Sherman Main gun (1 Viewer)

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Quantity does have a quality of its own.

The Sherman does win hands down when it came to numbers. But that can only take you so far.

If the allies didnt have so many fighter bombers to limit the effectiveness of the German armor, then things would have been worse for the M4.
 
So...when did the 90mm come along for the M4? I thought that was the answer to the Tiger/Panther. Or am I thinking of a different tank (ie not the Pershing)?
 
Quantity does have a quality of its own.

The Sherman does win hands down when it came to numbers. But that can only take you so far.

If the allies didnt have so many fighter bombers to limit the effectiveness of the German armor, then things would have been worse for the M4.

Good point and 100% agree.
 
There seems to be a certain amount of confusion here. The Sherman did exist in many variants, so that can be expected, but...

Two basic turret types: the original 75mm type, small and roundish. This was variously equipped with the 75mm gun, the 105mm Howitzer, the Flamethrower modification and the British 17Pdr.

The second, much larger turret carried the US 76mm gun, which was not the same as the British 17Pdr, having rather poorer performances.

Hulls were defined according to manufacturing style - cast or welded - and motorisation.

M4 - welded hull, Continental radial aircraft engine, petrol Sherman MkI
M4A1 - cast hull, engine as above Sherman MkII
M4A2 - welded hull, GM diesel engine - used a lot by USMC owing to fuel compatibility Sherman MkIII
M4A3 - welded hull, Ford petrol engine Not used by British Forces
M4A4 - extended welded hull, Chrysler multibank engine Sherman MkV

Hulls came in the early 'dry' type and later 'wet' type, which caused some external changes.

And I have to get back to my classroom.
 
but the reason the Germans started to develop the Tiger was because the Russians were producing the T34 at an alarming rate which was destroying the Panzer IVs with amazing success.

No.Tiger was being developed before the T-34 saw combat........

The average Panzer Division was made up of Panzer IV divisions and then had a Heavy BN which was made up of Tigers attached to it.

No. By June 1944 the average Type 43 PD had 1 Panzer Regiment. The Panzer Regiment had 2 Abteilung. 1st Abteilung had Panthers and the 2nd Abteilung had PzIV's.

Tiger Abteilung were Korps assets and did not serve in any division.
 
To carry on from there:

Two main types of suspension:

The early VVSS (Vertical Volute Spring Suspension) - the classic Sherman bogies. Two subtypes: the very early one with the return roller directly above the bogie assembly, also used on the General Grant/Lee tanks, and then the second type, with the roller offset behind the assembly.

The late war HVSS (Horizontal) suspension, seen on a few Sherman M4A2s and M4A3s at the War's end; apparently M4A1s were NOT equipped with this suspension during WW2. Tracks were noticeably wider, necessitating the addition of "shelves" along the sides of the hull.

The final US Army variant used in WW2 was the M4A3E8 76mm(W), meaning the welded-hull Ford petrol-engined variant with 76mm turret and gun, and wet ammunition stowage; this meant that the compartments where the main gun ammunition was stowed were made up of sleeves to receive the rounds, in a "box" of water. The "E8" tag indicates HVSS suspension. This tank went on to serve in Korea before being relpaced by Pershings. The British designation would be Sherman MkIVAY, where "A" indicates the 76mm gun, (B=105mm Howitzer, C=17Pdr A/T), and "Y" indicates the HVSS suspension. The type did not serve in the British Army, although one or two found their way to Bovington for testing, and the 6th South African Div used Sherman MkIIAs in Italy.

The welded wet stowage hull can be recognized by the single piece glacis, compared to the earlier dry model where the driver's and hull gunner's positions protruded from the glacis.

More in a bit.
 
No.Tiger was being developed before the T-34 saw combat........

Yes the development goes back to 1938 I believe (not sure on that I could be wrong) but Hitler ordered it to go into production quicker because of the T-34.

m kenny said:
No. By June 1944 the average Type 43 PD had 1 Panzer Regiment. The Panzer Regiment had 2 Abteilung. 1st Abteilung had Panthers and the 2nd Abteilung had PzIV's.

Excuse me that is correct.

Battalion Command (composed of Communication and Reconnaissance Platoon)
Communication Platoon - 3 x Befehlswagen Panther SdKfz.267/268
Reconnaissance Platoon - 5 x Panther
1st Company - 22 x Panther
Company Command - 2 x Panther
1st Platoon - 5 x Panther
2nd Platoon - 5 x Panther
3rd Platoon - 5 x Panther
4th Platoon - 5 x Panther
2nd Company - 22 x Panther (composed as 1st Company)
3rd Company - 22 x Panther (composed as 1st Company)
4th Company - 22 x Panther (composed as 1st Company)
Service Platoon - 2 x Bergepanther
 
A few pics to prove the point; meanwhile, you may notice two different types of transmission cover - bolted and cast. The cast type appeared in 1942 or so, and gradually replaced the original bolted type. This made no change to the designation of the vehicle. No M4A3 or wet stowage hull had a bolted transmission cover.

Very early production MkIs and MkIIs actually had direct-vision "visors" in the glacis, but these were quickly replaced by episcopes/periscopes for the driver and hull-gunner. Also, at least two types of mantlet were used for the 75mm gun - a narrow early one, and the later, wider one seen below.

The cupola was also improved, as you can see from comparing the pics of the MkI and the M4A3 75mm; at the same time, a hatch was added for the main gunner.

British Shermans had a number of modifications compared to US vehicles, the most visible of these involved moving the radio from the hull gunner's position to the rear of the turret, necessitating the addition of a stowage box on the turret rear.

Incidentally, one of the main reasons why the Sherman MkI and II caught fire so easily is that the Continental Whirlwind rotary engine used to p*ss oil and petrol everywhere :shock: . The Ford and Chrysler engined MkIV and MkV were far safer, despite their petrol engines.
 

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On May 26th of 1941, during the meeting concerning the development of new weaponry, Adolf Hitler ordered both Dr.Porsche and Henschel to supply their designs for a heavy tank, which was to be ready in the summer of 1942. Krupp was in charge of supplying main armament and producing turrets for designs by both Henschel and Porsche. The project was known as the "Tigerprogram".

In July of 1942, Henschel Tiger - VK 4501(H) was approved and went into production. Only five Tiger(P) were fully completed in July of 1942 by Nibelungenwerke with armored parts supplied by Krupp, before the production was stopped in August of 1942 (chassis number 150001-150010). Even before even the rejection of Tiger(P)'s design production of 90 pre-production VK4501(P) chassis started. Production of pre-production chassis continued, and in early September of 1942, it was decided to equip two sPzAbts (including sPzAbt 501) destined for North Africa with Tiger(P)s. This decision was made simply because of the stage of development and the fact that Tiger(P)'s engines were air-cooled. Once again unresolved problem of technical unreliability led to the cancellation of the production.

Achtung Panzer! - Tiger(P)

The first T-34's left the factory in June of 1940 with development having started in 1938. First action was seen during Barbarossa (26th June 1941 Central Front) by which point the Tiger was already in development (started in May 1941).

LemaireSoft's T-34/76: global

The T-34 was the trigger for the speeding up of the development of the German heavy tanks that rolled out onto the Battlefields after 1942 and dominated until the end of the war.
 

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