M4A1 "Sherman"

  Unit Properties in Men of War General Information
 * Nation:     America/Great Britain
 * Category:   Tanks
 * Class:      Medium tank
 * Role:       Infantry/Tank Support
 * Primary Armament: M3 75 mm gun
 * Secondary Armament: Secondary Weapons: 2 x 7.62 mm (.30 cal) M1919 (Hull & Turret); 1 x 12.7 mm (.50 call) M2HB (Anti-Aircraft)
 * Armor:     51 - 38 mm
 * Crew:       5(9)


 * MP price:   21
 * Speed:      34
 * Fuel:       ?

This American medium tank entered mass production in 1942 and, from then on, was widely used in all the theatres of war. It was supplied in large quantities to the US allies under the Lend-Lease program. Thanks to its fully cast hull and decent armor, the M4A1 was no weaker than the soviet T-34 series while having superior ergonomics, more space inside the turret however it was slower. The 75 mm gun performed better than the previous US 37mm gun that earlier tanks had; effectivly hitting enemy light and medium armor. The Sherman did faulter with the introduction of the Tiger and Panther eventualy forcing the Sherman to be augmented with a 76mm high velocity gun.

The early Sherman models (M4A1) had problems with spontanious combustion when hit by High Velocity rounds, this was due to poor protection of the magazine and fuel tank. This problem led to several nicknames, mainly from the allies, such as Tommycooker (Tommy was a nickname for the Brittish), Ronson (After the Ciggarete lighter with the slogan "Lights up the first time, every time!") and refered to by the Polish as The Burning Grave.

In-Game
Its armor and .50 call and makes it a great light/medium vehicle. Although it is easily countered by enemy anti-tank guns (PAK-40) or other medium tanks since its gun isn't very powerfull compared to contemporaries such as the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. G or Hetzer. Also this tank suffers from a high profile, wich makes it easy to hit, and hard to hide acheive a hull-down position, where as the British Mk.VIII "Cromwell" with similar armor and armerment has a much lower profile and superior speed.