Thursday 12 September 2013

Lend Lease Impressions: M4A4 Sherman

The M4A4 Sherman tank was not very popular in the United States. The US preferred the M4A3, the Soviets preferred the M4A2. Out of 7499 units produced, 7167 were sent to Great Britain. From CAMD RF 38-11355-1755:

"Conclusions.
  1. The American M4A4 medium tank is, overall, worse than the M4A2 medium tank.
  2. The 30-cylinder Chrysler gasoline engine is large and unwieldy, has many parts and assemblies, decreases the reliability of the tank, and increases difficulty of service. The engine provides good speed, but drastically lowers the tank's fuel efficiency, and increases cost. The fuel is more expensive than fuel for GMC engines in the M4A2 tank.
  3. The M4A4 tank is equivalent to the M4A2 tank in its armament, view range, crew comfort, and ammunition rack convenience.
  4. The hydroelectric turret traverse mechanism allows for faster and more convenient aiming of the main gun, compared to the hydraulic mechanism of the M4A2 turret. The commander's traverse switch allows for fire control on important targets, and allows the tank shift fire faster than the M4A2.
  5. Reliability of the suspension is identical to the M4A2 when using metallic tracks. The metallic tracks of the M4A4 have better traction than the metallic tracks of the M4A2."
30 cylinders? Oh yes. The M4A4 was powered by 5 six-cylinder car engines, put together in the Chrysler A57 Multibank. 

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