Tanks

M4 Sherman

Also known as
  • Medium Tank M4
  • Sherman tank
  • M4 medium tank
  • General Sherman tank

The M4 Sherman was the principal U.S. medium tank family of the Second World War, built around mass production, mechanical reliability, and a turreted gun tank layout adaptable to multiple engines, hulls, guns, and specialist conversions. Allied armies used Shermans in every major theater, while U.S. industrial plants turned the design into a high-volume armored-vehicle standard.

M4 Sherman, Second World War medium tank family, Tanks
Image source: Shermans-loaded-in-LCT.jpg

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
United States
Type
Second World War medium tank family
Service note
Second World War-era U.S. medium tank family
Designer
U.S. Army Ordnance Department
Designed
1941
Produced
1942-1945 for wartime production
Number built
49,234 M4 Sherman tanks, excluding prototype, in AFV Database's family total

Specifications

Crew
5: commander, gunner, loader, driver, assistant driver/bow gunner
Primary armament
75 mm M3, 76 mm M1-series, or 105 mm M4 howitzer depending on variant; British Firefly conversions mounted the 17-pounder
Secondary armament
.30 caliber M1919A4 machine guns and a .50 caliber M2 heavy machine gun on the M4A3 data sheet
Combat weight
About 65,500-84,000 lb depending on variant and armor package
Powerplants
Continental R975 radial, GM 6046 twin diesel, Ford GAA V8, Chrysler A57 multibank, or Caterpillar/Wright diesel depending on branch
Transmission
Five forward speeds and one reverse on the M4A3 technical manual
Armor
M4A3 manual lists 2 in front slope, 1.5 in hull sides, and 3 in turret front; later branches varied by model
Suspension
VVSS on most wartime branches, with late HVSS variants using wider tracks and lower ground pressure
Production
AFV Database lists 49,234 Sherman family acceptances, excluding the prototype
Mobility
Variant-dependent road speeds generally in the 22-30 mph range; National WWII Museum lists 26 mph for its M4A3
Design And Production Logic

The Sherman was not a single fixed configuration. U.S. production kept the same broad medium-tank purpose while factories built cast or welded hulls, radial, diesel, Ford V8, and Chrysler multibank engine branches, and later 75 mm, 76 mm, and 105 mm gun variants. The result was a family that could be produced at scale and adapted to Allied maintenance, shipping, and theater needs.

Baseline layout

Five-man turreted medium tank with bow and coaxial machine guns and a rear-mounted engine.

Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman; TM 9-759 Medium Tank M4A3.

Production spread

Major branches used different engines and hull styles while preserving a common battlefield role.

AFV Database separates variant acceptances and powerplants across the family.

Allied service

The National WWII Museum describes Shermans in service with U.S., British, Free French, Chinese, and Soviet forces.

That direct conflict-use support anchors the Second World War row.

Variants

The Sherman family used a shared medium-tank architecture across several hull, engine, suspension, gun, and conversion branches. Designations such as M4A1, M4A2, M4A3, and M4A4 usually identify production configuration rather than a separate battlefield role.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
M4Welded-hull baseline

AFV Database lists the M4 with a Continental R975 radial engine and 75 mm armament, with first acceptances in July 1942.

Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

M4A1Cast-hull radial-engine variant

AFV Database records the M4A1 as the cast-hull radial-engine branch, accepted from February 1942.

Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

M4A2Diesel-engine Sherman variant

AFV Database identifies the M4A2 as the GM 6046 diesel branch and records Grand Blanc/Fisher production in Sherman variant data.

Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

M4A3Ford GAA gasoline-engine variant

TM 9-759 describes the M4A3 as powered by a 500 hp Ford tank engine, and the National WWII Museum lists its restored Sherman as a Ford-built M4A3.

Sources: TM 9-759 Medium Tank M4A3, M4 Sherman Tank - National WWII Museum

M4A4Lengthened Chrysler multibank-engine variant

The Tank Museum identifies its M4A4 Sherman as built by Chrysler in Detroit in June 1943 and notes 7,499 M4A4s were built.

Sources: M4 Sherman - The Tank Museum

M4A6Limited diesel production variant

AFV Database records the M4A6 as a limited 75-vehicle production branch accepted in late 1943 and early 1944.

Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

M4(105)105 mm howitzer support tank

AFV Database lists 105 mm Sherman acceptances beginning in February 1944 for close-support variants.

Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

M4A3E2Assault tank with heavier armor

AFV Database records 254 M4A3E2 assault tanks, with acceptances beginning in June 1944.

Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

M4A3(76)W HVSSLate 76 mm wet-stowage HVSS branch

AFV Database separates 76 mm, wet-stowage, and HVSS production branches in the late-war M4A3 family.

Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

Sherman FireflyBritish 17-pounder conversion

The Tank Museum notes British Firefly conversions alongside other Sherman special-purpose adaptations.

Sources: M4 Sherman - The Tank Museum

Sherman DDDuplex Drive amphibious conversion

The Tank Museum identifies DD swimming tanks as part of the Sherman specialist-conversion family.

Sources: M4 Sherman - The Tank Museum

Sherman CrabMine-clearing flail conversion

The Tank Museum lists Crab flail tanks among Sherman specialist conversions.

Sources: M4 Sherman - The Tank Museum

Mounted Machine Guns

Sherman armament combined the main gun with turret, hull, and roof-mounted machine guns for close defense, infantry support, and anti-personnel fire.

Carried itemItem typeCarriage evidence
12.7 mm heavy machine gun, Belt-fed, crew-served heavy machine gun class, Infantry Weapons12.7 mm heavy machine gunRoof-mounted heavy machine gun

The National WWII Museum's M4A3 armament list includes one .50 caliber machine gun.

Sources: M4 Sherman Tank - National WWII Museum

.30-Caliber Machine Gun, Crew-served medium machine gun, Infantry Weapons.30-Caliber Machine GunCoaxial and hull machine-gun class

The National WWII Museum lists two .30 caliber machine guns in the M4A3 armament package; TM 9-759 identifies M1919A4 .30 caliber guns in turret and front-plate positions.

Sources: M4 Sherman Tank - National WWII Museum, TM 9-759 Medium Tank M4A3

Machine-gun roles

The linked records represent the cataloged machine-gun classes rather than every mount, ammunition box, or wartime subvariant used across the Sherman family.

Sources: M4 Sherman Tank - National WWII Museum, TM 9-759 Medium Tank M4A3

Timeline

M4 Sherman Key Events

  1. Design work begins

    The Tank Museum dates the M4 design process to April 1941 as the United States moved beyond the interim M3 medium tank.

    Sources: M4 Sherman - The Tank Museum

  2. Pilot model completed

    The Tank Museum records the Sherman pilot model as ready in September 1941.

    Sources: M4 Sherman - The Tank Museum

  3. M4A1 acceptances begin

    AFV Database lists February 1942 as the first acceptance month for the M4A1 branch.

    Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

  4. M4 and M4A4 production branches enter acceptance

    AFV Database records July 1942 first acceptances for both the welded-hull M4 and the Chrysler A57-powered M4A4.

    Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

  5. 105 mm support Shermans accepted

    AFV Database records February 1944 first acceptances for 105 mm howitzer Sherman branches.

    Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

  6. M4A3E2 assault tanks accepted

    AFV Database records 254 M4A3E2 assault tanks, with first acceptance in June 1944.

    Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

  7. Wartime Sherman production closes

    AFV Database's Sherman family table totals 49,234 accepted tanks, excluding the prototype, across the wartime production run.

    Sources: AFV Database M4 Sherman

Armament Evolution

The family began around the 75 mm M3 gun, then added 76 mm anti-armor branches, 105 mm close-support howitzer versions, and British Firefly conversions with the 17-pounder. This spread matters because a Sherman reference can describe a general-purpose gun tank, a support tank, or a more anti-armor-focused late-war configuration.

  • 75 mm gun tanks: the standard early family branch, represented in TM 9-759's M4A3 data and the National WWII Museum's M4A3 description.
  • 76 mm gun tanks: late-war branches separated in AFV Database production tables, often paired with wet ammunition stowage and, on some variants, HVSS suspension.
  • 105 mm howitzer tanks: support variants accepted from 1944 according to AFV Database.
  • Firefly conversions: British 17-pounder Shermans noted by The Tank Museum as part of the broader conversion family.
Media

