M4 Sherman Medium Tank
The M4 was also used by the British Army, who knicknamed it "Sherman," after Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, and the name stuck with the Yanks. Early models featured a cast metal hull and gasoline (diesel was not the fuel of choice by the Army back then), radial, air-cooled Continental engine. The cast metal was discovered to chip and splinter inside the crew compartment at high velocity when impacted with bullets and rounds that may not have actually penetrated the armor. As a result, welded armor hulls were introduced with later variants (M4A2 and beyond). M4s were fought with a 75mm M3 Main Gun, which was eventually upgraded to a 76mm M1 Main Gun in variants M4A3E8 (and some M4A3E2s), and carried 90 rounds. It also mounted an M-1919 machine gun on a ball mount in the bow of the tank as well as on the mantlet next to the main gun as a coaxial gun. There would also be a .50 Cal M2 Machine Gun on a pivot mount on top of the turret.
The tank we use is customizable for appropriate scenarios. We can decorate it with the correct paint schemes and stencils. Below are several patterns the same tank has undergone in the past. During the war, tank crews changed their paint patterns as the years passed. Identification was very important and the more experienced the tank crew was, the more they learned to know their own tanks without the identifying marks that were painted on when the unit was first put in to combat. |
The mainstay of American armored forces was the M4 Sherman tank. The M4 Medium Tank was designed in 1940 and produced in 1941. Given the U.S. Army's doctrine regarding tanks at the time, heavy tank designs were thought of but not produced and implemented until 1945 and in small numbers. The general thinking was that tanks were to be used for infantry support, something like moving pill boxes, and to exploit breakthroughs in the front line like a cavalry unit. They were not intended to be used for tank-to-tank confrontations. That job, according to doctrine, was for the Tank Destroyer units to do. Even then, it armament was considered adequate enough to handle tank to tank skirmishes if they happened. Unfortunately, this doctrine was proven to be faulty in places like Tunisia and in France where superior German armor had frequent run-ins with Allied tanks who were rapidly crossing the battlefield.
Several variants were produced after the original M4 model rolled off the line. Our unit fields an operational M4A1 Sherman Tank. The tank is owned by the  | |
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White ID bars and stars (early war) |
Yellow ID bars and stars (early war) |
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White star only (1943-1944) |
No identifiers and camo pattern (late war) |
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The markings variated with time and per unit, and a lot of markings were done by preference. The stars with white identification stripes was a pattern in common use by the US Army in 1940. However, the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions chose to differentiate themselves by using the color yellow for 2nd Armored tanks instead of white in order to differentiate their equipment from other units. By 1943, the stripe was dropped and eventually the star was painted over when friendly tanks were having the star confused with the German Balkan Cross at ranges greater than 1000 yards. In Sicily, some units chose to paint a circle around the star to make it more recognizeable, however 2nd Armored opted to leave their tanks unmarked. It wasn't until landing in Normandy shortly after D-Day did the crew remark their tanks, this time with the individual unit numbers of the tank painted in yellow on the sides of the turret. After D+14 (June 20th, 1944), these identifiers were painted over (or sometimes just smeared over with mud) and the tanks went back to an unmarked pattern or a camouflage scheme for the duration of the war. |
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While the Sherman is a complex piece of machinery, it was designed to be relatively simple in regards to operation and maintenance, especially when compared to the more technical and demanding designs of the German tanks. As a result, Shermans were quickly produced and were easy for our troops to learn to use and upkeep. Further, the overall design was implemented in a wide range of variants and platforms, some of which were used well after the war. The tank crewed five members: a driver, an assistant driver/bow machine gunner, the tank commander (or TC), the gunner, and a loader. We typically crew four as we don't have the need for a loader. The gun is a propane charge gun which provides a nice loud bang with a good flash. The machine guns are either working M1919 machine guns fixed to shoot semi-auto or a propane fed version that can simulate the pop, flash and timing of an actual M-1919. These can also be removed to accommodate fully-auto M1919s supplied by qualified weapons handlers during movie and TV shoots. |
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