The American Sherman tank is one of the legends of World War II. Serial modifications of the M4 Sherman tank Useful properties of armor

As you know, during the Second World War, several modifications of the most massive American medium tank M4 "General Sherman" were produced. It should be emphasized that all of them did not fundamentally differ from the basic version in terms of their tactical and technical characteristics. The reasons that prompted the factories to start producing them were more of a technological nature, taking into account the capabilities of a particular enterprise, traditional allied factories, etc. From February 1942 to July 1945, six main modifications of the M4 tank were in serial production. the main distinguishing features of which were the type of power plant and the method of manufacturing the hull. So, the M4 and M4A1 models were equipped with Continental R-975 star-shaped carburetor engines and had a welded and cast body, respectively. General Motors 6046 diesel engines were installed on the tanks of the M4A2 variant, Ford GAA carburetor engines, M4A4 - blocks of five Chrysler A57 carburetor automobile engines and, finally, on the M4A6 - diesel RD-1820. All these modifications had welded hulls.

From the point of view of the layout of the power compartment, the General Motors 6046 and Ford GAA engines turned out to be the most successful. However, the first, which was a pair of automotive diesel engines, did not meet the requirements of the US Army, in which the carburetor engine was considered standard. Therefore, the M4A2 tanks were mainly supplied to the allies of the United States in the anti-Hitler coalition and only in small quantities entered service with the US Marine Corps. As for the second, it became the "heart" of the most massive modification of the Sherman.

The first copy of the new tank, designated M4AZ, was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company at the end of May 1942. Serial vehicles of early production still had viewing slots in the frontal part of the hull, but the transmission hatch cover was already cast, and the upper frontal hull sheet, unlike other models, was welded from a smaller number of parts. The release of the first M4AZ series with a 75-mm cannon and a dry ammo rack was completed in September 1943, and in February 1944, the production of these tanks, but with a wet ammo rack (model M4A3 (75) W), was started by the Fisher Tank Arsenal plant. Tanks with a 76-mm gun began to leave the shops of the Detroit Tank Arsenal plant, which was part of the Chrysler concern, in March 1944. Until the end of September, 1400 M4A3 (76) W were manufactured, which also had a vertical suspension and tracks 421 mm wide. But already in August, they began to produce the M4A3(76)W HVSS variant with a horizontal suspension, in the production of which from September to December 1944 the Fisher Tank Arsenal plant also took part, which produced 525 units. The production of the M4A3(76)W HVSS in Detroit ended in June 1945, when the last 1217th tank of this modification left the plant. Thus, a total of 1742 M4A3(76)W HVSS tanks were shelled.

At the same time, it is worth mentioning right away that the official index assigned by the Military Department is M4A3 (76) W HVSS, which contained in encrypted form all the main stages of modernization of the M4AZ tank (“76” - 76-mm cannon, W - wet ammo rack, HVSS - horizontal suspension system), did not take root in the troops. A simpler version of the index - M4A3E (J, which this tank was designated at the testing stage, on the contrary, gained wide popularity. Everyone called this car - from a soldier to a general. The letter "E" in the index, which in American system designations receive prototypes, the soldiers deciphered in their own way, giving the tank they loved the nickname Easy Eight - “convenient eight”. On this machine, deservedly considered best version M4AZ, it makes sense to dwell in more detail.

The hull of the M4AZE8 tank was welded from rolled armor plates. Its frontal part consisted of a massive cast part, which simultaneously served as a transmission hatch cover and a crankcase for the turning mechanism, and a top sheet 108 mm thick, located at an angle of 56 ° to the vertical. In its lower part, on the right, a ball mount of a 7.62 mm Browning М1919А4 machine gun was mounted. The sides of the hull were vertical and had a thickness of 38 mm.

The aft part of the hull consisted of two inclined (10 ° ... 12 °) sheets - upper and lower. The upper one was offset relative to the lower one so that a pocket was formed between them for the exit of air coming from the fans. In front of the hull roof above the control compartment, there were oval landing hatches for the driver and his assistant, located across the hull and having MB observation devices built into the covers; between hatches - exhaust fan. In the middle part of the roof of the hull, a fixed shoulder strap of the tower was attached, around which a protective armored visor was welded. In the aft part of the roof there was a large overhead hatch, closed with a double-leaf lattice cover.

On the roof of the T23 cast tower there was a commander's cupola with six triplex glass blocks and a MB periscope observation device, an oval loader hatch, an MB observation device hatch, an anti-aircraft machine gun bracket and an antenna input. On the left side of the tower there was a hatch for firing personal weapons, and a fan of the fighting compartment was mounted on the stern. The walls of the tower had a thickness of 63.5 mm, the roof - 25.4 mm. In front of the turret, in the M62 mask installation (armor shield thickness - 90 mm), a 76-mm M1A1S or M1A2 gun with a barrel length of 52 calibers was placed. The gun barrel was equipped with a two-chamber muzzle brake. Vertical aiming was possible in the range from -10 ° to + 25 °. The gun had a vertical wedge gate and copier-type semi-automatics. A coaxial Browning M1919A4 machine gun was mounted next to the cannon in a mask, and a 12.7 mm Browning M2NV anti-aircraft machine gun was mounted on the roof of the turret. A 2-inch MZ smoke grenade launcher was located on the left front of the turret roof. The aiming of the gun at the target was carried out using the M71D telescopic sight and the M4A1 periscope sight with the built-in M47A2 telescopic sight. The gun was stabilized in the vertical guidance plane. The Westinghouse stabilizer belonged to the type of gyroscopic stabilizers with indicator pendulum gyroscopes and a power hydraulic servo system.

The tower was driven by a hydroelectric rotary mechanism or manually. With the help of a hydroelectric mechanism, the tower could be rotated 360 ° in 15 seconds. The mechanism had an additional drive to the tank commander, when turned on, the gunner's drive was turned off.

The tank's ammunition consisted of 71 artillery arrows, 600 rounds of 12.7 mm caliber, 6250 rounds of 7.62 mm caliber and 12 smoke fans. The M4AZE8 tank had a so-called wet-type ammunition rack, as evidenced by the letter W in its designation (W - wet - wet). The ammunition was stored in two boxes located on the bottom of the hull and filled with water. So that the water does not freeze in winter, ethylene glycol was added to it. The placement of ammunition on the floor of the fighting compartment increased the survivability of the vehicle, and filling it with water helped save it from detonation.

In the power department, an 8-cylinder V-shaped Ford GAA liquid-cooled carburetor engine with a maximum power of 500 hp was installed. at 2600 rpm. The capacity of the fuel tanks was 635 liters of gasoline with an octane rating of at least 80.

The torque from the engine, located in the stern, with the help of a cardan shaft passing under the rotating polycom of the tower, was transmitted to the double-disk main located in the control compartment in the bow of the tank.

dry friction clutch, gearbox, double cylindrical differential and final drives Gearbox five-speed, mechanical with .. helical gears of constant mesh with synchronizers in all gears, except 1st and reverse

The undercarriage of the M4AZE8 tank in relation to one bot consisted of six double rubber-coated road wheels, interlocked in pairs in three balanoir trucks suspended on two horizontal buffer springs each, three single and two double support rollers of a rubber-coated guide wheel of the drive wheel of the front location with removable gear rims (engagement lantern) In each caterpillar there were 79 single-ridged toaks with a width of 584.2 mm (23 inches), the track pitch was 152 mm. Metal or rubber-metal tracks with a silent block. A hydraulic shock absorber was installed in each suspension bogie.

The engine, transmission and chassis allowed the 33.7-ton combat vehicle to reach a maximum speed of 42 km / h on the highway. The cruising range was 160 km.

All tanks were equipped with radio stations SCR 508, 528 and 538 The SCR 506 radio station was available only on command tanks.

M4AZE8 tanks began to enter the American troops in Europe on December 1, 1944 - at the height of the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes. In particular, the 4th Panzer Division of the 3rd American Army successfully used them in heavy battles near Bastogne in late December - early January 1945. From the previous version - M4A3 (76) W - these tanks differed only undercarriage, but this turned out to be a lot. Wide tracks made it easier for new tanks to move through snow and muddy ground, for which they immediately fell in love with tankers. And no wonder - // the body pressure in M4AZE8 was 0.77 kg / cm2 versus 1 kg / cm2 in M4A3! The use of T66 greasy caterpillars with developed grousers further improved patency. The crews also evaluated the characteristics of the horizontal suspension - it turned out to be much softer than the vertical one. When driving over rough terrain, the tank got rid of the longitudinal buildup, and on the highway, in terms of ride comfort, it became comparable to a car. The increased smoothness of the course also had a positive effect on the accuracy of shooting, reducing the load on the gun guidance stabilizer. All these advantages of the M4AZE8, combined with the reliability and ease of operation traditional for Shermans, apparently became the reason for its nickname.

In the troops, the “comfortable eights” were not subjected to any alterations and improvements, with the possible exception of the constant desire of the crews to at least somehow strengthen their armor protection. . tanks of those years of the Soviet T-34-85 and the German Pz.IV. With the latest M4AZE8, he could generally fight on an equal footing! But the Germans also had a "Panther" and an 88-mm cannon Pak 43 - the worst nightmare of American tankers. Both of them easily "pierced" an American tank at a distance of 1000 m and even more. In fact, from the moment of landing in Normandy, American tankers began to hang on the sides of combat vehicles garlands of caterpillar tracks. In the 14th Panzer Division they went even further and welded frame structures filled with sandbags onto the sides. But perhaps the most professional and thorough approach to solving this issue was in the 3rd Army of General George Patton. After the end of the fighting in the Ardennes, armor plates began to be welded onto the M4A3E8 hulls. carved from wrecked American and German tanks. Moreover, exactly the same sheet was welded onto the inclined sidewall sheet, which doubled its thickness. Thinner sheets were attached to the cast transmission cover of the side of the hull and turret. Very quickly, the 3rd Army realized that it would not be possible to cope with such work with the help of army repair shops alone. Therefore, in February 1945 By the end of the month, 106 M4AZE8 tanks for three tank divisions - the 4th, 6th and 11th - were involved in strengthening the armor protection of the tanks. Thus, each received 36 cars.

Work on strengthening the armor of tanks turned out to be very popular with the crews of Tak nappimer. according to tankers from the 6th Panzer Division, tanks with additional armor easily withstood the shelling of the 75-mm gun of the Panther tank. As a result, in March 1945, the armoring of combat vehicles continued. The example of the 3rd Army was followed by separate formations of the 7th and 1st armies. In some, for example, in the 3rd Panzer Division, additional armor was carried out according to the appeal developed in the army by General Paton, in others they created their own schemes.