M4 Sherman Videos

M4 Sherman Images

M4 Sherman, Second World War medium tank family, Tanks - view 1
Source: Shermans-loaded-in-LCT.jpg
M4 Sherman, Second World War medium tank family, Tanks - view 2
Source: Sherman-french-army-normandy.jpg
M4 Sherman, Second World War medium tank family, Tanks - view 3
Source: Sherman Rhino Normandy 1944.JPG
Related Weapon Systems
M26 Pershing, Heavy tank at introduction; later reclassified as a medium tank, TanksTanksM26 PershingHeavy tank at introduction; later reclassified as a medium tankThe M26 Pershing was the U.S. Army's late-World War II T26E3 tank, standardized as the M26 in March 1945 and reclassified as a medium tank in May 1946. It replaced Sherman-era compromises with a 90 mm M3 gun, torsion-bar suspension, heavier armor, and a five-person layout, but its Ford GAF powertrain left it underpowered for its weight and the drivetrain-improved M46 Patton carried the layout into the postwar Patton line.
T-54/T-55, Main battle tank / medium tank family, TanksTanksT-54/T-55Main battle tank / medium tank familyThe T-54/T-55 is a Soviet tank family built around a low-profile tracked hull, four-person crew, and 100 mm D-10-series gun. It became one of the most widely produced tank families of the Cold War, with Soviet and licensed production spreading across Warsaw Pact and partner states. Direct conflict sourcing traces the family from North Vietnamese T-54 use in the 1975 fall of Saigon and Iraqi T-55s in the Gulf War to recent secondary fire-support, capture, and loss contexts in Ukraine, Yemen, Libya, Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Nigeria, and Sudan.
T-55-ZU-23, Improvised self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, Air DefenseAir DefenseT-55-ZU-23Improvised self-propelled anti-aircraft gunThe T-55-ZU-23 is an improvised Ukrainian short-range air-defense vehicle that combines a T-55-series tank chassis with a ZU-23-family twin 23 mm anti-aircraft gun installation. Public sourcing is narrow but specific: OSCE monitors observed the same T-55/ZU-23 configuration in the Donetsk security zone in January 2017, and MilitaryLand identifies T-55-ZU-23 in the equipment inventory of Ukraine's 54th Mechanized Brigade. The record is best read as a field or depot conversion that trades the T-55's original tank role for mobile high-volume 23 mm fire against low-altitude threats and exposed ground targets.
T-62, Main battle tank, TanksTanksT-62Main battle tankThe T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank built around a 115 mm U-5TS/2A20 smoothbore gun, a four-person crew, and a conventional tracked armor layout inherited from the T-54/T-55 design line. Produced in large numbers by Uralvagonzavod, it moved from Cold War export and Soviet service into long-tail combat use: Egyptian and Iraqi T-62s appear in 1970s and 1991 conflict records, while upgraded or inherited T-62M/T-62MV stocks reappeared in Syria, Libya, Ukraine, Tigray, and Yemen.
D-25 122 mm tank gun, 122 mm tank and self-propelled gun family, ArtilleryArtilleryD-25 122 mm tank gun122 mm tank and self-propelled gun familyThe D-25 was a Soviet 122 mm gun family adapted from A-19-line ballistics for heavy tanks and self-propelled guns. D-25T armed the wartime IS-2 heavy tank and later IS-series vehicles, with directly sourced use on Soviet IS-2s in the Second World War, Egyptian IS-3M tanks in the 1967 Six-Day War, and captured Israeli IS-3 fixed bunkers in the 1969 War of Attrition. D-25S was the semi-automatic self-propelled-gun variant associated with ISU-122S, and the family used separate-loading A-19/D-25 ammunition including OF-471 high-explosive fragmentation and BR-471 armor-piercing projectiles.

Sources

AFV Database M4 ShermanPublisher: AFV Database | Note: Supports Sherman family acceptances, crew, armament, dimensions, powerplants, automotive data, variant timelines, and manufacturer/background context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13M4 Sherman - The Tank MuseumPublisher: The Tank Museum | Note: Supports M4 design/production timing, Sherman family background, Chrysler Detroit M4A4 context, and Firefly, DD, and Crab conversion context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13M4 Sherman Tank - National WWII MuseumPublisher: The National WWII Museum | Note: Directly supports Second World War conflict use by identifying the Sherman as the most common U.S. tank of the war, used in all combat theaters by several Allied armies; also supports M4A3 specifications and Ford-built example context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13History of the 17th HorsePublisher: Bharat-Rakshak / Poona Horse Regimental Officers Association archive | Note: Directly supports 1971 Indo-Pakistani War conflict use by identifying 35 upgunned Sherman tanks of Pakistan's 20 Lancers in Shakargarh Bulge delaying positions. | Accessed: 2026-07-13TM 9-759 Medium Tank M4A3Publisher: U.S. War Department, hosted by Ibiblio HyperWar | Note: Primary technical manual supporting M4A3 layout, Ford engine, transmission, armor, armament, dimensions, and operating data. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Shermans-loaded-in-LCT.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Public-domain U.S. Army Signal Corps image of M4 Sherman tanks loaded in an LCT before the Normandy invasion. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Sherman-french-army-normandy.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Public-domain U.S. Army/Navy image of a French Army Sherman landing from USS LST-517 in Normandy on 1944-08-02. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Sherman Rhino Normandy 1944.JPGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Public-domain U.S. Army image of a Sherman Rhino hedgerow-cutter tank in Normandy. | Accessed: 2026-07-13GM Defense HistoryPublisher: GM Defense | Note: Supports Fisher Body production of M4 Sherman tanks and broader General Motors wartime manufacturing context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13US Army Detroit Tank Plant.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Public-domain U.S. Army TARDEC photo of the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant during M4A4 Sherman production. | Accessed: 2026-07-13