War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

M6A1

2024-06-10T00:46:44Z

U149841126: /* Ammo racks */

{{Specs-Card
|code=us_m6a1
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==


In response to World War II breaking out across the Atlantic, the US decided to develop a new 50-ton heavy tank for their army, designated as ''T1''. The design utilized a turret that held two cannons, a 3-inch tank gun and a 37 mm gun mounted side-by-side. Further development on the type of transmission to use with the heavy tank culminated with the ''T1E2'' cast construction variant that utilized a torque converter transmission design was selected for standardization as the M6 heavy tank, with a second variant ''T1E3'' with the same transmission that was constructed by welding was selected as the '''M6A1''. A total of 40 tanks from the M6 family were assembled, 12 of which were the M6A1 variant. However, by the time these heavy tanks were ready for mass production, the U.S. Army had lost interest in them, considering the M4 Sherman as a better solution in terms of reliability and cost-effectiveness.

Introduced with the release of the American ground tree in [[Update 1.45 "Steel Generals"]], the M6A1 is a pretty unique tank in the US tech tree due to the dual-armament configuration in the turret. The tank has two 12.7 mm MGs in the hull which are effective for taking out lightly armoured vehicles such SPAAs. It is a large tank, but can be quite mobile due to the use of a powerful Wright G-200 engine (the same engine powering the [[B-17E|B-17 ''Flying Fortress'' bomber]]) to propel it through a battlefield. Despite its in-game role as a heavy tank, the large size, mediocre mobility, and questionable armor for a heavy tank makes the M6A1 more well suited for second-line combat roles. Additionally, its slow reverse speed limits its ability to quickly retreat to cover when necessary.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

'''Armour type:'''

* Cast homogeneous armour (Front, Transmission area, Turret)
* Rolled homogeneous armour (Front, Side, Rear, Roof)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 82.5 mm (5-35°) ''Front'' 101.6 mm (5-35°) ''Transmission''|| 44.4 mm || 41.4 mm || 25.4 mm
|-
| Turret || 101.6 mm (5-65°) ''Turret front'' 50.8 + 50.8 mm (5-65°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 82.5 mm (0-12°) || 82.5 mm (0-68°) || 25.4 mm
|-
| Cupola || 82.5 mm || 82.5 mm
|82.5 mm
|25.4 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 17 mm thick.
* Frontal armour plate is unevenly curved for better ricochet chances and efficient armour thickness.
* Side skirts are 25 mm thick rolled homogeneous armour and will trigger fuses on APHE projectiles. In most cases, APHE shells set off before reaching the main hull and destroying the ammo stack beneath. Still, both skirts and hull are not sturdy enough to withstand a regular AP shell.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,033|rbMinHp=708}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|M7 (76 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M7 (76 mm)|76 mm M7]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 75 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+30° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | {{Annotation|Vertical|up to 24 km/h}} || 14.57 || 20.16 || 24.48 || 27.07 || 28.80 || rowspan="2" | 7.67 || rowspan="2" | 6.79 || rowspan="2" | 6.25 || rowspan="2" | 5.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 10.71 || 12.60 || 15.30 || 16.92 || 18.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:M7 (76 mm)/Ammunition|M62 shell, M42A1 shell, M79 shot}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''75''' || 49 ''(+36)'' || 4 ''(+71)'' || 1 ''(+74)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* As they are modeled by sets of 3 or 4, shells disappear from the rack once you've fired all shells in the set.
{{Clear}}

=== Additional armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|M3 (37 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="4" | [[M3 (37 mm)|37 mm M3]] || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
| 202 || N/A || N/A || {{Annotation|Vertical|up to 24 km/h}} || 3.77 || 3.33 || 3.07 || 2.90
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:M3 (37 mm)/Ammunition|M74B1, M63 shell, M51B1}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''202''' || 160 ''(+42)'' || 120 ''(+82)'' || 80 ''(+122)'' || 40 ''(+162)'' || 1 ''(+201)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* Ammunition is modeled as 5 boxes of 40 or 41 shells.
* Boxes disappear once you've fired all shells in the rack.
{{Clear}}

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|4}}

{{main|M2HB (12.7 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 1,000 (200) || 577 || -10°/+50° || ±120°
|-
| Hull || 3,000 (200) || 577 || -10°/+35° || ±15°
|-
| Hull || 3,000 (200) || 577 || -10°/+35° || ±15°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

Although this is a heavy tank, and able to bounce some shells, its armour will not protect it from all incoming fire. Enemies to specifically watch out for are the [[IS-1]], [[Panther tank (Family)|Panthers]], [[Tiger E|Tigers]], and [[M4A3E2]] Shermans, as they can all easily penetrate this vehicle's weak frontal armour. Make sure to protect the rear flank too: M6A1's engine is very large and prone to catching on fire when hit.

But despite the imperfect armour layout, the M6A1 does bring an impressive cannon to the battle. The powerful 76 mm gun is able to penetrate the front of most Rank III tanks and can destroy most enemy targets in a single shot. The secondary cannon is weaker than the 76 mm, but can be effective. When engaging targets from the side, this smaller gun should have no trouble penetrating and destroying an enemy unit. And as with all multi-gun tanks, the secondary gun should be fired separately from the main cannon to maximize efficiency and facilitate aim. By firing the secondary cannon, it is occasionally possible to bait the enemy into advancing out of cover and revealing a weak spot. They will not expect that you have another shell loaded in the main gun. Additionally, the vehicle mounts three 12.7 mm machine guns, which can be very effective in dealing with enemy aircraft if positioned correctly.

In most situations, the M6A1 driver will find that a slower play-style suits this tank best. The vehicle is large, turret rotation is slow, and enemies will be eager to flank it. As such, the support of teammates is necessary for an effective attack. In a defensive situation, the M6A1 is effective when located behind a ridge or other cover. This will help to obscure the tank's large profile and allow the player to ambush advancing enemies.

The M6A1 is often compared to the M4A3E2 Jumbo Sherman. Although less armoured than its higher-tiered counterpart, the M6A1 is arguably better than the Jumbo during the early game and at range. While the M4A3E2 may have trouble dealing with enemy heavy tanks such as the [[KV-1 (Family)|KV-1]], this vehicle is very-well suited for engaging those targets. The M6A1 may be thought of as a Jumbo Sherman that was traded some of its armour protection in exchange for a more lethal armament.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Great main 76 mm gun and ammunition capable of knocking out tanks with a single shot
* Great secondary 37 mm gun with good reload speed and decent penetration
* Good gun depression
* Has .50 cal AA machine gun, as well as a dual-mount .50 cal in front
* First standard heavy tank in the US tree, which can dish out and take punishment equally
* Lower portion of the hull sides are protected by additional 25.4 mm armour sheet
* Adequate roof armour of 25 mm means aerial strafing will be of a little issue without large-calibre weaponry
* Rear mounted transmission means it is not affected with a frontal penetration
* Big hull increases the chance of surviving after a penetrating hit
* Good acceleration and power-to-weight ratio
* Good hill-climbing abilities
* Very good cross country performance due to large tracks

'''Cons:'''

* Lots of weak points, such as gun mantlet, upper side armour, driver port, MG port, and front armour cheeks
* Armour profile overall is quite flat, no angling benefits
* Ammo is stored in the lower side armour
* All automotive module mounted in the rear, easily prone to damage, set ablaze, or exploded when shot
* Slow top speed
* Mediocre turn speed
* Pretty large in general, will stand out in the battlefield

== History ==

===Development===
When World War II broke out, limited development in the United States meant that the military possessed very few tanks and so development hastened and eventually gave them tanks such as the [[M3 Lee|M3 Lee]] and [[M4|M4 Sherman]]. On May 20, 1940, the US Army Ordnance Corps began to work on a 50-ton heavy tank for their army. Initially, it was going to have a multi-turret design, two turrets with the 75 mm gun and one secondary turret with a 37 mm gun with a coaxial machine gun, then one more with a 20 mm gun with coaxial. Plus, four .30 cal machine guns were to be put on ball mounts on the front glacis and rear corners of the hull. This project was approved on June 11, 1940, and moved on as the ''Heavy Tank T1''. However at the same time, similar concepts in Europe of heavy breakthrough tanks such as the Soviet [[T-35]] and the German [[Nb.Fz.|Neubaufahrzeug]] tanks were falling out of favour due to lack of combat effectiveness and unfavourable performance for their cost, and the US did the same in October so the design was changed.
[[File:M6 Heavy Tank of 1941.jpg|right|x250px|thumb|none|A Heavy Tank M6 compared to a US soldier, note the cast hull construction.]]

The tank now had one turret with a [[M7 (76 mm)|3-inch (76.2 mm) gun]] alongside a [[M3 (37 mm)|coaxial 37 mm gun]]. The turret housed three crew members and was powered by an electrical traverse system. The commander's cupola was copied from the M3 Lee, featuring a hatch with it sown machine gun. Two .50 cal machine guns now protruded from the bow mount (fired by bow gunner) and two .30 cal machine guns as well (fired by the driver). The entire tank held six crew members, the commander, gunner, driver, assistant driver, loader #1, and loader #2. While the construction of the vehicle was feasible, the engine was not enough to power the vehicle reliably due to heavy 57-ton weight.

In 1941 to 1942, three prototypes were constructed with the different transmission, one with electrical and the rest with a torque converter. The ones with the torque converters were designated the '''Heavy Tank M6''' and '''M6A1''', with the M6A1 differing from a welded hull construction. The electrical transmission design, designated '''M6A2''', was never approved by Ordnance, but was to be manufactured anyway. It was hoped that 115 of these tanks could be built for further testing and production started in December 1942 with design changes. The commander's cupola now featured a regular hatch rather than the machine gun one, which was removed along with one of the machine gun in the front hull. By the time the M6 was ready for production, the Army was moving forward and interest waned on these heavy tanks with the [[M4]] Sherman's performance in the war. The M6's armour was only slightly thicker than the Sherman's and the 3-inch gun didn't offer too much improvement over the 75 mm gun, plus it had a large profile and low ergonomics, not to mention mechanical issues.

===Production and cancellation===
[[File:M6A1_heavy_tank_TM9-2800_p122.jpg|left|x250px|thumb|none|A M6A1 heavy tank, its hull armour is now welded.]]
In early 1942, the M6 production was set for 250 a month but was cut down in September from 5,000 to a mere 100 when manufacturing focus moved to planes. By the end of 1942, Sherman's performance in the war proved its role in the war was more adaptable than the M6 heavy tank while remaining cheaper and lighter for transportation and supplying. This caused the M6 production to lower even more to just 40, before being shut down. Though testing with a 90 mm gun found the M6 to be a good gun mount, the poor layout of the tank restricted it, and the project was shut down before further development could be made.

In August 1944, the Ordnance Corps planned to modify some of the M6 heavy tanks with more armour and heavier armament to breach fortified areas. These were to be the ''[[M6A2E1]]'' and weighed 77 tons with a 190 mm front armour and a 105 mm gun. Eisenhower rejected these as impractical and cancelled it. The M6 was found to be obsolete by December 1944 with only 40 units produced and never seeing combat service. They served as a propaganda piece during the war and were all scrapped after it except one, which is put on display at Aberdeen, Maryland at the United States Army Ordnance Museum. During development, the M6 turret was modified to become the turret for the [[M10 GMC|M10 Tank Destroyer]].

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
At the end of May 1940 the US infantry chief of staff responsible for armour put together requirements for future tanks in light of what was happening in Europe: the German army was relentlessly moving toward France and using armour with great success along the way. The Wehrmacht's use of new Pz.IV tanks with 75 mm guns instantaneously made the American tanks and their 37 mm cannons obsolete.

The new tank type had to be heavy (around 50 short tons), with 76 mm and 37 mm cannons arranged side-by-side in the turret. It had four machine guns (two heavy-calibre and two rifle-calibre), a Wright G-200 engine, a Hydromatic transmission, and a top speed of 25 mph. The green light was given for the construction of four prototypes in February 1941.

The prototypes developed by the Baldwin Locomotive Works were designed with different transmissions and hulls in the interests of finding the best option for full-scale production. Two modifications at most were permitted, and on April 13, 1942, the T1E2 and T1E3 were standardized as the M6 and M6A1. The latter added a welded hull, Wright G-200 engine, and torque converter to the M6.

Mass production was scheduled for November 1942, though a report by General Jacob Devers on December 7 indicated that the M6s would enjoy only limited tactical use due to their size. Moreover, two M4s equipped with 75 mm and 76 mm weapons could be built in place of two heavy tanks. As a result, the Armored Corps hurried to revoke the contract.

Between 1942 and 1943 the Baldwin Locomotive Works ended up producing 12 M6 heavy tanks. They did not join the army or see combat.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=us_m6a1 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|Yssg5uKGS-A|'''The Shooting Range #236''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 03:39 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|5jWKY14-ZGg|'''How to use secondary cannon if it doesn't penetrate? M6A1''' - ''HowToPlay1337''}}

== See also ==


;Related development

* [[T1E1]] / M6A2 - Earlier prototype for the M6 Heavy tank program with experimental electrical transmission
* [[M6A2E1]] - Upgunned and uparmoured [[T1E1]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/3209--en|[Vehicle Profile] Heavy Tank M6A1]]

{{TankManufacturer Ordnance Department}}
{{USA heavy tanks}}

Sd.Kfz.234/2

2024-06-09T11:27:33Z

U149841126: /* Main armament */

{{About
| about = German light tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Sd.Kfz.234 (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_sdkfz_234_2
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_Sd.Kfz.234_2.jpg|ArtImage_Sd.Kfz.234-2.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is the first production variant and most well-known version of the [[Sd.Kfz.234 (Family)|Sd.Kfz.234 family]], a heavy armoured car used mainly as a reconnaissance vehicle, featuring the turret of the prototype VK 16.02 Leopard housing a [[KwK 39 (50 mm)|50 mm KwK 39]] cannon next to an MG42 machine gun. The Sd.Kfz 234 series were primarily built as a further improvement to Germany's reconnaissance vehicles after learning of the effectiveness of said type of vehicle with combat reports of the Sd.Kfz. series 231/232/233.

It was introduced in [[Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica"]]. A respectable armoured car, the {{PAGENAME}} presents great speed and a significant 50 mm KwK39/1 cannon. Due to its status as a light tank, and thus having the ability to scout, it should put more emphasis on its speed to put itself in an advantageous position to sight targets for allies, with its gun only for emergencies should an enemy vehicle try to get an upper hand on the vehicle.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Vision ports)
* Wheel (Tires)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 30 mm (40°) ''Front plate'' 15 mm (70°), 30 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 30 mm (35°) ''Lower glacis'' || 8 mm (34-35°) ''Top'' 8 (10-35°) + 4 mm || 10 mm (21°) ''Upper glacis'' 10 mm + 10 mm (46°) ''Lower glacis'' || 15 (20°) ''Driver compartment'' 5 mm ''Crew & engine compartments''
|-
| Turret || 30 mm (20°) ''Turret front'' 30 + 50 mm (conical) ''Gun mantlet'' || 14.5 mm (24-25°) || 14.5 mm (25°) 8 mm (22°) ''Pistol port'' || 8 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Torsion bars and wheels are 10 mm thick.
* Belly armour is 12.7 mm thick.
* Mudguards and storage boxes are 4 mm thick.
* Vision ports on car body are 10 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=325|rbMinHp=186}}

The Puma can reach a speed of around 45 km/h on flat terrain. Thanks to its transmission, it can drive in reverse with the same speed and manoeuvrability. Due to its wheeled design, it struggles in sand, snow, and mud. It is also hard to keep going straight in a line at high speeds. The game does offer some degree of compensation for this via the "Activate Cruise Mode" control binding under the "Tank Driving" subsection. When using Cruise Mode, hold down the desired key you bound its activation to, and steer with mouse movements, this allows pinpoint steering while retaining speed. However, you cannot shoot while using Cruise Mode, so use it wisely.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK.39/1 (50 mm)}}

The Puma fields the 50 mm KwK39/1 cannon, similar to the one in the late Panzer III models, as well as the same ammunition. The cannon was designed for an anti-tank role, and it does its job well. It can select from an APC shell penetrating 106 mm, which should be the main round, two APCR shells with 130 mm and 137 mm penetration respectively (a few of the better ones should be carried into battle, especially if you uptier the Puma, so it might see KV-1s, as well for long-range sniping), and an HE shell which can be used against AA trucks. It is best to go for side shots. With a reload of 4.1 seconds and high velocity shells, this tank can do the job both in close quarters and at long range.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK.39/1 (50 mm)|50 mm KwK.39/1]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 55 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 13.3 || 18.4 || 22.4 || 24.8 || 26.4 || rowspan="2" | 4.81 || rowspan="2" | 4.25 || rowspan="2" | 3.92 || rowspan="2" | 3.70
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.3 || 9.8 || 11.9 || 13.2 || 14.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK.39/1 (50 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39, PzGr 40/1, PzGr 40, Sprgr. 38}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''55''' || 32 ''(+23)'' || 29 ''(+26)'' || 25 ''(+30)'' || 21 ''(+34)'' || 17 ''(+38)'' || 13 ''(+42)'' || 9 ''(+46)'' || 5 ''(+50)'' || 1 ''(+54)'' || No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_Sd.Kfz.234-2.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|MG42 (7.92 mm)}}

The Puma has a coaxial MG42 that can't penetrate the weakest tank armour and is only useful against exposed crew members.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG42 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG42]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 1,950 (150) || 1,200 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


The Puma adopts a lot of typical light tank tactics. To play this vehicle well, you must shoot and scoot. Your fast reload times with a very fast reverse speed makes it ideal for firing around a corner, then backing up and flanking. The tank is very fast on the road; however, it has poor performance off-road, so it is not recommended on desert maps and muddy maps where you can get slowed down by the terrain. Since you have weak armour and a compact crew module, penetrative shots typically result in your destruction. It is advised to not brawl with tanks and to flank whenever possible, using your speed and mobility versus enemy tanks as your armour. Use the terrain to your advantage, firing over hills and making good use of your gun depression. Sidescrape corners and do not hold angles, as you will most likely be destroyed.

The tank's speed in combination with its low spawn cost in RB as a light tank makes it ideal to spawn in at the start of the game and capture the objective in 2 or 3 point domination. This guarantees you spawn points for a respawn and gives you opportunities to flank the enemy.

The real beauty of the Puma is its ability to flank around different parts of the map rapidly. It is extremely manoeuvrable and can traverse most types of terrain very quickly (avoid mud). You should take up a covert playstyle with this vehicle. Even if you see an enemy, you should only fire at the perfect moment, where you are guaranteed a score. This especially applies to T-34s and KV-1s, where hits to the side or rear are far more effective. This being said, the 5 cm gun is a great gun. It is easy to use, high velocity, accurate and has a good range of ammunition.

Notable enemies you will meet are the [[T-34 (1942)]] and [[M4]] Sherman, along with armoured tanks like the [[Churchill I]], [[Matilda III]], [[Valentine XI]], and the [[KV-1 (L-11)]] These tanks are difficult to penetrate and require advanced knowledge of weak spots, so it is advised to avoid these where possible. Medium tanks are easier to combat if flanked; however, it is not always reliable due to the weak penetration of the PzGr 39 and the poor penetration of sloped armour for PzGr 40.

Out of all the enemies you will meet, the T-34s are probably the biggest threat. The sloped armour is difficult to penetrate, and they have excellent mobility, meaning you will meet them often. The gun is also utterly devastating for the Puma. The high explosive filler and range of shells will make short work of your vehicle. If you encounter an T-34 (any variant), aim for the turret cheeks and take out the gunner. Aiming at the frontal hull armour is unreliable and often results in a ricochet. T-34s are also very, very mobile, so it is best to go for side shots on them if you insist on engaging them.

