Home Tank destroyer
Category:

Tank destroyer

Sherman M4 WWII American – Allied Medium tank
CommonwealthHowitzerMedium TankTank destroyerTanksUSAWorld War II

Sherman M4 WWII American – Allied Medium tank

by Soora Solutions
written by Soora Solutions

Medium tank M4, aka Sherman is a medium tank originally designed by US military during WWII. It was the most widely used medium tank by US military during the WWII era. Sherman M4 was used by all allied nations during the WWII and Sherman firefly was designed and manufactured in UK based on the M4 design. Sherman M4 served in the US military for 15 years from 1942 to 1957.

Sherman was one of the most significant and successful tanks of WWII era.  Extremely high reliability, easy maintainability, abundance of spare parts and cheap building cost made it more attractive to have in any army. More than 49,000 units of Sherman tank was manufactured during the WWII era with each costing 44 to 65 thousand dollars.

Sherman M4

Sherman M4

Development history of Sherman M4

Sherman is the 4th main development of medium tank class which started from the M2 light tank in 1935. M2 light tank developed into M2 medium tank in 1939 and it was again developed into M3 Lee tank. M3 is actually an intermediate design or a gap filling design. But, the development of M3 Lee was a big victory for US engineers since the 37 mm gun used in the M2 medium was replaced with a heavy 75mm M2 canon.

M2 Light tank

M2 light Tank

However, with the gun mounted on a side sponson M3 had some unusual design. Without a turret targeting was difficult with M3 and the tank needed to be moved around always to acquire a target. As a solution a joint design operation involving British, US and Canadian engineers resulted the first prototype M4 tank design Which was known as T6.

M3 Lee Tank

M3 Lee Tank

Lee M3 vs Sherman M4

Sherman is the successor of M3 Lee medium tank which served US army in the early WWII years. The mechanical design of the M3 did not changed from a significant level while developing the M4. The most significant change is that instead of mounting the main gun in side sponson mount, it was brought to the central turret. This gave the M4 Sherman better targeting ability and firing stability. A gyro-stabilizer was used to stabilize the turret main gun.

M2 75mm Gun mounted in a half-truck

M2 75mm Gun mounted in a half-truck

A 75mm M2 or M3 gun was used in the M3 Lee and the same M3 gun was used in M4 as well. However, the ammo storage was increased from M3 carrying 46 rounds to M4 carrying 104 rounds.

M4 Sherman – General specifications

Sherman was originally designed by U.S Army Ordnance Department in 1940. The tank is 30 to 38 tonnes heavy and 19 to 20 ft long. Depending on the variant the width vary between 8ft 7 in to 9ft 10 in. Height 9 ft to 9 ft and 9 inches.

M4 Sherman

M4 Sherman

Crew

M4 Sherman was manned by a five personnel crew which include Commander, driver, gunner, loader and bow gunner. Bow gunner was also designated as the assistant driver of the tank.

Sherman M4 Armour

By the time M4 Sherman had a good armour to resist German anti-tank guns. The armour plate thicknesses vary from 12.7 to 177.8 mm depending on the location.

Sherman M4 main armament

As the main armament three different guns are used in different variants. The 75 mm M3 gun with 90 to 104 rounds, 76 mm M1A1, M1A1C and M1A2 guns with 71 rounds or a 105mm M4 howitzer with 66 rounds acted as the main armament of Sherman.

High explosive ammo, smoke ammo and armour piercing ammo were used with these guns.

Issues related to the M4 main gun

Muzzle blast in the initial 76mm guns caused heavy smoke and dust around the gun. So, after making the first shot the gunner was unable to clearly see the target. In M1A1C gun, the gun was threaded for a muzzle brake and the threads were covered with a protected cap.

Secondary armament

As the main machine gun a half inch caliber browning M2HB machine gun with 300-600 rounds were used. As the secondary machine guns in hull and turret two .30 caliber Browning M1919A4 MG with 6,000 – 6,750 rounds used.

Engine and power of Sherman M4

In the initial M4A1 version a petrol engine with 350 to 400 hp power is used. In the M4A2 version the fuel type was changed to diesel to increase the torque of the engine. The engine was manufactured by general motors. 6046, General motors 71 series two stroke engine was used in the M4A2.

