On this, the history of creation can end and begin to disassemble quietly - what were they, 'Shermans'? M4 turned out to be simpler, more technologically advanced and cheaper to manufacture than the M3. Tank received the designation M4, and in February 1942, its serial production was started. True, the dimensions remained approximately the same. The tank inherited the undercarriage, lower part of the hull and the gun of its predecessor, however, they abandoned the stubborn design with a gun in the fuselage of the hull and stuffed it into the turret. We decided (not unreasonably) that using the components and assemblies of the 'Lee' tank would be a good idea - so the development started February 1, 941, the prototype appeared on September 2 of the same year. The M3 'Lee' tank, developed in an emergency, was considered obsolete in design already at the development stage, therefore there were already requirements for a tank that would replace it. History of creation (briefly, no seriously, very briefly):īy the beginning of the Second World War, the United States came up without a single adequate model of a medium or heavy tank in production and in service, there was only a handful of 'medium' 'tanks' M2. US main medium tank period of the Second World War, well, or almost the main tank in general, because they sawed a bunch of modifications for different tasks and I decided to unearth this whole pile in the name of the Satan of mankind. In the first part, about the main modifications made in the USA) This vehicle was never put into production, as further development of several components was required.In this series of posts, I will talk about the main serial modifications, operation features and the history of the development and use of this overseas unit. the vehicle was weigh 37,92 tons and maximum speed of 56 km/h.in order to keep the ground pressure the same (since the powerplant and the armor weighed more), Aberdeen proposed to utilize a modified M6 heavy tank suspension (HVSS type).to improve mobility, new Wright G200 engine, producing 640 horsepower was proposed.turret was welded from rolled plates due to expect shortage in foundry capacity.thickness of rear armor increased to 50,8mm.frontal armor remained the same except for the lower part, which was sharply angled instead of rounded, providing better protection equivalent to 63,5mm of armor, frontal armor is sloped 60 degrees from horizontal.

The vehicle proposal had following characteristics: Aberdeen complied and the proposal was submitted on. A day after the infamous Pearl Harbor attack, Aberdeen was instructed to propose an improved Sherman version with better armor and mobility. The initial request for an improved version of the Sherman was made as early as December 1941.

M4 jumbo assault tank turret traverse