Shermans also present the problem of sloped frontal armour. The M4A1 isn't as much of an issue, but the M4/M4A2/M4A3 variants are more difficult to penetrate. From the side, Shermans have flat armour and tall profiles. They are easy to destroy when flanked, but they too have exceptionally good mobility, especially cross-country, so they can be even more of a pain to deal with than T-34s. They also have short-stop stabilizers and .50 cals which make them even more of a threat.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* The gun is powerful, fast to reload, and can effectively penetrate armour on the M4's front at 200 m. Its APCR has a penetration of up to 137 mm, which is effective against KV-1
* Extremely high forward and reverse speeds make it the fastest vehicle on the road; can get to positions quickly or retreat fast
* Small and narrow frontal profile allows it to hide behind small bushes or rocks; it's also harder to get hit
* Can be a great scout vehicle in higher ranks due to its fast speed. Even the [[M18 GMC]] cannot easily outrun it
* Only 8 mm side armour, meaning some shells will go straight through without being detonated
* Has a wide range of good-looking camouflage to unlock. Suitable for almost every terrain/map
* Has 6 smoke grenades, that create a wide frontal screen when launched; very useful when trying to cover up a general area
* Surprisingly durable at times, due to inexperienced players shooting at the front, ignoring the crew member lying in the back
* Gun mantlet is thick and covers most of the turret, which makes the turret surprisingly durable

'''Cons:'''

* Thin armour overall, can get killed by almost anything including artillery strikes, strafing planes and [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|.50 cal M2 Browning]]
* Vulnerable to overpressure (HE shells, artillery strikes, bombs, and rockets)
* Compact crew compartment, will be easily destroyed in one shot
* Relatively slow turret rotation, combined with the sharp turns at high speed, it is hard to aim
* Relatively low calibre shells tend to bounce off angled armour, angled hull of the [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]] is almost impossible to penetrate
* Starts to snake around at high speeds, making it hard to control, needing counter-steering.
* Sluggish mobility on snowy and desert maps, which takes away its mobility advantage
* Cannot turn in place due to wheels
* Hard to control at top speed

== History ==

{{:Sd.Kfz.234/2/History}}
== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_sdkfz_234_2 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI] (Sd.Kfz.234/2 included)

;Images
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="250">
File:Sdkfz. 2342 media 1.png|A Sd.Kfz.234/2 engaging an M4A1 Sherman
File:Sdkfz.2342 media 2.png|A Sd.Kfz.234/2 and a T-50 performing a flanking attack on an M4A1 Sherman
</gallery>

== See also ==


;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

* [[T18E2]]
* [[AEC Mk II]]
* [[SARC MkVI (2pdr)]]
* [[SARC MkVI (6pdr)]]
* [[AB 43|AB43]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/4713-development-sd-kfz-234-2-puma-the-nimble-feline-predator-en|[Devblog] Sd.Kfz 234/2 Puma: The Nimble Feline Predator]]

{{Germany light tanks}}
[[Category:Wheeled ground vehicles]]

Sd.Kfz.234/2

2024-06-09T11:20:00Z

U149841126: /* Ammo racks */

{{About
| about = German light tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Sd.Kfz.234 (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_sdkfz_234_2
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_Sd.Kfz.234_2.jpg|ArtImage_Sd.Kfz.234-2.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is the first production variant and most well-known version of the [[Sd.Kfz.234 (Family)|Sd.Kfz.234 family]], a heavy armoured car used mainly as a reconnaissance vehicle, featuring the turret of the prototype VK 16.02 Leopard housing a [[KwK 39 (50 mm)|50 mm KwK 39]] cannon next to an MG42 machine gun. The Sd.Kfz 234 series were primarily built as a further improvement to Germany's reconnaissance vehicles after learning of the effectiveness of said type of vehicle with combat reports of the Sd.Kfz. series 231/232/233.

It was introduced in [[Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica"]]. A respectable armoured car, the {{PAGENAME}} presents great speed and a significant 50 mm KwK39/1 cannon. Due to its status as a light tank, and thus having the ability to scout, it should put more emphasis on its speed to put itself in an advantageous position to sight targets for allies, with its gun only for emergencies should an enemy vehicle try to get an upper hand on the vehicle.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Vision ports)
* Wheel (Tires)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 30 mm (40°) ''Front plate'' 15 mm (70°), 30 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 30 mm (35°) ''Lower glacis'' || 8 mm (34-35°) ''Top'' 8 (10-35°) + 4 mm || 10 mm (21°) ''Upper glacis'' 10 mm + 10 mm (46°) ''Lower glacis'' || 15 (20°) ''Driver compartment'' 5 mm ''Crew & engine compartments''
|-
| Turret || 30 mm (20°) ''Turret front'' 30 + 50 mm (conical) ''Gun mantlet'' || 14.5 mm (24-25°) || 14.5 mm (25°) 8 mm (22°) ''Pistol port'' || 8 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Torsion bars and wheels are 10 mm thick.
* Belly armour is 12.7 mm thick.
* Mudguards and storage boxes are 4 mm thick.
* Vision ports on car body are 10 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=325|rbMinHp=186}}

The Puma can reach a speed of around 45 km/h on flat terrain. Thanks to its transmission, it can drive in reverse with the same speed and manoeuvrability. Due to its wheeled design, it struggles in sand, snow, and mud. It is also hard to keep going straight in a line at high speeds. The game does offer some degree of compensation for this via the "Activate Cruise Mode" control binding under the "Tank Driving" subsection. When using Cruise Mode, hold down the desired key you bound its activation to, and steer with mouse movements, this allows pinpoint steering while retaining speed. However, you cannot shoot while using Cruise Mode, so use it wisely.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK.39/1 (50 mm)}}

The Puma fields the 50 mm KwK39/1 cannon, similar to the one in the late Panzer III models, as well as the same ammunition. The cannon was designed for an anti-tank role, and it does its job well. It can select from an APC shell penetrating 106 mm, which should be the main round, two APCR shells with 130 mm and 137 mm penetration respectively (a few of the better ones should be carried into battle, especially if you uptier the Puma, so it might see KV-1s, as well for long-range sniping), and an HE shell which can be used against AA trucks. As the APC shell has no ballistic cap, it might struggle against angled armour, so it is best to go for side shots. With a reload of 4.1 seconds and high velocity shells, this tank can do the job both in close quarters and at long range.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK.39/1 (50 mm)|50 mm KwK.39/1]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 55 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 13.3 || 18.4 || 22.4 || 24.8 || 26.4 || rowspan="2" | 4.81 || rowspan="2" | 4.25 || rowspan="2" | 3.92 || rowspan="2" | 3.70
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.3 || 9.8 || 11.9 || 13.2 || 14.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK.39/1 (50 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39, PzGr 40/1, PzGr 40, Sprgr. 38}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''55''' || 32 ''(+23)'' || 29 ''(+26)'' || 25 ''(+30)'' || 21 ''(+34)'' || 17 ''(+38)'' || 13 ''(+42)'' || 9 ''(+46)'' || 5 ''(+50)'' || 1 ''(+54)'' || No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_Sd.Kfz.234-2.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|MG42 (7.92 mm)}}

The Puma has a coaxial MG42 that can't penetrate the weakest tank armour and is only useful against exposed crew members.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG42 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG42]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 1,950 (150) || 1,200 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


The Puma adopts a lot of typical light tank tactics. To play this vehicle well, you must shoot and scoot. Your fast reload times with a very fast reverse speed makes it ideal for firing around a corner, then backing up and flanking. The tank is very fast on the road; however, it has poor performance off-road, so it is not recommended on desert maps and muddy maps where you can get slowed down by the terrain. Since you have weak armour and a compact crew module, penetrative shots typically result in your destruction. It is advised to not brawl with tanks and to flank whenever possible, using your speed and mobility versus enemy tanks as your armour. Use the terrain to your advantage, firing over hills and making good use of your gun depression. Sidescrape corners and do not hold angles, as you will most likely be destroyed.

The tank's speed in combination with its low spawn cost in RB as a light tank makes it ideal to spawn in at the start of the game and capture the objective in 2 or 3 point domination. This guarantees you spawn points for a respawn and gives you opportunities to flank the enemy.

The real beauty of the Puma is its ability to flank around different parts of the map rapidly. It is extremely manoeuvrable and can traverse most types of terrain very quickly (avoid mud). You should take up a covert playstyle with this vehicle. Even if you see an enemy, you should only fire at the perfect moment, where you are guaranteed a score. This especially applies to T-34s and KV-1s, where hits to the side or rear are far more effective. This being said, the 5 cm gun is a great gun. It is easy to use, high velocity, accurate and has a good range of ammunition.

Notable enemies you will meet are the [[T-34 (1942)]] and [[M4]] Sherman, along with armoured tanks like the [[Churchill I]], [[Matilda III]], [[Valentine XI]], and the [[KV-1 (L-11)]] These tanks are difficult to penetrate and require advanced knowledge of weak spots, so it is advised to avoid these where possible. Medium tanks are easier to combat if flanked; however, it is not always reliable due to the weak penetration of the PzGr 39 and the poor penetration of sloped armour for PzGr 40.

Out of all the enemies you will meet, the T-34s are probably the biggest threat. The sloped armour is difficult to penetrate, and they have excellent mobility, meaning you will meet them often. The gun is also utterly devastating for the Puma. The high explosive filler and range of shells will make short work of your vehicle. If you encounter an T-34 (any variant), aim for the turret cheeks and take out the gunner. Aiming at the frontal hull armour is unreliable and often results in a ricochet. T-34s are also very, very mobile, so it is best to go for side shots on them if you insist on engaging them.

Shermans also present the problem of sloped frontal armour. The M4A1 isn't as much of an issue, but the M4/M4A2/M4A3 variants are more difficult to penetrate. From the side, Shermans have flat armour and tall profiles. They are easy to destroy when flanked, but they too have exceptionally good mobility, especially cross-country, so they can be even more of a pain to deal with than T-34s. They also have short-stop stabilizers and .50 cals which make them even more of a threat.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* The gun is powerful, fast to reload, and can effectively penetrate armour on the M4's front at 200 m. Its APCR has a penetration of up to 137 mm, which is effective against KV-1
* Extremely high forward and reverse speeds make it the fastest vehicle on the road; can get to positions quickly or retreat fast
* Small and narrow frontal profile allows it to hide behind small bushes or rocks; it's also harder to get hit
* Can be a great scout vehicle in higher ranks due to its fast speed. Even the [[M18 GMC]] cannot easily outrun it
* Only 8 mm side armour, meaning some shells will go straight through without being detonated
* Has a wide range of good-looking camouflage to unlock. Suitable for almost every terrain/map
* Has 6 smoke grenades, that create a wide frontal screen when launched; very useful when trying to cover up a general area
* Surprisingly durable at times, due to inexperienced players shooting at the front, ignoring the crew member lying in the back
* Gun mantlet is thick and covers most of the turret, which makes the turret surprisingly durable

'''Cons:'''

* Thin armour overall, can get killed by almost anything including artillery strikes, strafing planes and [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|.50 cal M2 Browning]]
* Vulnerable to overpressure (HE shells, artillery strikes, bombs, and rockets)
* Compact crew compartment, will be easily destroyed in one shot
* Relatively slow turret rotation, combined with the sharp turns at high speed, it is hard to aim
* Relatively low calibre shells tend to bounce off angled armour, angled hull of the [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]] is almost impossible to penetrate
* Starts to snake around at high speeds, making it hard to control, needing counter-steering.
* Sluggish mobility on snowy and desert maps, which takes away its mobility advantage
* Cannot turn in place due to wheels
* Hard to control at top speed

== History ==

{{:Sd.Kfz.234/2/History}}
== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_sdkfz_234_2 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI] (Sd.Kfz.234/2 included)

;Images
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="250">
File:Sdkfz. 2342 media 1.png|A Sd.Kfz.234/2 engaging an M4A1 Sherman
File:Sdkfz.2342 media 2.png|A Sd.Kfz.234/2 and a T-50 performing a flanking attack on an M4A1 Sherman
</gallery>

== See also ==


;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

* [[T18E2]]
* [[AEC Mk II]]
* [[SARC MkVI (2pdr)]]
* [[SARC MkVI (6pdr)]]
* [[AB 43|AB43]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/4713-development-sd-kfz-234-2-puma-the-nimble-feline-predator-en|[Devblog] Sd.Kfz 234/2 Puma: The Nimble Feline Predator]]

{{Germany light tanks}}
[[Category:Wheeled ground vehicles]]

Pz.III J

2024-05-09T10:25:20Z

U149841126: /* Ammo racks */

{{About
| about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Panzer III (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_III_ausf_J_L42
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''Panzerkampfwagen III Ausführung J (Panzer III J)''' ([[Abbreviations#.28DE.29_Sd.Kfz._Index|Sd.Kfz. Index:]] '''Sd.Kfz. 141''') is the ninth variant of the [[Pz.III (Family)|Panzerkampfwagen III medium tank family]] (the "I" variant was skipped). The Panzer III J looked much like the Panzer III G. It was designed with a turret housing a 50 mm Kampfwagenkanone (KwK) 38 L/42 tank gun. It used the same Maybach HL 120 TRM petrol/gasoline 285 horsepower engine and had identical armour thickness. The hull frontal armour's basic armour thickness had increased to 50 mm. An additional armour plate was installed internally to the front of the turret in the spring of 1941, increasing it to a maximum thickness of 57 mm in places. To improve engine compartment ventilation, the structure of the chassis was extended. The armoured front brake vents were redesigned. On the roof of the turret was an armoured extractor fan. The 50 mm KwK38 L/42 tank gun was capable of firing up to 20 rounds per minute, through the use of a semi-automatic breech that opened before the end of the recoil, ejected the used casing, and allowed for fast loading of the next shell.

Introduced in [[Update 1.45 "Steel Generals"]], the Panzer III J is the next addition to the Panzer III medium tank family. The Panzer III J, armed with the already familiar 50 mm KwK38 L/42 tank gun, can readily deal with adversaries in its ranks. Increased hull frontal armour thickness allows players to take greater risks during combat. The turret traverse, on the other hand, is sluggish, owing to the lack of an electric power traverse system. This is arguably one of the most significant disadvantages of any Panzer IIIs, especially when fighting in towns or areas with a lot of cover. Players must use caution when playing in maps where enemy tanks might quickly set up ambush.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Barrel shroud, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 50 mm (12°) ''Front plate'' 25 mm (86°), 50 mm (52°) ''Front glacis'' 50 mm (23-69°) ''Lower glacis'' || 30 mm || 50 mm (14-46°) ''Top'' 50 mm (10-66°) ''Bottom'' || 15 mm
|-
| Turret || 50 mm (10-25°) ''Turret front'' 50 mm (12-62°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 30 mm (20-25°) || 30 mm (12-15°) || 10 mm
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 50 mm (spherical) || 10 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 465|rbMinHp= 265}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK L/42 (50 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK L/42 (50 mm)|50 mm KwK L/42]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 99 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 5.2 || 7.2 || 8.8 || 9.7 || 10.4 || rowspan="2" | 5.20 || rowspan="2" | 4.60 || rowspan="2" | 4.24 || rowspan="2" | 4.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 3.3 || 3.8 || 4.7 || 5.2 || 5.5
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK L/42 (50 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39, PzGr 40}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
!1st
rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
!5th
rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''99'''
|78 (+21)|| 63 ''(+36)'' || 43 ''(+56)'' || 35 ''(+64)''
|23 ''(+76)''
| 1 ''(+98)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* Shells are individually modeled.
* Ready-rack ''only'': 23 ''(+76)'' shells.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 4,350 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

The small calibre of the MG34 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.

== Usage in battles ==

Use of this tank is similar to the [[Pz.III F]], and while it does have significantly better armour on the front than its predecessor, the higher BR means it faces nastier opposition. [[T-34 (1940)]]s are almost impenetrable from any side except flat-on below the tracks. [[M4A1]]s are similar in speed to you, have thinner sides, are spacious, have powerful guns, and stabilizers. [[Cromwell (Family)|Cromwells]] are much faster than you with stronger guns. You can only hope for them to get overconfident, overextend, and shoot them in the side or rear. APCR post-penetration damage is not reliable enough to be counted upon when you need it the most, and often can't frontally penetrate a Sherman or T-34 anyway.

Furthermore, even in the best circumstances, the high fuse sensitivity makes many lightly-armoured things with strong guns your worst nightmare, since you'll over-penetrate repeatedly in most cases, allowing easy return fire from the person you failed to knock out, which more often than not cripples you. Enemy SPAAGs, in particular, are frustrating to knock out because of your 15 mm turret ring weak spot enabling them to spray all over you to incapacitate your gunner and loader.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Accurate and decently powerful gun
* Good gun depression
* Good mobility
* APCR ammo has very high speed and good penetration, making shooting at long-range easier
* Armour is fairly decent and can protect reliably against lower-calibre guns

'''Cons:'''

* Average to low armour penetration with regular ammunition
* Poor turret traverse speed
* Flat armour with little slope, thin side armour
* Large commander's cupola which can stick out above the terrain and receive fire
* Rather high shell fuse sensitivity relative to the cannon's power

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Panzerkampfwagen III''' medium tank or the '''Panzer III''' was developed in the 1930s. Starting in early 1934, Heinz Guderian set down some specifications for a new tank, which Army Weapons Department took up to design the tank to weigh no more than 24,000 kilograms with a top speed of 35 km per hour. This tank's role was to be the main tank of the German army and was expected to destroy opposing tanks, as opposed to a tank made to destroy anti-tank guns and opposing infantrymen, which the [[Panzer IV]] took up in.

Daimler-Benz, Krupp, MAN, and Rheinmetall produced prototypes meeting the specifications and the Daimler-Benz model was chosen after testing in 1936-1937. The Panzer III model used a leaf-spring suspension in its early models (Ausf. A - Ausf. D) before utilizing a six-wheeled torsion-bar suspension in the [[Pz.III E|Ausf. E]] and beyond. The Panzer III had a crew of five people, the commander, gunner, loader, driver, and assistant driver. The best feature of the Panzer III during its introduction that is the most overlooked was the three-man turret, which was not as common at the time. This frees the commander to be able to effectively command the tank while maintaining situational awareness rather than be burdened by the role of a loader or gunner, improving the combat effectiveness of the tank. Despite this rather advanced design, the turret did not have a turret basket for the crew. It was a proven design and production began in May 1937. The total number of Panzer IIIs tanks constructed in its production life was 5,774 units (excluding [[StuG III F|StuG III]] variant).

===Specifications===
The Panzer III started with only 15 mm of armour on all sides, this was quickly upgraded to 30 mm on the front, side, and rear on the Ausf. D, E, F, and G models. Then the Ausf. H placed an additional 30 mm of armour onto the front hull as an interim solution before the '''Panzer III Ausf. J''' gave the Panzer III a 50 mm armour thickness on the front and rear. The Panzer III Ausf. J still retained the 50 mm KwK 38 cannon from the [[Pz.III F|Ausf. F]], which provided much-needed firepower over the 37 mm KwK 36. The Panzer Ausf. J had a 300 PS Maybach HL 120 TRM engine that gave it a top speed of about 40 km/h (25 mph) with an operational range of 155 km (96 mi.).

===Combat usage===
The Panzer III Ausf. J gave the German army better armour for their Panzer III and with a better gun. However, it was still considered under-gunned by the Soviet contemporary [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks as the 50 mm KwK 38 was not powerful enough to penetrate these tanks frontally with normal ammo. This requires the use of APCR, which was in low supply. The Soviet [[T-26]] and [[BT-5|BT series]] light tanks were still easily taken care of and they were still in larger quantities than the T-34s and KVs, but T-34 production was kicking off and it won't be long before the T-34 becomes the main tank of the Red Army.

The Panzer III still needed improvements if it ever was to go up against the more modern tanks and Germany needed it to stay in service as long as possible as their new tanks were being developed. The next variant featured additional armour and a better 50 mm cannon, the 50 mm KwK 39, on the [[Pz.III J1|Panzer III Ausf. J1]]. The armour had an additional 20 mm offset armour in the front hull and turret, plus the 50 mm KwK 39 featured a longer barrel than the 50 mm KwK 38, increasing its penetration values.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
One of the serial modifications to the Pz.Kpfw.III light tank, 1,549 of these tanks were produced from March to October 1941.