In the meantime, in the 3rd Army, ridimo not satisfied with one additional armor, they started re-arming the "convenient eights". the large-caliber machine gun was moved forward by welding its bracket in front of the loader's hatch. And in front of the commander's cupola, the bracket of the non-standard 7.62-mm Browning M1919A4 machine gun was placed. With this rearmament, the air defense capabilities increased slightly, since it was impossible to shoot at the aircraft from both machine guns at once - they simply interfered with each other But for the battle in the village, for the shelling of the lower floors of buildings, where the German "faustniks" could sit down. two machine guns were most welcome

The M4AZE8 tanks, as well as the Shermans of other modifications, fought until the end of the Second World War, and then were in service with the battalions of medium tanks of tank divisions until the mid-1950s. These combat vehicles were actively used in the war in Korea

I must say that the situation with the tank units of the United States by the summer of 1950 was deplorable. Numerous American armored forces after the end of the Second World War were almost completely demobilized. On the territory of the country there were only three (!) Tank battalions of the 6th (M26 tanks), the 70th training in Fort Knox (M4AZ and M26 / and the 73rd in the infantry school in Fort Benying (M26; Under these conditions, the command The 8th Army, which was located in Japan and South Korea, removed from storage and repaired 54 M4AZE8 tanks and formed the 89th battalion from them, which arrived at the Pusan ​​bridgehead at the end of July 1950, and 2 August entered the battle. A company of "Shermans" attacked the Serero-Korean positions near Masan, "ran into" the positions of a 45-mm platoon anti-tank guns lost 8 tanks and withdrew

There were few tank battles in Korea. The main losses of the side were from artillery fire, bazooka and anti-tank rifles. Poot Korean T 34-85 tanks, the Americans sought to use their M26 and M46, which surpassed the Soviet machine both in firepower and in armor protection. The first clash between the T-34-85 and M4AZE8 occurred at the end of September 1950, when the American troops that landed at Inchon made their way towards the troops from the Pusan ​​bridgehead. M4AZE8 were knocked out in a matter of seconds. Then one T-34-85 “ironized” the transport convoy, smashing 15 trucks and jeeps to pieces, and was hit by a point-blank shot from a 105-mm howitzer. Another four T-34-85s became victims of bazooka fire, and the core of the Serero-Korean tanks knocked out the main forces of the 70th tank battalion that had approached from the rear

At the end of 1950, American troops in Korea numbered 1,326 tanks, 679 of which were M4AZE8. The Chinese People's Volunteer troops went on the offensive in October 1950, at first they had no tanks at all. However, having abandoned 31 infantry divisions against 18 American ones, the Chinese pushed them back beyond the 38th parallel by the beginning of 1951. By mid-January, 670 tanks remained in the 8th Army, of which 317 were M4AZE8 and M4AZE5). Active in April fighting on the land front in Korea ended. At the same time, the combat career of the "convenient eight" was practically over.

They were not delivered to other countries - there were enough "Shermans" of other modifications, which turned out to be in abundance in the USA, Great Britain and France after World War II. Apparently, the most recent and noticeable combat episode with their participation is associated with Cuba. Seven M4AZE8 were in service with the Batista regime and were used against the rebels. In December 1958, in the city of Santa Clara, the partisans captured five Shermans without a fight - Che Guevara persuaded the tankers and they went over to the side of the rebels. On January 1, 1959, Havana rebelled, Batista's regime was swept away. And on January 8, the Rebel Army entered the city. Fidel Castro greeted the jubilant havanzers, standing in the open hatch of a comfortable figure eight.

M. Baryatinsky,
"Model designer" No. 3 "2006

In the Israeli Armor Museum tank troops there is an interesting monument. There are three tanks on a pedestal of stones - a British Cromwell and an American Sherman. The symbolism is clear: these are the machines that won the Second World War. And the lot of "Sherman" tests fell no less than the "thirty-four".

From 1942 until the end of the war, the M4 formed the basis American tanks th troops, having fought with the Japanese militarists in Asia and with the Nazis in Europe. As part of the British troops, the Shermans fought in Africa and landed in Italy. Soviet M4 liberated Ukraine and reached Berlin. And further long years the tank, developed back in the early forties, was actively used and won battles with more modern vehicles.

The history of the creation of the tank

The United States met the beginning of World War II by just starting production of the M2 medium tank. An analysis of the battles in Poland showed that the tank did not at all correspond to the real conditions of the war, after which the order was reduced, and the produced tanks were reclassified into training tanks.

To replace the M2 in an emergency (even prototypes were not made), the M3 tank was developed (later called "Lee" and "Grant"). It was considered a temporary measure, and the creation of a new modern tank began immediately after the completion of work on the Lee.

To reduce the time for development and implementation in production, the tank was unified as much as possible with the M3.

Specifically, the engine, lower body casting and suspension were borrowed with minimal changes.

In September 1941, a prototype with a cast body was built, which received the T6 index. It differed from subsequent production vehicles by the presence of two additional machine guns in the forehead of the hull, as well as the presence of a crew hatch in the side of the hull.

Serial production of M4 tanks began in the winter of 1942. The first tanks were assembled at the Lima locomotive plant and belonged to the M4A1 series. And these first tanks were produced for Britain.

Design

The Sherman has the following layout: the transmission is in the front of the hull, the engine is in the stern. The fighting compartment and the tower are located between them, almost in the center. The height of the transmission box and the need to place a radial engine in the hull predetermined the size of the tank - it turned out to be high.

All modifications of the Sherman, except for the M4A1, had a welded hull made of rolled armor.

On the M4A1, the body was cast. Common to all versions was the lower front part of the hull, which at the same time served as a transmission cover. The upper armor plate had a thickness of 51 mm and was installed at an inclination of 56 degrees (later - 47 degrees). The sides are vertical, 38 mm thick, the stern armor has the same thickness.

The thickness of the forehead of the cast turret is 76mm (at an inclination of 60 degrees), the sides and stern are 51mm. Early towers had one hatch - for the commander and gunner, later a loader's hatch was added. The tower had an electro-hydraulic or electric drive for the turning mechanism.

In the event of a failure of the mechanism, it was possible to turn manually.

The tower of the "long-barreled" "Shermans" differed in the thickness of the armor - 64mm in a circle.

Armament

The original armament of the Sherman was a 75mm M3 gun. This gun was a development of the French field gun of the 1897 model, adopted by the United States. In the M2 variant, the gun was mounted on early M3 tanks, while the later Lees and Shermans received the M3 with a barrel length increased to 40 calibers.

The armor penetration of the gun when using a solid M72 projectile reached 110 mm, the M61 chamber projectile penetrated armor slightly worse - up to 90 mm. In the initial period of the war, however, this was enough to deal with any enemy tanks.

The three-inch M1 gun was developed in 1942, when the characteristics of the short-barreled M3 became insufficient, and the more powerful M7 gun for the Sherman turned out to be too heavy.

The “long-barreled” Shermans went into battle in 1944. The penetration of the M62 armor-piercing chamber projectile exceeded 120 mm, which was no longer enough to deal with the most heavily armored German vehicles. But the M93 sub-caliber projectile pierced over 200 mm at short distances.

Interestingly, the production of Shermans with the M3 gun did not stop - the former gun had a more powerful high-explosive fragmentation projectile, which was critically important for the American tank doctrine. Within its framework, the main task of the tanks was to support the infantry, with which the “long-barreled” Shermans coped weaker.

Over 2,000 M4A1 and M4A4 Shermans delivered to Great Britain were re-equipped with a 17-pounder 76.2 mm gun. These machines were named Firefly (firefly). A solid armor-piercing projectile fired from the “seventeen-pounder” pierced armor up to 157 millimeters thick, which made the “Firefly” capable of fighting any German tanks.

The course machine gun from the Fireflies was removed in order to increase the ammunition load of the gun. This led to the reduction of the crew to four people. The gun stabilizer was dismantled.

Some Shermans of the M4 and M4A3 series were armed with the 105mm M4 howitzer. They were supposed to become "assault guns" for the direct support of the infantry. For anti-tank purposes, howitzer Shermans were not supposed to be used, but, nevertheless, the M67 cumulative projectile, penetrating up to 130 mm of armor, was included in the ammunition load.

They had such machines and some design differences - the gun did not have a stabilizer, the frontal armor was strengthened.

Additional weapons, according to the standards of that time, were a course machine gun mounted in a ball mask in the frontal sheet and a machine gun coaxial with a cannon.

In both cases, the M1919A4 model was used. Caliber - 7.62mm (.30-06). The gunner-radio operator fired from the course machine gun, and the gunner from the coaxial machine gun, with the help of an electric trigger.

Above the commander's hatch in the turret was a 12.7mm M2HB machine gun, suitable for firing anti-aircraft fire. Equipping a tank with a large-caliber anti-aircraft machine gun at that time was an innovation, and only towards the end of the war did it begin to be used everywhere.

Since 1943, a mortar was installed on all Shermans for setting smoke screens.

Crew accommodation and tank equipment

The crew of five was placed in the tank as follows: the seats of the driver and his assistant (he is also a gunner-radio operator) on both sides of the box with the transmission. Each had a hatch with an observation periscope, located in the ledge of the frontal part or in the roof in front of the turret. The gunner and the tank commander sit one after another in the right half of the tower, and the loader occupies the left.

On the linear Shermans, a VHF radio station was installed, located in the rear niche of the tower. Her antenna was displayed on the roof of the tower. The commander's tanks additionally had a shortwave radio station in the right fender, with an antenna brought out through the frontal armor plate.

The tank intercom was part of a regular radio station, and a telephone could be additionally installed to communicate with the accompanying infantry tank.
For heavy driving weather conditions the tank was equipped with a gyrocompass.

The tank with a 75mm gun was equipped with a triple M55 telescopic sight and an M38A1 backup sight built into the gunner's periscope.

Howitzer tanks had the M77C model instead of the M38A1 sight. “Long-barreled” M4s were equipped with M51 and M47A2 sights.

Later they were replaced by a universal M10 periscope, in which two telescopic sights were built - six-fold and without magnification. This device replaced all the previous variety of sights. For firing from closed positions, an indicator of gun aiming angles was used. The M3 and M1 guns had a gyroscopic stabilizer.

Engine and transmission

Different versions of the Sherman had different engines. The R975 radial engine was installed on the M4 and M4A1. M4A2 received a power plant from two interlocked two-stroke diesel engines GM 6-71. The M4A3 was equipped with a Ford GAA eight-cylinder gasoline engine (designed as an aircraft engine, but found use only in armored vehicles).

In the elongated body of the M4A4 tank, a structure of five automobile six-cylinder engines manufactured by Chrysler was mounted. Finally, the limited-edition M4A6 had a Caterpillar radial diesel engine. The power of the motors ranged from 350 to 500 hp.

In contrast to the variety of engines, there was only one gearbox for the Sherman - a five-speed mechanical, with synchronizers.

The transmission was located in the frontal part of the hull, and its outer body made of armored steel simultaneously served as the lower frontal part.

This placement of the transmission provided better weight distribution, increased its maintainability, and if it hit, its nodes could protect crew members from being hit. The disadvantage was the increased vulnerability of the transmission itself, which could be disabled by secondary armor fragments even without breaking through it.

Chassis

The suspension of the tank as a whole is similar to that used on the M3 tanks, with three two-roller bogies. Each of the carts has two vertical springs. During combat use, the shortcomings of such a suspension were revealed - on a soft surface, the tank's patency fell, the service life of the units was low.

As a result, by the end of the war, a suspension with horizontal springs and double rubber-coated rollers went into production.

Early suspension was designated as VVSS, later - HVSS.

Special tanks, self-propelled guns and armored vehicles

On the basis of the A3 series tank, the M4A3E2 Jumbo assault tank was created. Additional armor plates 38 mm thick were welded onto the frontal plate and the top of the side, and the transmission cover was reinforced. The Jumbo was not intended for tank battles, it carried the M3 cannon, but later some tanks were re-equipped with the long-barreled M1 and used as heavy tank destroyers.

On the roof of the turret of some tanks, the Calliope MLRS was installed - 60 guides for launching 114mm M8 missiles. There were several variants of the Sherman flamethrower.

"Shermans" equipped with mine trawls and bulldozer knives were used in engineering units. The amphibious modification DD was used for forcing rivers.
On the basis of the Sherman, "tank destroyers" were built - highly mobile lightly armored vehicles with an open turret. These include the M10 with a 76mm gun and the M36 with a 90mm gun.

The M7 self-propelled guns were equipped with a 105mm howitzer in an open cabin, and guns with a caliber of up to 203mm were installed on a special chassis with an open platform.

For repair and evacuation work, the M32 machines and its upgraded version of the M74 were created. They were equipped with a crane, winches and a bulldozer knife. M32 without evacuation equipment served as an artillery tractor.

Post-war options

After the war, countries that could not afford the latest tanks tried to improve the efficiency of the Sherman with upgrades.

In Israel, the Shermans underwent their first rearmament in 1956. They were assigned the index M50. Three hundred of these tanks received the French 75mm gun. During the next upgrade, in 1962, the Israeli M4A1 was equipped with Cummins VT8-460 diesels, the gun was replaced with a 105mm gun, and was named M51. In the 1970s, some cars were transferred to Chile, where they served until the 90s.