In M4A3 again the fuel type was changed to petrol. Ford made V8 petrol engine installed in the M4A3 was able to output 450 hp. In M4A4 version  a Chrysler A57 multibank 39 cylinder Petrol engine with a power output of 370hp was used. Again in M4A6 version a 450hp engine – Caterpillar D-200A 9 cylinder radial diesel engine was installed.

As the power transmission system Spicer made manual transmission system with 5 forward gears and single reverse gear was installed.

The power to weight ration of M4 Sherman tank vary from 10.46 to 13.49 hp/t range depending on the variant.

Range and Speed

Depending on the tank variant M4 Sherman can  carry 520 to 660 L of fuel. This fuel storage was able to support a operational range of 160 to 240 km on road. Depending on the terrain the consumption may increase.

The maximum on road speed vary from 35 to 48 km/h.

Sherman – Probably the most successful military vehicle development program during WWII?

The design of Sherman was proven to be one of the most successful designs in the history. With incomparable reliability records US engineers considered developing various military vehicles based on the Sherman’s design. Some vehicles developed with the Sherman blueprint include,

  • Tank destroyers like M10 with 3 in gun
  • Howitzers like M7B1 with 105mm howitzer
  • Self-propelled gun carriers like M30 truck
  • Flamethrower tanks like M4-A2
  • Rocket launcher tanks like T34 Calliope
  • Amphibious assault vehicles
  • Engineering tanks
  • Artillery carriers
  • Recovery vehicles
M10 Tank Destroyer

M10 Tank Destroyer

Major battles

Other than WWII, Sherman served in many major battles around the world. Korean war, Cuban revolution, Indo-pakistan war, Suez crisis, Iran – Iraq war are some highlights, which Sherman served as main medium tank for different countries.

Sherman Firefly

Sherman firefly is a British made medium tank of WWII. Firefly was developed from the blueprints of Sherman M4. More than 2,100 Firefly tank units were manufactured in UK’s Detroit tank arsenal company.

Unlike the M4, firefly only need a four man crew which include the commander, gunner, loader and driver. Instead of using US M2 or M3 75 mm medium velocity guns , British made QF 17 pounder 76.2 mm gun with 77 round storage capacity was used in the firefly.

A multibank petrol engine was used to power this tank and the maximum recorded power was 425 hp.

Sherman Fury

Fury is an American war film released in 2014. The movie timeline moves with a story of US tank crew, who is fighting though the German front lines during the final weeks of WWII. The crews beloved tank is a M4 Sherman nicknamed “Fury”

The tank featured in the movie is an A2 variant of Sherman M4 American made medium tank.

Summary – M4 Sherman

M4 Sherman is a WWII era American medium tank used by many armies including US army, British army, Canadian army and other allied armies. Sherman was the successor of M3 Lee tank. Sherman was identified as a durable, enduring and powerful tank and it was very successful in the battle field. Using the same design many other military vehicles including engineering vehicles, rocket launching vehicles and tank destroyers were developed.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
Tiger-P
By CountryGermanyHeavy TankHeavy Tank DestroyerTank destroyerTanksWorld War II

Tiger-P (VK 45.01-P) – The Heavy German Tank

by Soora Solutions
written by Soora Solutions

Tiger-P – The Porsche Tiger

Tiger-P

Tiger-P

What is this Tiger-P Tank?

The VK 45.01 (P), also known as the Tiger-P or Porsche Tiger, was a heavy tank prototype created by Porsche in Germany that used a gasoline-electric drive system.

Was it launched?

No. It was not chosen for mass production after losing in trials to a Henschel competitor, and the Henschel design was manufactured as the Tiger I. The majority of the existing chassis were refurbished into Elefant tank destroyers.

Progress

Origin

On May 26, 1941, Henschel and Porsche were given the task of designing a 45-ton heavy tank that could carry the high-velocity 8.8 cm Kwk 36 L/56 gun, which was based on the German 88 mm Flak 37 antiaircraft gun. Krupp was supposed to supply the same turret for both the Henschel and Porsche tanks.

Tiger-P

Porsche and Henschel logos

Porsche

The Porsche company updated the VK 30.01 (P) medium tank prototype and transferred pieces from it to the new tank.