The armour plating installed on tanks of the Ausf. H modification was a temporary measure. Tanks of the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf. J modification began to be released in March 1941. The thickness of the single-layer, homogeneous armour of the front and rear plates was 50 mm. The design of the spherical machine gun installation had to be modified due to the increase in the thickness of the armour plates. A large number of less significant changes were also made. The first vehicles released were added to the arsenal of the African Corps, but the overwhelming majority entered divisions that were performing combat operations in the incipient war with the Soviet Union. Towards the middle to late stages of the war, the Soviet Union captured large numbers of German vehicles including Pz.III Ausf. Js and would put them into use against their former owners.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_III_ausf_J_L42 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|UtpM_1j4G0c|'''The Shooting Range #338''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 04:01 relates the Soviet assessment of the German Pz.III J.}}

== See also ==

===== Other vehicles of the Panzer III series: =====

* [[Pz.III (Family)]]
** [[T-III (USSR)]]
** [[Pz.III J1]]

===== Vehicles of similar configuration: =====

* [[Pz.IV (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/655--en|[Development] PzKpfw III Ausf. J]]

{{Germany medium tanks}}

File talk:Ammoracks T-III (USSR).png

2024-05-09T10:25:04Z

U149841126: Created page with "Ammo racks have now changed. --~~~~"

Ammo racks have now changed. --[[User:U149841126|U149841126]] ([[User talk:U149841126|talk]]) 10:25, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

Pz.IV E

2024-04-26T07:04:52Z

U149841126: /* Ammo racks */

{{About
| about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Pz.IV (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_IV_ausf_E
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png|ArtImage2_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausführung E (Panzer IV E)''' ([[Abbreviations#.28DE.29 Sd.Kfz. Index|Sd.Kfz. Index:]] '''Sd.Kfz. 161''') is the fifth variant of the [[Pz.IV (Family)|Panzerkampfwagen IV medium tank family]]. Following the victory in Poland, the German Army ordered additional Panzer IV vehicles. This resulted in the Panzer IV E, which was essentially a slightly modified Panzer IV D variant. The structural framework of the Panzer IV E was identical to that of the earlier Panzer IV D. One of the few alterations was the addition of a new driver's visor. Another change was the replacement of the hatch door hinge design, which improved protection. The Panzer IV E's turret design was mostly unchanged from the preceding Panzer IV D variant. The commander's cupola was modified and reinforced. It had five vision ports, each of which was shielded by two sliding armoured coverings. In addition, the command cupola bulge that protruded from the rear armour plate was removed from the rear half of the turret. A fume ventilator and a modification of the signal port's protective cap shape were also added. From March 1941, all Panzer IV E vehicles would be equipped with a storage bin on the rear of the turret. By the end of the production phase in April 1941, approximately 200 complete tanks had been constructed.

Introduced in [[Update 1.45 "Steel Generals"]], the Panzer IV E was a continuation of the Panzer IV medium tank family. While the Panzer IV E is capable of fighting more advanced adversaries thanks to increased protection and new HEAT ammunition, it is still largely similar to the previous Panzer IV C, and thus has similar gameplay.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

In the game, compared to the previous modification [[Pz.IV C]], the E modification is mostly an armour upgrade: the front lower plate is now 50 mm thick, side and rear armour have been increased by 5 mm. Plus, the front and side armour have additional armour plates installed on them. The commander's cupola got thicker as well.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 30 + 30 mm (11°) ''Front plate'' 20 mm (72°) ''Front glacis'' 50 mm (14°) ''Bottom glacis'' || 20 + 20 mm || 20 mm || 10 mm
|-
| Turret || 30 mm ''Turret front'' 35 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 20 mm || 20 mm || 10 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 30 mm || 10 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Upper front armour (30 mm) is enhanced by added 30 mm plate, making it 60 mm thick total, with small areas with only 30 mm.
* Side armour is also enhanced by added armour plates as well, 40 mm thick total.
* Belly armour is 10 mm thick.
* Hull underside right above tracks is only 10 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


The mobility got improved as well: the top speed has been raised from 35 km/h to 43 km/h. Reverse speed has been slightly raised too (from about 6 to 8 km/h).

{{tankMobility|abMinHp=465|rbMinHp=265}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK37 (75 mm)}}

The gun remains the same as the [[Pz.IV C]], a short 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 cannon. Notably, a new improved Hl.Gr.38C HEAT shell is available, with higher armour penetration than Hl.Gr 38B.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK37 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK37]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 80 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 13.3 || 18.4 || 22.4 || 24.8 || 26.4 || rowspan="2" | 4.29 || rowspan="2" | 3.80 || rowspan="2" | 3.50 || rowspan="2" | 3.30
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.3 || 9.8 || 11.9 || 13.2 || 14.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK37 (75 mm)/Ammunition|K.Gr.rot Pz., Hl.Gr 38B, Sprgr. 34, Hl.Gr 38C, K.Gr.Rot Nb.}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''80''' || 75 ''(+5)'' || 69 ''(+11)'' || 60 ''(+20)'' || 51 ''(+29)'' || 43 ''(+37)'' || 35 ''(+45)'' || 26 ''(+54)'' || 4 ''(+76)'' || 1 ''(+79)'' || No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
'''Notes''':

* Racks disappear after you've fired all shells in the rack.
* To go into battle with flank racks depleted, pack 26 ''(+54)'' shells (racks 1 to 7 emptied).

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,700 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The gun is very powerful with a great rate of fire, and with HEAT shells can one-shot most of its opponents. While being able to penetrate most of your opponent's frontal armour, you are a lot more effective when the enemy doesn't see you as your armour is not the greatest. The Pz.IV E is often capable of annihilating an enemy vehicle with a single AP shell, regardless of the angle of the enemy's armour. It has a fair amount of armour as well, however due to the lack of an actual slope it may seem considerably more fragile than some Soviet vehicles when facing AP shells.

Against most threats, it is often wiser to close in with the enemy vehicle, to make targeting the weakest areas possible, increasing the chance of successful penetration. When engaging vehicles at close range it is, for example, a good idea to count on the slower turret speed of the Soviet machines, allowing the player to circle around them with ease and deliver devastating shots. Bear in mind that while this tank can easily obliterate any vehicle at its own BR, against higher rank enemies the relatively poor penetration of the gun and very slow shell travel speed can become a problem. However, take note that your standard AP round can still penetrate most tanks you face at the battle rating but take HEAT rounds for the more heavily armoured tanks (such as the Valentine and Matilda II). An advisable approach to play the Pz.IV E is to attack the enemy's flanks and avoid direct encounters with enemy vehicles.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Main armament is destructive, offering various shells for all enemy types: a deadly AP for common targets (e.g. [[BT-7]], [[M3 Stuart (Family)|M3 Stuarts]], etc), two high-penetration HEAT variants for heavy vehicles (e.g. [[B1 bis|B1]]) in an uptier, HE for light vehicles (e.g. GAZ trucks) and smoke shell to "blind" the enemies
* Rapid reload of 3-4 seconds means it's easy to deal with multiple targets
* Great gun depression of -10° provides nice mountain warfare capacity
* Adequate speed and cross-country mobility
* Spacious fighting compartment with 5 crew increases survivability, especially when most guns around the battle rating have small calibre and lack damage (e.g. M3 Stuart's 37 mm)
* With the 30 mm add-on armour on the frontal hull, at a distance it is immune to some common opponents' gun like the [[BT-5]]/[[BT-7|7]], [[M3 Stuart (Family)|M3A3]], [[M5A1]], etc
* HEAT can hull break some lightly armoured tanks like the [[LVT(A)(1)]]

'''Cons:'''

* Thin armour overall plus its large profile, easily gets spotted and penetrated; its turret armour remains unchanged from previous models which is prone to getting penetrated, endangering the gunner
* Gun has low muzzle velocity and huge drop, which makes distant or moving targets fairly hard to shoot at
* Turret turns rather slow at around 10°/s, making it hard to quickly respond to flankers like the [[BT-7]]

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Pz.Kpfw. IV's''' creation, like its predecessor the [[Pz.III E|Pz.Kpfw. III]], was devised by Heinz Guderian, where he envisioned a support tank to be used to handle anti-tank guns and fortifications. The Panzer IV was to work alongside the more numerable Panzer III in Panzer Divisions (three company of IIIs and one of IVs) to engage the enemy, giving the role of fighting enemy armoured forces to the Panzer IIIs. As a support tank, the tank was to have the short 75 mm Howitzer as its main armament and have a weight limit of 24 tons. MAN, Krupp, and Rheinmetall-Borsig worked on the development of the tanks, but the Krupp's model was selected for further testing.

The chosen model from Krupp once finished used a leaf-spring double-bogie system for its suspension, doing away the proposed interleaved or torsion bar suspension system earlier devised for the sake of faster production. The vehicle held five crew members, the commander, gunner, loader, radio operator (and hull machine gunner), and driver. Though it looked symmetrical, the Panzer IV turret was actually offset to the left of the chassis centre line a bit while the engine was also offset to the right, this was to allow the torque shaft to turn the turret. The offset also meant that most of the ammo is held on the right side of the tank in storage areas. The Panzer IV was then accepted into service and production began in 1936.

===Panzer IV Ausf. E===
After the Battle of Poland and France, the deficiencies of the [[Pz.IV C|Panzer IV Ausf. C]] saw it being upgraded on October 1940 to the '''Panzer IV Ausf. E'''. Still retaining the KwK 37 L/24 75 mm howitzer gun, but with an upgrade to 50 mm thick, with the original 20 mm glacis plus a 30 mm steel plate bolted onto the glacis as improvised protection. The commander cupola was moved slightly forward to accommodate the new storage bin on the back of the turrets from that model on.

Despite that, the Ausf. E was soon taken over by a new variant in production in April 1941, the [[Pz.IV F1|Panzer IV Ausf. F]]. Though, the Ausf. E saw service alongside it in Operation Barbarossa, but was soon found to be terribly outgunned by the appearance of the Soviet [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks. It was replaced from front-line service with the Ausf. F variant.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
A modification of the Pz.Kpfw IV medium tank that took into account all the flaws that had previously come to light. The armour plating was enhanced, the front of the body was now covered by additional 30 mm plates, and the sides — by 20 mm plates. The tank now weighed 21 tons. A new model of tracks was also used that had a width of 400 mm rather than the old 360 mm tracks.

The tanks of this series were released between September, 1940 and April, 1941. 223 tanks were produced.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_IV_ausf_E Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Germany medium tanks}}

M4

2024-04-25T23:39:34Z

U149841126: /* Ammo racks */

{{About
| about = American medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = other versions
| link-1 = M4 Sherman (Family)
| usage-2 = other uses
| link-2 = M4 (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=us_m4_sherman
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

Entering production just a month after the [[M4A1]], the '''M4 Sherman''' is the second variant of the early-generation [[M4 Sherman (Family)|Medium Tank M4 (Sherman) family]]. The Continental R975 radial engine from the [[M3 Stuart|M3]] and [[M3A1 Stuart|M3A1]] light tanks was utilised in the M4 variant. Before the M4 variant even went into production, the great majority of its weaknesses were sorted out. This greatly contributed to the overall M4 Sherman medium tank's reputation for dependability and ease of maintenance. The M4 variant had a welded body and a cast turret that housed the 75 mm M3 tank gun from the [[M3 Lee]]. Some early-production M4s have three hull machine guns and two turret-mounted machine guns. The hull weapons were all M1919A4 light machine guns, two fixed and one in a ball mount for use by the co-drivers, but these were quickly removed in the late-production M4s. For practically the entire production run, the turret armament remained unchanged: the 75 mm M3 tank gun with the M1919A4 coaxial light machine gun and the M2HB Browning heavy machine gun mounted on the roof. From July 1942 to January 1944, a total of 6,748 units of the M4 variant were produced, as well as 1,641 units of the modified M4 (105) variant outfitted with a 105 mm howitzer for infantry support. The gun mantlet was improved as well, from the M34 to the more protected M34A1. The turret would be the same as that seen on all early-generation M4 Sherman variants and would be interchangeable.

Introduced in [[Update 1.45 "Steel Generals"]], the M4 is the continuation of the M4 Sherman medium tank family. It was painted in the U.S. Army's standard olive-drab green camouflage. The hull of the M4 variant is welded, resulting in a sharper-edged hull shape than the cast hull of the [[M4A1|M4A1 variant]]. All M4 Sherman early-generation variants had the same cast turret and featured a better-protected M34A1 gun mount for the 75 mm M3 tank gun (excluding the M4A1). The glacis of the hull slopes at 56 degrees, as is typical of early-generation M4 Sherman variants. It is vital to pay attention to the hatches that protrude from the hull's sloping contour, as these cause interruptions in the slope and hinder the overall efficacy of the sloped armour. To give additional protection, armour plates are welded in front of the interruptions. However, this remained a significant weakness from the frontal hull context, and most experienced opponents will aim for it. Other highlights on the front glacis include the bundled desert-coloured jerry cans in the driver's region and the road wheel directly on the transmission cover. Furthermore, the additional appliqué armour plates over the sponson ammunition area on the side hull was another distinguishing feature of the M4 Sherman medium tanks. While this provides some protection, it also serves as an indication for the opponent to aim for ammo rack detonation. Overall, the playstyle is extremely similar to all early-generation M4 Sherman variants.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}


'''Armour type:'''

*Rolled homogeneous armour (Front, Side, Rear, Hull roof)
*Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, Transmission area)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 50.8 mm (56°) ''Front glacis'' 50.8 mm (12-56°) ''Transmission area'' 50.8 (13-20°) + 25.4 mm (35°) ''Protruding hatches'' || 38.1 mm 38.1 + 25.4 mm ''Appliqué addition'' || 38.1 mm (0-10°) ''Top'' 25.4 mm (33-64°) ''Bottom'' || 19.5 mm ''Sides'' 12.7 mm ''Engine deck and center''
|-
| Turret || 76.2-88.9 mm (4-67°) ''Turret front'' 50.8 + 88.9 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 50.8 mm (0-68°) || 50.8 mm (2-66°) || 25.4 mm
|-
| Cupola || 50.8 mm || 50.8 mm || 50.8 mm || 25.4 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, bogies are 10 mm thick, and tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Front armour has two protruding areas for driver and co-driver hatches. These are weak points as they present a flat armour surface.
* Belly armour is 12.7 mm thick.

Though most high-end anti-tank weapons can cleave through the M4 Sherman's front armour rather easily, some smaller-calibre weapons less than 75 mm would have some trouble going against the front armour. In these cases, aim for weak points like the protruding hatches in the front sloping armour, the crest of the transmission housing, where the slope is minimum in both areas or the machine gun port from the hull. The turret has a very robust construction so if there is no faith in penetrating through the front hull easily, don't bother trying to penetrate the turret from the front except for the very small weak point on the gunner's position of the turret.

If a shot can be made to the M4 Sherman's sides, send it towards the front half of the tank where it would either cripple the crew or ignite one of the ammunition racks strewn all over the internals.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=620|rbMinHp=354}}

The {{PAGENAME}} is powered with an engine adequate for its weight class. While accelerating up to this speed can be sluggish at first, the {{PAGENAME}} takes to a running start after Gear 4.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

Obvious first choice for research would be Parts in tier I. For the tier II it might be worth a risk to go for M61 shot first, as its such a significant improvement over the stock shell. The other option being FPE. On tier III Filters and Crew Replenishment are very important, and in tier IV further mobility improvements with the Engine and then Transmission should be prioritized. Once done - Horizontal Drive and two modifications responsible for accuracy or Artillery Support. The least important module to research is the M89 shell due to its extremely situational use.

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|M3 (75 mm)}}

75 mm M3 gun is a competent, well-handling gun for a medium tank. Even without any modifications, its ability to fulfil its role, though where it begins to shine is with the M61 shot. Default, M72, suffers from issues typical to US and British sold shots - poor post-penetration effects. This means it's preferable to take down enemy gunner first, usually by hitting the right side of the turret.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M3 (75 mm)|75 mm M3]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 97 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+25° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | {{Annotation|Vertical|up to 24 km/h}} || 22.85 || 31.62 || 38.40 || 42.47 || 45.18 || rowspan="2" | 6.50 || rowspan="2" | 5.75 || rowspan="2" | 5.30 || rowspan="2" | 5.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 14.28 || 16.80 || 20.40 || 22.56 || 24.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
When discussing {{PAGENAME}} shells, one always has to account for the fact that it's a medium tank. This means short to medium engagement range, so realistically it can benefit more from its short-range penetration figures than long-range sniping tanks would.

* M72 shot; {{Annotation|AP|Armour-Piercing}} - Solid shot, stock shell. Acceptable penetration, poor post-penetration damage.
* M48 shell; {{Annotation|HE|High-Explosive fragmentation shell}} - Low-velocity shell useful against soft targets, in particular when hitting an open-topped vehicle. Harmless against any vehicle with more than 10 mm of armour.
* M61 shot; {{Annotation|APCBC|Armour-Piercing Capped Ballistic Capped}} - This shell has a better penetration than the M72 thanks to its ballistic cap and a good post-penetration damage thanks to its explosive filler.
* M89; smoke shell - Useful to blind enemy vehicles that are too remote for you to disable so that you can progress towards objectives.

{{:M3 (75 mm)/Ammunition|M72 shot, M48 shell, M61 shot, M89}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''97''' || 91 ''(+6)'' || 88 ''(+9)'' || 86 ''(+11)'' || 78 ''(+19)'' || 63 ''(+34)'' || 45 ''(+52)'' || 30 ''(+67)'' || 1 ''(+96)'' || style="text-align:center" | No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
'''Notes''':

* To go into battle with the turret basket empty of ammo, pack 78 ''(+19)'' shells (racks 1 to 4 emptied).
* To go into battle with the turret basket and the flanks empty of ammo, pack 30 ''(+67)'' shells (racks 1 to 7 emptied).
* The 8th rack is large and located in a weak spot: the bottom section of the armour. In case of penetration, there is a high risk of ammo rack detonation. Make sure not to expose your flanks unnecessarily.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|M2HB (12.7 mm)|M1919A4 (7.62 mm)}}

The M4 Sherman is armed with two machine guns, a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun on the pintle-mount atop the M4 Sherman turret, the famous .50 cal "Ma Deuce" machine gun. This weapon is the same type as the one used in American aircraft, though at a slower fire rate. However, this leads to the anti-aircraft power of the weapon as most formidable against low strafing attacking aircraft.

The second machine gun is a general-purpose 7.62 mm M1919A4 Browning machine gun mounted in the coaxial position. A typical machine gun not too unlike on many other vehicles, the machine gun is just average.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 600 (200) || 577 || -10°/+25° || ±60°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M1919A4]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 3,000 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


The M4 Sherman is an effective medium-range combat tank. Equipped with a fast-firing 75 mm gun and with good handling characteristics, the M4 can be an extremely useful asset in most battles.

In battle the M4 performs well as an all-rounder; the thick turret front and 10 degrees of gun depression make the tank ideal for taking hull-down positions which protect the thinner hull armour from being penetrated by enemy fire. The sloped front upper glacis, when angled, also provides good protection against enemy fire. An unusual - and useful - difference is that the upper glacis is sloped at 56 degrees rather than the standard 45 degrees, making it more of a threat and more powerful due to improving the chances of a round ricochet. The only downfall may be the 2 crew member position in the front that protrudes out to form a flat surface, but both are covered with an additional 20 mm plate. The reasonable mobility of the Sherman makes flanking a viable tactic. The main weakness of the M4 is the side armour - not only is it vertical and thin, but behind it most of the ammunition is stowed. The tall silhouette of the tank also makes finding suitable cover difficult. Overall, the M4 Sherman can be considered as an armoured jack-of-all-trades - it will serve a tanker well, however it will not excel in any particular role.

In battle, try to use terrain as cover. Hull-down positions are especially strong in the M4 Sherman, as it has a good 10 degrees of gun depression. The gun mantlet and turret are reasonably strong, but avoiding shots is still the best strategy. In this respect, a hull-down position hides the vulnerable hull. If this is not available, then angling the hull armour to present a greater slope is often a good idea, as this can bounce some low-powered cannon at any range and at longer ranges, render the hull impenetrable.

Another way to play the M4 Sherman is to tap into its traditional cavalry role, its mobility. The M4 Sherman is a great flanker as it is fast enough to get the jump on the enemy's side. Defeat the enemy at their weak front lines or go around the entire enemy force. Once in position at their sides or rear, ambush them. Ideally, the enemy should be too busy focusing on allies attacking in the front to notice the M4 instantly. Take out the weaker light or medium tanks, the 75 mm gun is not very ideal against heavy tanks like the [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] so take out its friends to allow allies more room to outmanoeuvre the KV tank. An organized attack will increase the M4 chances on the battlefield and success.