Egyptian "Shermans" were M4A4, with a diesel engine from M4A2. Instead of the “native” turret, an AMX-13, swinging from a light tank, was installed. The turret came with a 75mm gun and an automatic loader.

Lend-Lease supplies and combat use

British troops received 17181 tanks from the issued Shermans. "Shermans" were finalized to meet British standards and received new designations. The changes included, for example, the replacement of walkie-talkies with British ones, the installation of a smoke mortar, and additional fire extinguishing systems.

For the first time, British Shermans went into battle in Africa in mid-1942.

As part of the British forces, they took part in the battle of El Alamein, and, according to the British, made a significant contribution to the victory. At the end of the same year, American Shermans appeared in Tunisia. The African campaign proved the high combat qualities of the M4, but after the appearance of the German Tiger tanks in Tunisia, the insufficient armament of the tank became obvious.

Since 1943, diesel M4A2s have been supplied to the USSR, in the amount of 4065 units.

Tanks in the Red Army were appreciated - the crews praised the ease of use, the quality of instruments and communications. The Sherman's lower noise level made them well suited for stealth attacks. At the same time, insufficient permeability was noted in winter conditions and propensity to roll over due to the high center of gravity.

In the Soviet Union, the first Shermans took part in the Battle of Kursk. True, at that time there were few of these tanks. But since 1944, the number of incoming Shermans made it possible to create even separate corps from them. Soviet М4А2 took part in all subsequent battles of the war, including the defeat of the Kwantung Army.

In Europe, "Shermans" appeared during the landing in Sicily. And by the time of the invasion of Normandy, modifications with enhanced weapons had already been prepared. But during the first battles, the M4 tanks failed to realize (due to specific natural conditions) their advantage in mobility, and the tankers suffered heavy losses.

The situation changed only after the Allied forces entered the operational space. Also during the battles, the lack of adaptability of the Sherman to urban battles became obvious. But by this time the tank was already assessed as obsolete, and this problem had to be solved with new tanks.

In the Pacific theater of operations, the Shermans were rarely encountered. The enemy tanks were too few and weak in armament to be an effective force. The nature of the fighting made it possible to fully reveal all the strengths of the American tank, as well as its missile and flamethrower modifications.

By the beginning of the Korean War, the Sherman was already considered obsolete, but only Shermans could be quickly transferred to the front from Japan.

And later it turned out that the more powerful and modern M26 in the Korean mountains have insufficient mobility. So the Sherman remained the main American tank in that war. In battles with the T-34-85, both tanks proved to be approximately equal opponents, and often the outcome of the battle was decided by the best training of American tankers.

During the Suez Crisis, modernized Egyptian Shermans clashed with modernized Israeli ones. As a result, most of the Egyptian vehicles were either destroyed or captured by the Israelis.

By the 1967 war, Israel's Shermans were used in secondary areas, but managed to prove themselves there too, destroying, for example, a convoy of Egyptian T-54s.
Both sides used the Shermans as second-line vehicles in the Indo-Pakistani wars. According to some reports, in the 1990s Shermans were used in Yugoslavia, but there is no exact confirmation of this.

Tactical and technical characteristics

The table shows the characteristics of the "early" and "late" Shermans in comparison with its closest analogues.

TTX of the main modifications of the M4 tanks and their closest analogues
	M4A1	M4A3(76)W HVSS	T-34 mod. 1942	T-34-85 mod. 1944	Pz.KpfW.IV Ausf.H
Dimensions
Length with gun, m	5,84	7,54	6,62	8,10	7,02
Width, m	2,62	3,00	3,00	3,00	2,88
Height, m	2,74	2,97	2,52	2,72	2,68
Combat weight, t	30,3	33,6	30,9	32,0	25,7
Booking, mm
Forehead of the hull	51/ 56°	64/ 47°	45/60°	45/60°	80
Hull sides and stern	38	38	45-40 / 40°	45-40 / 40°	30-20
Forehead of the tower	76	64…89	53	90	50
Sides and stern of the tower	51	51	53	52-75	30
Armament
A gun	75mm M3	76mm M1	1 × 76 mm F-34	1 × 85 mm S-53	75 mm KwK.40 L/48
machine guns		1 x 12.7mm M2HB, 2 x 7.62mm M1919A4	2 × 7.62 mm DT	2 × 7.62 mm DT	2 × 7.92 mm MG-34
Ammunition, shots / cartridges	90 / 300 + 4750	71 / 600 + 6250	77 / 2898	60 / 1890	87 / 3150
Mobility
Engine	Petrol 9-cylinder radial "Continental" R975 C1, 350 hp with.	Gasoline 8-cylinder V-shaped "Ford" GAA, 450 hp with.		12 cyl. V-shaped diesel V-2, 500 l. with.	Petrol 12-cylinder Maybach HL 120TRM, 300 hp with.
Maximum speed on the highway, km/h	39	42	54	54	38
Range on the highway, km	190	160	300	300	210

It should be noted that the modification of the Pz.IV tank given in the table is "intermediate" between early and late. But it differed from the previous T-4s mainly in its optimized design without changing the main characteristics, and in later series the changes were reduced to simplification and reduction in cost. So the Sherman was clearly not inferior to the main rival, and if he could meet him in 1941, he would have surpassed him.

Machine evaluation

Armament "Sherman" at the time of its appearance can be considered "adequate". The 75mm M3 cannon matched the characteristics of the Soviet F-34 and ZiS-5 guns in terms of its characteristics, allowing it to fight any enemy medium tanks. The appearance of Pz.IV tanks with enhanced armor, as well as Tigers and Panthers, made it ineffective.

The 76mm M1 gun in terms of armor penetration was only slightly inferior to the Soviet 85mm D-5 gun, and when used sub-caliber projectile even surpassed it. Such “Shermans” could fight even heavy enemy tanks. The main drawback of the gun was the low power of the high-explosive fragmentation projectile. Due to the high initial velocity, the wall thickness of the projectile had to be increased, while reducing the mass of the explosive charge to a minimum.

On the whole, the M4's armament corresponded to modern medium tanks, and even surpassed it in terms of the effectiveness of its use - due to high-quality optics and the presence of a stabilizer.

Assessing the security of the Sherman, it should be remembered that during the years of its development, the typical weapons of most tanks were 40-45mm caliber guns.

And the infantry had at its disposal only anti-tank guns and large-caliber machine guns. In comparison with the T-34, the Sherman was inferior to him in terms of the thickness of the sides, devoid of slope. But the sides of even the later versions of the German Pz.IV had a thickness less than that of the M4.

The frontal armor of the Sherman, according to the results of German tests, with a slight turn of the hull, could withstand hits from the 88mm gun of the Tiger. The M4A4E2, with enhanced armor protection, of course, outperformed its competitors, but there were few such tanks.

Early Shermans with ammo racks located in fenders suffered from detonation of ammunition when breaking through the hull. This shortcoming was corrected by placing the ammunition rack on the floor of the hull in boxes with a water jacket (the so-called “wet” ammunition rack).

The tactical and strategic mobility of the Sherman was highly rated. The tank, due to its small dimensions, was easily loaded onto all types of transport, including rail. When moving under its own power, the motor resource made it possible to travel long distances, rubberized tracks did not break roads, and the suspension design provided the crew with some comfort.

The Sherman had a good speed, good maneuverability, which was somewhat limited by the impossibility of turning on the spot. On tanks of the E2 series, other transmission ratios were used to maintain mobility with an increased mass.

Reliability

The high culture of production at American factories gave the Shermans high quality workmanship and very good reliability. Tank units did not require frequent adjustment. The maintainability of the tank deserves the highest praise. Soviet tanks were also inferior to the Sherman in this regard.

Due to the low culture of production and technological equipment, the tolerances were such that the nodes had to be adjusted manually.

The flip side was the exactingness of the tanks to the skill level of the service personnel.

Tank analogues

The Soviet counterpart, the T-34, was somewhat superior to the Sherman in terms of the effectiveness of side armor, was approximately the same in terms of armament, and significantly lost in terms of crew comfort.

The later T-34-85 had a powerful high-explosive fragmentation projectile (the absence of which forced the production of “short-barreled Shermans”), and its efficiency improved due to the separation of duties of the gunner and commander. It is worth noting that in the "fire hazardous" "Sherman" fuel tanks were located in the engine compartment, and for the T-34 - in the fighting compartment.

The main German analogue of the M4 was the Pz.IV.

Its early models were inferior to the Sherman in all respects, but by the middle of the war they were approximately equal in terms of armament and armor protection. At the same time, the late Panthers (Pz.V (T-5)) were distinguished by poor build quality.

Although the “Panther” was superior to the “Sherman” both in terms of armament power (with an equal gun caliber) and armor thickness. Its main disadvantage was low reliability.
The British army had two tanks of its own design, roughly similar to the Sherman. The first is the Cromwell, which went into battle in 1944. Its 57mm gun was inferior to American guns, and it was also weaker protected.

The second tank is the Komet, armed with a shortened version of the 17-pounder. In terms of firepower, it was approximately equal to the American Shermans (but somewhat inferior to the Fireflies), had equivalent protection and greater mobility due to a powerful engine.

The Sherman tank was a real triumph for American industry. Not having much experience in tank building, the Americans were not only able to develop a tank of a successful and well-thought-out design in the shortest possible time - they mass-produced it, while maintaining high quality workmanship and finish. And the modernization potential of the Sherman allowed him to successfully withstand more modern tanks.

Video

Not so long ago, another Hollywood military blockbuster "Fury" with Brad Pitt, who played a tough tank sergeant, came out in the world film distribution. The film turned out to be rather ambiguous and caused a lot of discussion, but the daily work of the tank crew is shown quite well in it. However, the main role in this picture was played not by Pitt, but by the famous American tank M4 "Sherman", which in the film has its own name Fury - "Fury".

M4 "Sherman" was the main medium tank of the American army during World War II. The tank got its name in honor of American General William Sherman.

In addition to the US armed forces, this combat vehicle was also supplied to the American allies: Great Britain, the USSR, Australia, and Canada. After the end of the war, the Shermans were in service with Israel, Pakistan, Italy, France, India, Japan and Yugoslavia.

As part of the lend-lease program, the USSR received more than 4,000 Sherman tanks. Soviet tankers called this combat vehicle "emcha" (from the designation M4) and loved it. To get to serve on an American tank was considered good luck. The convenience of the crews favorably distinguished the M4 from any Soviet vehicles. Also, Soviet tankers noted the high level of manufacture of Shermans, the excellent quality of instruments and a powerful walkie-talkie. Each American tank was equipped with a coffee maker, a fact that invariably made a powerful impression on Soviet soldiers.

Starting in 1943, the Sherman became the main tank that came from the United States under Lend-Lease. In significant quantities, this combat vehicle was also supplied to the UK.

Tank "Sherman" began its combat path in North Africa, then there was the landing of the allies in Normandy and the fighting in Europe. The Americans used the M4 in the Pacific theater of operations.

And after the end of World War II, the service of this combat vehicle continued. The Sherman was in service with the US Army until the end of the 50s, and took part in the Korean War, where it clashed with Soviet T-34-85 tanks.

Due to the huge number of manufactured combat vehicles, after the war, the Americans willingly handed over the Shermans to the armies of the liberated countries and the allied states. M4s were in service with the Israeli army during the War of Independence and the Six Day War. During the Indo-Pakistani conflict of 1965, these combat vehicles were used by both India and Pakistan.

The M4 Sherman is one of the most massive tanks in history, in three years (from 1942 to 1945), the Americans managed to produce more than 49 thousand of these combat vehicles. Only the Soviet T-34 and T-55 are more massive.

