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T-34 (Sweden)

2022-10-31T07:35:30Z

U79488589: Added armor protection

{{Specs-Card
|code=sw_t_34_1941
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Swedish medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Fire and Ice"]]. This T-34 is a 1941 model, captured by the Finnish army during the Continuation War.

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

''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogenous armor (Hull, Turret)
* Cast homogenous armor (Driver's hatch, Machinegun mount)


{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Armour''' !! '''Front (Slope angle)''' !! '''Sides''' !! '''Rear''' !! '''Roof'''
|-
| Hull || 45 mm (60°) ''Front glacis''
40 mm (1-73°) ''Machinegun ball mount'' 45 mm (60°) ''Driver's hatch''

100 mm (5-35°) ''Welded glacis joint'' 45 mm (60°) ''Lower glacis''
| 40 mm (40°) ''Top'' 45 mm ''Bottom'' || 40 mm (49°) ''Top''
40 mm (47°) ''Bottom''
| 20 mm
|-
| Turret || 45 mm (3-75°) ''Turret front'' 45 mm ''(2-78°) Gun mantlet'' || 45 mm (30°) || 45 mm (30°) || 15 mm
|-
|}

'''Notes:''' 


* Suspension, wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.

The T-34's armour, even though only 45 mm thick on the front, is angled at 60°, which increases its effective thickness and the ability to ricochet or bounce enemy shells. Never let your enemies see your sides, as they are thinner, less angled and your enemies can easily penetrate it. The turret is still 45 mm thick, but much less angled. If your enemy penetrates your turret with APHE shells, you're a goner. Always angle your armour.

The T-34 has a crew of 4 men packed tightly together, and one shot could incapacitate a few crew members. The ammunition is conveniently stored below the tank, making it difficult to detonate. If you carry a decreased ammunition load, preferably 15-30 shells, the enemy would have a hard time detonating your ammo. However, shrapnel from a HE shell shot below you can be dangerous, especially when you encounter a [[Ho-Ro]], for example. The engine is the module most of your opponents will target. Parts and FPE should be researched to be able to survive the shots targeted at your engine. However, your quite low rate of fire (~9 sec reload stock) will give your enemies a second, final blow.

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

The tank's mobility is impressive due to the very generous hp/ton ratio the engine provides to the medium tank. The wide track also helps with traction across softer ground, so the T-34 (1941) is less likely to be bogged down in more wet terrain like in the map [[Jungle]].

Exploit the T-34 (1941)'s mobility with its highly-angled hull armour to wreck havoc in the enemy lines by breaking through and marauding their controlled zones.

{{tankMobility}}

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

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

{{main|F-34 (76 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[F-34 (76 mm)|76 mm F-34]] || 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" | 77 || rowspan="2" | -5°/+30° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__
|-
! ''Realistic''
| __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._
|-
|}

The T-34 (1941)'s 76 mm F-34 is overall better gun compared to the preceding L-11 gun, with much better armour-piercing characteristics, shell muzzle velocity, and faster reload time. The F-34 gun essentially makes the 76 mm-armed T-34 a menace in lower rank battles by being able to penetrate even heavy tanks with a well-placed hit.

Of the three armour-piercing shells available, the two most recommended shells to bring to destroy enemy tanks is the APHEBC '''BR-350B (MD-8 fuze)''' and the APBC '''BR-350SP''' shells. Though the '''BR-350A (MD-5 fuze)''' has more explosive filler for post-penetration damage, the lower penetration values mean that this potential is useless if the shell can't penetrate the enemy tank's armour, hence the '''BR-350B''' is recommended for a balance in armour-piercing potential and post-penetration damage. The APBC presents the best penetration values, but does not have any explosive filler inside, so it is best to keep them in reserve in case the T-34 (1941) encounters one of the few troublesome vehicles it struggles to penetrate.