The presence of a pivot-mounted .50 calibre machine gun gives the Sherman some flexibility. It can engage softer targets such as some tank destroyers and many SPAAGs at short ranges when loading a HE shell would be inconvenient. While not ideal, they provide the Sherman tank with some measure of protection against aircraft- sometimes enough to dissuade a pilot from making another pass. It can be an effective rang-finder for targets at longer ranges where the M1919 in the turret would be less effective. While it pales in comparison to the destructive effect of tank guns, it provides the Sherman with some flexibility over other comparable vehicles, who are restricted to their rifle-calibre coaxial machine guns.

There will be concerns about certain vehicles:

[[M4A2]] / [[M4A4 (1st PTG)|A4]] - These Sherman tanks are widely used by over 3 nations that spread across both the Allied and the Axis side, so no matter which nation you play they can be quite tough to destroy in the hands of a skilled tanker. Given the rather weak penetration of your short 75 mm gun, their hull can be almost impossible to penetrate when angled, hull down or 300 m away. For a M4A4, there are 2 apparent bulges on the upper front plate, a penetration through there can guarantee a knock-out most of the times. But in case the opponent covers them up or when it's a M4A2, aim for the middle parts of the gun mantlet or the turret armour unprotected by the mantlet, you can at least make them defenseless. Note that their guns are equally weak against you, so wiggle around to disrupt their aim while you reload, you have a good chance of bouncing some shells.

[[Churchill I]], [[Churchill III]], [[Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany)|Pz.Kpfw. Churchill]] - The Churchills, with their complex hulls and sturdy turrets, can be quite hard to penetrate at range. Again, manoeuvre as close to them as possible, the idea distance being no more than 200 m. If they are angling their hull but facing their turret at you, only go for the turret. For the Mk I Churchills, aim at the near-vertical part of their rounded cheeks to ensure successful penetrations. For the Mk III and the German Churchill, also aim for their flat turret which is at most 89 mm. The shell should go in easily and knock out most, if not all of the crew. Only when you are facing their hull without any angles should you shoot the hull, otherwise shoot the turret only, as their big tracks can easily get in front of the frontal hull. The side hull have multiple layers of armour, some of which are weirdly angled and can absorb plenty of shells.

[[KV-1 (Family)|KV-1 and variants]] - A vehicle that the M4 Sherman will have trouble against is the KV-1. While the [[KV-1 (L-11)|L-11]] is underpowered, the [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)|ZiS-5]] is potent enough to punch through the Sherman's front, and the Sherman is unable to penetrate the KV-1's thick frontal armour. If this heavy tank is encountered, try to shoot it in its sides and rear, where its armour is thinner and unsloped, though it will still have to be at a close range to penetrate the armour. In addition, shots to the sides will most likely hit fuel tanks or ammunition storage, causing a fire or ammunition detonation and at best, time to reassess the situation.

[[Pz.IV F2|Panzer IV F2]]/[[Pz.IV G|G]]/[[Pz.IV H|H]]/[[Pz.IV J|J]] - The historical nemesis of any Sherman, the Panzer IV is one of the Shermans biggest threats at this rank. The long barrel 75 mm gun will easily penetrate the Sherman from the front. The F2 variant is admittedly easy to deal with. A single APCBC to its hull or turret should end it pretty quickly, even at long range. The other variants are slightly harder to deal with. They have thicker hull armour, at 80 mm, which will be much harder to penetrate with the APCBC over 500 m. Luckily the turret armour remains the same at 50 mm. Either aim here with APCBC or sacrifice damage potential and use the AP round to penetrate the hull.

[[StuG III F]]/[[StuG III G|G]] - Another historical nemesis of the Sherman, and another big threat. The StuG III packs the same punch as the Panzer IV line with its long barrel 75 mm gun, whilst losing the turret, which turns out to be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Lacking a turret means that it will have to traverse the whole vehicle to target an enemy, but it also means that it has a lower profile. The StuG's armour profile is also more complex than the Panzer IV, with less flat areas. Certain areas are sloped and very bouncy. Luckily, there is a big weak spot. There are two flat plates on the front of the hull. The flat plate on the right is the drivers port. Shoot that and you are able to knock out the driver, gunner and loader in one go. This is a very efficient way to destroy this vehicle. With the F variant, you can use APCBC to instantly knock out this vehicle with a single shot. With the G variant, it is more reliable to use AP at ranges over 500 m to ensure penetration.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent gun depression of -10° plus the angled frontal turret allows it to utilise hills very well
* Great penetration and post-penetration damage when using M61 shells; can frontally penetrate and knock out most opponents like the [[Pz.IV F2]], [[Chi-Nu]] and T-34 with a single shot
* Great turret traverse speed allows it to deal with multiple threats easily
* Capable armour when angled and at a distance
* Adequate top speed allows it to get to positions in time, or to do tactical manoeuvres like flanking
* Pintle-mounted HMG provides an anti-aircraft defence or anti-tank duty against tanks like [[Marder III]]
* Fitted with a vertical stabilizer, allowing more accurate fire on the move compared to other tanks, as well as better usage of shoot-n-scoot tactics

'''Cons:'''

* Large profile and weak side armour; flankers like the Sd.Kfz.234/2 can easily see and penetrate it
* Frontal armour is still inadequate, it will get frontally penetrated and knocked out with a single shot by tanks like [[Pz.IV F2]]/[[Pz.IV G|G]], [[StuG III F]]/[[StuG III G|G]] or [[M10 (Family)|M10]]
* The best M61 shell struggles to penetrate heavy targets like [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)]], [[Churchill III]] or even the T-34 and M10 when angled
* Trajectory is curved and velocity is low due to its short barrel, thus distant/moving targets are hard to shoot at
* Hull traverse is quite slow, making it sluggish in a turn. Also the narrow tracks offer poor ground flotation, thus poor off-road capabilities. Can only reach its top speed on paved or hard surfaces
* Roof armour of 19.5 mm thick is vulnerable to aircraft strafing runs with AP rounds. For example the widely used [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|M2 Browning]]

== History ==


The Battle of France in 1940 proved to America that their current tank arsenal would not be able to withstand a German assault. The only tanks in their inventory at that time was the [[M2A4|M2 light tank]] and the [[M2|M2 medium tank]], both are inadequate against the German [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and the [[Pz.IV F1|Panzer IVs]]. The US Army, in response, ordered for a tank armed with a 75 mm gun. While a 75 mm gun was available for use, a turret able to mount the gun was not. So while the turret and tank design underwent development, the 75 mm would be mounted on the stopgap [[M3 Lee|M3 Lee]] tank in a sponson mount. This interim design put the 75 mm on a lower and limited traverse mount that restricted its firing angle, but it did give the Western Allies a tank with the gun, so it was issued by the thousands until a better design could be produced.

During the M3 medium's development, the designs of the 75 mm armed vehicle were being drawn up and submitted by the Ordnance Department. Specifications on the tank design were strict in order to maximize logistical support. Restrictions were made on the tank's height, width, and weight in order to make it able to be transported over bridges, roads, railroads, and on naval ships. These specifications would help the Army by making the tank be very flexible on strategic, logistical, and tactical grounds. On April 1941, the Armored Force Board chose the simplest of the designs, which was a redesigned M3 hull and chassis with a turret mounting the 75 mm gun designated the ''T6'', completed in September 1941. This tank would then designated the '''Medium Tank M4''' in American service. The tank would eventually become the most used Allied tank during World War II as it was lent out by the thousands in the Lend-Lease program to the Allied countries. The British designated the M4 the "[[Sherman II|Sherman]]", which coined into the tank's name '''M4 Sherman''' that it would be known as in history. The production for the Shermans began on October 1941 and would continue to be produced until the end of the war in 1945 with around 50,000 units produced, making it the second most-produced tank in World War II before the [[T-34 (1942)|T-34 tank]].

=== Design ===
Many variants of the Shermans were produced, but they all followed a similar layout. The driver and bow gunner sat in the front driving compartment, the fighting compartment in the middle housed the turret its three crew member, and in the back was the engine compartment. The Sherman used many features present in previous American tank designs, the vertical volute suspension system (VVSS) and radial engine from the [[M2A4|M2 Light Tanks]], and the sloping armour of the [[M2|M2 Medium Tanks]]. This became a contributing factor on the Sherman's reliability on the field, as most of the design flaws were ironed out with the previous tank designs. The tank-mounted the 75 mm M3 gun, giving the tank very good AP and HE capabilities. The Sherman's turret traverse speed was very fast, able to traverse a full 360 degrees in only 15 seconds, which is considerably faster than the traverse speed on most German tanks. Another unique feature on the Sherman was the installation of a gyroscopic stabilizer on the gun and sight, making the Sherman one of the first produced tanks to incorporate those features. While the stabilization was only done for the vertical plane, it kept the gun stable enough to be able to shoot on the move effectively, with a study showing a 70 % hit probability on an enemy 300 to 1,200 yards away when moving at a speed of 15 mph. However, this feature was controversial among the crew and experiences with it vary.

The '''M4 Sherman''' model ran on a gasoline Continental R975 radial engine and was one of the first models of the Sherman developed. The early M4 Sherman featured the M38 telescopic sight in the M4 periscope with no zoom, but experience in North Africa and recommendations from the British changed the sight into the M55 telescopic sight integrated into the gun mantlet.<ref name="ZalogaArmorT1">Zaloga Steven. ''Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II'' Stackpole Books, 2008, "Baptism Of Fire"</ref> This change in optics required appliqué armour to be added at the turret area in front of the gunner since the modification left the area weaker than the overall turret. This problem would be fixed in later-production models of the M4 Sherman. The tank's hull was welded, with the front armour plate placed on a 56-degree sloping angle. An early design defect with the design was the protruding armoured hatches for the driver and assistant driver. These protrusions create "shot traps" as they were in a near vertical position that gave less protection on the front armour than the sloping areas. This was fixed on later models as well. Up to 6,748 M4A1s were produced from July 1942 to January 1944, out of the 49,234 total Sherman units produced in the war.

===Combat usage===
====European Theater====
The Shermans first saw combat in the North African Campaign in the Second Battle of El Alamein on October 1942 in the hands of the British. It was much quicker to reinforce the British armoured divisions with the more than 300 Shermans sent to North Africa than it was to create new American ones. It proved much better than the German [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV F1|Panzer IVs]], able to eliminate them at distances more than 2,000 yards away. The Americans received their first Shermans in the next month in Operation Torch. However better the Shermans were to the German tanks at the time, the Allied armoured units still suffered casualties against the German tanks and anti-tank guns, most notably in the Battle of Kasserine Pass. In Italy, the Shermans proved much more mobile than the German Panzers, able to travel cross-country on the hilly terrain with ease. However, it was at this stage that the Sherman's shortcoming began to take face in the advent of the newer German tanks, the [[Tiger H1|Tiger Is]] and [[Panther D|Panthers]]. These two tanks featured armour that proved impenetrable when fired at the front, and with guns that could take out the Shermans from farther than the Sherman's effective combat range. The Shermans have to hit the side of these tanks for penetration and at ranges that were considered suicidal. Although programs were initiated to [[M4A1 (76) W|up-gun the Sherman with a 76 mm gun]], American leaders determine that the Panther and Tigers would not be produced in large quantities and were not as great as a threat as these two vehicles could still be destroyed by the 75 mm gun and standard anti-tank equipment.

During the invasion of France, it was clear that the Sherman's current build with a 75 mm gun was no longer going to cut it against the German armoured forces. While the Sherman was adequate against what little Panzer III and IVs the Germans have left and against infantry and fortifications with the 75 mm gun, the Panthers and Tigers were in much large quantity than expected, and proved better in armour and firepower to the Shermans. Though in the bocage country of France, the Allies lost more tanks to hidden anti-tank guns and infantry weapons than to tanks. Despite these losses, the mass production of M4 Sherman back in the United States ensured that enough tanks were available for the Allied Forces as they spearhead through France, plus the lack of any other capable tanks meant they had to use the Shermans for the time being. The large quantities of Shermans produced during the war gave the Allied armoured units a major advantage of being fully equipped as the German panzer divisions were rarely in full strength, with some US infantry divisions having more tracked vehicles than some of the panzer divisions. Due to the high attrition rates, tank crews sometimes add [[Add-on Armor|improvised armour]] onto their Shermans in the form of sandbags and logs in hopes of increased survival, but these were determined to be ineffective from evaluations. A more effective method was to have metal armour welded on in improvisation, and an official project was made for such "assault tanks" that ended with the [[M4A3E2|M4A3E2 "Jumbos"]] with 254 made for the fighting in Europe. The Allies continued to use 75 mm Shermans until the Battle of the Bulge in Winter 1944, when the commanders request only 76 mm Shermans to be brought into Europe as the battle showed the intense armour disparity with the German's large numbers of [[Panther G|Panthers]] and [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II tanks]]. While new units arriving in Europe were armed exclusively with 76 mm armed-Shermans, the veteran units kept the 75 mm Shermans, to which it continued to do well against softer targets with little threat from German armour due to their declining numbers.

====Pacific Theater====
The M4 Sherman's importance in the Pacific theatre was less than that of the European theatre due to the different tactical doctrine established from the amphibious nature of combat. Only about 20 tank battalions fielded by the US Army were sent to support the Pacific theatre of operations, compared to the total 16 armoured divisions and 70 tank battalions they have in service. The low priority in tanks was due to the following reasons. Firstly, the jungle terrain on most of the islands fought on was unsuitable for the deployment of large-scale armoured units, relegating armour support to light tanks such as the [[M3 Stuart|M3 Stuarts]]. Secondly, the Japanese forces' armoured units were rather inferior to the American tank forces by 1943. While the Japanese [[Ha-Go|Type 95 Ha-Go]] tank was comparable to the [[M2A4|M2A4 Light Tank]], the Shermans out gun these tanks by a large margin. Such a large margin that the tank crew prefer to use high-explosive shots against the Japanese tank than regular armour-piercing as the AP rounds would penetrate straight through without causing much damage in the interior of the tank. The Japanese developed the [[Chi-Nu|Type 3 Chi-Nu]] and the [[Chi-To|Type 4 Chi-To]] to fight back the Shermans, but these two never saw combat as they were kept at the Japanese homeland for the defence against the Allied invasion.

The Shermans, when deployed, were superior to most of the Japanese anti-tank equipment and often were essential to some of the Marines advances on some of the island assaults. In 1945, the equipping of flamethrower Shermans known as ''M4A3R3'', nicknamed "Zippos", were a significant boost to the infantry's firepower in having a very long range of fire compared to the standard infantry-modelled flamethrowers with the benefit of being in an armoured vehicle. The Japanese solution against the Shermans, other than with their 47 mm anti-tank guns, were often suicidal tactics ranging from placing satchel charges right onto the tank, using pole-mounted anti-tank mines to reach and destroy the tank or even simply throwing oneself underneath a tank with mine or other explosive and triggering it manually.

==== Lend-Lease ====
The Sherman tank was given out in large numbers to American Allies during World War II under the Lend-Lease policy. While America retained about 20,361 Shermans in the Army and Marine Corps, 17,184 went to Britain (about 34% of Shermans produced and 78% of Shermans given out) and the Soviet Union obtained 4,102 Shermans.<ref name="ZalogaArmorT2">Zaloga Steven. ''Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II'' Stackpole Books, 2008, "The British Sherman"</ref> China obtained 812 Shermans, Brazil with 53, and New Zealand and Australia for 153 Shermans total. Other countries using the Shermans were Poland, Free France, and Czechoslovakia. The British deployed the Sherman among their armoured squadrons in such a large number to become the standard tank of their armoured forces. The increased threat of German tanks in the European theatre also provoked the British to up-gun the M4 Sherman with a more capable gun, resulting in the [[Sherman Firefly|Firefly]].

==== Post-War ====
After the war, the Shermans continued serving America and its allies as the [[M4A3 (76) W|M4A3E8]] with a new suspension and the 76 mm gun. The [[M26|M26 Pershing]] that was introduced late in World War II was phased out for the Shermans due to its unreliability, and the Sherman stayed until the [[M46|M46 Patton]] was introduced. After being phased out of American service, many other countries still used the Sherman as their main tank, mainly Israel where they up-gun the tank with the much powerful post-war French 75 mm and 105 mm gun as the M-50 and M-51 respectively (nicknamed "Super Shermans"). These proved successful as they were able to fight against the Soviet-supplied [[T-54 (1947)|T-54 tanks]] and [[T-34-85]]s in Middle East service, proving the Sherman as a successful and adaptable design for many years to come.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
The Americans did an excellent job recognizing the problems with the M3's main-calibre weaponry being mounted in a side sponson. Immediately after it began full-scale production, they began work on a new, more modern tank with a 75 mm cannon in a fully traversing turret. Its prototype, termed the T6, was ready for trials at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in September 1941.

The M4 was a medium tank boasting a welded hull, a cast turret, and the 350 hp Continental R-975, a gas-powered radial engine. Design of the M4 began in 1941, and by July 1942 it was ready for full-scale production. Between July 1942 and January 1944, 6,748 M4s rolled off the line. The tank's welded hull boosted its ammunition capacity in comparison with cast hulls by expanding its internal armoured capacity. The hull's front plate initially had viewing slits, though armour covers were welded over them and periscopes were added. The front part of the hull's gear compartment on older models consisted of three sections bolted together. Tanks had a narrow mantlet for the M34 artillery mount, while subsequent units employed a fully cast forward hull section and M34A1 artillery mount with a wide mantlet. The last batches, which were made beginning at the end of 1943, had the front of their hulls made from cast and rolled pieces. At the beginning of 1944 the frontal plate became one piece, moving the driver and gunner hatches to the top of the hull. The angled frontal armour went from 56° to 47° from vertical.

The Pressed Steel Car Company kicked off production of the first M4 tanks in July 1942. Four more companies were added later.

M4 tanks saw combat in Africa, Italy, the Western front, and the Pacific islands through 1945.

Shermans proved a strong option with good reliability and manoeuvrability in addition to armament and armour suiting its roll as a medium tank.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=us_m4_sherman Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|GOuPWRJqlK8|'''Pages of History: M4 Sherman''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''}}

== See also ==


;Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

* [[M4 Sherman (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/2988/current/|[Vehicle Profile] M4 Sherman [Decal Included]]]
* [[wikipedia:M4_Sherman|[Wikipedia] M4 Sherman]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/US/M4_Sherman <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Medium Tank M4 Sherman]
* [https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=40 <nowiki>[Military Factory]</nowiki> M4 Sherman (Medium Tank, M4)]

=== References ===
<references />

{{USA medium tanks}}

Talk:Tank ammunition

2024-03-18T05:46:29Z

U149841126: /* Where are SAPs ammo ? */

Anyone know where to source a shrapnel round image to match the rest in the page? I tried screenshotting it in-game but it didn't come out great. --[[User:U11670196|U11670196]] ([[User talk:U11670196|talk]]) 03:46, 25 October 2019 (UTC)
:Looks like the other ones are just screenshots from the game. By comparison here is the clean image of a shrapnel round [[File:Icon Shrapnel Shot.jpg]]. Maybe worth a debate if we want to update the other ones in the article to be like that one I just uploaded, or if we want to update the image I uploaded to match the other ones (a screenshot). I would be inclined to say go with a screenshot as it shows the penetration effect. --[[User:U13682523|U13682523]] ([[User talk:U13682523|talk]]) 11:01, 27 October 2019 (UTC)

==Regarding shell descriptions==

I have a few points to make with page as it is right now, mainly in two ways:

1) The explanation is made in very "main faction" way, as in US, GE, USSR, with a speck of French, while most of them mention WW2 period. Would probably be nice to also mention japan and Italy in appropriate sections, especially in HEAT and APHE department (or just rename Germany to Axis, where it can be generalized, because for the most part they receive those at same periods.) Dunno about china, because it's literally just using the abovementioned factions tanks.

2) I also kind of have issue with the basic ammo explanations, because unique features of every ammo were and are still omitted in favour of flavor/historical text.