Many experts - primarily foreign ones, of course - call the Sherman medium tank the best combat vehicle of World War II, putting it ahead of the Soviet "thirty-four". This question is highly debatable, but these two tanks were definitely worth each other and are comparable in terms of combat power and armor protection.

However, before starting a review of the Sherman tank, a few words should be said about the history of its creation and vehicle modifications.

History of creation

The US Army approached the beginning of World War II without not only tank troops, but even a normal medium tank in mass production. With a serious automotive industry and a developed tractor industry, American generals did not consider tanks to be something worthy of serious attention. It was believed that enemy vehicles would be destroyed by artillery fire and self-propelled guns.

Although, serious work in the field of tank building in the United States was carried out: the tanks of the American designer Christie became a model for the creation of the English Crusader and Soviet BTs.

The history of the Sherman tank begins in 1939. The American military was stunned by the epic tank battles taking place in Europe, as well as the efficiency with which the Wehrmacht used tank troops in their campaigns. At the same time, the US Army possessed several hundred tanks, which, in terms of their characteristics, could not be compared with their European counterparts.

The only serial American tank was the M2, armed with a 37 mm cannon and eight machine guns. It was planned to launch it into large-scale production in 1940, but at the last moment the order was canceled. Compared to the characteristics of German tanks, the 37 mm gun looked absolutely pathetic and unpromising. And it was impossible to install a more powerful 75-mm gun in the existing turret. It was then that the idea was born to create a multi-turreted tank with a 75-mm cannon in the side sponson.

This is how the M3 "Lee" tank appeared. However, he also ceased to satisfy the US military already at the development stage. M3 "Lee" was nevertheless put into mass production (more than 6 thousand units were produced) and put into service. This "freak" was even supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease and received the well-deserved nickname "mass grave" from Soviet soldiers (the crew consisted of seven people).

In parallel with work on the M3, the development of another tank began, which was supposed to be armed with a single 75-mm cannon placed in a circular turret. In its design, it was planned to use the chassis of the M3 tank, its undercarriage, suspension, transmission and engine, that is, almost the entire lower part combat vehicle. The prototype of the future Sherman was ready on September 2, 1941 and received the designation T6. It had side doors and a commander's cupola, which were removed after the prototype was shown to the military leadership. There were other minor comments, after completion the tank was put into service.

Serial production began in February 1942. A modification of the tank with a welded hull received the designation M4, and with a cast - M4A1.

Initially, the tank was planned to be equipped with a new 76-mm M3 gun, but due to its unavailability, the old 75-mm gun from the M3 Lee tank was installed on the Sherman.

The cost of one M4 tank was 45-50 thousand dollars, which was ten percent less than that of the M3 Lee.

The prototype of the T6 tank was made at the Aberdeen Proving Ground by military personnel and technical personnel. Dozens of private contractors were involved in the mass production of the machine. Usually one plant was engaged in the manufacture of one or another element: parts of the chassis, engine or weapons.

Modifications

The Sherman had a large number of modifications, and the peculiarity of this machine was that the various variants of the tank did not appear as a result of modernization, but simply had significant technological differences and were produced in parallel. Often they were associated with the characteristics of the enterprises in which the combat vehicles were made. So, for example, the M4A1 modification is formally considered the second, but it was put into production several months earlier than the M4.

The main differences between various modifications of the Sherman tank are the method of manufacturing the hull and a different type of power plant. At the same time, different types of combat vehicles were periodically subjected to various improvements, but this happened at about the same time. At the same time, the upgraded tank received additional letters in the designations: W, (76) and HVSS. The factory designations were different, they included the letter E and a number. For example, the M4A3E8 Sherman tank.

Here are the main modifications of the combat vehicle:

• M4. One of the first modifications of the tank, its production began in mid-1942 and continued until January 1944. The car had a welded body and a Continental R-975 carburetor engine. The total number of tanks of this modification is 8389 pieces, 6748 of which were armed with M3, and another 1641 with 105-mm howitzer.
• M4A1. The very first modification that went into mass production. This tank had a cast hull and a Continental R-975 engine and is almost identical to the T6 prototype. The production of this combat vehicle continued from the beginning of 1942 to the end of 1943. The total number of vehicles produced was 9677, 6281 of which were armed with the M3 gun, and 3396 tanks received the new M1 gun. Initially, the M4A1 had an M2 gun and two forward machine guns.
• M4A2. Welded hull modification, equipped with a power plant consisting of two General Motors 6046 diesel engines. Its production lasted from April 1942 to May 1945. The total number of manufactured vehicles of this modification is 11,283 pieces, of which 8053 were armed with the M3 cannon, 3230 vehicles received the M1 gun.
• M4A3. Modification with a welded body and a Ford GAA gasoline engine. The tank was produced from June 1942 to March 1945. Total number: 11,424 units, 5015 of which had M3 guns, 3039 units (M4A3(105)) were armed with 105mm howitzer, and 3370 units (M4A3(76)W) with M1 gun.
• M4A4. A modification that had a welded elongated hull and a power plant consisting of five automobile engines. A total of 7499 combat vehicles of this modification were produced. All of them were armed with the M3 gun and differed in a slightly different turret shape, a radio station was located in the aft niche, and on the left side of the turret there was a hatch for firing personal weapons.
• M4A5. This designation was originally reserved for the Canadian Ram tank, but it was never assigned to it. This machine is curious in that, in fact, it is a significantly modernized version of the M3 tank. The combat vehicle was armed with an English 6-pounder gun, it had a cast turret and a cast hull with a side door, the undercarriage was almost the same as the M3. A total of 1948 cars were produced. M4A5 did not participate in hostilities due to a too weak gun, but several armored vehicles were made based on it.
• M4A6. Modification with a welded hull, similar in shape and size to the M4A4, but with a cast frontal part. The power plant consisted of a Caterpillar D200A diesel engine. A total of 75 tanks of this model were produced.
• Grizzly bear. This is a modification of the M4A1 tank, which was mass-produced in Canada, the vehicles had slight differences in the chassis. 188 tanks of this model were produced.

In addition to modifications, there were also special tanks created on the basis of this combat vehicle. For example, Sherman Firefly - tanks of modifications M4A1 and M4A4, armed with an English 17-pounder (76.2 mm) anti-tank gun, or Sherman Jumbo - an assault tank with reinforced armor and a 75-mm M3 gun.

Very interesting cars there were so-called rocket tanks: Sherman Calliope and T40 Whizbang, equipped with installations for launching rockets. On the basis of the Sherman, demining vehicles (Sherman Crab), engineering (M4 Dozer) and flamethrower tanks were created.

Design Description

The Sherman tank was made according to a scheme more typical for German tank building of those years: its transmission and control compartment are located in the front of the hull, and the engine compartment is in the rear. Between them is a fighting compartment with a circular rotation turret, which is located in the center of the hull. The crew consisted of five people.

Inside the tank was lined with foam rubber, which protected the crew from shrapnel.

Such an arrangement increased the height of the combat vehicle: the designers had to place a cardan shaft in the body, which went from the engine to the gearbox. Increased the height of the tank and the vertical position of the engine.

Different modifications of the tank differed little in their design, therefore, below is a description of the M4A2 model with a diesel engine, which was most massively supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease.

In front of the hull there was a control compartment, which housed the jobs of the driver and his assistant, control devices and control levers, transmission elements and a course machine gun with ammunition.

Behind him was a fighting compartment with a rotating turret. It housed the places of the vehicle commander, gunner and loader, gun ammunition, fire extinguishers and batteries. The turret housed a gun, sighting devices and observation devices, a cannon lifting mechanism, a coaxial machine gun and a radio station. Also in the fighting compartment was a mechanism for turning the tower.

In the rear of the tank was the engine compartment, which was separated from the combat by a special partition.

The hull of the M4A2 modification tank was made of rolled armor plates, which were connected by welding. The frontal part of the machine was one massive cast piece, which was located at an angle of 56 ° and had a thickness of 51 mm. The thickness of the sides of the hull was 38 mm. On the right, at the bottom of the sheet, there was a ball machine gun mount. There was a hatch in the bottom of the hull, which was used to evacuate the crew under enemy fire. Above the control compartment were two landing hatches with built-in observation devices.

The Sherman had a cast turret with a small aft niche, the thickness of its frontal armor was 76 mm, the sides and stern had 51 mm armor, and the gun mantlet had 89 mm armor. On the roof of the tower there was a double-leaf commander's hatch, which was used to evacuate all crew members in the fighting compartment. On later series of the machine, another hatch for the loader was added to it.

Initially, the main ammunition of the tank was in the fenders, which had additional armor on the outside. However, practice has shown that such an arrangement led to the detonation of the ammunition, so on the machines of the later series it was transferred to the floor of the fighting compartment, and the so-called wet ammo rack was used: the shells were filled with water with the addition of ethylene glycol.

Initially, a 75-mm M3 gun was installed on the M4A2 modification tank, and from 1943, a 76-mm M1A1 gun was installed. A machine gun was paired with a cannon, a 12.7-mm anti-aircraft machine gun was mounted on the roof of the tower.

The sights of the tank consisted of the M55 telescopic sight and the M38 periscope. The Sherman gun was stabilized in a vertical plane.

The M4A2 power plant consisted of two GM 6046 diesel engines with six cylinders each. The total power was 375 liters. with. The capacity of the fuel tanks of the tank was 590 liters.

The Sherman was equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox, the torque from the engine was transmitted to it using a cardan shaft.

The undercarriage of the tank consisted of six single road wheels on each side, they were combined in pairs into three carts, each of which was suspended on two springs. In addition, there were three support rollers on each side, a driving front wheel and steering wheels. In the middle of 1942, the undercarriage of the tanks was somewhat modernized.

Powerful radio stations were installed on the Shermans.

Efficiency and combat use

The first Shermans began to enter the troops in the middle of 1942, but the American tankers did not manage to master the new equipment: soon all the combat vehicles were handed over to the British. At this time, the British units were fighting hard in North Africa, and the situation there was clearly not in their favor. Churchill personally asked the American president for help.

In September 1942, 318 Sherman tanks arrived in Egypt and were thrown into battle almost immediately. For the Germans, the appearance of hundreds of enemy modern tanks came as a real shock. Most of the tanks of the German Afrika Korps could not penetrate the armor of the American tank. We can say that the battle of El Alamein was largely won thanks to the Shermans.

American tank crews in Shermans first came into action during the landings in Tunisia. Due to the untrained crews in the first battles, many vehicles were lost, but later, having worked out tactical methods, the Americans very successfully used the Shermans. In general, it should be noted that this tank was perfect for desert conditions. In February 1943, the M4 first met with the German novelty - the PzKpfw VI Tiger heavy tank. It quickly became clear that the Sherman could not oppose this German car on equal terms.

Tanks M4 and M4A1 took part in the landing of the Allied troops in Sicily. True, in Italy large tank battles there was practically none.

The next significant operation involving the Sherman was the Allied landing in Normandy. American cars in Normandy had a hard time. The Germans actively used the latest Panther tanks against them, against which the M4 had little chance. In addition, the rugged terrain of the north of France did not allow the Shermans to demonstrate their best qualities: speed and maneuverability. American vehicles suffered heavy losses from "

In nine months of fighting, the 3rd Panzer Division alone lost 1,348 combat vehicles.

In November 1942, the first M4s arrived in the Soviet Union. In the USSR, the diesel modification of the M4A2 tank was most massively supplied, since gasoline western tanks did not “digest” domestic fuel too well. The 5th Guards Tank Army in the North Caucasus was the first to receive new vehicles.

M4 was actively used in the campaigns of 1944 and 1945. The Shermans were used most massively during Operation Bagration, although these vehicles fought along the entire line of the Soviet-German front, from the Black Sea to the Baltic.