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| BR-350A (MD-5 fuze) || APHEBC || 87 || 85 || 77 || 69 || 62 || 55
|-
| BR-350SP || APBC || 99 || 96 || 87 || 76 || 66 || 58
|-
| BR-350B (MD-8 fuze) || APHEBC || 96 || 94 || 84 || 74 || 64 || 56
|-
| OF-350M || HE || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10
|-
| Sh-354T || Shrapnel || 35 || 34 || 30 || 26 || 22 || 19
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| BR-350A (MD-5 fuze) || APHEBC || 662 || 6.3 || 1.2 || 14 || 150 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| BR-350SP || APBC || 655 || 6.5 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| BR-350B (MD-8 fuze) || APHEBC || 655 || 6.5 || 0.9 || 14 || 100.1 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| OF-350M || HE || 680 || 6.2 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 621 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Sh-354T || Shrapnel || 618 || 6.44 || 1.2 || 14 || 85 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="7" | Smoke shell characteristics
|-
! Ammunition
! Velocity (m/s)
! Projectile mass (kg)
! Screen radius (m)
! Screen deploy time (s)
! Screen hold time (s)
! Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
|-
| D-350A || 680 || 6.45 || 13 || 5 || 20 || 50
|-
|}

==== [[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
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''77''' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __
|-
|}

* To go into battle with the flanks empty of shells, pack 69 ''(+8) shells'' (racks 1 & 2 depleted).
* As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire both shells in the set.

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

{{main|DT (7.62 mm)}}

''Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.''

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[DT (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm DT]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| || ___ (___) || ___ || __° || __°
|-
|}
A standard coaxial machine gun. The only major difference the DT has compared to other nation's machine gun armament is the magazine-fed system. While this means the firing time between reloading is shorter, reload time is also shorter to get the weapon back into action.

== Usage in battles ==


T-34 (1941) is one of the most well rounded medium battle tanks at its rank among it with the German [[Pz.IV F2]] and United States [[M4|M4 Sherman]] tanks. The sloped armour, great acceleration with good speed and 76.2 mm cannon make it a force to be reckoned with especially against inexperienced players, meanwhile when facing experienced players, however, it can become scrap metal pretty fast. Compared to the [[T-34 (1940)|1940 version]], the 1941 gets a better 76.2 mm cannon which greatly improves the penetration power but still keeps the 1940 model turret. At distance, the sloped armour is efficient at blocking shells from enemy tanks with relatively short and small-calibre cannons even some long barrel and high calibre guns can also have trouble penetrating on the sloped armour if used well. Even with its sloped armour advantages, a T-34 is a relatively easy tank to knock out specifically with a well-placed shot. With the crew operating in a compact space around the turret, which is located in the centre of the tank where it is a very limited space to operate in makes it an easy tank to knock out the crew with a single blow from a shell with a good amount of high explosive filling. Also, be mindful of the T-34's turret. It is a weak spot and can be easily penetrated by an enemy shell and will with ease knock out the tank and its crew.

; Urban Combat

T-34's in urban combat are a lethal machine combined the sloped armour with its speed and manoeuvrability combined with the 76.2mm F-34 makes it excel in close-quarter combat against most enemy tanks it will face in battle. Its short barrel will do excellent against most enemy armour, with well-placed shots in close range battles. In urban (City) battles the T-34 is a great hit and run tank, offering great acceleration. At slow speed, it can also be highly lethal but advance with care. It takes a while for the barrel to stop shaking when going to halt from full speed, which is a drawback if directly facing an enemy tank, which can appear suddenly from around the street corners or sitting and covering other roads that exist in the city. It is recommended when advancing, use slow speed to reduce that shaking and which allows for better engagement to get that enemy to be knocked out.

; Open Fields

Open fields are not the optimal combat situation for the T-34 1941 with its crew being relatively close to each other makes it prone to being a one-hit kill and an easy target for tanks like Pz IV F.2, StuG III F, Na-To and M10 GMC which can easily score a hit from far away. Utilize the acceleration, relative good speed and wide tracks to advance around on most terrain till a position where the gun can reliably penetrate enemy armour with a good well placed shot and knock the enemy threat out. Be aware of the surroundings there can be an enemy threat everywhere which can easily knock the T-34 from the side or a hit to the fragile turret.