I feel like APHE vs AP comparison is necessary, because the difference is just in that: AP can penetrate modules and APHE generally cannot, because after fuse activation it explodes to add AoE damage. The 1.91 practically killed the whole "you cannot use APHE against light tank" thing, since the fuses even on 105 mm are now 14mm, which is 1 less than armour on most vehicles in the game, so there is just no way it wont detonate. But there still is a high possibility of APHE hitting a big enough radiator/transmission and doing nothing.

Same gripe with APDS: It's different from APCR only because it does not have negative normalization (nor much of positive) and it's not as bad against light tank as against spaced and heavy tanks, because when you hit heavy tank with it, the shell loses all it's "penetration" = "health" by penetrating armour and "shatters" inside of it or does miserable damage, IE you have to fish for unarmored tank parts and it is more for sniping, not just for bashing heavy tanks in(unless you have to), like APCR, in my opinion.

APDSFS ability to penetrate multiple tanks should be mentioned, I believe. Also being ineffective against light tanks is pretty much void, because every time it hits a light tank, it either causes colossal spall (due to it working as both AP and APDS) and it hits ammo rack, resulting in explosion, or just hull breaks it. Specifically with 1.93 hull break updates 7.0-8.0 light tanks hullbreak easier than 4.0 artillery trucks ever did. (maybe it's just related to tanks, but, uh.)

Perhaps it is possible to extend the paragraphs a bit for in-game strengths/weaknesses or comparisons? Could try to reshape, update and censor the [[User:U42773747#What_certain_shell_types_are_like_in-game_.28for_real.29|collected information]] on the matter, so it could be used here in some form. The main issue here is that both of last patches (1.91 and 1.93) severely changed the shell mechanics, so the info might get obsolete again in 1.95 or whenever (just like with radar pages).

3) Not that important to the topic, but I heard people talking about something called "HE FS" being on soviet tanks, but I cannot find it anywhere. Is it some form of a practical re-name joke or it was removed from the game? The screenshots had a different icon for it too, I think?

Either way, if you people agree on either of points i could try to look in some direction. --[[User:U42773747|U42773747]] ([[User talk:U42773747|talk]]) 11:09, 10 December 2019 (UTC)

:Few points on this; first and foremost this was just an interim update to 'clean up' the page a little - if you look at the history the old layouts weren't very clean and the old info was pretty uninformative. Despite that, there's always room for more information and I'm definitely not gonna take offense to any changes.

:In regards to APHE - you're correct, and that's probably a valuable point to add.
:Your note on APDS is also correct but I do think you need to aim for vital points within a vehicle regardless of how heavily armoured it is - APDS has pretty negligible post-penetration, regardless of what it hits.
:APFSDS does shrapnel a fair bit but remember that a lot of late light tanks are laid out in a way that counteracts that (such as the Type 89 which is more than capable of taking 3 or more shots from certain directions) - additionally, APFSDS doesn't often hull break and it's much more reliable with HEAT-FS (in 1.93 they updated it so 105mm HEAT-FS could hull break a lot of light vehicles that previously required a 120mm round, however I don't remember seeing any updates on APFSDS hullbreak)
:The 'HE-FS' is what I believe the Russians referred to as 'HE-FRAG'; and it is essentially the same concept as a HE round, and has, at least as long as I've had high-tier Russians, had the same icon as HE in-game, despite the fact that the actual round looks different.
:--[[User:U11670196|U11670196]] ([[User talk:U11670196|talk]]) 19:22, 10 December 2019 (UTC)

::I do realize that you were just updating the page, which is why I mentioned both old and new pages. Sorry if It felt a bit too direct. As for hull breaks, in 1.89 they added track hullbreak, and basically if you hit 7.0+ light tank track/suspension wheel with any 75+ mm chemical it instantly explodes, even if it didn't penetrate track or did any damage (ex: you can kill Warrior and many others with literally any tank, even with composite shields on [[Media:75_mm_HE_hullbreaks_warrior_by_hitting_the_track.jpg|if you somehow hit the track itself directly]]). The 105 mm HEAT hullbreak is basically a cover-up, as it already hullbroke most tanks before, they just raised the amount of surfaces that do this, due to it becoming more like APDS in 1.91. I'm sure any big AP, including APDSFS that isn't 105- mm can hullbreak type 89 and most of other light tanks, if it hits it straight to the hull, but kinetic hullbreak is custom-made for each tank, so it may be different in your experience (in my experience people just hit it directly to the hull and the shell just inevitably flies through middle of ammo rack even if it didn't work, and they never fire at turret). --[[User:U42773747|U42773747]] ([[User talk:U42773747|talk]]) 07:39, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

== Where are SAPs ammo ? ==

There is no word "SAP" on the page, even though this ammunition exists in the game. Why ?

I feel like it would be in the 'HE-Filled Armour-Piercing Rounds' section. I don't know much about SAP tank ammo, so I won't add it, but a more experienced player can add it in and describe the purpose, target, pen performance and post-pen lethality. --[[User:U149841126|U149841126]] ([[User talk:U149841126|talk]]) 05:44, 18 March 2024 (UTC)

Talk:Tank ammunition

2024-03-18T05:44:25Z

U149841126: /* Where are SAPs ammo ? */

Anyone know where to source a shrapnel round image to match the rest in the page? I tried screenshotting it in-game but it didn't come out great. --[[User:U11670196|U11670196]] ([[User talk:U11670196|talk]]) 03:46, 25 October 2019 (UTC)
:Looks like the other ones are just screenshots from the game. By comparison here is the clean image of a shrapnel round [[File:Icon Shrapnel Shot.jpg]]. Maybe worth a debate if we want to update the other ones in the article to be like that one I just uploaded, or if we want to update the image I uploaded to match the other ones (a screenshot). I would be inclined to say go with a screenshot as it shows the penetration effect. --[[User:U13682523|U13682523]] ([[User talk:U13682523|talk]]) 11:01, 27 October 2019 (UTC)

==Regarding shell descriptions==

I have a few points to make with page as it is right now, mainly in two ways:

1) The explanation is made in very "main faction" way, as in US, GE, USSR, with a speck of French, while most of them mention WW2 period. Would probably be nice to also mention japan and Italy in appropriate sections, especially in HEAT and APHE department (or just rename Germany to Axis, where it can be generalized, because for the most part they receive those at same periods.) Dunno about china, because it's literally just using the abovementioned factions tanks.

2) I also kind of have issue with the basic ammo explanations, because unique features of every ammo were and are still omitted in favour of flavor/historical text.

I feel like APHE vs AP comparison is necessary, because the difference is just in that: AP can penetrate modules and APHE generally cannot, because after fuse activation it explodes to add AoE damage. The 1.91 practically killed the whole "you cannot use APHE against light tank" thing, since the fuses even on 105 mm are now 14mm, which is 1 less than armour on most vehicles in the game, so there is just no way it wont detonate. But there still is a high possibility of APHE hitting a big enough radiator/transmission and doing nothing.

Same gripe with APDS: It's different from APCR only because it does not have negative normalization (nor much of positive) and it's not as bad against light tank as against spaced and heavy tanks, because when you hit heavy tank with it, the shell loses all it's "penetration" = "health" by penetrating armour and "shatters" inside of it or does miserable damage, IE you have to fish for unarmored tank parts and it is more for sniping, not just for bashing heavy tanks in(unless you have to), like APCR, in my opinion.

APDSFS ability to penetrate multiple tanks should be mentioned, I believe. Also being ineffective against light tanks is pretty much void, because every time it hits a light tank, it either causes colossal spall (due to it working as both AP and APDS) and it hits ammo rack, resulting in explosion, or just hull breaks it. Specifically with 1.93 hull break updates 7.0-8.0 light tanks hullbreak easier than 4.0 artillery trucks ever did. (maybe it's just related to tanks, but, uh.)

Perhaps it is possible to extend the paragraphs a bit for in-game strengths/weaknesses or comparisons? Could try to reshape, update and censor the [[User:U42773747#What_certain_shell_types_are_like_in-game_.28for_real.29|collected information]] on the matter, so it could be used here in some form. The main issue here is that both of last patches (1.91 and 1.93) severely changed the shell mechanics, so the info might get obsolete again in 1.95 or whenever (just like with radar pages).

3) Not that important to the topic, but I heard people talking about something called "HE FS" being on soviet tanks, but I cannot find it anywhere. Is it some form of a practical re-name joke or it was removed from the game? The screenshots had a different icon for it too, I think?

Either way, if you people agree on either of points i could try to look in some direction. --[[User:U42773747|U42773747]] ([[User talk:U42773747|talk]]) 11:09, 10 December 2019 (UTC)

:Few points on this; first and foremost this was just an interim update to 'clean up' the page a little - if you look at the history the old layouts weren't very clean and the old info was pretty uninformative. Despite that, there's always room for more information and I'm definitely not gonna take offense to any changes.

:In regards to APHE - you're correct, and that's probably a valuable point to add.
:Your note on APDS is also correct but I do think you need to aim for vital points within a vehicle regardless of how heavily armoured it is - APDS has pretty negligible post-penetration, regardless of what it hits.
:APFSDS does shrapnel a fair bit but remember that a lot of late light tanks are laid out in a way that counteracts that (such as the Type 89 which is more than capable of taking 3 or more shots from certain directions) - additionally, APFSDS doesn't often hull break and it's much more reliable with HEAT-FS (in 1.93 they updated it so 105mm HEAT-FS could hull break a lot of light vehicles that previously required a 120mm round, however I don't remember seeing any updates on APFSDS hullbreak)
:The 'HE-FS' is what I believe the Russians referred to as 'HE-FRAG'; and it is essentially the same concept as a HE round, and has, at least as long as I've had high-tier Russians, had the same icon as HE in-game, despite the fact that the actual round looks different.
:--[[User:U11670196|U11670196]] ([[User talk:U11670196|talk]]) 19:22, 10 December 2019 (UTC)

::I do realize that you were just updating the page, which is why I mentioned both old and new pages. Sorry if It felt a bit too direct. As for hull breaks, in 1.89 they added track hullbreak, and basically if you hit 7.0+ light tank track/suspension wheel with any 75+ mm chemical it instantly explodes, even if it didn't penetrate track or did any damage (ex: you can kill Warrior and many others with literally any tank, even with composite shields on [[Media:75_mm_HE_hullbreaks_warrior_by_hitting_the_track.jpg|if you somehow hit the track itself directly]]). The 105 mm HEAT hullbreak is basically a cover-up, as it already hullbroke most tanks before, they just raised the amount of surfaces that do this, due to it becoming more like APDS in 1.91. I'm sure any big AP, including APDSFS that isn't 105- mm can hullbreak type 89 and most of other light tanks, if it hits it straight to the hull, but kinetic hullbreak is custom-made for each tank, so it may be different in your experience (in my experience people just hit it directly to the hull and the shell just inevitably flies through middle of ammo rack even if it didn't work, and they never fire at turret). --[[User:U42773747|U42773747]] ([[User talk:U42773747|talk]]) 07:39, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

== Where are SAPs ammo ? ==

There is no word "SAP" on the page, even though this ammunition exists in the game. Why ?

I feel like it would be in the 'HE-Filled Armour-Piercing Rounds' section. I don't know much about SAP tank ammo so a more experienced player can accurately describe the purpose, pen performance and post-pen lethality. --[[User:U149841126|U149841126]] ([[User talk:U149841126|talk]]) 05:44, 18 March 2024 (UTC)

A-10A

2024-02-03T23:28:22Z

U149841126: /* Usage in battles */ wrong ordanance variant

{{About
| about = American premium strike aircraft '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = the regular version
| link = A-10A Late
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=a_10a_early
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|StoreImage_{{PAGENAME}}_002.jpg|StoreImage_{{PAGENAME}}_004.jpg}}
|store=10896
}}

== Description ==

The A-10A Thunderbolt II is a single-seat attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic. Its main mission was to help friendly forces on the ground as well as strafe enemy positions, vehicles, and more. The plane was largely designed around the incredible 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger cannon mounted in the chin of the nose. It could also carry an extensive amount of suspended ordnance. Survivability was also a key feature and the Thunderbolt II features many innovative design aspects. The pilot sat in a titanium bathtub of armour. It also had many redundancies in controlling the aircraft as well as TF34 turbofan engines which were selected due to their robust nature. The A-10's first combat role was during the Gulf War in 1991. Several A-10s were shot down from anti-air positions but overall the Thunderbolt II performed well.

Introduced in [[Update "Wind of Change"]] as a premium strike aircraft, the '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a very good ground attack aircraft with many quirks. Firstly, the Thunderbolt II is extremely heavy and underpowered. It’s a very slow aircraft and is quite vulnerable to enemy aircraft and anti-air. Although it is armoured, it can still be easily taken down by cannon rounds or missiles. Fortunately, the Thunderbolt has an extensive amount of countermeasures so missiles won’t be a major issue if players stay aware around them. The A-10 Thunderbolt II also has a multitude of ordnance options including Mavericks, GBUs, dumb bombs, rockets, and more. The most notable thing about the A-10 Thunderbolt is the 30 mm cannon. It has plenty of ammunition and can penetrate relatively thick armour for aircraft rounds. For self-defense, the Thunderbolt can carry two AIM-9Ls which are quite dangerous from rear aspect. Players should be wary of the Thunderbolt’s weird quirks but also satisfied with its armament against ground targets.
== General info ==
=== Flight performance ===
{{Specs-Avia-Flight}}

As expected from a strike aircraft, the A-10 Thunderbolt is quite weak when it comes to flight performance. At its battle rating, it is the slowest aircraft which means it is very vulnerable to enemy aircraft as well as enemy anti-air vehicles. The climb rate is also poor so players should expect to stick near the ground. Fortunately, the A-10 Thunderbolt II can roll well which can help make enemy aircraft overshoot. One unintended benefit of the slow speed is the ability to turn inside of faster enemy aircraft. Overall, the A-10’s flight performance is lacklustre but has a few cards up its sleeves to defend itself.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="70%"
! rowspan="2" | Characteristics
! colspan="2" | Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude (metres)
! colspan="2" | Turn time (seconds)
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb (metres/second)
! rowspan="2" | Take-off run (metres)
|-
! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB
|-
! Stock
| 624 || 609 || rowspan="2" | {{Specs|ceiling}} || 30.2 || 30.8 || 21.0 || 19.9 || rowspan="2" | 700
|-
! Upgraded
| 662 || 642 || 28.5 || 29.0 || 30.3 || 25.3
|-
|}

==== Details ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="6" | Features
|-
! Combat flaps !! Take-off flaps !! Landing flaps !! Air brakes !! Arrestor gear !! Drogue chute
|-
| X || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || X || X 
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="7" | Limits
|-
! rowspan="2" | Wings (km/h)
! rowspan="2" | Gear (km/h)
! colspan="3" | Flaps (km/h)
! colspan="2" | Max Static G
|-
! Combat !! Take-off !! Landing !! + !! -
|-
| 874  || {{Specs|destruction|gear}} || N/A || 740 || 370 || ~__ || ~__
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | Optimal velocities (km/h)
|-
! Ailerons !! Rudder !! Elevators !! Radiator
|-
| < 550 || < 650 || < 500 || N/A
|-
|}

==== Engine performance ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine
! colspan="6" | Aircraft mass
|-
! colspan="2" | Engine name || Number
! colspan="3" | {{Annotation|Basic mass|Mass of the aircraft with pilot and engine oil, but no fuel or weapons load}} || colspan="3" | Wing loading (full fuel)
|-
| colspan="2" | General Electric TF34-GE-100A || 2
| colspan="3" | 11,636 kg || colspan="3" | ___ kg/m2
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine characteristics
! colspan="5" | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) || rowspan="2" | Max Takeoff Weight
|-
! Weight (each) || colspan="2" | Type
! 14m fuel || 20m fuel || 30m fuel || 45m fuel || 48m fuel
|-
| 654 kg || colspan="2" | High-bypass turbofan
| 13,092 kg || 13,651 kg || 14,659 kg || 16,170 kg || 16,489 kg || _,___ kg
|-
! colspan="3" | {{Annotation|Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)|The maximum thrust produced by each engine, while mounted in the aircraft. NOTE: Thrust varies significantly depending on speed & altitude.}}
! colspan="6" | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%)
|-
! Condition || 100% || WEP
! 14m fuel || 20m fuel || 30m fuel || 45m fuel || 48m fuel || MTOW
|-
| ''Stationary'' || 4,036 kgf || N/A
| 0.62 || 0.59 || 0.55 || 0.50 || 0.49 || _.__
|-
| ''Optimal'' || 4,036 kgf (0 km/h) || N/A
| 0.62 || 0.59 || 0.55 || 0.50 || 0.49 || _.__
|-
|}

=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Avia-Armour}}

[[File:A-10A armour layout.png|alt=Armour is shown around the cockpit.|thumb|Armour layout of the A-10A]]
The cockpit is where all of the extra armour plating is located, making the pilot have a high likelihood of surviving while leaving the fuel tanks, wings and engines without any armour. The armour is most effective against autocannons with the calibre of 25 mm or lower.

* 38 mm titanium alloy - Surrounding the bottom part of the cockpit.
* 44 mm bulletproof glass (54°) - Windshield.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Avia-Armaments}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | [[Ballistic Computer]]
|-
! CCIP (Guns) !! CCIP (Rockets) !! CCIP (Bombs) !! CCRP (Bombs)
|-
| {{Tick}} || {{Tick}} || {{Tick}} || {{Tick}}
|-
|}
=== Offensive armament ===
{{Specs-Avia-Offensive}}

{{main|GAU-8/A (30 mm)}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is armed with:

* A choice between two presets:
** 1 x 30 mm GAU-8/A cannon, chin-mounted (1,174 rpg)
** 1 x 30 mm GAU-8/A cannon + 480 x countermeasures

=== Suspended armament ===
{{Specs-Avia-Suspended}}


The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! !! width="4%" | 1 !! width="4%" | 2 !! width="4%" | 3 !! width="4%" | 4 !! width="4%" | 5 !! width="4%" | 6 !! width="4%" | 7 !! width="4%" | 8 !! width="4%" | 9 !! width="4%" | 10
| rowspan="11" width="30%" | <div class="ttx-image">[[File:Hardpoints_A-10A_Late.png]]</div>
|-
! [[GAU-4 (20 mm)|20 mm GAU-4]] cannons (1,200 rpg)
| || || || || 1 || 1 || || || ||
|-
! [[LDGP Mk 82 (500 lb)|500 lb LDGP Mk 82]] bombs
| 1 || 1 || 1, 3 || 1, 3 || 1 || 1 || 1, 3 || 1, 3 || 1 || 1
|-
! [[Mk 82 Snakeye (500 lb)|500 lb Mk 82 Snakeye]] bombs
| 1 || 1 || 1, 3 || 1, 3 || 1 || 1 || 1, 3 || 1, 3 || 1 || 1
|-
! [[LDGP Mk 84 (2,000 lb)|2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84]] bombs
| || || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || ||
|-
! [[LDGP Mk 84 Air (2,000 lb)|2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 Air]] bombs
| || || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || ||
|-
! [[GBU-8 (2,000 lb)|2,000 lb GBU-8]] bombs
| || || 1 || 1 || || || 1 || 1 || ||
|-
! [[Hydra-70 M247]] rockets
| || 7 || 7, 21 || 7, 21 || || || 7, 21 || 7, 21 || 7 ||
|-
! [[AGM-65B]] missiles
| || || 3 || || || || || 3 || ||
|-
! [[AIM-9L Sidewinder]] missiles
| 1 || || || || || || || || || 1
|-
| colspan="11" | Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 1,000 kg
|-
|}

{{Navigation-Start|Default weapon presets}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}

* Without load
* 42 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets
* 84 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets
* 84 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets + 2 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
* 10 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (5,000 lb total)
* 12 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (6,000 lb total)
* 18 x 500 lb Mk 82 Snakeye bombs (9,000 lb total)
* 12 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs + 2 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles (6,000 lb total)
* 6 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs (12,000 lb total)
* 6 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 Air bombs (12,000 lb total)
* 6 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs + 2 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles (12,000 lb total)
* 4 x 2,000 lb GBU-8 bombs (8,000 lb total)
* 4 x 2,000 lb GBU-8 bombs + 2 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles (8,000 lb total)
* 6 x AGM-65B missiles
* 6 x AGM-65B missiles + 2 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
* 2 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
* 2 x 20 mm GAU-4 cannons (1,200 rpg = 2,400 total)
{{Navigation-End}}

== Usage in battles ==

The A-10A is extremely effective in ground battles as long as it is used the right way. There are two methods for ground attack, and the tactic used is dictated by the type of threats on the ground. A low-risk situation is when there are no enemy SPAAs or fighters. When performing an attack run, start at a higher altitude, drop ordnance and fire the Avenger then escape for another attack run. In a high-risk environment, where there are enemy SPAAs, stay low and (relatively) fast. This allows pilots to stay below SPAA radar and lines of fire. When attacking, use intel from friendly ground forces to make precision strikes, then retreat after a single pass. After one pass, enemy SPAAs will know that there is an A-10, and be more alert. When trying to escape enemy fire after an attack run, preemptively dump chaff and flares in groups of at least four, and bank hard left and right until out of immediate range. AGM-65B Maverick AGMs are effective from up to 8 km, but from that distance any locked enemy has time to move behind cover before the missile impacts. When firing Mavericks, attempt to target enemy SPAAs that have not left spawn before targeting enemy MBTs. You can then use the ballistic computer for the GAU-8 and fire at any ground target. Because of the GAU-8's high penetration and extremely high rate of fire, the rounds will manage to go through any tank, even the heaviest armoured MBTs. Remember that even though the A-10 is a ground attack fighter, it is still equipped with AIM-9L AAMs. The A-10 has a good turn rate so, if attacked, swing around and fire a missile. However, you do not want any enemy aircraft to get the first shot on you, so keep an eye out for enemy aircraft.