Soviet tankers loved the American tank. It was much more convenient for the crew than Soviet combat vehicles. But, most importantly, he was usually much more reliable than them. The undoubted advantage of the Shermans was sights and observation devices, a powerful radio station, a high level of armor and sufficient firepower. The suspension of the M4 was much softer than that of the T-34, it made much less noise. The cannon of the American tank had stabilization, which increased the accuracy of shooting while moving.

The design of the Sherman used many components and assemblies of serial vehicles, which ensured the high reliability of the tank.

Among the minuses can be called the design of the track tracks, which were not very suitable for the conditions of the Russian winter. They provided poor traction with the ground, which is why the tank often slipped. The disadvantages of the Shermans include too high a silhouette and a peculiar hull shape. The fact is that the Sherman was tall and narrow, which, combined with unsuccessful caterpillars, often led to the vehicle tipping over.

The 75-mm M3 cannon roughly corresponded to the Soviet F-34 gun, the 76-mm M1 cannon allowed the Shermans to confidently hit the German Pz.IVs, but for a duel with the Tigers and Panthers, it was necessary to use sub-caliber shells.

Sherman vs T-34

A lot of controversy raises the question of which of the tanks was better than the T-34 or the Sherman. These tanks repeatedly encountered in battle, but after the Second World War. During the Korean War, the Sherman's main opponent was the Soviet T-34-85, which was operated by Korean and Chinese tankers. Most often, the confrontation between Soviet and American tanks ended in favor of the latter.

The T-34 and Sherman were machines of the same class: they were not inferior to each other in armor, the American 76-mm gun, due to ballistics and better quality ammunition, was at least no worse than the Soviet 85-mm ZIS-S-53, and was similar mobility of these tanks. However, the Sherman had an advantage due to the greater convenience of the crew, the accuracy of fire and the rate of fire of the gun. More high quality the sights of the "American" were also different.

Another important advantage of the M4 was its reliability. The build quality of the "thirty-four" wartime very often left much to be desired.

Given the state of the US tank industry at the beginning of the war and the almost complete lack of experience in this area, it should be recognized that the creation of the Sherman in such a short time is a huge achievement for the Americans.

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Almost in parallel with the design of the MZ, the development of a new tank began, in which it was supposed to eliminate the shortcomings of the latter, in particular, the unsuccessful placement of the 75-mm gun, and at the same time make the most of existing components and assemblies. In June 1941, a full-size wooden model of the tank was made, which received the designation T6. Then, in Aberdeen, the assembly of a prototype with a cast upper hull began. At the same time, a machine with a welded hull, but without a turret, was being created in the Rock Island Arsenal. The Aberdeen prototype was ready by 2 September 1941 and demonstrated to representatives of the Armored Forces Command and the Ordnance Department.

Subject to a number of amendments, the US Congress Arms Committee on September 5, 1941 recommended that this vehicle be adopted by the United States Army under the designation "M4 Medium Tank". By a protocol dated December 11, 1941, the armaments committee assigned the designation M4 to a tank with a welded hull, and M4A1 to a cast one. In the American army, all models of the M4 medium tank were called "General Sherman", and in the English simply "Sherman". However, with the light hand of the British, it was the second name that became the most common.

Medium tank M4A2 during testing at the NIIBT Polygon in Kubinka. Summer 1942.

Tank M4A2 (76) W at the NIIBT Polygon in Kubinka near Moscow. 1945 Under its American index, this modification of the Sherman never appeared in Soviet documents of the war years.

One of the two M4A4 tanks delivered to the USSR during World War II at the Kubinka training ground. 1945

From February 1942 to July 1945, 6 main modifications of the M4 tank were in serial production. In principle, all models of the Sherman tank (M4, M4A1, M4A2, M4AZ, M4A4, M4A6) did not differ from each other. In appearance, only the M4A1 stood out sharply with its cast body. Guns, towers, placement of components and assemblies, chassis - everything was the same. Over time, all models received a single cast frontal part - a transmission compartment cover (instead of the three-piece assembly used earlier), an oval loader hatch, a bulwark, side armor and much more. Initially, the tanks had viewing slots in the frontal hull plate, then they were covered with armor casings and periscopes were introduced, and finally, at the end of 1943 - the beginning of 1944, a solid frontal plate appeared, and the hatches were moved to the roof of the hull. True, it was necessary to reduce the angle of inclination of the frontal armor from 56 ° to 47 ° from the vertical.

The main difference between the "Shermans" from each other was the type of power plant. So, on the M4 and M4A1, a 9-cylinder radial carburetor engine "Continental" R-975 was used; on M4A2 - a spark of GMC diesels; for the M4AZ, a carburetor 8-cylinder Ford GAA-8 engine was designed (by the way, the most powerful of all used on the Shermans - 500 hp at 2600 rpm) and, finally, five gasoline engines "Chrysler Multibank" A-57. To install such a unit, it was necessary to slightly lengthen the body. The M4A6 hull was the same length, but the Caterpillar RD1820 diesel engine was used as a power plant. On all modifications, the transmission was located in the front of the hull, which led to the relatively high height of the tank.

By the beginning of 1943, the command of the armored forces of the US Army came to the conclusion that the war could not be ended with the tanks of the produced modifications. This point of view led to the first major modernization associated with the installation of new cast turrets with 76 mm long guns and 105 mm howitzers. Modernization did not affect only the M4A4 and M4A6 tanks.

By February 1944, Chrysler had developed design documentation and produced prototypes for all new models. In these tanks, the ammunition rack was moved from the hull fenders to the floor of the fighting compartment and placed on both sides of the cardan shaft. An interesting feature of this so-called "wet" ammo rack was the placement of cannon shots in cassette boxes, the double walls of which were filled with water. It was assumed that if a projectile hit the ammunition rack, the water would spill and prevent a fire. On tanks with 105-mm howitzers, the ammunition was "dry", in armored boxes.

The appearance of a commander's turret with a periscope device and six beveled triplex blocks made it possible to dramatically improve visibility from the commander's seat. Somewhat later, the loader's oval hatch was replaced with a round double-leaf hatch.

Installing a powerful 76-mm M1A1 gun (with a muzzle brake - M1A2) with initial speed an armor-piercing projectile of 810 m / s allowed the Shermans to fight heavy German tanks.

The second major modernization of the General Sherman tanks was the introduction of the so-called horizontal suspension and a new 24-inch track. Prototypes were designated as M4E8, M4A1E8, M4A2E8 and M4AZE8. The mass of the tank increased slightly, but due to the use of wider tracks, the specific pressure on the ground decreased, and the patency not only did not decrease, but even increased. At the end of March 1945, the production of General Sherman tanks with a horizontal suspension began. All modifications produced at that time received a new chassis. It is rather difficult to single out any of them as the best, since there were no fundamental differences in performance data between them. It should be noted that only M4AZ tanks different options were not supplied to anyone under Lend-Lease and, as a result, made up more than half of the Shermans available in the US Army. The remaining modifications were intensively exported. Suffice it to say that only 17,174 M4 (Sherman I), M4A1 (Sherman II), M4A2 (Sherman III) and IW4A4 (Sherman V) tanks were delivered to England under Lend-Lease. The name "Sherman IV" was given to M4AZ, 7 of them were delivered to England - the only exported tanks of this modification.

Medium tank M4A2(76)W HVSS with horizontal suspension and 23-inch track during testing at the NIIBT Proving Ground in Kubinka in 1945.

According to American data, 4063 M4A2 tanks of various variants and two M4A4 tanks were delivered to the Soviet Union. Since the M4A2 tanks accounted for more than a third of all tanks received by our country from the Lend-Lease allies during the war, it makes sense to dwell on the design of these combat vehicles in more detail.

The hull of the M4A2 tank was welded from rolled armor plates. Its frontal part consisted of a massive cast part (on tanks of the first series - welded, detachable from three parts), which simultaneously served as a transmission hatch cover and a crankcase for the turning mechanism, and a top sheet 50 mm thick, located at an angle of 56 ° to the vertical. The cast frontal part was bolted to the top sheet, side sheets and bottom. On the outside, final drive housings were attached to it from the sides.

The upper frontal sheet was welded to the sides and roof of the hull. In its lower part, on the right, a machine gun ball mount was mounted, to the right and above which there was a cylindrical antenna input socket (in case the tank was equipped with two radio stations). In the upper part of the frontal sheet there were two protrusions, in which there were viewing slots with triplexes that opened from the inside of the tank. From the second half of 1942, armor plates were welded to the ledges, and then cast caps; instead of viewing slots, periscope observation devices MB were installed. At the end of 1943, a one-piece upper frontal plate without viewing slots was introduced, located at an angle of 47 ° to the vertical.

The sides of the hull are vertical. On tanks produced in 1943–1944, before the ammo rack was transferred to the floor of the fighting compartment, two armor plates were welded to the upper right side plate and one to the upper left side plate. The aft part of the hull consisted of two inclined (10 ... 12 °) sheets - upper and lower. The upper one was offset relative to the lower one so that a pocket was formed between them for the exit of air coming from the fans. The armor of the sides and stern had a thickness of 38 mm, the roof of the hull - 18 mm.

In front of the hull roof above the control compartment, there were oval landing hatches for the driver and his assistant, located along the hull and having observation devices built into the covers. Two fans were installed on either side of the hatches. Since the end of 1943, the hatches were located across the hull, the design of the covers was changed, one fan was kept, placed between the hatches.

The tower is cast, cylindrical in shape with a small aft niche. The forehead and sides were protected by 75 mm and 50 mm armor, respectively, the stern - 50 mm, and the turret roof - 25 mm. A mask-installation was attached to the front of the tower (armor thickness - 90 mm). On the roof of the tower there was a landing hatch, a ventilation hatch in the fighting compartment, closed with an armored cap, two hatches for observation devices and an antenna input. The landing hatch was closed with a double-leaf lid, hinged in a rotating turret of an anti-aircraft machine gun. Since December 1943, an oval loader's hatch appeared on the roof of the tower.

The tower was driven by a hydroelectric rotary mechanism or manually. With the help of a hydroelectric mechanism, the tower could be rotated 360 ° in a time of 16 to 840 s, depending on the angle of rotation of the control handle. The mechanism had an additional drive to the tank commander, when turned on, the gunner's drive was turned off.

Since May 1944, a new cast turret of increased size was installed on the tank, but with the same diameter of the turret ring in the clear. Armament was mounted in a new mask-installation (armor thickness - 100 mm). On the roof of the tower there was a commander's cupola with six triplex glass blocks and a periscope observation device, an oval loader hatch, an observation device hatch, an anti-aircraft machine gun bracket and an antenna input. On the left side of the tower there was a hatch for firing personal weapons, and a fan of the fighting compartment was mounted on the stern.

The Sherman tractor from the Morozovskaya railway station in the North Caucasus is now on display at the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow. On the frontal armor of the hull, traces of welding of the attachment points of the crane-boom are clearly visible.

The M4A2 was equipped with a 75 mm MZ cannon with a barrel length of 37.5 calibers. Since 1944, the M4A2 (76) W tank was equipped with a 76-mm M1A1 gun, and then M1A1C or M1A2 with a barrel length of 52 calibers. All guns had vertical wedge gates and copy-type semi-automatics. Vertical aiming - from -10 ° to + 25 °. The guns were stabilized in the vertical guidance plane.

Two 7.62 mm Browning М1919А4 machine guns were installed in the tank, one coaxial with a cannon, the other with a course, and a 50.8 mm MZ smoke grenade launcher. A 12.7 mm Browning M2HB anti-aircraft heavy machine gun was mounted on the roof of the turret.

The ammunition load of the M4A2 tank consisted of 97 artillery rounds, 300 12.7-mm and 4750 7.62-mm cartridges, 12 smoke grenades; tank M4A2 (76) W - 71 artillery rounds, 600 12.7 mm and 6250 7.62 mm rounds, 14 smoke grenades.