'''Common opponents''':

* [[M4]], [[M4A2]] - The T-34's 76 mm gun cannot penetrate the welded hull M4/M4A2 reliably from the front, while the 75 mm gun on the M4/M4A2 can penetrate the T-34's turret and disable or cripple it. They do have very weak lower side hull armour (only 38 mm) that can be overmatched by the 76 mm APHEBC round if exposed, and the flat areas on the turret can also be penetrated fairly reliably if they can be hit. Generally avoid head-on engagements, especially if the M4 is hull-down.
* [[M4A1]], [[Sherman II]] - Similar to the M4/M4A2, except that the cast hull is weaker than the welded hull on the M4/M4A2, and can be penetrated frontally. Otherwise, the same advice applies.
* [[Pz.IV F2]], [[Pz.IV G|G]], [[Pz.IV H|H]], [[Pz.IV J|J]] - The Ausf. F2 variant is the first Panzer IV to mount a long-barreled 75 mm gun. This gun is one of the most lethal mounted on any tank within the T-34's BR range, and it is easily capable of penetrating the T-34 at most ranges. The Ausf. F2 has very weak armour, however, and is something of a glass cannon. The Ausf. G, H, and J have up-armoured hulls that are quite difficult to penetrate, but their turrets are as weak as the one on the F2. The Ausf. J, in particular, has manual turret traverse and is very vulnerable to being flanked. Avoid long-range duels with them.
* [[Chi-Nu II]] - Essentially the Japanese counterpart to the German Panzer IV Ausf. F2.
* [[Churchill III]], [[Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany)]] - The 6-pounder gun on the Churchill will be hard-pressed to penetrate the sloped T-34 hull, but it can easily penetrate the turret and disable the turret crew. It is difficult to penetrate the frontal armour of the Churchill at long ranges. However, it is a slow, cumbersome heavy tank, and is easy to outflank and dispatch with shots to the side armour.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Sloped 40-45 mm hull armour is effective at deflecting small/medium calibre shells
* Wide tracks and powerful engine brings great mobility, can keep up with light vehicles like [[M24 (Family)|M24]]
* 76 mm cannon's great damage can one-shot most common foes like [[M4]], [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]]
* Relatively fast turret traverse allows it to deal with multiple targets or flanker confidentally
* Small profile, harder to get spotted & shot at
* Large fuel tanks next to the engine can protect it by absorbing some shells

'''Cons:'''

* -7 km/h reverse is slow, can put the player in a fatal situation
* -5° gun depression doesn't allow it to perform well in mountainous terrain
* Lacklusture penetration (99 mm max) makes well-armoured targets ([[KV-1 (Family)|KV-1]], [[Churchill I]], [[T14]], etc) hard to kill
* Cramped crew locations, very easy to get one-shot by tanks using shells with explosive filler (eg. [[M24]], [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]])
* Max 3.5x gunsight zoom makes distant engagement challenging

== History ==


=== Design ===
The T-34 Model 1941 was the direct successor of the T-34 Model 1940. It featured the exact same design, with a frontal sloped armour, a 2-man turret, a 500 HP engine and a 76 mm gun.

=== Development ===
Only minor modifications were implemented in the T-34 Model 1941. The main goal was to get rid of teething problems and improve manufacturability. It still had a cramped 2-man turret but it was better armoured: the vehicle gained 2 tons overall. It received a better radio equipment for commander tanks but the turret lost its periscope. It kept the initial engine but received better injection, air filter and a better gear box. A major change was the better 76 mm F-34 gun. The gun featuring a better performance was installed on new T-34 Model 1941 in place of the 76 mm L-11 at the initiative of Vasiliy Grabin. Those new tanks were then issued to platoon commanders who in return praised the new gun for its performance. This led the Soviet bureaucratic institutions to approve the gun for production and integration on The T-34. Production started early 1941 in Kharkov. While only 400 T-34 Model 1940 were produced. a total of 3,111 T-34 Model 1941 were produced by Soviet factories before switching to the Model 1942.

=== Combat usage ===
The T-34 (1941) was the first T-34 to massively see combat. It was deployed on the Eastern front to counter the advance of German armour and was deemed a performant platform by Soviet troops. The lack of effectiveness of German 50 mm guns against the sloped armour of T-34s led to the development of new 75 and 88 mm guns to equip German tanks.

== Media ==


; Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ussr_t_34_1941 Skins and camouflages for the T-34 (1941) from live.warthunder.com.]

; Videos

'''The T-34 Family''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel'' discusses the T-34 (1941) at 03:28.