In air battles, the A-10A is way less potent but still decent. It has two all-aspect AIM-9Ls which can pull 30G, at this BR this is almost two guaranteed kills. However, it struggles because of its very low top speed: any jet can easily outrun it. You can score some kills with the GAU-8 cannon but you are outclassed at that BR because of its poor flight performance in air-to-air combat.

=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* Retains manoeuvrability with a heavy payload
* Exceptional roll rate
* Airframe can take a considerable amount of damage
* Deadly GAU-8 cannon
* High number and variety of suspended weapons
* Access to 2 x AIM-9L all-aspect missiles
* Access to up to two 20 mm GAU-4 Vulcan Gunpods
* Access to up to four 2,000 lb GBU-8 bombs
* Extremely large amount of countermeasures

'''Cons:'''

* Very low top speed, making it an easy target both from the ground and in the sky
* Poor climb rate

== History ==

After WWII, American aircraft designers shifted focus toward developing tactical aircraft capable of delivering nuclear weapons while conventional strike aircraft fell out of favor with the new American military doctrine. By the start of the Vietnam War however, the A-1 Skyraider, being the most widely used strike aircraft in U.S. service at the time, was considered vastly outdated. Furthermore, new aircraft such as the very successful F-4 Phantom II proved to be too expensive for strike mission operations.

As a result, in September 1966 the USAF ordered the development and procurement of a dedicated new close air support aircraft, resulting in the A-X program being launched shortly afterwards. In May 1970, the first requirements were issued, including the need to design the aircraft around a new 30 mm rotary cannon. Of six aircraft manufacturers who submitted design proposals, the two from Northrop and Fairchild Republic were chosen for further development, resulting in two prototypes: the YA-9A and YA-10A, respectively. After intensive testing of both prototypes, the YA-10A was declared the winning design and was ordered into production in January 1973.

After the USAF received its first production version of the A-10 in November 1975, the aircraft received its official name "Thunderbolt II" in April 1978 in honour of the WWII-era P-47 fighter-bomber also built by Republic. Although the A-10 was first assigned to a military unit in March 1976, its first combat use would be in 1991 as part of the Gulf War. During this conflict, the A-10 underwent its baptism by fire and successfully proved its design, racking up an impressive number of enemy targets destroyed. A-10s were also employed during the Balkan conflicts of the mid and late 1990s as well as during the Invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 2000s. The A-10 Thunderbolt II, despite its age, still forms the backbone of the USAF's close air support force to this date, with over 700 units of the A-10 being produced in total.

''- From [[wt:en/news/7590-development-a-10a-thunderbolt-ii-the-warthog-arrives-in-war-thunder-en|Devblog]]''

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=a_10a_early Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Images
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200">
A-10A_WTWallpaper001.jpg
A-10A_WTWallpaper002.jpg
A-10A_WTWallpaper003.jpg
A-10A_WTWallpaper004.jpg
A-10A_WTWallpaper005.jpg
A-10A_WTWallpaper006.jpg
</gallery>

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|wmahhlgwgkk|'''The Shooting Range #344''' - ''Arsenal'' section at 06:58 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|c1iQRpklIyo|'''Ferocious Warthog''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''}}

== See also ==

''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the aircraft;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/7590-development-a-10a-thunderbolt-ii-the-warthog-arrives-in-war-thunder-en|[Devblog] A-10A Thunderbolt II: The 'Warthog' Arrives in War Thunder!]]
* [https://archive.org/details/T.O.1A10A1FlightManualA10ASerno7500258AndSubsequent15031988/mode/2up/ Technical Order 1A-10-1 - USAF Series A-10A Aircraft Flight Manual]

{{AirManufacturer Fairchild}}
{{USA jet aircraft}}
{{USA premium aircraft}}

M4A2

2024-02-01T09:57:05Z

U149841126: /* Ammo racks */

{{About
| about = American medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = other M4 Shermans
| link-1 = M4 Sherman (Family)
| usage-2 = other uses
| link-2 = M4 (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=us_m4a2_sherman
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png|ArtImage2_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''M4A2 Sherman''' is the third variant of the early-generation [[M4 Sherman (Family)|Medium Tank M4 (Sherman) family]]. In April 1942, the M4A2 was designed with a new General Motors 6046 engine (two GM 6-71 General Motors Diesel engines combined together), welded hull with increased appliqué armour on the hull sides, and gunner position (left side of the turret). Approximately 8,053 units were manufactured till May 1944. Early M4A2s had small hatches and protruding drivers' and co-drivers hoods (similar to the previous [[M4|M4 variant]]), a 57° sloped hull's upper front armour plate, and dry ammo stowage bins. The Fisher Body Tank Plant later improved the M4A2 design, adding a one-piece hull's upper front armour plate with a 47° slope, but retained dry ammo bins and appliqué armour. Late-production M4A2s were equipped with an upgraded General Motors 6046 diesel engine with 410 horsepower and were primarily used by the British Army and US Marine Corps. The M4A2 variant saw very limited combat in the US Army, with the majority transferring to the British Army, with some transferring to the Soviet Army and the US Marine Corps. Since the USSR only used diesel-powered tanks, this was the primary chosen variant for the Soviet lend-lease programme. From April 1942 to July 1945, 10,968 units of all turret types were built in six facilities.

Introduced in [[Update 1.45 "Steel Generals"]], the M4A2 variant is without a doubt one of the best of the early-generation M4 Sherman variants. The M4A2 is one of the few early M4 Sherman variants having an uninterrupted, fully welded hull's upper front armour plate that slopes at 47°. This eliminates the earlier M4A1 and M4 variants' key frontal hull weak points. However, this is insignificant since the majority of adversaries have greatly upgraded their firepower and will easily penetrate the M4A2 regardless. The appliqué armour on the right side of the frontal turret gun mantlet has also been removed. As a result, a weak area on the turret cheek appears, which can be easily penetrated by even weak and small calibre tank guns.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

The M4A2 has above-average survivability, with improved armour protection over previous Sherman models against common enemy tanks like the early T-34 and Panzer IV. If angled, hull down, and firing from a higher elevation, the armour can protect the crew and bounce a few shells from the 76 mm cannon found on early Soviet T-34 tanks, but it can still be easily penetrated by German Panzer IV tanks from any distance. Despite having five crew members, the close placement of the crews frequently results in the tank being destroyed immediately if enemy shells successfully penetrate. The tank's armour along its add-on armour allow for slightly more aggressive gameplay than previous Sherman tanks, but do not think it makes the M4A2 impervious to any enemy fire. When placed in an uptier, where enemies have increasingly powerful cannon that can easily penetrate the M4A2's armour, the survivability will decrease significantly.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, turret roof)
* Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, lower glacis, MG port)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 63.5 mm (47°) ''Upper glacis'' 51-108 mm (12-56°) ''Transmission housing'' || 38.1 mm || 38.1 mm (7-10°) || 19.5 mm
|-
| Turret || 76 mm (3-65°) ''Turret front'' 89 + 51 mm (2-62°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 51 mm (2-64°) || 51 mm (2-60°) || 19.5 mm
|-
| Cupola || 51 mm || 51 mm || 51 mm || 19.5 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, the bogies are 10 mm, and the tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Small applique panels are placed on the side hull armour over the ammunition, increasing armour by 25.4 mm.
* A small patch on the turret front right side is thinner (51 mm) than the rest (76 mm).
* There is a 9.5 mm thick sheet of armour dividing the engine bay and crew compartment.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


The M4A2's mobility is good, with a quick acceleration and a high top speed. Because it lacks neutral steering, turning in this tank can be slow from stationary.

{{tankMobility|abMinHp=635|rbMinHp=363|AoAweight=1.15}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

It is advisable to research Parts first, then Fire Protection Equipment, then the M61 shot round. Following that, engine upgrades are advisable, as the tank is much less manoeuvrable than it could be when it is stock.

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|M3 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M3 (75 mm)|75 mm M3]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 97 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+25° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | {{Annotation|Vertical|up to 24 km/h}} || 22.8 || 31.6 || 38.4 || 42.5 || 45.2 || rowspan="2" | 6.50 || rowspan="2" | 5.75 || rowspan="2" | 5.30 || rowspan="2" | 5.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 14.3 || 16.8 || 20.4 || 22.6 || 24.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:M3 (75 mm)/Ammunition|M72 shot, M48 shell, M61 shot, T45 shot, M89}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''97''' || 91 ''(+6)'' || 88 ''(+9)'' || 86 ''(+11)'' || 78 ''(+19)'' || 63 ''(+34)'' || 45 ''(+52)'' || 31 ''(+66)'' || 1 ''(+96)'' || No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_M4.png|right|thumb|x200px|[[Ammo racks]] of the M4 Sherman.]]
'''Notes''':

* To go into battle with the turret basket empty of ammo, pack 78 ''(+19)'' shells (racks 1 to 4 emptied).
* To go into battle with the turret basket and the flanks empty of ammo, pack 31 ''(+66)'' shells (Racks 1 to 7 empty).
* The 8th rack is large and located at a weak spot: the bottom section of the armour. In case of penetration, there is a high risk of ammo rack detonation. Make sure not to expose your flanks unnecessarily.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|M2HB (12.7 mm)|M1919A4 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 400 (200) || 577 || -10°/+25° || ±60°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M1919A4]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 3,000 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The general playstyle of this tank is to be a support tank. This tank does not have the armour to function effectively on the front lines. Surviving on the front lines will be quite hard, though not impossible. Try to stay in the 2nd or 3rd line and support the team, or hide behind heavily armoured teammates and help them assault the enemy. Capturing objectives is also a good use for this vehicle, thanks to its speed. Be wary of German tanks, as well as T-34s. German vehicles have guns that can easily penetrate the {{PAGENAME}}'s armour even if angled well. It is best to use hull down tactics, or shoot first and knock-out their gunner. T-34s are much tougher, but have weaker guns. They can still very easily one shot the {{PAGENAME}} from the side, so keep the sides protected. T-34s have fairly thin armour but it is highly sloped, and if angled are hard to destroy with hull shots. It i advised to aim for the turret ring for a consistent knock-out of the enemy vehicle, or the turret cheeks to knock out the turret crew, and most likely the breech.

The best tactic to use is to not stay in the same place. Move after every shot so the enemy has to relocate you or potentially move themselves, leaving them exposed. Any accurate return fire from tanks at your tier will likely result in your incapacitation or destruction, so try to keep enemies from knowing where you are at all, and aim to kill with the first shot.

[[Arcade Battles]] 
When in this game mode: The tank is fast, but weakly armoured. Its gun is pretty decent with enough penetration to take on most opponents with accurate fire. Capture zones and support the team by firing at enemy medium tanks.

[[Realistic Battles]] and [[Simulator Battles]] 
The tank performs its role as medium tank very well. Both speed and strong frontal armour give this tank an edge over the enemy in a head-on engagement. However, it has very thin side armour that can be penetrated by essentially any tank, as well as many vehicles armed with autocannons. Watching the sides and rear is very important, and neglecting to protect them can often result in a destroyed {{PAGENAME}}.

When engaging enemy vehicles it is recommended to turn into their fire with the front of the tank. The {{PAGENAME}}'s glacis is thicker than most installed on tanks at its BR, and this can often save the tank from an untimely end. However, if the engagement begins with you taking a shot to the side it is unlikely you will get the chance to fight back, so always try to have your front toward the enemy to begin with.

When fighting against the {{PAGENAME}}, try to flank it if possible, as a side shot under the turret will be an almost guaranteed kill. A shot to the side of the turret will kill the turret crew, and a second shot once the crew has replenished will generally kill the tank. If forced to engage from the front, remember that you need about 110 mm of penetration to get through the upper glacis reliably. If you have this, you will be able to kill the tank easily. With a weaker gun, you will have to aim. Weak points include the very top of the lower glacis, which is almost flat; the machine gun port, which will result in a kill of at least half the crew if penetrated; the bottom right turret cheek (left from the attacker's viewpoint), which is much thinner than the rest of the turret; and the cupola, which if hit with an APHE shell will result in a kill of most of the turret crew. All of these weak points are quite difficult to hit, especially from range, and it may be better to retreat if you don't feel confident in your shot or if the Sherman is hull down.

'''Enemies worth noting:'''

M4A2/[[M4A4 (1st PTG)]]: these Sherman tanks are widely used by both the Allied and the Axis side, so no matter which nation you play they can be quite tough to destroy in the hands of a skilled tanker. Given the rather weak penetration of your short 75 mm gun, their hull can be almost impossible to penetrate when angled, hull down or 300 m away. For an M4A4, there are 2 apparent bulges on the upper front plate, a penetration through there can guarantee a knock out most of the times. But in case the opponent covers them up or when it's an M4A2, aim for the middle parts of the gun mantlet or the turret armour unprotected by the mantlet, you can at least make them defenceless. Note that their guns are equally weak against you, so wiggle around to disrupt their aim while you reload, you have a good chance of bouncing some shells.

[[KW I C 756 (r) (Germany)|KW I C 756 (r)]] - An opponent the M4 Sherman will have trouble with is this upgunned German KV-1. Although the earlier KV-1's L-11 cannon lacks power, the newly-equipped German KwK40 cannon is more than enough to penetrate the Sherman's front, while the Sherman still cannot reliably penetrate the KV-1's thick armour, especially when it has additional armour plates. If you see this heavy tank angling its hull, aim for the gun mantlet as it is only 50 mm thick. You can easily take out his gunner, gun breech, etc. Or shoot at the thin commander's cupola, there is a chance to knock out the gunner too. Of course, the best method is to shoot from the side and from behind without angling, where the KV-1's armour is not angled, although you still need to get as close as possible to penetrate its armour. Additionally, side shots are likely to damage its fuel tank or ammunition storage and cause a fire or ammunition explosion. In a standoff, you can try angling your hull to make your well-sloped frontal hull more effective.

[[Churchill (Family)|Churchill]] heavy tanks - The Churchills, with their complex hulls and sturdy turrets, can be quite hard to penetrate at range. Again, manoeuvre as close to them as possible, the ideal distance being no more than 200 m. If they are angling their hull but facing their turret at you, only go for the turret. For the Mk I Churchills, aim at the near-vertical part of their rounded cheeks to ensure successful penetrations. For the Mk III and the German Churchill, also aim for their flat turret which is at most 89 mm. The shell should go in easily and knock out most, if not all of the crew. Only when you are facing their hull without any angles should you shoot the hull, otherwise shoot the turret only, as their big tracks can easily get in front of the frontal hull. The side hull have multiple layers of armour, some of which are weirdly angled and can absorb plenty of shells.

[[Pz.IV F2]]/[[Pz.IV G|G]]/[[Pz.IV H|H]]/[[Pz.IV J|J]] - The historical nemesis of any Sherman, the Panzer IV is one of the Shermans biggest threats at this rank. The long barrel 75 mm gun will easily penetrate the Sherman from the front. The F2 variant is admittedly easy to deal with. A single APCBC to its hull or turret should end it pretty quickly, even at long range. The other variants are slightly harder to deal with. They have thicker hull armour, at 80 mm, which will be much harder to penetrate with the APCBC over 500 m. Luckily the turret armour remains the same at 50 mm. Either aim here with APCBC or sacrifice damage potential and use the AP round to penetrate the hull.

[[StuG III F]]/[[StuG III G|G]] - Another historical nemesis of the Sherman, and another big threat. The StuG III packs the same punch as the Panzer IV line with its long barrel 75 mm gun, whilst losing the turret, which turns out to be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Lacking a turret means that it will have to traverse the whole vehicle to target an enemy, but it also means that it has a lower profile. The StuG's armour profile is also more complex than the Panzer IV, with less flat areas. Certain areas are sloped and very bouncy. Luckily, there is a big weak spot. There are two flat plates on the front of the hull. The flat plate on the right is the drivers port. Shoot that and you are able to incapacitate the driver, gunner and loader in one go. This is a very efficient way to destroy this vehicle. With the F variant, you can use APCBC to instantly knock out this vehicle with a single shot. With the G variant, it is more reliable to use AP at ranges within 500 m to ensure penetration.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent gun depression of -10° plus the angled frontal turret allows it to utilise hills very well
* Great firepower: adequate penetration and post-penetration damage when using M61 shells; can frontally penetrate and knock out most opponents like the [[Pz.IV F2]], [[Chi-Nu]] and [[StuG III F]] with a single shot. It also has APCR for hitting thick, flat armour up close, for example the [[Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany)|Pz.Kpfw. Churchill]]
* Great turret traverse speed allows it to deal with multiple threats easily
* Well angled frontal hull provides protection against small calibre / low-penetration guns (e.g. 75 mm M3, 50 mm KwK39), and even large calibre guns when angled correctly. The side armour can be boosted with add-on armour
* Adequate top speed allows it to get to positions in time, or to do tactical manoeuvres like flanking
* Pintle-mounted HMG provides an anti-aircraft defence or anti-tank duty against tanks like [[Marder III]]
* Fitted with a vertical stabilizer, allowing more accurate fire on the move compared to other tanks, as well as better usage of shoot-n-scoot tactics

'''Cons:'''

* Large profile and weak side armour; flankers like the Sd.kfz.234/2 can easily see and penetrate it
* Frontal armour is still inadequate, will get penetrated and knocked out by tanks like [[Pz.IV F2]]/G, [[StuG III F]]/G, [[M10 (Family)|M10]] by a single shot
* M61 and T45 all struggle to penetrate angled targets like [[StuG III G]], Churchill Mk.III or even the T-34 and M10
* Trajectory is curved and velocity is low due to its short barrel, thus distant/moving targets are hard to shoot at
* Hull traverse is quite slow, making it sluggish in a turn. Also the narrow tracks offer poor ground flotation, thus poor off-road capabilities. Can only reach its top speed on paved or hard surfaces
* Roof armour of 19.5 mm thick is vulnerable to airstrikes with AP cannons. For example the widely used MG151 15/20 mm
* Acceleration even more sluggish than previous Shermans due to the two tons weight increase

== History ==

===Development===
The Battle of France in 1940 proved to America that their current tank arsenal would not be able to withstand a German assault. The only tanks in their inventory at that time was the [[M2A4|M2 Light Tanks]] and the [[M2|M2 Medium Tank]], both are inadequate against the German [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and the [[Pz.IV F1|Panzer IVs]]. The US Army, in response, ordered for a tank armed with a 75 mm gun. While a 75 mm gun was available for use, a turret able to mount the gun was not. So while the turret and tank design underwent development, the 75 mm would be mounted on the stopgap design, the [[M3 Lee|M3 Lee]] tank in a sponson mount. This interim design put the 75 mm on a lower and limited traverse mount that restricted its firing angle, but it did give the Allies a tank with the gun, so it was issued by the thousands until a better design could be made.