On the M4A2 tank, a GMC 6046 model 71 power plant was installed, consisting of two 6-cylinder two-stroke compressorless in-line diesel engines arranged in parallel and connected into one unit with an HP 375 power. at 2100 rpm. The engines were started by electric starters. To facilitate winter starting, two flare nozzles with glow plugs were used for each engine.

The transmission consisted of two single-disk main dry friction clutches (one per engine), a transverse connecting gear, a cardan shaft, a gearbox, a turning mechanism and final drives. Gearbox - mechanical, five-speed (5 + 1), with synchronizers in all gears, except for 1st and reverse. The turning mechanism is a double differential of the Kletrak type.

Tank M4A2 senior lieutenant N. Sumarokov. 3rd Ukrainian Front, 1944.

A column of M4A2 tanks with troops on the armor. 1943 Despite the smooth ride, it was difficult to stay on the Sherman, since the tank was completely missing any handrails or brackets. In the American army, motorized infantry was transported on armored personnel carriers and cars.

M4A2 tanks on the march to the front line. 1944

The undercarriage of the M4A2 and M4A2 (76) W tanks, as applied to one side, consisted of six single rubber-coated road wheels, interlocked in pairs into three balancing carts, each suspended on two vertical buffer springs; three support rollers, a guide wheel, a front drive wheel with removable gear rims (pinion engagement). Each track has 79 double-ridge tracks 420.6 mm wide, track pitch 152 mm. Tracks are metal or rubber-metal with a silent block.

The undercarriage of the M4A2 (76) W HVSS tank in relation to one side consisted of six double rubber-coated road wheels, interlocked in pairs in three balancing carts, each suspended on two horizontal buffer springs; three single and two double support rollers, rubber-coated guide wheel, front drive wheel with removable gear rims (lantern engagement). Each track has 79 single-ridge tracks 584.2 mm wide, track pitch 152 mm. Tracks are metal or rubber-metal with a silent block. A hydraulic shock absorber was installed in each suspension bogie.

10,968 M4A2 tanks of all variants were produced, of which 8,053 were equipped with a 75-mm cannon. Since the American army received only tanks with gasoline engines, the M4A2 was used in the United States as training and was supplied under lend-lease to other countries, mainly to England (7418 units). A number of M4A2s were used by the US Marine Corps in battles on pacific ocean. The main manufacturers were Fisher Tank Arsenal and Pullman Standard; in late 1942 they were joined by American Locomotive, Federal Machine and Welder and Baldwin. The release of the M4A2 with 75 mm guns was completed in May 1944. Then the Fisher Tank Arsenal company, the main manufacturer of diesel Shermans, switched to the production of the M4A2 (76) W and until May 1945 produced 2894 tanks, 21 cars were produced by the Pressed Steel Car company. General production M4A2 with a 76-mm gun amounted to 2915 pieces.

According to American data, 1990 tanks with a 75-mm cannon and 2073 with a 76-mm cannon were delivered to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease. In May 1945, the Red Army also received a number of tanks with a horizontal suspension.

The first Shermans arrived in the USSR in November 1942. This modification was not chosen by chance. Soviet specialists, with whom the range of supplied equipment was coordinated, were well aware of the difficulties that arose during the operation of MZs and MZl tanks in the USSR, whose gasoline engines could only run on imported high-octane gasoline.

It should be noted that the above number of sent cars does not match the number received. So, according to the admission committees of the GBTU of the Red Army, in 1942, 36 M4A2 tanks arrived in the USSR, in 1943 - 469, in 1944–2345, in 1945 - 814. In total, in four years - 3664 vehicles.

The M4A2 tank supports the infantry attack. 2nd Ukrainian Front, 1944.

The first to receive new American tanks were the 5th Guards Tank Brigade and the 563rd Separate Tank Battalion of the North Caucasian Front. As of January 5, 1943, the latter had nine M4A2 tanks and 21 MZl tanks. Soon, by order of the front commander, the 563rd separate tank battalion transferred its Shermans to the 5th Guards Tank Brigade, receiving MZl in return. Such an exchange was necessary to equip the 563rd battalion with light tanks, which were planned to be used in the landing in Yuzhnaya Ozereyka. In July 1943, the 299th separate tank regiment, which was armed with 38 М4А2.

The new American tanks were well received in the armored units of the Red Army. For example, in the report of the 5th Guards Tank Brigade, dated October 23, 1943, it was noted:

“Due to its high speed, the M4A2 tank is very convenient for pursuit, has great maneuverability. The armament is quite consistent with its design, as it has fragmentation and armor-piercing shells (blanks), the penetrating ability of which is very high. The 75-mm cannon and two Browning machine guns are trouble-free in operation. The disadvantages of the tank include a large height, which is a target on the battlefield. Armor, despite the large thickness (60 mm), is of poor quality, as there were cases when at a distance of 80 meters it made its way from the PTR. In addition, there were a number of cases when Yu-87s bombed tanks from 20-mm cannons and pierced the side armor of the turret and side armor, as a result of which there were losses among the crews. Compared to the T-34, the M4A2 is more easily controlled, more enduring when making long marches, since the engines do not require frequent adjustment. In combat, these tanks work well."

According to reviews from the troops, when shelling tanks, even with fragmentation ammunition, there were spalls of small fragments from the inside of the armor. This did not happen on all machines, but the Americans were nevertheless notified of this defect already in April - May 1943. Almost immediately after that, the shipment of the M4A2 to the USSR was suspended, and the vehicles that arrived from November 1943 had better quality armor.

M4A2 tanks pass through the Romanian city of Batosani. April 1944.

Residents of the liberated city of Balti greet Soviet tankers entering the city on M4A2 tanks. August 31, 1944.

An M4A2 tank from one of the units of the 8th Guards Tank Corps passes along the street of liberated Lublin. Poland, 27 July 1944.

In addition to summarizing the experience of military operation, during 1943, the Shermans were subjected to intensive tests at specialized training grounds. Here are some excerpts from the “Report on testing the medium American M4A2 tank in summer conditions. 1943 NIIBT Polygon GBTU KA ":

“Goal: to establish the reliability of the tank as a whole and its individual units and mechanisms.

Tank manufactured in 1942 by Fisher Tank Arsenal.

Before the start of summer tests, the M4A2 tank covered 1285 km in winter and spring conditions. Engines worked 89 hours.

During the summer tests, the tank traveled 1765 km, 450 km along the highway. The engines worked in summer conditions for 87 hours.

By the end of the tests, the tank had traveled 3050 km, the engines had worked for 176 hours.

Conclusion.

1) The American M4A2 tank has good operational reliability and requires minimal maintenance time.

2) Compliance with the frequency and scope of maintenance of the tank, indicated in the “Memo to the crew of the M4A2 tank” compiled by the Research Institute of BT Polygon, fully ensures normal and reliable operation tank.

3) The GMC engines installed on the M4A2 tank operate reliably on domestic diesel fuel of the DT brand and diesel oil. Engine oil should be changed after 50-60 hours of operation.

4) The transmission of the tank can normally work 4000-5000 km without changing the American refueling with SAE-50 oil, with which the M4L2 tanks arrive in the USSR. Refueling of the transmission must be done with domestic aircraft oil "MK" or "MS".

5) Metal and rubber-metal caterpillars are equivalent in their adhesion to the ground in summer conditions. During the operation of the M4A2 tank on a metal caterpillar, the reliability of the undercarriage decreases (the service life of the rubber bands of the track rollers especially decreases).

It is difficult to add anything to this assessment of the Sherman's reliability given by Soviet test officers. It is worth emphasizing that during the hostilities of 1944-1945, it was fully confirmed. Looking ahead, let's say that, unfortunately, the fact of increased wear of the rubber tires of the road wheels during the intensive operation of tanks on a metal caterpillar was also confirmed. Such a misfortune, for example, happened in parts of the 5th mechanized corps during the Yasso-Kishinev operation in August 1944.

The massive equipping of various units and formations of the Red Army with Shermans began in the spring of 1944.

On February 13, 1944, the 212th separate tank regiment, armed with M4A2 tanks, was assigned to the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps. Together with other units and formations of the corps, the regiment took part in the Bereznegovato-Snigirevskaya offensive operation, carried out by the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

On March 13, 1944, the caterpillar chain was broken by an aerial bomb near the M4A2 tank of the guard junior lieutenant V. A. Sivkov from the 212th tank regiment. The whole day the crew was repairing the tank. And all this time german planes, as soon as they detected the movement of people around the tank, they immediately tried to shoot them with machine-gun and cannon fire. In one of the enemy air raids, the driver, senior sergeant Ivan Volodin, and the gunner, sergeant Boris Kalinichenko, were killed. Only two remained in the crew - the commander and gunner-radio operator Private P. K. Krestyaninov.

Twilight was already descending on the ground, air raids had ceased. The tank was again ready for battle, but exactly half of the crew was missing. There was no one to lead the tank, but the tankers did not think of remaining in the desert steppe. Pyotr Krestyaninov took the place of the driver, and Vadim Sivkov took his place in the tower.

Under the cover of evening twilight, the tank rushed south at maximum speed. The tankers wanted to catch up with their regiment as quickly as possible, which, according to their calculations, was supposed to be in the area with. I'm in the cinema. About what happened next, you can find out from the award list:

“... Junior Lieutenant Sivkov V.A. on the night of March 13-14, following the route of the regiment, along the way he learned that there was an enemy on his route in the village of Yavkino. This did not bother him, and he decided, by all means, to fight his way to his unit. Coming close to the village of Yavkin, junior lieutenant Sivkov opened heavy fire from all types of weapons of the M4A2 tank, burst into the village at top speed. Skillfully maneuvering through the streets, he created the appearance that at least 10 tanks had burst into the village. The enemy in a panic rushed from one house to another, from one street to another, but everywhere he fell under heavy fire and tank tracks ...

On the night of March 14-15, the enemy, having brought up significant forces, launched a counterattack on the village of Yavkino. Reflecting the attack of the enemy, maneuvering around the village, the tank fell into an anti-tank ditch. Not being able to use a cannon and machine guns, he made it possible for the enemy to come close to the tank and offer the crew to surrender, to which Sivkov responded by opening fire and with an exclamation: “Komsomol members do not surrender!” He threw grenades at them.

The enemy fled, leaving a dozen corpses near the tank. Then junior lieutenant Sivkov, using an anti-aircraft gun, began to shoot the fleeing enemy. Having used up all the ammunition, being unable to fight further, Junior Lieutenant Sivkov blew himself up and set fire to the tank.

Conclusion: I present posthumously to the title of Hero Soviet Union.

(Commander of the 212th Separate Tank Regiment of the Guard, Major Barbashin.)

Our troops, having entered Yavkino on March 15, discovered a blown up Soviet tank. Inside it was found a small package and in it two sheets of finely written paper, where it was reported:

“We, the remaining two in tank No. 17, Sivkov Vadim Aleksandrovich (tank commander, junior lieutenant) and radio operator Krestyaninov Petr Konstantinovich, decided it would be better to die in our own tank than to leave it.

We do not think of surrendering to captivity, leaving two or three rounds for ourselves ...

The Germans approached the tank twice, but could not open it. At the last minute of life, we will blow up the tank with grenades so that it does not hit the enemy.

For courage, courage and boundless devotion to the Motherland, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 3, 1944, junior lieutenant V. A. Sivkov and private P. K. Krestyaninov were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Tanks M4A2(76)W on the march. 2nd Ukrainian Front, Austria, March 1945.

"Emcha" forcing a water barrier on a floating bridge on the outskirts of Vienna. April 1945.

Tankers of the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps of the Guards, Lieutenant I. G. Dronov and Guards Sergeant N. Idrisov, on their Sherman, were the first to break into Vienna. April 1945.

The arrival of a significant number of "Shermans" made it possible to equip large formations with them. So, for example, on June 22, 1944, the 3rd Guards Stalingrad Mechanized Corps, operating as part of the 3rd Belorussian Front, had 196 tanks, mostly foreign-made: 110 M4A2, 70 Valentine IX and 16 T-34.