'''T-34 1941 Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''

== See also ==


; Related development

* [[T-34 (Family)]]

*

== External links ==

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

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

{{Sweden medium tanks}}

M4A1 (76) W

2022-06-16T20:34:24Z

U79488589: added m51 link

{{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_m4a1_76w_sherman
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage2_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} American medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was one of the first American tanks to be released with the American ground tree in [[Update 1.45 "Steel Generals"]]. The M4A1 (76) also introduces the more penetrative [[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm cannon]] to the M4 Sherman series of tanks that gives the Sherman a substantial upgrade to fight Rank III enemy tanks.

When compared to the prior models of M4 series tank, one will note the larger and flatter gun mantlet designed to support the 76.2mm gun. unfortunately, the gun mantlet lacks a spall shield behind it like the predecessor M4 and M4A2 Sherman models have. The M4A1 76 W has the same cast hull as the original M4A1 but unlike the original, it appears to have a 2x6 lumber board attached to the front holding petrol cans, a bogey wheel and tracks up onto the hull. The latter two added for light appliqué armour. The two viewports for the machine gunner and driver have also been replaced with periscopes.

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

'''Armour type:'''

*Cast homogeneous armour
*Rolled homogeneous armour (Lower side hull)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 63.5 mm (40-62°) ''Front glacis'' 63.5 mm (16-59°) ''Transmission housing'' || 38.1 mm || 38.1 mm (16°) ''Top'' 38.1 mm (16-53°) ''Bottom'' || 19.5 mm
|-
| Turret || 63.5 mm (0-51°) ''Turret front'' 88.9 mm (5-19°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 63.5 mm (1-20°) || 63.5 mm (0-57°) || 25.4 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 63.5 mm || 25.4 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, bogies are 10 mm thick, and tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Front armour slope not even, lower part is weaker than top.
* Unlike original [[M4A1|model]], part of roof can be seen on very top of front glacis, presenting a weak point right under turret
* Belly armour is 25.4 mm thick.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=620|rbMinHp=354|AoAweight=0.65}}

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

Priority modules for research should be Parts, FPE, and mobility modifications. (These will make up for the vehicle's poor cross-country driving capabilities.)

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

{{main|M1 (76 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm M1]] || 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" | 71 || 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" | 7.67 || rowspan="2" | 6.79 || rowspan="2" | 6.25 || rowspan="2" | 5.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 14.28 || 16.80 || 20.40 || 22.56 || 24.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| M62 shell || APCBC || 149 || 146 || 133 || 119 || 106 || 95
|-
| M42A1 shell || HE || 7 || 7 || 7 || 7 || 7 || 7
|-
| M79 shot || AP || 134 || 132 || 121 || 109 || 99 || 89
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile Mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| M62 shell || APCBC || 792 || 7 || 1.2 || 14 || 63.7 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| M42A1 shell || HE || 800 || 5.84 || 0 || 0.1 || 390 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| M79 shot || AP || 792 || 6.8 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="7" | Smoke shell characteristics
|-
! Ammunition
! Velocity (m/s)
! Projectile Mass (kg)
! Screen radius (m)
! Screen deploy time (s)
! Screen hold time (s)
! Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
|-
| M88 || 274 || 3.44 || 13 || 5 || 20 || 50
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks M4A1 (75) W (China).png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the M4A1 (75) W (China) (identical)]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''71''' || 66 ''(+5)'' || 31 ''(+40)'' || 1 ''(+70)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Shells are modeled individually and disappear from the rack after having been shot or loaded.

=== 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 || 600 (200) || 576 || -10°/+30° || ±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 ==

In general terms, the M4A1 (76) W is a excellent tank for its battle rating, offering an effective gun, decent mobility, decent armour, and excellent gun handling.

The M4A1 (76) W has an unusually high profile and thus it is difficult to drive around undetected. While playing this tank, the unusually high profile, but well-armoured turret combined with excellent gun depression means that the M4A1 can take advantage of many hull-down positions throughout the map. The stabilizer also gives an excellent first shot/first hit possibility and allows the M4A1 to drive around some corners at low speed and make itself slightly harder to hit. The cast shape of the hull also creates some extreme angles where even more powerful shells from the [[D-5T (85 mm)|85 mm]], [[KwK 36 (88 mm)|88 mm]], and [[KwK 42 (75 mm)|KwK 42]] 75 mm can bounce. It is notably better armoured than the [[Pz.IV H|Pz.IV H]] or [[T-34-57]] of similar rank and offers equal or better mobility than most.

