M4 Sherman

The M4 Sherman was developed by the U.S. Army Ordnance Department in 1940 to replace the M3 Lee medium tank. The T6 prototype was completed in September 1941, and the design was standardized as the M4 in February 1942. The project focused on reliability and the standardization of components to facilitate mass production and field maintenance. Manufacturers included Lima Locomotive Works, the American Locomotive Company, Baldwin Locomotive Works, and the Detroit Tank Arsenal.

The vehicle features a five-man crew consisting of a commander, gunner, loader, driver, and assistant driver. The main armament is housed in a fully traversing central turret, with configurations including the 75 mm M3 gun, the 76 mm M1 series gun, or the 105 mm howitzer M4. Secondary armament consists of a turret-mounted .50 caliber Browning M2HB machine gun and multiple .30 caliber Browning M1919A4 machine guns. The main gun utilized a gyroscopic stabilizer for the vertical plane. Armor thickness ranges from 12.7 mm to 177.8 mm depending on the location and variant. Later production models transitioned from "dry" ammunition stowage to "wet" stowage, using water jackets around storage bins to reduce the risk of fire. Suspension systems included both vertical volute spring (VVSS) and horizontal volute spring (HVSS) types. Propulsion was provided by various engines, including the Continental R975 radial gasoline engine, the Ford GAA V8 gasoline engine, the General Motors 6046 twin diesel, and the Chrysler A57 multibank.

The M4 Sherman entered service in 1942 and saw its initial combat with the British Army at the Second Battle of El Alamein and with United States forces during Operation Torch. It was deployed across North Africa, Italy, Western Europe, and the Pacific Theater. The tank was produced in large numbers and widely exported under the Lend-Lease program to the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, and Free France. Post-World War II, the vehicle was used in the Korean War, the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War, and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. The platform also served as the basis for specialized vehicles, including the M10 and M36 tank destroyers, M7B1 and M40 self-propelled artillery, and M32 recovery vehicles. The tank was operated by numerous countries for several decades, with the final active units retired by Paraguay in 2018.