On July 2, 1944, five Sherman tanks from the 9th Guards Tank Brigade of the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps, marching in the head outpost under the command of Guards Senior Lieutenant G. G. Kiyashko, crossed the river. Berezin and received the task of breaking into the city of Krasnoe and, in the event of a successful development of events, to capture it. The enemy garrison did not expect the appearance of Soviet troops. Tanks burst into the streets, packed with German vehicles. Firing from cannons and machine guns, with armor and caterpillars, the guardsmen smashed manpower and enemy technology. The enemy was driven out of the city. During the battle, the guards destroyed four guns, more than 30 vehicles, about 80 Nazis, losing only one Sherman, junior lieutenant A.E. Bashmakov. The tankers cut the highway and the railway going to Krasnoe from Minsk. In order to hold out until the approach of the main forces, Kiyashko ambushed three tanks. By this time, the tank of Lieutenant E. N. Smirnov, whose rotary mechanism of the gun was damaged during the ramming, took the wounded and departed to join the main forces of the brigade.

Soon, the Soviet vehicles were attacked by German troops retreating from Minsk to Molodechno through Krasnoye. Against three Soviet tanks, the Germans threw 20 tanks and self-propelled guns, including several "panthers", and up to an infantry battalion. In a few hours of an unequal battle, three Shermans knocked out six German tanks Pz. IV, one "Panther" and the StuG III assault gun, destroyed up to a company of infantrymen. But the forces were unequal. All Soviet tanks were hit, the rest of the crews managed to get through to their own.

And here is another combat example. On July 26, 1944, tankers of the 44th Guards Tank Regiment started fighting on the outskirts of Siauliai.

« tank crews guards lieutenant G. Milkov, V. Silysh and A. Safonov exterminated the Nazis with crushing fire from their cannons. The commander of the 1st Tank Company of the Guard, Captain Volkov, who was on one of the vehicles, skillfully led the battle. The walls of houses collapsed, and enemy guns and machine guns fell silent under their debris. Enemy vehicles caught fire and boxes of ammunition in their bodies were torn. House after house, street after street, the brave Soviet soldiers cleared the resisting enemy.

"Shermans" of the 43rd, 44th and 45th Guards Tank Regiments of the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps liberated Shauliai and Yelgava, participated in the defeat of the enemy's Courland grouping.

N.Z. Alexandrov, a veteran of the 44th Guards Tank Regiment, shares his impressions of getting to know the Sherman.

“We got a new materiel -“ Shermans ”. How we did not want to sit on these tanks! Their armor is not sloped. The T-34 has clutches - it can spin in place. And they have satellites, he turned like a car in a circle. The short-barreled 75 mm gun was weak. Of the positive aspects, the presence of an anti-aircraft machine gun can be noted. The inside of the tank is very comfortable - everything is painted white, the handles are nickel-plated, the seats are covered with leather. Rubber tracks are very quiet. On it it was possible to sneak up on the enemy. I had such a case in the Baltics.

We walked along the road through a field framed by a forest. Before locality we were fired upon. The Germans had self-propelled guns on the defensive and anti-tank gun. We moved back a little and along the edge of the forest, crushing the bushes, at low speed we went to their flank. I was on foot with four submachine gunners, and the tank was in the back. Crept up three hundred meters. He ordered the submachine gunners to take up defense so as not to let anyone in, and he returned to the tank. Armor-piercing self-propelled guns were burned, and then the gun was destroyed. The German infantry fled. Thus, the road was opened.

We did not fight on Shermans for long, and by the autumn of 1944 they had been replaced by T-34-85s.”

Frankly, some of the veteran tanker's comments are surprising, in particular the criticism of the "non-sloping" armor and the "weak" 75mm gun. It is quite clear that neither one nor the other is unfair. Compared to the T-34, the Sherman had only side armor that was not sloping. However, the main indicator of tank security is frontal armor. According to the characteristics of the side armor, tanks are never compared at all. And the frontal armor of the Sherman was more powerful than that of the T-34. As for the 75-mm gun, then in their own ballistic performance it was identical to our F-34. Due to the better quality of ammunition, the American gun surpassed the Soviet one in terms of armor penetration. The Sherman, which had a double differential as a turning mechanism, really could not turn around on the spot. However, the veteran does not mention how much physical effort the T-34 driver needed to turn on the spot. The quiet move of the American tank was noted by all Soviet tankers. This was especially noticeable against the background of the T-34. "Thirty-four" with its roaring engine without mufflers and rattling caterpillars with ridge gearing, according to the front-line soldiers, was heard for 3 km on a quiet moonlit night!

And, finally, something does not fit with the veteran and with the rearmament on the T-34-85. According to the documents, by January 1945, already operating as part of the 1st Baltic Front, the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps had 176 M4A2s (108 of them with a 76-mm cannon) and 21 Valentine IX. There were no T-34-85s at all.

"Shermans" of the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 6th Guards Tank Army on Vienna Street. Austria, April 1945.

A column of "Shermans" on the street in Brno. 2nd Ukrainian Front, Czechoslovakia, April 1945.

On the streets of Berlin - "Sherman" of the 219th tank brigade of the 1st mechanized corps. 1st Belorussian Front, May 1945.

Tankers are greeted by Soviet girls released from fascist captivity. In the background is the M4A2 tank. Berlin, May 1945.

By the way, the Sherman was distinguished not only by its quiet, but also by its smooth running, which was especially appreciated by the motorized riflemen-tanktroopers. According to the recollections of many veterans, from the second half of 1944, the M4A2 tanks were actively used to fight the Faustniks. It was done like this. Four or five submachine gunners sat on the tank, who were tied with waist belts to brackets on the tower. When the vehicle was moving, the infantrymen fired at any shelters within a radius of 100-150 m, behind which there could be “fa-usters”. This technique is called "broom". Moreover, only Shermans were suitable for the “broom”. On the T-34, due to its candle suspension and its characteristic longitudinal buildup, it was almost impossible for infantrymen tied with a waist belt to hold on.

Another advantage of the Shermans over domestic cars the tankers appreciated it - these are excellent radio stations that provide reliable and high-quality radio communications! Here is how D. F. Loza spoke about this:

“I must say that the quality of the radio stations on the Sherman tanks aroused the envy of the tankmen who fought on our tanks, and not only among them, but also among the soldiers of other branches of the armed forces. We even allowed ourselves to give gifts to radio stations that were perceived as “royal”, primarily to our gunners ...

For the first time, the radio communication of the brigade's units was subjected to a comprehensive check in the January-March battles of the forty-fourth year in the Right-Bank Ukraine and near Iasi.

As you know, each Sherman had two radio stations: VHF and HF. The first is for communication within platoons and companies at a distance of 1.5–2 kilometers. The second type of radio station was intended for communication with the senior commander. Good hardware. We especially liked that, having established a connection, it was possible to firmly fix this wave - no shaking of the tank could bring it down.

And one more unit in an American tank still arouses my admiration. I don't think we talked about him before. This is a small-sized gasoline engine designed to recharge batteries. Wonderful thing! It was located in the fighting compartment, and its exhaust pipe was brought out on the starboard side. You could launch it to recharge the batteries at any time. On Soviet T-34s during the Great Patriotic War, to maintain the battery in working condition, it was necessary to drive five hundred horsepower of the engine, which was quite an expensive pleasure, given the consumption of motor resources and fuel ...

AT offensive battles on the territory of Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Austria, communication worked smoothly. Even when the advanced units were separated from the main forces at a distance of 15-20 kilometers, communication was carried out by a microphone or a key if the terrain turned out to be rugged.

The presence of radio stations generally differed in better side all lend-lease tanks are from domestic ones. The latter, as you know, began to be 100% equipped with radio stations only from the second half of 1943.

It should be noted that all Lend-Lease armored vehicles that came to the USSR, including Shermans, were equipped with English Wireless Sets No. 19 Mk. II. WS 19 radios were produced in England from 1941, and from 1942 were also produced in Canada and the USA. WS 19 began to arrive in the USSR at the end of 1941, along with English tanks"Matilda" and "Valentine", and since 1942, in addition to English, Canadian and American-made radio stations began to arrive. The latter had all operational inscriptions in English and Russian. Equipping all imported armored vehicles with radio stations English design not by chance, but this is not a tribute to unification. The fact is that American tanks conducted radio communications in the 20 ... 28 MHz range using frequency modulation, while the WS 19 radio stations had 2 ... 8 MHz and 229 ... 241 MHz ranges, working in them by telegraph or amplitude modulation, that is, they were completely incompatible with regular radio stations of American tanks.

At the same time, WS 19 completely covered the 4 ... 5.63 MHz frequency range, in which Soviet-made tank radio stations operated, and could be used without modifications in the armored and mechanized troops of the Red Army.

In 1944, the Shermans ousted foreign tanks of other brands from the tank units of the Red Army, with the exception of the Valentines. So, for example, the 5th Guards Tank Army is the main impact force 3rd Belorussian Front in the operation "Bagration" - was equipped with equipment of both domestic and foreign production. It included 350 T-34s, 64 Shermans, 39 Valentine IXs, 29 ISs, 23 ISU-152s, 42 SU-85s, 22 SU-76s, 21 M10 self-propelled guns and 37 SU-57s (T48s) . Thus, imported combat vehicles accounted for 25% of the entire army fleet. It should be noted that in the tank and mechanized units of the Soviet fronts that took part in the Bagration operation, the number of Shermans was second only to the T-34.

Tanks "Sherman" were used in the Red Army until the end of the war. For example, as of January 14, 1945, the 8th Guards Alexandria Mechanized Corps of the 2nd Belorussian Front had 185 M4A2s, five T-34s, 21 ISs, 21 SU-85s, 21 SU-76s, 53 MZA1 scouts, 52 BA-64i 19 3SU Ml7.

During the Vistula-Oder operation, the 2nd Guards Tank Army included the 1st Mechanized Corps, equipped with Sherman and Valen-Tyne tanks. In the future, the corps took part in the storming of Berlin.

M4A2 tanks, especially in the version with a powerful 76-mm cannon, fell in love with Soviet tankers. They were given quite a few friendly nicknames and nicknames. “Emcha” (from “em four”), “humpback”, “Maybeetle”, “Brontosaurus” in the hands of an experienced crew who knew their car well, its strengths and weaknesses, was terrible for the enemy. This is evidenced by many combat examples.

On March 23, 1945, a battalion of the 46th Guards Tank Brigade of the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps, commanded by Senior Lieutenant D. F. Loza, distinguished himself near the city of Veszprem in Hungary. The award sheet stated the following: "The battalion knocked out and burned 29 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, captured 20 and destroyed 10 vehicles, exterminated about 250 enemy soldiers and officers."

As Dmitry Loza himself recalls, it was like this:

“The exiled reconnaissance - a platoon of the guards of Lieutenant Ivan Tuzhikov - went to the approaches to Veszprem and disguised themselves in the forest, to the left of the highway. She discovered a large enemy tank column. “Fascist tanks are pressing towards you,” the platoon commander reported to me ... It was necessary to quickly withdraw the battalion and deploy it, preparing an ambush for the approaching column ... I give the command: “Do not linger! Follow everyone to the crossing!” Ionov reported that he was behind the steel line. I order him to go one more kilometer and turn around to the right of the road. He knows about the approach of the enemy column, as well as all the officers of the battalion.

Danilchenko's platoons reached the southern outskirts of Khaimashker. From the west, twelve cars were moving at a speed towards him along the lane. An excellent target!.. From everything it was clear that the enemy did not know the latest data on the situation in this area. He had no reconnaissance and security ...

On a signal, eight Shermans of Grigory Danilchenko fired their cannons. The trucks went up in flames. The surviving infantry began to jump out of the bodies of vehicles and scatter in different directions, but only a few managed to carry their feet ...

