In part 3 of this primer series, we take a look at the all
Sherman team fielded by the “American” school Saunders. The M4
(Fun fact: The Americans originally only gave the tank its
number designation. It was the British who, in thinking it would
be confusing without one, dubbed the American tanks with names)
was the main workhorse of the American, and indeed most of the
allied, offensives. Emphasizing ease of transport, mechanical
reliability, and ease of maintenance, the M4 Sherman is a
compact, tough little medium tank that well deserved the
reliance that the allied armed forces had on its strength. With
production numbers just shy of the T-34 and its variants, the M4
(and its variants) numbered enough (around 50,000) to not only
be exported to the different nations of the allied forces
(through the lend-lease program), but to be present in nearly
all branches of the US armed forces. The Sherman was tough
enough to more than be a match to the European axis powers’
early armor, such as pz III’s and early pzI