noise compared to the T-34, which allowed the infantry, located on the armor, to fire on the move.

Combat use

This tank took an active part in World War II, later in the Korean, Arab-Israeli and Indo-Pakistani wars.

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

Since November, it began to enter the USSR, where it turned out that it is very similar to the T-34, has weaker side protection, but significantly superior in comfort, but the T-34-85 began to surpass the American tank in protection and firepower.

The US Army used the 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 a good side.

The joy of the military ceased 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 famous landing in Normandy began, the Americans once again faced the Tigers and Panthers, losing 1,348 Shermans and 600 more tanks in 10 months of fighting for other reasons.

It finally became clear that the Sherman is poorly suited for anti-tank warfare 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 firepower, while surpassing them in visibility, comfort, with a stabilizer and more experienced crews.

Epilogue

The M4 Sherman was produced in more than 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.

The Sherman had an excessive hull height, its 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 costs a lot in the war.

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

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

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