I order Danilchenko's company to follow me. We skip the crossing, the fork in the road, we pass about eight hundred meters ahead, we go off the highway to the right and deploy in battle formation. How lucky we are! The units ended up on the enemy's artillery range, pitted with countless positions for guns of various calibers and shelters for their tractors. Well, just a case! We occupied those that suited us in size.

Meanwhile, the enemy column, without suspecting anything, continued to move north along the highway. The platoon of Lieutenant Tuzhikov was still watching her. Beyond the forest, the sun had already risen above the horizon. Visibility has improved. The time that had passed from the moment the Shermans took up positions until the appearance of the lead fascist tank seemed to us an eternity ... Finally, at the turn highway we saw the head of the enemy column. Tanks were moving at short distances. Very well! At their sudden stop, which is inevitable when they come under our fire, marching order the enemy will be “compressed”, and then the commanders of the emcha guns will not miss. I have given the strictest order not to open fire until the cannon of my tank sounds, and all the tanks are silent. Patiently waiting for the moment when the entire column will be in our field of vision. Senior sergeant Anatoly Romashkin, the commander of the gun of my guard tank, continuously keeps the enemy's lead vehicle at gunpoint. Behind the rear German tanks, the gun barrels of the Shermans of the Tuzhikov platoon are relentlessly “watching”. All enemy tanks are distributed and taken at gunpoint. “A little more, another second,” I restrain myself. And here are all the enemy tanks in full view. I command: “Fire!” The air was torn apart by seventeen shots that sounded like one. The lead car immediately caught fire. Frozen on the spot and the tank at the tail of the stopped column. Having fallen under unexpected massive fire, the Nazis rushed about. Some tanks began to turn right on the road to substitute thicker frontal armor for our shots. Those who managed to do this returned fire, which knocked out one Sherman. The commander of the gun of the guard, Sergeant Petrosyan, and the driver of the guard, senior sergeant Ruzov, survived in it. Together, they continued to fire from a place, preventing the enemy from entering the flank of the battalion. The resistance of the Germans was short-lived, and in fifteen minutes it was all over. The highway was blazing with bright fires. Enemy tanks, vehicles, fuel tankers were on fire. The sky was filled with smoke. As a result of the battle, twenty-one enemy tanks and twelve armored personnel carriers were destroyed.

The Shermans began to leave the shelters they had occupied in order to continue moving towards Veszprem. Suddenly, a sharp cannon shot sounded from the forest, and the left-flank vehicle of Senior Lieutenant Ionov's guard company was pushed to the side, and it, listing to the starboard side, stopped. Four crew members were seriously injured. Sergeant Ivan Lobanov, a stocky, sturdy mechanic-driver of the guard, rushed to the aid of his comrades. He tied them up and, pulling them out through the emergency hatch, laid them under the tank. For a fraction of a second, his gaze lingered on the edge of the grove. Along it, breaking a young bush, slowly crawled to the road "Artsturm". Lobanov quickly returned to the tank, loaded the gun with an armor-piercing projectile and, sitting in the gunner's position, caught an enemy self-propelled gun in the crosshairs of the sight. The shell pierced the side of the armored vehicle, and its engine compartment was engulfed in flames. One after another, the Nazis began to jump out of the self-propelled guns. Lobanov, wasting no time, grabbed a machine gun, jumped out of the car and, hiding behind the body of the Emcha, shot the German tankers. It should be noted that in moments of respite and re-formation, the tankers of the battalion always practiced the interchangeability of crew members. In this situation, the driver's skills in handling tank weapons came in handy, which were later rewarded by the battalion command.

About half an hour later, the battalion units approached Veszprem. What we saw on the near approaches to the city was worthy of surprise. On both sides of the highway, eight "panthers" stood in carefully equipped positions, which did not respond to our fire and were shot from a short distance. Captured soon captive stories that German soldiers and the officers were so shocked and depressed by the shooting of the tank column that when our units, raising clouds of dust, approached the well-equipped defensive line at full speed, the panther crews abandoned their vehicles and, together with the infantry, fled in panic.

For the skillful management of the battalion and the personal courage of the guards, Senior Lieutenant Dmitry Fedorovich Loza was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The brilliant result of this fight is not particularly surprising. The battalion commander competently organized the ambush, and the crews skillfully used the firepower of their tanks.

In relation to the latter, one can sometimes hear undeserved criticism. Especially often, the 76-mm Sherman gun is opposed to the 85-mm T-34-85 gun, reducing everything to a comparison of calibers. However, if the caliber is larger, then this does not mean at all that the gun is better. In any case, the Soviet 85-mm gun, due to its larger caliber, was superior to the American one only in terms of high-explosive action of shells. Otherwise, it had no advantages, as can be seen in the following example.

In the autumn of 1944, at the Kubinka training ground, shelling tests were carried out on a captured German heavy tank"Royal tiger". The test report reads in black and white:

"American 76-mm armor-piercing shells pierce the side plates of the Tiger-B tank from a distance 1.5–2 times greater than domestic 85-mm armor-piercing shells."

Here, as they say, nothing to add or subtract ...

Comrades in arms - "Sherman" and T-34-85 of the 6th Guards Tank Army in the mountains of Austria. May 1945.

Tank M4A2 (76) W9-ro of the guards mechanized corps in Manchuria. Transbaikal Front, August 1945.

Subsequently, the M4A2 (76) W tanks of the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps participated in the capture of Budapest, in repelling the German counterattack near the lake. Balaton, in the liberation of Vienna. After the end of hostilities in Europe, leaving, like all formations of the 6th Guards Tank Army, its equipment in the former area of ​​deployment, the corps was transferred to the Far East. Upon arrival in the areas of Borzya and Choibalsan, the corps brigades received 183 brand new Shermans that had just arrived from the United States. There is reason to believe that some of them were M4A2(76)W HVSS tanks with horizontal suspension. Together with the T-34-85 of the 5th Guards Tank and 7th Guards Mechanized Corps, the Shermans of the 9th Mechanized Corps overcame the Greater Khingan and entered the Central Manchurian Plain. The swift actions of the 6th Guards Tank Army had a decisive influence on the course of the entire operation in Manchuria. The brigades of the 9th mechanized corps participated in the capture of Chanchun and Mukden, the liberation of the Liaodong Peninsula, and after the end of the war with Japan, the guards "Shermans" also became red banners. On September 20, 1945, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the 46th Guards Tank Brigade was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the 18th and 30th Guards Mechanized Brigades were given the honorary name Khingan, and the 31st Guards Mechanized Brigade became Port Arthur.

Tank M4A2 (76) W HVSS, converted after the war into a tractor.

Imported armored vehicles was in service with the Soviet army for some time after the end of World War II. So, for example, in the already mentioned 46th Guards Mechanized Brigade, "Shermans" were operated until the summer of 1946. Then an order was received to prepare the equipment for transfer to the Americans. However, it was soon canceled: some of the tanks were decommissioned, some of the vehicles were converted into tractors. In different parts, apparently, they were remade in different ways. In the 46th brigade, the towers were simply removed, and the vehicles were then used in the Krasnoyarsk Territory for logging. There was another version of the alteration: the hole formed in the roof of the hull was welded with a steel sheet, on which the commander's cupola from the Sherman was installed. Tractors were equipped with a traction winch and a boom crane. Most of the cars converted in this way entered the recovery trains. railways North Caucasus and Ukraine, where they were operated until the end of the 1960s. Separate vehicles could be found in Ukraine in the 1980s, and in the recovery train of the Morozovskaya railway station in the North Caucasus, the Sherman tractor was operated until 1996!

Since the start of mass production of the American medium tank M4 Sherman, its design has been constantly modernized and improved. Against this background, many modifications of the Sherman appeared:

Tank M4 "Sherman" with a 105-mm gun. One of the most serious alterations in terms of armament of the tank. Instead of a 76 mm turret, a powerful 105 mm howitzer was installed in the enlarged turret, which was able to fight many German tanks, including the Tiger and Panther. On Shermans with 105-mm guns, there was no “wet laying”, instead of it the ammunition was installed in the so-called. "dry laying", that is, in armored boxes in the center of the fighting compartment. From February 1943 to September 1943, 800 of these tanks were produced at the tank arsenal in Detroit.

American medium tank M4 "Sherman" with a 105-mm gun

Tank M4 "Sherman" with 105mm howitzer and HVSS suspension. This tank was not much different from the previous modification, with the exception of the suspension. Here, a more reliable HVSS suspension acted as a running gear, which had bogies with twin rollers and vertical springs were replaced with horizontal ones. In addition, the suspension had excellent maintainability. From September 1944 to March 1945, the tank arsenal in Detroit produced 841 vehicles.

Tank M4 "Sherman" with suspension HVSS

Tank М4А1 "Sherman" with a 76 mm gun. Standard serial tank, but with improvements, like the modifications M4A1, M4A2, M4A4 and later modifications of the M4A3 tank. The American company "Pressed Steel" in the period from January 1944 to June 1945 created 3396 tanks.

Tank M4A1 "Sherman" with a 76-mm gun

Tank М4А2 "Sherman" with a 76 mm gun. Standard serial tank with improvements of the M4A1, M4A5 and M4A3 modifications. The American company Grand Blank produced 1,596 tanks between June 1944 and December 1944, while Pressed Steel produced only 21 tanks between May 1945 and June 1945.

Tank M4A2 "Sherman" with a 76-mm gun.

Tank М4А3 "Sherman" with a 76 mm gun. Standard serial tank with improvements of the M4A1, M4A5 and M4A2 modifications. The tank arsenal in Detroit produced 1,400 such tanks from February to July 1944, and Grand Blank built 525 tanks from September 1944 to December 1944.

Tank M4A3 "Sherman" with a 76-mm gun

Tank М4А3 "Sherman" with a 76 mm gun and improved HVSS suspension. Standard serial tank with improvements of the M4A1, M4A5 and M4A2 modifications. The tank arsenal in Detroit produced 1,445 tanks between August 1944 and December 1944.

Tank M4A3 "Sherman" with a 76-mm gun and an improved suspension HVSS

Tank М4А3 "Sherman" with 105mm howitzer. Standard serial tank with improvements of the M4A2, M4A4 and M4A5 modifications. The tank arsenal in Detroit produced 500 of these tanks between April 1945 and August 1945.

Tank М4А3 "Sherman"

Tank М4А3 "Sherman" with a 105 mm howitzer and an improved HVSS undercarriage. Standard serial tank with improvements of modifications M4A2, M4A3? M4A4 and M4A5. The tank arsenal in Detroit produced 2,539 of these tanks between August 194 and May 1945.

Tank М4А3 "Sherman"

And here is a good example of comparing the conventional suspension of the M4A1 Sherman tank and the improved (below) HVSS suspension.

Heavy assault tank М4А3Е2. The most interesting modification of the M4 Sherman tank was a compromise tank design, which the American designers provided at the end of 1943. It was a tank of direct infantry support, which at the beginning of 1944 was proposed to be used during the landing in Northern Europe. This decision was proposed after it became clear that the heavy assault tank T26E1 would not appear in mass production until January 1945. BUT constructive solution it was simple: to increase the armor of the tank to 10 cm. At the same time, a new, heavier tank turret with armor up to 10.5 cm was designed, however, it is not clear why the 76-mm gun was left. Naturally, the weight of the tank has increased greatly, up to about 38 tons. Based on the experience of the tankers, upgraded tracks with non-removable lugs were installed on the new tank. These propeller blades greatly increased the mobility of the new tank. Over rough terrain, the tank could reach a maximum speed of 22 miles per hour. These tanks were manufactured by Grand Blank from May to June 1944. A total of 254 M4A3E2 tanks were produced, which, as expected, were sent to fight in the European theater of operations. True, the tanks went to Europe without any weapons, since upon their arrival at the place, they received weapons in the form of 76-mm M1 guns from previously knocked out Sherman tanks. American tankers called tanks M4A3E2 Jumbo (Jumbo).