Since the ammo stowage in this model is wet stowage, the ammo is stored in a box filled with water on the floor of the tank so it's harder to hit than in previous Sherman models ([[M4|M4]], [[M4A1|M4A1]], [[M4A2|M4A2]], and [[M4A3 (105)|M4A3(105)]]), but the more powerful tanks like the [[Tiger_H1|Tiger H1]] and [[Panther_D|Panther D]] can easily destroy the M4A1 even if the latter shoots first. In addition, they can easily penetrate the Sherman's frontal armour at almost all ranges and in most cases, if they are using the correct ammo, the shells' shrapnel will incapacitate all the crew. When not in a max up-tier, the M4A1 (76) W can confidently engage most enemies from 3.7-5.3 with little issue. In the event of a max up-tier, the Sherman must rely on its fast reload time of 7.6 seconds, its gun stabilizer in order to make accurate moving shots, its gun depression of -10 degrees, and its possession of enough mobility to flank heavier tanks. With its pintle mounted 12.7 mm M2 gun and the coaxial M1919A4 7.62 mm gun, the M4A1 can defend itself and the team from enemy aircraft as well as to incapacitate most SPAA.

The most dangerous opponents the 76 Sherman can face (This will apply to most American tanks armed with the 76mm M1 gun, excluding the Jumbo 76) are the aforementioned Tiger H1/E and Panther Ds, as well as the Soviet IS-1s and KV-85s. High-velocity guns armed by these tanks combined with their very thick/sloped armour makes them extremely dangerous opponents the M4A1 (76) can face. The standard T-34-85s and Panzer IVs can also be a danger, and can instantly knock out the M4A1 with one shot. However, so can the 76 mm gun on the M4A1.

While it is recommended to disable the turret on the tanks mentioned above, note that for the T-34-85s, the best spot to target would be their abnormally large turret gap/ring. The gap is a well-exploitable weakness found on many T-34 designs starting with the T-34 1942 model, as it is noticeably large, thin and not-at-all angled. Shots here with the M62 APCBC-HE shot will result in an instant knock out.

The speedy R3 T20 FA-HS can appear in higher BR battles and circle around you with ease and wipe out all your crew with its fast firing autocannon. In a close encounter, never expose your side to it, and do not even angle your hull. Face your hull directly to the R3, because on each side of the cast hull, above the inducer wheel there is a triangular area that blends and connects the upper front plate to the side. By angling the hull, this triangle becomes unangled to the R3, making it easily penetrated, and the driver / gunner will usually get knocked out first. It is harder for the R3 to penetrate your unangled hull thus giving you more time to react and destroy it.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Good rate of fire for the main gun
* Great gun depression of 10° means impressive terrain adaptation
* Angled frontal slope which may sometimes bounce larger calibres if angled correctly
* A standard 5 crew members, which equates to 3 spare crew members to take over positions of the tank if necessary
* A pintle-mounted heavy machine gun (12.7 mm), which can be used for anti-aircraft purposes
* Gun mantlet and spall shield is fairly thick
* Turret has a nice armour layout
* Applique armour (road wheel and track sections) is situated on the transmission of the vehicle
* Fast horizontal turret traverse
* An installation of a vertical plane stabilizer (noticeable by extremely fast gun depression/elevation) allows for shoot-n-scoot tactics, stopping immediately to shoot, or better accuracy when firing on the move
* Wet ammo storage - Which reduces greatly ammo rack chances, is indicated by the "W" in its name, this also means tightly packed ammo only placed under the turret
* Has access to Add-on Armour
* Has more horsepower than most other Shermans (A3 Variants have 500) making this one of the better hp/t for Shermans

'''Cons:'''