Plan for the new Tiger-P tank

The new Porsche tank, codenamed VK 45.01 (P), was to be propelled by two V-10 air-cooled Porsche Type 101 gasoline engines attached to the tank’s rear. Each of the twin engines would then power a separate generator, one for each side of the tank, which in turn would power each of two electric motors, one for each track from the rear-drive sprocket.

Was it a success?

No. The engines and drive train were mainly new and unconventional designs for a tank (with the exception of a few early trials) and were prone to breaking down or requiring frequent repair due to their underdevelopment.

What were the obstacles?

In addition to the increasing demands of the U-boat fleet (which used very similar diesel-electric transmissions that worked perfectly well), it was difficult for the Third Reich to obtain additional amounts of quality copper to build whole new fleets of vehicles with electric drives. While it was relatively easy to obtain quality copper to build a single prototype, once series production began, it became more difficult.

What happened to the Tiger-P tank?

Because of the above issues, as well as the fact that trials revealed the tank to be less agile than its rival, Henschel’s equally armed and more conventional VK 45.01 (H) H1 prototype, which became the Tiger I, was chosen for production instead.

Was the Tiger-P a total waste?

No. The VK 45.01 (P) or the Tiger-P chassis was later chosen as the foundation for a new heavy Jagdpanzer (although classified a Panzerjäger) to be known as the Ferdinand and to carry the larger, longer 88 mm Pak 43/2 gun.

What were the other uses?

In the Ferdinand (Elefant) unit, just one tank served as a command tank, and it was assigned to Panzerjäger Abteilung 653. The chassis of the VK 45.01 (P) and several Elefant components were later utilized to develop the VK 45.02 (P) prototype heavy tank.

Design of the Tiger-P

Tiger-P

Tiger-P

The spring rod roller carriage

The spring rod roller carriage was designed by Ferdinand Porsche, and it had six road wheels, each consisting of an inner and outer paired wheel per axle. The six paired road wheels were split into three 2-axle bogies per side, totaling 12 individual wheels (6 road wheels/axles) in three bogies.

Was Tiger-P similar to the Tiger 1?

No. Unlike the Tiger I, the wheels were not ‘interleaved.’ The ground pressure was roughly 1.06 kg / cm2 because of the 57 to 59 tons combat weight combined with 640 mm wide “slack-tracks” (KGS 62/640/130) with no return rollers.

The drive system

The specially created gasoline-electric drive-by Ferdinand Porsche entered “uncharted ground” for road vehicles, resulting in significant development challenges with the drive system. The two Porsche Type 101 air-cooled V-10 engines, each mated to a Siemens-Schuckert 500 kVA generator, provided the necessary electric power to run each of the two Siemens 230 kW (312.7 PS) individual-output electric motors.

What were the changes they did to the Tiger-P?

A mechanical power transmission system and gearbox could be omitted in this drive system since a 3-step speed switch took over the work. The power from the electric motors was transferred to the rear-drive wheels through a 15: 1 final drive.

The fuel tanks

The fuel tanks held 520 liters of gasoline and provided a 105-kilometer driving range. During braking maneuvers, the driver was aided by two compressed air tanks in the front crew compartment area.

Turret

Unlike the Henschel design, which had the turret positioned in the middle of the hull, the VK 45.01 (P) had the turret mounted in the front. The turret, which housed an 8.8 cm KwK 36 and a 7.92 mm MG 34 coaxial machine gun, was based on the same Krupp design as Henschel’s contract-winning VK45.01(H) prototype.

The first-ever turrets

The first eight turrets had lower sidewalls, a flat roof, and a raised center part to allow the gun to be depressed over a broader arc.

Modifications / Variants

Tiger-P

Tiger-P

VK 45.01 (P) Prototype test

For testing purposes, a VK45.01 chassis was modified with a concrete turret dummy to simulate the weight of the Krupp turret. There were just 100 chassis made.

45.01 (P) VK 45.01 (P) VK 45.01 (P) V (Porsche Tiger)

There were ten VK45.01 tanks built with Krupp turrets and 8.8 cm KwK 36 cannons. Only one completed Tiger (P) command tank, chassis number 150013, saw combat service.