During the M3's development, the designs of the 75 mm armed vehicle were being drawn up and submitted by the Ordnance Department. Specifications on the tank design were strict, with restrictions made on the tank's height, width, and weight in order to make it able to be transported over bridges, roads, railroads, and on ships. These specifications would help the army by making the tank be very flexible on strategic, logistical, and tactical grounds. On April 1941, the Armored Force Board chose the simplest of the designs, which was a redesigned M3 hull and chassis with a turret mounting the 75 mm gun designated the T6, completed in September 1941. This tank would then designated the Medium Tank M4 in American service. The tank would become the most used Allied tank during World War II as it was lent out by the thousands in the Lend-Lease program to the Allied countries. The British called the M4 the "Sherman", which coined into the tank's name M4 Sherman that it would be known as in history. The production for the Shermans began on October 1941 and would continue to be produced until the end of the war in 1945 with around 50,000 units produced, making it the second most-produced tank in World War II before the [[T-34 (1942)|T-34 tank]].

===Design===
Many variants of the Shermans were produced, but they all followed a similar layout. The driver and bow gunner sat in the front driving compartment, the fighting compartment in the middle housed the turret its three crew member, and in the back was the engine compartment. The Sherman used many features present in previous American tank designs, the vertical volute suspension system (VVSS) and radial engine from the M2 light tanks, and the sloping armour of the M2 Medium. This became a contributing factor on Sherman's reliability on the field, as most of the design flaws were ironed out with the previous tank designs. The tank-mounted the [[M3 (75 mm)|75 mm M3 gun]], giving the tank very good AP and HE capabilities. The Sherman's turret traverse speed was very fast, able to traverse a full 360 degrees in only 15 seconds, which is considerably faster than the traverse speed on most German tanks. Another unique feature on the Sherman was the installation of a [[Gun stabilizer|gyroscopic stabilizer]] on the gun and sight, making the Sherman one of the first produced tanks to incorporate those features. While the stabilization was only done for the vertical plane, it kept the gun stable enough to be able to shoot on the move effectively, with a study showing a 70 % hit probability on an enemy 300 to 1,200 yards away when moving at a speed of 15 mph. However, this feature was controversial among the crew and experiences with it vary.

The M4A2 Sherman model ran on a GM 6046 diesel engine. The Sherman model in-game is one of the later production models, featuring improvements on the turret and hull design to maximize armour thickness. The tank's hull was welded, with the earlier models having the front armour plate placed on a 56-degree sloping angle. However, this design had protrusions on the driver and assistant driver hatches that created "shot traps" as these protrusions gave less protection than the frontal armour plate. This was fixed on later models with a 47-degree angling instead, which eliminated the shot traps and made the frontal armour more effective than before. Up to 8,053 M4A2s were produced from April 1942 to May 1944, out of the 49,234 Sherman units produced in the war. Throughout the war, the M4A2 was mostly given out to other allies or used by the US Marine Corps as the US Army doctrine called for the use of only gasoline-engine Shermans such as the M4A3.

===Combat usage===
====European theater====
The Shermans first saw combat in the North African Campaign in the Second Battle of El Alamein on October 1942 in the hands of the British. It was much quicker to reinforce the British armoured divisions with the more than 300 M4 Shermans sent to North Africa than it was to create new American ones. It proved much better than the German [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV F1|Panzer IVs]], able to eliminate them at distances more than 2,000 yards away. The Americans received their first Shermans in the next month in Operation Torch. However better the Shermans were to the German tanks at the time, the Allied armoured units still suffered casualties against the German tanks and anti-tank guns, most notably in the Battle of Kasserine Pass. In Italy, the Shermans proved much more mobile than the German Panzers, able to travel cross-country on the hilly terrain with ease. However, it was at this stage that the Sherman's shortcoming began to take face in the advent of the newer German tanks, the [[Tiger H1|Tiger Is]] and [[Panther D|Panthers]]. These two tanks featured armour that proved impenetrable when fired at the front, and with guns that could take out the Shermans from farther than the Sherman's effective combat range. The Shermans have to hit the side of these tanks for penetration, and at ranges that were considered suicidal. Although programs were initiated to [[M4A1 (76) W|up-gun the Sherman with a 76 mm gun]], American leaders determine that the Panther and Tigers would not be produced in large quantities and were not as great as a threat as these two vehicles could still be destroyed by the 75 mm gun and standard anti-tank equipment.

During the Invasion of France, it was clear that the Sherman's current build with a 75 mm gun was no longer going to cut it against the German armoured forces. While the Sherman was adequate against what little Panzer III and IVs the Germans have left and against infantry and fortifications with the 75 mm gun, the Panthers and Tigers were in much large quantity than expected, and proved better in armour and firepower to the Shermans. Though in the bocage country of France, the Allies lost more tanks to hidden anti-tank guns and infantry weapons than to tanks. Despite these losses, the mass production of M4 Sherman back in the United States ensured that enough tanks were available for the Allied Forces as they spearhead through France, plus the lack of any other capable tanks meant they had to use the Shermans for the time being. The large quantities of Shermans produced during the war gave the Allied armoured units a major advantage of being fully equipped as the German panzer divisions were rarely in full strength, with some US infantry divisions having more tracked vehicles than some of the panzer divisions. Due to the high attrition rates, tank crews sometimes add [[Add-on Armor|improvised armour]] onto their Shermans in the form of sandbags and logs in hopes of increased survival, but these were determined to be ineffective from evaluations. A more effective method was to have metal armour welded on in improvisation, and an official project was made for such "assault tanks" that ended with the [[M4A3E2|M4A3E2 "Jumbos"]] with 250 made for the Battle of Normandy. During the Battle of Normandy, the first 76 mm Shermans on the M4A1 were put into combat in Operation Cobra in limited numbers. The Allies continued to primarily use the 75 mm Shermans until the Battle of the Bulge in Winter 1944, when the commanders request only 76 mm Shermans to be brought into Europe as the battle showed the intense armour disparity with the German's large numbers of [[Panther G|Panthers]] and [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II's]]. While new units arriving in Europe were armed exclusively with 76 mm armed-Shermans, the veteran units kept the 75 mm Shermans, to which it continued to do well against softer targets with little threat from German armour due to their extreme declining numbers.

====Pacific theater====
The M4 Sherman's importance in the Pacific theatre was less than that of the European theatre due to the different tactical doctrine established from the amphibious nature of combat. Only about 20 tank battalions fielded by the US Army were sent to support the Pacific theatre of operations, compared to the total of 16 armoured divisions and 70 tank battalions they have in service. The low priority in tanks was due to the following reasons. Firstly, the jungle terrain on most of the islands fought for against the Japanese were unsuitable for the deployment of large-scale armoured units, relegating armour support to light tanks such as the [[M3 Stuart|M3 Stuarts]]. Secondly, the Japanese forces' armoured units were rather inferior to the American tank forces by 1943. While the Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go tank was comparable to the M2A4 light tank, the Shermans out gun these tanks by a large margin. Such a large margin that the tank crew prefer to use high-explosive shots against the Japanese tank than regular armour-piercing as the AP rounds would penetrate straight through without causing much damage in the interior of the tank. The Japanese developed the Type 3 Chi-Nu and the Type 4 Chi-To to fight back the Shermans, but these two never saw combat as they were kept at the Japanese Homeland for the defence against the Allied invasion.

The Shermans, when deployed, were superior to most of the Japanese anti-tank equipment and often were essential to some of the Marine's advances on some of the island assaults. In 1945, the equipping of flamethrower Shermans known as M4A3R3, nicknamed "Zippos", were a significant boost to the infantry's firepower in having a very long range of fire compared to the standard infantry-modelled flamethrowers with the benefit of being in an armoured vehicle. The Zippos are able to flush out enemy combatants from within heavily fortified bunkers and caves that would be dangerous for even flamethrower infantry to take out. The Japanese solution against the Shermans, other than with their 47 mm anti-tank guns, were often suicidal tactics ranging from placing satchel charges right onto the tank, using pole-mounted anti-tank mines to reach and destroy the tank or even simply throwing oneself underneath a tank with mine or other explosive and triggering it manually.

====Lend-Lease====
The Sherman tank was given out in large numbers to American Allies during World War II under the Lend-Lease policy. While America retained about 20,361 Shermans in the Army and Marine Corps, 17,184 went to Britain (about 34% of Shermans produced and 78% of Shermans given out) and the Soviet Union obtained 4,102 Shermans.<ref name="ZalogaArmorT2">Zaloga Steven. ''Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II'' Stackpole Books, 2008, "The British Sherman"</ref> China obtained 812 Shermans, Brazil with 53, and New Zealand and Australia for 153 Shermans total. Other countries using the Shermans were Poland, Free France, and Czechoslovakia. The British deployed the Sherman among their armoured squadrons in such a large number to become the standard tank of their armoured forces. The increased threat of German tanks in the European theatre also provoked the British to up-gun the M4 Sherman with a more capable gun, resulting in the [[Sherman Firefly|Firefly]].

====Post-War====
After the war, the Shermans continued serving America and its allies as the [[M4A3 (76) W|M4A3E8]] with a new suspension and 76 mm gun. The [[M26|M26 Pershing]] that was introduced late in World War II was phased out for the Shermans due to its unreliability, and the Sherman stayed until the [[M46|M46 Patton]] was introduced. After being phased out of American service, many other countries still used the Sherman as their main tank, mainly Israel where they up-gun the tank with the much powerful post-war French [[SA50 (75 mm)|75 mm]] and [[CN-105-F1 (105 mm)|105 mm]] guns as the [[M4A4 (SA50)|M-50]] and M-51 respectively (nicknamed "Super Shermans"). These proved successful as they were able to fight against the Soviet-supplied [[T-54 (1947)|T-54 tanks]] and [[T-34-85]]s in Middle East service, proving the Sherman as a successful and adaptable design for many years to come.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
The second mass produced modification differed from the M4 in that two GMC 671 diesel engines were installed to make up for the Continental's insufficiencies. The engine and transmission were pulled from M3A3 and M3A5 medium tanks. In April 1942 the first M4A2 prototype was tested, with full-scale production subsequently beginning.

The tank had a welded hull, and the front plate initially had viewing slits cut out, though armour covers were later welded on and periscopes added. From the beginning of 1944 the front plate was made from a single piece, while the driver and gunner hatches were moved to the roof of the hull. The angle of the frontal armour went from 56° to 47° from vertical. The low-revving diesel engine gave the M4A2 better off-road ability and significantly more range as opposed to carburetor engines.

Approximately 8,000 M4A2s were produced between April 1942 and December 1943.

The tanks saw action in Africa and Italy, on the Western and Eastern fronts, and on Pacific islands through 1945. Lend-Lease included 1,992 of them delivered to the USSR.

In 1943 problems with the M4A2 were exposed by the Russian winter: those sent to the USSR had a smooth rubber protector for their tracks that made it tough to move across frozen roads. The difficulty finding traction was further complicated by a high center of gravity, giving the tank a habit of flipping over. Overall, it was the equivalent of the Soviet T-34 and was used similarly. The Sherman was much quieter than Soviet tanks, also lending itself to more effective infantry fire from behind its armour while on the move due to its lighter suspension.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=us_m4a2_sherman Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== See also ==


;Vehicles equipped with the same chassis (M4A2)

* [[M4A2 (76) W]]
* [[M4 748 (a) (Germany)]]
* [[M4A2 (USSR)]]

== External links ==


=== References ===
<references />

{{TankManufacturer Ordnance Department}}
{{USA medium tanks}}

M4

2024-02-01T09:55:37Z

U149841126: /* Ammo racks */ 6 rack empty change

{{About
| about = American medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = other versions
| link-1 = M4 Sherman (Family)
| usage-2 = other uses
| link-2 = M4 (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=us_m4_sherman
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

Entering production just a month after the [[M4A1]], the '''M4 Sherman''' is the second variant of the early-generation [[M4 Sherman (Family)|Medium Tank M4 (Sherman) family]]. The Continental R975 radial engine from the [[M3 Stuart|M3]] and [[M3A1 Stuart|M3A1]] light tanks was utilised in the M4 variant. Before the M4 variant even went into production, the great majority of its weaknesses were sorted out. This greatly contributed to the overall M4 Sherman medium tank's reputation for dependability and ease of maintenance. The M4 variant had a welded body and a cast turret that housed the 75 mm M3 tank gun from the [[M3 Lee]]. Some early-production M4s have three hull machine guns and two turret-mounted machine guns. The hull weapons were all M1919A4 light machine guns, two fixed and one in a ball mount for use by the co-drivers, but these were quickly removed in the late-production M4s. For practically the entire production run, the turret armament remained unchanged: the 75 mm M3 tank gun with the M1919A4 coaxial light machine gun and the M2HB Browning heavy machine gun mounted on the roof. From July 1942 to January 1944, a total of 6,748 units of the M4 variant were produced, as well as 1,641 units of the modified M4 (105) variant outfitted with a 105 mm howitzer for infantry support. The gun mantlet was improved as well, from the M34 to the more protected M34A1. The turret would be the same as that seen on all early-generation M4 Sherman variants and would be interchangeable.

Introduced in [[Update 1.45 "Steel Generals"]], the M4 is the continuation of the M4 Sherman medium tank family. It was painted in the U.S. Army's standard olive-drab green camouflage. The hull of the M4 variant is welded, resulting in a sharper-edged hull shape than the cast hull of the [[M4A1|M4A1 variant]]. All M4 Sherman early-generation variants had the same cast turret and featured a better-protected M34A1 gun mount for the 75 mm M3 tank gun (excluding the M4A1). The glacis of the hull slopes at 56 degrees, as is typical of early-generation M4 Sherman variants. It is vital to pay attention to the hatches that protrude from the hull's sloping contour, as these cause interruptions in the slope and hinder the overall efficacy of the sloped armour. To give additional protection, armour plates are welded in front of the interruptions. However, this remained a significant weakness from the frontal hull context, and most experienced opponents will aim for it. Other highlights on the front glacis include the bundled desert-coloured jerry cans in the driver's region and the road wheel directly on the transmission cover. Furthermore, the additional appliqué armour plates over the sponson ammunition area on the side hull was another distinguishing feature of the M4 Sherman medium tanks. While this provides some protection, it also serves as an indication for the opponent to aim for ammo rack detonation. Overall, the playstyle is extremely similar to all early-generation M4 Sherman variants.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}


'''Armour type:'''

*Rolled homogeneous armour (Front, Side, Rear, Hull roof)
*Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, Transmission area)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 50.8 mm (56°) ''Front glacis'' 50.8 mm (12-56°) ''Transmission area'' 50.8 (13-20°) + 25.4 mm (35°) ''Protruding hatches'' || 38.1 mm 38.1 + 25.4 mm ''Appliqué addition'' || 38.1 mm (0-10°) ''Top'' 25.4 mm (33-64°) ''Bottom'' || 19.5 mm ''Sides'' 12.7 mm ''Engine deck and center''
|-
| Turret || 76.2-88.9 mm (4-67°) ''Turret front'' 50.8 + 88.9 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 50.8 mm (0-68°) || 50.8 mm (2-66°) || 25.4 mm
|-
| Cupola || 50.8 mm || 50.8 mm || 50.8 mm || 25.4 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, bogies are 10 mm thick, and tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Front armour has two protruding areas for driver and co-driver hatches. These are weak points as they present a flat armour surface.
* Belly armour is 12.7 mm thick.

Though most high-end anti-tank weapons can cleave through the M4 Sherman's front armour rather easily, some smaller-calibre weapons less than 75 mm would have some trouble going against the front armour. In these cases, aim for weak points like the protruding hatches in the front sloping armour, the crest of the transmission housing, where the slope is minimum in both areas or the machine gun port from the hull. The turret has a very robust construction so if there is no faith in penetrating through the front hull easily, don't bother trying to penetrate the turret from the front except for the very small weak point on the gunner's position of the turret.

If a shot can be made to the M4 Sherman's sides, send it towards the front half of the tank where it would either cripple the crew or ignite one of the ammunition racks strewn all over the internals.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=620|rbMinHp=354}}

The {{PAGENAME}} is powered with an engine adequate for its weight class. While accelerating up to this speed can be sluggish at first, the {{PAGENAME}} takes to a running start after Gear 4.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

Obvious first choice for research would be Parts in tier I. For the tier II it might be worth a risk to go for M61 shot first, as its such a significant improvement over the stock shell. The other option being FPE. On tier III Filters and Crew Replenishment are very important, and in tier IV further mobility improvements with the Engine and then Transmission should be prioritized. Once done - Horizontal Drive and two modifications responsible for accuracy or Artillery Support. The least important module to research is the M89 shell due to its extremely situational use.

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|M3 (75 mm)}}

75 mm M3 gun is a competent, well-handling gun for a medium tank. Even without any modifications, its ability to fulfil its role, though where it begins to shine is with the M61 shot. Default, M72, suffers from issues typical to US and British sold shots - poor post-penetration effects. This means it's preferable to take down enemy gunner first, usually by hitting the right side of the turret.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M3 (75 mm)|75 mm M3]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 97 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+25° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | {{Annotation|Vertical|up to 24 km/h}} || 22.85 || 31.62 || 38.40 || 42.47 || 45.18 || rowspan="2" | 6.50 || rowspan="2" | 5.75 || rowspan="2" | 5.30 || rowspan="2" | 5.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 14.28 || 16.80 || 20.40 || 22.56 || 24.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
When discussing {{PAGENAME}} shells, one always has to account for the fact that it's a medium tank. This means short to medium engagement range, so realistically it can benefit more from its short-range penetration figures than long-range sniping tanks would.

* M72 shot; {{Annotation|AP|Armour-Piercing}} - Solid shot, stock shell. Acceptable penetration, poor post-penetration damage.
* M48 shell; {{Annotation|HE|High-Explosive fragmentation shell}} - Low-velocity shell useful against soft targets, in particular when hitting an open-topped vehicle. Harmless against any vehicle with more than 10 mm of armour.
* M61 shot; {{Annotation|APCBC|Armour-Piercing Capped Ballistic Capped}} - This shell has a better penetration than the M72 thanks to its ballistic cap and a good post-penetration damage thanks to its explosive filler.
* M89; smoke shell - Useful to blind enemy vehicles that are too remote for you to disable so that you can progress towards objectives.

{{:M3 (75 mm)/Ammunition|M72 shot, M48 shell, M61 shot, M89}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''97''' || 91 ''(+6)'' || 88 ''(+9)'' || 86 ''(+11)'' || 78 ''(+19)'' || 63 ''(+34)'' || 45 ''(+52)'' || 31 ''(+66)'' || 1 ''(+96)'' || style="text-align:center" | No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
'''Notes''':

* To go into battle with the turret basket empty of ammo, pack 78 ''(+19)'' shells (racks 1 to 4 emptied).
* To go into battle with the turret basket and the flanks empty of ammo, pack 31 ''(+66)'' shells (racks 1 to 7 emptied).
* The 8th rack is large and located in a weak spot: the bottom section of the armour. In case of penetration, there is a high risk of ammo rack detonation. Make sure not to expose your flanks unnecessarily.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|M2HB (12.7 mm)|M1919A4 (7.62 mm)}}

The M4 Sherman is armed with two machine guns, a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun on the pintle-mount atop the M4 Sherman turret, the famous .50 cal "Ma Deuce" machine gun. This weapon is the same type as the one used in American aircraft, though at a slower fire rate. However, this leads to the anti-aircraft power of the weapon as most formidable against low strafing attacking aircraft.

The second machine gun is a general-purpose 7.62 mm M1919A4 Browning machine gun mounted in the coaxial position. A typical machine gun not too unlike on many other vehicles, the machine gun is just average.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 600 (200) || 577 || -10°/+25° || ±60°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M1919A4]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 3,000 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


The M4 Sherman is an effective medium-range combat tank. Equipped with a fast-firing 75 mm gun and with good handling characteristics, the M4 can be an extremely useful asset in most battles.