* The gun has less penetration than the German equivalent found on Panzer IVs and Stug III/IVs
* Frontal armour can easily be penetrated by German 75mm guns
* Is quite tall
* Prone to tipping over when travelling across steep inclines
* Sides and rear are thinly armoured
* Engine compartment is poorly armoured
* Susceptible to nearby artillery explosions
* Narrow tracks mean poor ground flotation and cross country performance
* Only reaches its top speed on paved surfaces
* Cannot be angled properly, hull "cheeks" are a weak spot
* The cast hull creates frontal weakspots with very little effective thickness, eg. the triangles between upper front plate and the side, and the curved hull hatches

== History ==


=== M4 Sherman ===
The start of World War II and the Battle of France had America find that their current armoured forces were completely inadequate to fight back a German armour assault. With only the [[M2A4|M2 light tanks]] and the [[M2|M2 medium tank]] available with their [[M3 (37 mm)|37 mm cannons]], the Americans greatly increased their efforts in tank development to bolster their defenses, but to satisfy demands from Great Britain for adequate tanks to rebuild their decimated armoured forces. The requirements set by the US Army called for a tank armed with a [[M3 (75 mm)|75 mm gun]]. While a 75 mm gun was available for use, a turret mounting the gun on a tank was not. Thus, 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. During the M3's development, the designs of the 75 mm armed vehicle were submitted by the Ordnance Department. In 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 '''[[M4|M4 Sherman]]'''. The production for the Sherman began in October 1941 and would continue to be produced until the end of the war in 1945 with around than 50,000 units produced, making it the second most-produced tank in World War II before the [[T-34 (1942)|T-34 tank]]. The Sherman first saw service in North Africa in the hands of the British, and the Shermans continued to see service throughout the North African campaign, Tunisian campaign, and the Italian campaign in the British and American armies. However, the 75 mm gun on the Sherman soon found itself saw as inadequate when the Germans began fielding their new generation of heavy tanks, the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]] and the [[Panther D|Panther]], which could defend itself against the 75 mm gun and take out the Sherman at a long range. A desire to up-gun the Sherman grew among Ordnance officers to fight incoming armour threats and started as far back as 1942.

===Development===
The desire for a hole puncher on the Sherman started in the Ordnance department, seen as an improvement to the Sherman's overall combat ability to fight future tank threats. It started with the adaption of the [[M7 (76 mm)|3-inch anti-tank gun]] into the M4 Sherman. The gun proved too heavy and too bulky for a straight adaption so a simpler and smaller gun model was created called the ''[[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm M1]]'', which could be practically fitted into the M4 Sherman turret. The 76 mm differed from the 3-inch in ammunition by using a different propellant case but the same shells, yet kept the same ballistics. The first guns were trialled in a [[M4A1|M4A1 Sherman]]; while Ordnance approved the vehicle, Armored Board rejected it as the design caused the turret interior to be too cramped for the crew and also the lack of need of such vehicle. This solution was fixed by taking the [[T20|cancelled T23 project]] and adapting the turret into the Sherman, which was easy as the Sherman and the T23 used the same turret ring diameter. The larger turret allowed for a more practical mounting of the 76 mm gun and more room for the crew to move around in. This variant was approved and production was to start in early 1944 for the upcoming invasion of Europe in Operation Overlord to counter the German [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]] and the [[Panther D|Panther]] tanks.

===Design===
Aside from the enlarged T23 turret, the Sherman interior layout was largely unchanged from the original design. The driver and bow gunner still sat in the front, the three-man turret crew in the centre, and the engine compartment in the back. The exterior design of the hull was also largely unchanged with the vertical volute suspension system (VVSS) and sloping front armour.

The '''M4A1 (76) W Sherman''' model ran on a gasoline Continental R975C-4 radial engine. The M4A1 designation was given to Shermans constructed with a fully cast tank hull, giving the tank a distinctive rounded slope front and sides. Though the rounded shape gave the frontal armour uneven angling, it provided adequate protection up to 100 mm in thickness in certain areas. The cast, while efficient in armouring the tank, was hard to manufacture due to limited capabilities in most factories and was hard to repair in the field, so the cast design was changed to welding in future Sherman variants. The M4A1(76)W variant, as indicated by the name, mounted the 76 mm gun instead of the usual 75 mm. The "W" designation on the Sherman indicated that the vehicle had the "wet stowage" feature in response to complaints that the Sherman can easily catch fire due to exploding ammunition. The "wet stowage" encased the ammo containers in a liquid mixture that would douse the flames when penetrated or block flaming shrapnel from penetrating shots from hitting the ammunition. The containers also placed all the ammunition in the bottom centre of the tank, reducing the likeliness of it being hit by a shell as the penetrating shell must go through every armour and obstacle to hit the tank centre. This feature was only present after February 1944 and severely decreased the rate of Sherman fires. Of the 49,234 Sherman produced in World War II, 3,426 M4A1(76)s were produced from January 1944 to July 1945.

