American medium tank M4 Sherman. In the serial production of the machine went under the designation of the middle tank M4.
Armed with a 75-mm gun, 76-mm, 100-mm guns and three machine guns. Battle baptism of tanks of this type occurred near El Alamein in October 1942. The thickness of the armor in the base model was from 15 to 103 mm. M4A2 (Sherman 3) armor thickness from 13 to 103 mm, M4A3 armor thickness from 15 to 100 mm. In the second world war the M4 was an analogue of the Soviet T-34.
After the appearance of the German Army tanks “Tiger”, American designers had to work on increasing armor, but this problem was not resolved. The solution to the armament problem was found in 1944 on the M4 Sherman Firefly tanks. In the tower of the tank installed a new English anti-tank gun. The tower itself was also modified, it was extended in the aft part.
In the UK, the M4 tank was designated as “Sherman-Firefly”. This model was created in 1944, was armed with a 17-inch gun and was the only one among the English tanks, which during the operation in Normandy could compete on a par with the German “Tigers” and “Panthers.”