Panzerjäger Tiger-P “Ferdinand”

91 existing VK 4501 chassis were transformed into Ferdinand jagdpanzers by Panzerjäger Tiger (P) “Ferdinand.” From March to May 1943, the work was completed in just a few months.

“Elefant” Panzerjäger Tiger-P

All remaining Ferdinands were recalled in September 1943 to be modified. For self-defense, 48 of the 50 vehicles that survived were modified with increased armor, a new commander’s cupola (from the StuG III), and a new ball-mounted frontal machine gun.

Tiger-Bergepanzer (P)

The VK 45.01 (P) chassis was converted into Bergepanzer Tiger rescue vehicles (P). Only three were constructed.

“RammTiger” VK 45.01

The VK 45.01 (P) chassis would be converted into a strongly armored ramming vehicle with machine guns. The project was canceled in 1943, therefore the fate of the three superstructures is unknown.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
Object 277
Heavy TankHeavy Tank DestroyerPost World WarTank destroyerTanksUSSR

Object 277 – The heavy experimental tank

by Soora Solutions
written by Soora Solutions

The Soviet experimental tank – Object 277

Object 277

Object 277

Origin

This tank was built in 1957. Some reports say that this tank was built somewhere between 1956 and 1958.

Place of origin

This was built in a Kirov plant which was located in Leningrad.

Builder

They built this tank under Joseph Kotin’s supervision.

Joseph Kotin

Joseph Kotin – Designer of Object 277

Type of the tank

And this was a Soviet experimental heavy tank.

Usage

This was also a prototype as same as the IS-7. So, it was not used. Even though the tank was heavily built, they did not use it in the war.

Main issues of the tank Object 277

The first and the main issue was the long gun barrel. Commanders thought that this barrel could cause more damage to their other tanks rather than damage enemies. Another issue was the weight. It was 5 tonnes over than the estimated weight.

History of the tank

They built two similar prototypes. And they went undertrials from 1959 to 1960. The first trial took place from 7th January 1959 to 26 February 1960.

Was Object 277 used in the war?

No, they discontinued the further developments to the tank.

Why did they discontinue the building of the tank?

The main reason was the lack of resources. So, some of the main systems and components were incomplete.

End of the Object 277

In 1960 they marked the end of the heavy tank Object 277. This was not only the end of this tank. But also, the end of the line of Soviet heavy tanks.

Modules

Armament

  • Gun – 130 mm M-65 (26 shots)
  • Machine gun – caliber (250 shots)

Engine

M-850 with 950 – 1000 hp

Suspensions

Object 277 with a load limit of 60

Radio

R-113

Built of the tank

It weighs 55 tons and the overall dimension was 10150 x 3380 x 2500 mm (length x width x height).

Object 277

Side profile of the object 277

Water barriers

The depth of the water barrier was 1.2 meters.

Chassis

This tank has a V-shaped chassis with a 12-cylinder engine, an ejection cooling system, and a drive centrifugal supercharger. And this includes a transmission mechanical planetary too.

Suspension

The first, second, and eighth suspensions are installed with beam shock absorbers and suspension torsion beams.

Design of the tank

the base of the tank was special. We can see a similarity between the Object 277 and IS-7 and the T-10 tanks. All of them used separate design decisions.

Overall layout

There was not much of a special design to the tank. It was the traditional design of a war tank.

Protection

The body of the tank is well welded. The thickness is varying according to the sides and the bends.

Armor protection

  • Forehead hull – 120mm
  • Turret forehead – 290mm

Performance

For the overall performance, we can say that Object 277 is a great evolution from the famous T-10.

Speed

55 km/h

Is this similar to Object 907?

This is comparably bouncier than Object 907 when we take the V-shaped sides and round cast glacis into consideration.

Basic profile

The face of this tank is somewhat sturdy looking. And the roof is much thicker than other tanks.

Object 277

Object 277

Object 277 as a fighter

If it were ever taken into the war, Object 277 could have a key position in the war. It has good coordination which can cause alpha damage to its opponents. So this is a leading tank.

Object 277 in the field

It can act as a flanker in the field. Cause it can easily agile on hard grounds. This would be the only tank in the urban brawling maps if it had the chance.

Punctuality

This is much more accurate than many other tanks. Especially when compared with the WZ-11 5A. the gun handling, mobility and penetration are much better in Object 277.

 

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest