M4 Sherman Research Paper

The development of the advanced technological M4 Sherman tank in World War II helped turn the tide during the European ground invasions. A tank is a heavy armored fighting vehicle carrying guns and moving on a continuous articulated metal track. The M4 Sherman was one of the most widely used tanks by the United States Army in World War II. At first, however, the United States lagged far behind the major European states in the development of tank technology and armored warfare. The fall of France in May 1940 awoke and alarmed the United States. The French had lost a major ground battle that was dominated by the German tanks (Lewis). The M4 Sherman was then designed as an upgraded and more powerful version than the M3 Grant and M3 Lee tanks (Military
Other important victories for the United States Sherman tanks over the German Panzer tanks include the Battle of Arracourt in France in 1944. The Germans lost 200 of 262 tanks compared to the Allies loss of only 25. Other factors that the designers stressed were durability, ease of production and maintenance, and mechanical reliability (Military Factory). The revolutionary gyroscopic sight stabilized the main gun allowing crew to hit targets at ranges of up 1,200 yards, even when the tank was traveling across rough terrain at speeds of 15 miles per hour. The two-inch thick angled hull, giving the tank a far too conspicuous nine-foot high profile, was engineered to deflect shells away from the tank’s four or five man crew (Sheehan 23). By 1942, the Sherman M4 included some rather remarkable technology for its day. The United States then went on to produce 50,000 unit of the M4 Sherman, costing about $33,000 each in 1942 (about $550,000 in today’s money) (Lewis). All of the factors that the designers stressed led the M4 Sherman to outclass the German light and medium tanks in Northern Africa and