In battle the M4 performs well as an all-rounder; the thick turret front and 10 degrees of gun depression make the tank ideal for taking hull-down positions which protect the thinner hull armour from being penetrated by enemy fire. The sloped front upper glacis, when angled, also provides good protection against enemy fire. An unusual - and useful - difference is that the upper glacis is sloped at 56 degrees rather than the standard 45 degrees, making it more of a threat and more powerful due to improving the chances of a round ricochet. The only downfall may be the 2 crew member position in the front that protrudes out to form a flat surface, but both are covered with an additional 20 mm plate. The reasonable mobility of the Sherman makes flanking a viable tactic. The main weakness of the M4 is the side armour - not only is it vertical and thin, but behind it most of the ammunition is stowed. The tall silhouette of the tank also makes finding suitable cover difficult. Overall, the M4 Sherman can be considered as an armoured jack-of-all-trades - it will serve a tanker well, however it will not excel in any particular role.

In battle, try to use terrain as cover. Hull-down positions are especially strong in the M4 Sherman, as it has a good 10 degrees of gun depression. The gun mantlet and turret are reasonably strong, but avoiding shots is still the best strategy. In this respect, a hull-down position hides the vulnerable hull. If this is not available, then angling the hull armour to present a greater slope is often a good idea, as this can bounce some low-powered cannon at any range and at longer ranges, render the hull impenetrable.

Another way to play the M4 Sherman is to tap into its traditional cavalry role, its mobility. The M4 Sherman is a great flanker as it is fast enough to get the jump on the enemy's side. Defeat the enemy at their weak front lines or go around the entire enemy force. Once in position at their sides or rear, ambush them. Ideally, the enemy should be too busy focusing on allies attacking in the front to notice the M4 instantly. Take out the weaker light or medium tanks, the 75 mm gun is not very ideal against heavy tanks like the [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] so take out its friends to allow allies more room to outmanoeuvre the KV tank. An organized attack will increase the M4 chances on the battlefield and success.

The presence of a pivot-mounted .50 calibre machine gun gives the Sherman some flexibility. It can engage softer targets such as some tank destroyers and many SPAAGs at short ranges when loading a HE shell would be inconvenient. While not ideal, they provide the Sherman tank with some measure of protection against aircraft- sometimes enough to dissuade a pilot from making another pass. It can be an effective rang-finder for targets at longer ranges where the M1919 in the turret would be less effective. While it pales in comparison to the destructive effect of tank guns, it provides the Sherman with some flexibility over other comparable vehicles, who are restricted to their rifle-calibre coaxial machine guns.

There will be concerns about certain vehicles:

[[M4A2]] / [[M4A4 (1st PTG)|A4]] - These Sherman tanks are widely used by over 3 nations that spread across both the Allied and the Axis side, so no matter which nation you play they can be quite tough to destroy in the hands of a skilled tanker. Given the rather weak penetration of your short 75 mm gun, their hull can be almost impossible to penetrate when angled, hull down or 300 m away. For a M4A4, there are 2 apparent bulges on the upper front plate, a penetration through there can guarantee a knock-out most of the times. But in case the opponent covers them up or when it's a M4A2, aim for the middle parts of the gun mantlet or the turret armour unprotected by the mantlet, you can at least make them defenseless. Note that their guns are equally weak against you, so wiggle around to disrupt their aim while you reload, you have a good chance of bouncing some shells.

[[Churchill I]], [[Churchill III]], [[Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany)|Pz.Kpfw. Churchill]] - The Churchills, with their complex hulls and sturdy turrets, can be quite hard to penetrate at range. Again, manoeuvre as close to them as possible, the idea distance being no more than 200 m. If they are angling their hull but facing their turret at you, only go for the turret. For the Mk I Churchills, aim at the near-vertical part of their rounded cheeks to ensure successful penetrations. For the Mk III and the German Churchill, also aim for their flat turret which is at most 89 mm. The shell should go in easily and knock out most, if not all of the crew. Only when you are facing their hull without any angles should you shoot the hull, otherwise shoot the turret only, as their big tracks can easily get in front of the frontal hull. The side hull have multiple layers of armour, some of which are weirdly angled and can absorb plenty of shells.

[[KV-1 (Family)|KV-1 and variants]] - A vehicle that the M4 Sherman will have trouble against is the KV-1. While the [[KV-1 (L-11)|L-11]] is underpowered, the [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)|ZiS-5]] is potent enough to punch through the Sherman's front, and the Sherman is unable to penetrate the KV-1's thick frontal armour. If this heavy tank is encountered, try to shoot it in its sides and rear, where its armour is thinner and unsloped, though it will still have to be at a close range to penetrate the armour. In addition, shots to the sides will most likely hit fuel tanks or ammunition storage, causing a fire or ammunition detonation and at best, time to reassess the situation.

[[Pz.IV F2|Panzer IV F2]]/[[Pz.IV G|G]]/[[Pz.IV H|H]]/[[Pz.IV J|J]] - The historical nemesis of any Sherman, the Panzer IV is one of the Shermans biggest threats at this rank. The long barrel 75 mm gun will easily penetrate the Sherman from the front. The F2 variant is admittedly easy to deal with. A single APCBC to its hull or turret should end it pretty quickly, even at long range. The other variants are slightly harder to deal with. They have thicker hull armour, at 80 mm, which will be much harder to penetrate with the APCBC over 500 m. Luckily the turret armour remains the same at 50 mm. Either aim here with APCBC or sacrifice damage potential and use the AP round to penetrate the hull.

[[StuG III F]]/[[StuG III G|G]] - Another historical nemesis of the Sherman, and another big threat. The StuG III packs the same punch as the Panzer IV line with its long barrel 75 mm gun, whilst losing the turret, which turns out to be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Lacking a turret means that it will have to traverse the whole vehicle to target an enemy, but it also means that it has a lower profile. The StuG's armour profile is also more complex than the Panzer IV, with less flat areas. Certain areas are sloped and very bouncy. Luckily, there is a big weak spot. There are two flat plates on the front of the hull. The flat plate on the right is the drivers port. Shoot that and you are able to knock out the driver, gunner and loader in one go. This is a very efficient way to destroy this vehicle. With the F variant, you can use APCBC to instantly knock out this vehicle with a single shot. With the G variant, it is more reliable to use AP at ranges over 500 m to ensure penetration.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent gun depression of -10° plus the angled frontal turret allows it to utilise hills very well
* Great penetration and post-penetration damage when using M61 shells; can frontally penetrate and knock out most opponents like the [[Pz.IV F2]], [[Chi-Nu]] and T-34 with a single shot
* Great turret traverse speed allows it to deal with multiple threats easily
* Capable armour when angled and at a distance
* Adequate top speed allows it to get to positions in time, or to do tactical manoeuvres like flanking
* Pintle-mounted HMG provides an anti-aircraft defence or anti-tank duty against tanks like [[Marder III]]
* Fitted with a vertical stabilizer, allowing more accurate fire on the move compared to other tanks, as well as better usage of shoot-n-scoot tactics

'''Cons:'''

* Large profile and weak side armour; flankers like the Sd.Kfz.234/2 can easily see and penetrate it
* Frontal armour is still inadequate, it will get frontally penetrated and knocked out with a single shot by tanks like [[Pz.IV F2]]/[[Pz.IV G|G]], [[StuG III F]]/[[StuG III G|G]] or [[M10 (Family)|M10]]
* The best M61 shell struggles to penetrate heavy targets like [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)]], [[Churchill III]] or even the T-34 and M10 when angled
* Trajectory is curved and velocity is low due to its short barrel, thus distant/moving targets are hard to shoot at
* Hull traverse is quite slow, making it sluggish in a turn. Also the narrow tracks offer poor ground flotation, thus poor off-road capabilities. Can only reach its top speed on paved or hard surfaces
* Roof armour of 19.5 mm thick is vulnerable to aircraft strafing runs with AP rounds. For example the widely used [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|M2 Browning]]

== History ==


The Battle of France in 1940 proved to America that their current tank arsenal would not be able to withstand a German assault. The only tanks in their inventory at that time was the [[M2A4|M2 light tank]] and the [[M2|M2 medium tank]], both are inadequate against the German [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and the [[Pz.IV F1|Panzer IVs]]. The US Army, in response, ordered for a tank armed with a 75 mm gun. While a 75 mm gun was available for use, a turret able to mount the gun was not. So while the turret and tank design underwent development, the 75 mm would be mounted on the stopgap [[M3 Lee|M3 Lee]] tank in a sponson mount. This interim design put the 75 mm on a lower and limited traverse mount that restricted its firing angle, but it did give the Western Allies a tank with the gun, so it was issued by the thousands until a better design could be produced.

During the M3 medium's development, the designs of the 75 mm armed vehicle were being drawn up and submitted by the Ordnance Department. Specifications on the tank design were strict in order to maximize logistical support. Restrictions were made on the tank's height, width, and weight in order to make it able to be transported over bridges, roads, railroads, and on naval ships. These specifications would help the Army by making the tank be very flexible on strategic, logistical, and tactical grounds. On April 1941, the Armored Force Board chose the simplest of the designs, which was a redesigned M3 hull and chassis with a turret mounting the 75 mm gun designated the ''T6'', completed in September 1941. This tank would then designated the '''Medium Tank M4''' in American service. The tank would eventually become the most used Allied tank during World War II as it was lent out by the thousands in the Lend-Lease program to the Allied countries. The British designated the M4 the "[[Sherman II|Sherman]]", which coined into the tank's name '''M4 Sherman''' that it would be known as in history. The production for the Shermans began on October 1941 and would continue to be produced until the end of the war in 1945 with around 50,000 units produced, making it the second most-produced tank in World War II before the [[T-34 (1942)|T-34 tank]].

=== Design ===
Many variants of the Shermans were produced, but they all followed a similar layout. The driver and bow gunner sat in the front driving compartment, the fighting compartment in the middle housed the turret its three crew member, and in the back was the engine compartment. The Sherman used many features present in previous American tank designs, the vertical volute suspension system (VVSS) and radial engine from the [[M2A4|M2 Light Tanks]], and the sloping armour of the [[M2|M2 Medium Tanks]]. This became a contributing factor on the Sherman's reliability on the field, as most of the design flaws were ironed out with the previous tank designs. The tank-mounted the 75 mm M3 gun, giving the tank very good AP and HE capabilities. The Sherman's turret traverse speed was very fast, able to traverse a full 360 degrees in only 15 seconds, which is considerably faster than the traverse speed on most German tanks. Another unique feature on the Sherman was the installation of a gyroscopic stabilizer on the gun and sight, making the Sherman one of the first produced tanks to incorporate those features. While the stabilization was only done for the vertical plane, it kept the gun stable enough to be able to shoot on the move effectively, with a study showing a 70 % hit probability on an enemy 300 to 1,200 yards away when moving at a speed of 15 mph. However, this feature was controversial among the crew and experiences with it vary.

The '''M4 Sherman''' model ran on a gasoline Continental R975 radial engine and was one of the first models of the Sherman developed. The early M4 Sherman featured the M38 telescopic sight in the M4 periscope with no zoom, but experience in North Africa and recommendations from the British changed the sight into the M55 telescopic sight integrated into the gun mantlet.<ref name="ZalogaArmorT1">Zaloga Steven. ''Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II'' Stackpole Books, 2008, "Baptism Of Fire"</ref> This change in optics required appliqué armour to be added at the turret area in front of the gunner since the modification left the area weaker than the overall turret. This problem would be fixed in later-production models of the M4 Sherman. The tank's hull was welded, with the front armour plate placed on a 56-degree sloping angle. An early design defect with the design was the protruding armoured hatches for the driver and assistant driver. These protrusions create "shot traps" as they were in a near vertical position that gave less protection on the front armour than the sloping areas. This was fixed on later models as well. Up to 6,748 M4A1s were produced from July 1942 to January 1944, out of the 49,234 total Sherman units produced in the war.

===Combat usage===
====European Theater====
The Shermans first saw combat in the North African Campaign in the Second Battle of El Alamein on October 1942 in the hands of the British. It was much quicker to reinforce the British armoured divisions with the more than 300 Shermans sent to North Africa than it was to create new American ones. It proved much better than the German [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV F1|Panzer IVs]], able to eliminate them at distances more than 2,000 yards away. The Americans received their first Shermans in the next month in Operation Torch. However better the Shermans were to the German tanks at the time, the Allied armoured units still suffered casualties against the German tanks and anti-tank guns, most notably in the Battle of Kasserine Pass. In Italy, the Shermans proved much more mobile than the German Panzers, able to travel cross-country on the hilly terrain with ease. However, it was at this stage that the Sherman's shortcoming began to take face in the advent of the newer German tanks, the [[Tiger H1|Tiger Is]] and [[Panther D|Panthers]]. These two tanks featured armour that proved impenetrable when fired at the front, and with guns that could take out the Shermans from farther than the Sherman's effective combat range. The Shermans have to hit the side of these tanks for penetration and at ranges that were considered suicidal. Although programs were initiated to [[M4A1 (76) W|up-gun the Sherman with a 76 mm gun]], American leaders determine that the Panther and Tigers would not be produced in large quantities and were not as great as a threat as these two vehicles could still be destroyed by the 75 mm gun and standard anti-tank equipment.

During the invasion of France, it was clear that the Sherman's current build with a 75 mm gun was no longer going to cut it against the German armoured forces. While the Sherman was adequate against what little Panzer III and IVs the Germans have left and against infantry and fortifications with the 75 mm gun, the Panthers and Tigers were in much large quantity than expected, and proved better in armour and firepower to the Shermans. Though in the bocage country of France, the Allies lost more tanks to hidden anti-tank guns and infantry weapons than to tanks. Despite these losses, the mass production of M4 Sherman back in the United States ensured that enough tanks were available for the Allied Forces as they spearhead through France, plus the lack of any other capable tanks meant they had to use the Shermans for the time being. The large quantities of Shermans produced during the war gave the Allied armoured units a major advantage of being fully equipped as the German panzer divisions were rarely in full strength, with some US infantry divisions having more tracked vehicles than some of the panzer divisions. Due to the high attrition rates, tank crews sometimes add [[Add-on Armor|improvised armour]] onto their Shermans in the form of sandbags and logs in hopes of increased survival, but these were determined to be ineffective from evaluations. A more effective method was to have metal armour welded on in improvisation, and an official project was made for such "assault tanks" that ended with the [[M4A3E2|M4A3E2 "Jumbos"]] with 254 made for the fighting in Europe. The Allies continued to use 75 mm Shermans until the Battle of the Bulge in Winter 1944, when the commanders request only 76 mm Shermans to be brought into Europe as the battle showed the intense armour disparity with the German's large numbers of [[Panther G|Panthers]] and [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II tanks]]. While new units arriving in Europe were armed exclusively with 76 mm armed-Shermans, the veteran units kept the 75 mm Shermans, to which it continued to do well against softer targets with little threat from German armour due to their declining numbers.

====Pacific Theater====
The M4 Sherman's importance in the Pacific theatre was less than that of the European theatre due to the different tactical doctrine established from the amphibious nature of combat. Only about 20 tank battalions fielded by the US Army were sent to support the Pacific theatre of operations, compared to the total 16 armoured divisions and 70 tank battalions they have in service. The low priority in tanks was due to the following reasons. Firstly, the jungle terrain on most of the islands fought on was unsuitable for the deployment of large-scale armoured units, relegating armour support to light tanks such as the [[M3 Stuart|M3 Stuarts]]. Secondly, the Japanese forces' armoured units were rather inferior to the American tank forces by 1943. While the Japanese [[Ha-Go|Type 95 Ha-Go]] tank was comparable to the [[M2A4|M2A4 Light Tank]], the Shermans out gun these tanks by a large margin. Such a large margin that the tank crew prefer to use high-explosive shots against the Japanese tank than regular armour-piercing as the AP rounds would penetrate straight through without causing much damage in the interior of the tank. The Japanese developed the [[Chi-Nu|Type 3 Chi-Nu]] and the [[Chi-To|Type 4 Chi-To]] to fight back the Shermans, but these two never saw combat as they were kept at the Japanese homeland for the defence against the Allied invasion.

The Shermans, when deployed, were superior to most of the Japanese anti-tank equipment and often were essential to some of the Marines advances on some of the island assaults. In 1945, the equipping of flamethrower Shermans known as ''M4A3R3'', nicknamed "Zippos", were a significant boost to the infantry's firepower in having a very long range of fire compared to the standard infantry-modelled flamethrowers with the benefit of being in an armoured vehicle. The Japanese solution against the Shermans, other than with their 47 mm anti-tank guns, were often suicidal tactics ranging from placing satchel charges right onto the tank, using pole-mounted anti-tank mines to reach and destroy the tank or even simply throwing oneself underneath a tank with mine or other explosive and triggering it manually.

==== Lend-Lease ====
The Sherman tank was given out in large numbers to American Allies during World War II under the Lend-Lease policy. While America retained about 20,361 Shermans in the Army and Marine Corps, 17,184 went to Britain (about 34% of Shermans produced and 78% of Shermans given out) and the Soviet Union obtained 4,102 Shermans.<ref name="ZalogaArmorT2">Zaloga Steven. ''Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II'' Stackpole Books, 2008, "The British Sherman"</ref> China obtained 812 Shermans, Brazil with 53, and New Zealand and Australia for 153 Shermans total. Other countries using the Shermans were Poland, Free France, and Czechoslovakia. The British deployed the Sherman among their armoured squadrons in such a large number to become the standard tank of their armoured forces. The increased threat of German tanks in the European theatre also provoked the British to up-gun the M4 Sherman with a more capable gun, resulting in the [[Sherman Firefly|Firefly]].

==== Post-War ====
After the war, the Shermans continued serving America and its allies as the [[M4A3 (76) W|M4A3E8]] with a new suspension and the 76 mm gun. The [[M26|M26 Pershing]] that was introduced late in World War II was phased out for the Shermans due to its unreliability, and the Sherman stayed until the [[M46|M46 Patton]] was introduced. After being phased out of American service, many other countries still used the Sherman as their main tank, mainly Israel where they up-gun the tank with the much powerful post-war French 75 mm and 105 mm gun as the M-50 and M-51 respectively (nicknamed "Super Shermans"). These proved successful as they were able to fight against the Soviet-supplied [[T-54 (1947)|T-54 tanks]] and [[T-34-85]]s in Middle East service, proving the Sherman as a successful and adaptable design for many years to come.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
The Americans did an excellent job recognizing the problems with the M3's main-calibre weaponry being mounted in a side sponson. Immediately after it began full-scale production, they began work on a new, more modern tank with a 75 mm cannon in a fully traversing turret. Its prototype, termed the T6, was ready for trials at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in September 1941.

The M4 was a medium tank boasting a welded hull, a cast turret, and the 350 hp Continental R-975, a gas-powered radial engine. Design of the M4 began in 1941, and by July 1942 it was ready for full-scale production. Between July 1942 and January 1944, 6,748 M4s rolled off the line. The tank's welded hull boosted its ammunition capacity in comparison with cast hulls by expanding its internal armoured capacity. The hull's front plate initially had viewing slits, though armour covers were welded over them and periscopes were added. The front part of the hull's gear compartment on older models consisted of three sections bolted together. Tanks had a narrow mantlet for the M34 artillery mount, while subsequent units employed a fully cast forward hull section and M34A1 artillery mount with a wide mantlet. The last batches, which were made beginning at the end of 1943, had the front of their hulls made from cast and rolled pieces. At the beginning of 1944 the frontal plate became one piece, moving the driver and gunner hatches to the top of the hull. The angled frontal armour went from 56° to 47° from vertical.

The Pressed Steel Car Company kicked off production of the first M4 tanks in July 1942. Four more companies were added later.

M4 tanks saw combat in Africa, Italy, the Western front, and the Pacific islands through 1945.

Shermans proved a strong option with good reliability and manoeuvrability in addition to armament and armour suiting its roll as a medium tank.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=us_m4_sherman Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|GOuPWRJqlK8|'''Pages of History: M4 Sherman''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''}}

== See also ==


;Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

* [[M4 Sherman (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/2988/current/|[Vehicle Profile] M4 Sherman [Decal Included]]]
* [[wikipedia:M4_Sherman|[Wikipedia] M4 Sherman]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/US/M4_Sherman <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Medium Tank M4 Sherman]
* [https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=40 <nowiki>[Military Factory]</nowiki> M4 Sherman (Medium Tank, M4)]

=== References ===
<references />

{{USA medium tanks}}