===Combat usage===
Despite the stock of 76 mm Shermans now available for them, the commanders opted to not bring any during the invasion of France in June 1944. The issues were logistical, as having a 76 mm armament would mean supplying a different set of ammo to the tank forces. Another issue was that the 76 mm gun had a less lethal high-explosive round at hand, meaning combat against infantry or fixed emplacements would be slightly harder. This forced 75 mm armed Shermans to have to compete against the better armed and armoured Panthers and Tigers in the initial period of the invasion. The combat debut of the M4A1 (76) Shermans was during Operation Cobra in July 1944, as a response to the growing German armour threat in Europe. The 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions received 52 of these Shermans and the rest were distributed among the tank battalions in the infantry divisions. The M4 (76) and M4 (75) Shermans served alongside each other, though the 75 mm Shermans were around in larger numbers and the opinions of the 76 mm cannon vary from a necessary addition to a burden. The 75 mm guns stayed as the primary armament of the armoured forces until the Battle of the Bulge, which had many American armours destroyed by the German onslaught of heavy German tanks such as their [[Panther G|Panther]] and [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II's]]. The negative response from both troops and press had Allied commanders, even Eisenhower himself, request only 76 mm Sherman to be delivered instead of 75 mm in response. The new units arriving in Europe after the Battle of the Bulge were all equipped with 76-mm Shermans. Despite their appearance, 75 mm Shermans were still in stock in the armoured divisions and were still held in high regards for their better capacity to destroy soft targets with high-explosive shells.

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-gunned 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.

=== In-game description ===
In July 1942 ATC began development of M1 and M1A1 76 mm cannons to boost the tank's firepower. Trials showed that the M4's turret was too small to fit long-barreled weapons, and the decision was made to use modified T20/T23 turrets. Tanks boasting 76 mm cannons hit assembly lines in February 1944, making them ready for the Normandy invasion. Ammunition bins were moved to recesses above the tracks on the floor of the battle compartment and on both sides of the driveshaft. An interesting peculiarity was so-called "wet stowage", which had double-walled water jackets surrounding the main gun ammunition storage. It was thought that if the ammunition storage suffered a hit, the water would keep a potential fire from spreading. Tanks with 76 mm weapons were given the additional suffix "76", while the 76 mm M1A1C and M1A2 and their muzzle brakes were installed later. The initial shell speed for the new weapons clocked in at 810 m/s, making the modernized tanks capable of standing up to the heavy German tanks.

Tankers welded extra armour onto the front, sides, and occasionally turret to strengthen the weakly protected ammunition and fuel tanks. Field modifications included stacking sandbags onto the front or welding extra tracks to the most vulnerable areas. Sometimes armour shields or concrete blocks were also attached to the front of the hull.

The Pressed Steel Car Company built 3,396 of these units between January 1944 and June 1945.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=us_m4a1_76w_sherman Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|AThOHUXhcsI|'''The Shooting Range #114''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 08:02 discusses Lafayette G. Pool, US tank ace.|-7jMSCxnnRk|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|7xLjhn6mxoU|'''M4A1 (76) w, American Tier-3 Medium Tank''' - ''Angry Nerd Gaming''|LIPG2_TOITo|'''Tank Chats #111 Sherman M4A1 (76) W''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==


;Other M4A1 vehicles in the game

* [[M4A1]]
* [[Sherman II]]
* [[M4A1 (France)]]
* [[M4A1 (FL10)]]
* [[M4A1 (75) W (China)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/devblog/current/678|[Devblog] Steel Generals: M4A1(76) Sherman tank]]
* [[wt:en/devblog/current/721|[Devblog] Developers about the M4A1(76)W]]
* [[wt:en/news/2800--en|[Historical] The 761st Tank Battalion]]

{{USA medium tanks}}