M4 Sherman Tank - Military Weapons

The M4 Sherman, officially the Medium Tank, M4, was the primary battle tank used by the United States and the other Western Allies in World War II. Thousands were distributed to the Allies, including the British Commonwealth and the Soviet Union, through the lend-lease program. The M4 was the second most produced tank of the World War II era, after the Soviet T-34, and its role in its parent nations victory was comparable to that of the T-34. The tank was named after the American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman by the British. The M4 Sherman evolved from the interim M3 Medium Tank, which had its main armament in a side sponson mount. The M4 retained much of the previous mechanical design but put the main 75 mm gun in a fully traversing turret, with a gyrostabilizer enabling the crew to fire with reasonable accuracy while the tank was on the move. The designers stressed mechanical reliability, ease of production and maintenance, durability, standardization of parts and ammunition in a limited number of variants, and moderate size and weight. The Americans also started to introduce the M4A3E8 variant, with improved suspension and a high-velocity 76 mm gun as used on the tank destroyers. As well as equipping the Allies during the war, Shermans - including updated versions - saw combat in many post-war conflicts, including the Korean War, Arab-Israeli Wars, and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.