![]() ![]() This was in order to make escaping the tank easier, with some being fitted with springs to assist in opening the hatch. Later production units of the M4A2 used the modified 47° glacis with large drivers' hatches. Users: USSR, Britain, France, Poland, US (mainly USMC). M4A2 Diesel-powered with General Motors Twin G-41 Engine 75mm cannon. M4A1E9 – Late war remanufacturing featuring spaced out VVSS suspension, extended end connectors on both sides of the tracks. M4A1(76)W HVSS – Upgraded with widetrack HVSS, fitted with the 76 mm M1 gun. M4A1(76)W – Upgraded with 76 mm M1 gun and large drivers' hatches. Users: US, Britain, South Africa, Poland(M4A1(76)W), France (small numbers). Last production units of the M4A1 used a modified hull with large drivers' hatches. M4A1 Continental radial engine one-piece cast hull 75mm cannon. M4(105) HVSS – M4(105) with Horizontal volute spring suspension (HVSS). M4(105) – Upgraded with 105mm M4 Howitzer, designed for infantry support and assault, sacrificing anti-armor capability. ![]() M4 Composite – Later variation of the M4 which mated a cast front portion to the welded components of the rear hull. US M4 sub-types M4 Continental R-975 radial engine welded hull. Other hull modifications included a 47 degree angled glacis for simpler production, larger access hatches and a hatch for the loader and commander's cupola. Tracks were wider and vehicles had track covers that extended beyond the hull. HVSS had twice the number of wheels per bogie and individual wheels could be replaced without removing the bogie from the hull. Suspension was changed by the use of the stronger HVSS from mid-1944. This was followed by internal modification with "wet stowage" jacketing the ammunition racks. In reaction to fires following penetrating hits, applique armor was added to the outside of the hull. The use of the 105mm howitzer for equipping close support tanks occurred from 1943. The turret of T20/T23 prototypes with its 76mm gun was adapted to the Sherman and entered production in February 1944 M4 variants with this armament had the suffix "76mm" added to their designations. Over the course of production a number of improvements in the design were introduced. There are many variants of the Sherman, ranging from the M4, M4A1, M4A2, M4A3 and M4A4, which also encompass many sub-variants (such as the M4 (105) or M4A3E8 "Easy Eight", among others). Similar modifications and purchases of Israeli-modified Shermans were done in South America where they served on as the last fighting Shermans right up until 1989. ![]() Many saw action in the 1967 Six-Day War and 1973 October War. Israel became the largest post-war user of Sherman tanks, conducting extensive modifications to keep them in frontline service right up into the early 1970s as tanks, mobile artillery pieces, armored ambulances and many more versions. Extensive work on creating mine-clearance devices to be attached to Shermans in some fashion was also conducted up until the end of the Second World War, such as the Sherman Crab mine-flail tank.Īfter the Second World War, large numbers of surplus Shermans were supplied to other nations, most primarily to Africa, South America and the Middle East. In preparation for the invasion of Europe by Allied forces in 1944, an amphibious "swimming" version of the Sherman was used. Many early variants of the Sherman were converted to armored personnel carriers (called " Kangaroos") or armoured recovery vehicles. Similar modification of the main armament would be done by the British, who received a number of Shermans through Lend-Lease during the course of the war, producing the Sherman Firefly tank (armed with a powerful 17-pounder tank gun). Improving the vehicle's mobility, protection, and creating specific variants for infantry-support roles soon followed. Theories of what vehicles were supposed to be engaging enemy tanks changed as vehicles like the Sherman often found themselves up against enemy armor, and consequently some of the most important initial changes centered around up-gunning the basic vehicle. The many special duties that a tank might be made to do were just being explored by armies around the world in the early 1940s. Sherman ARV MK I, Recovery vehicle, photographed around Caen in July–August 1944 ![]()
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