![]() Army but partly those of the British and Soviets as well. More than forty thousand Shermans were built from 1941 to 1946, meeting the needs of not only the U.S. However, it also had significant advantages, not least of which was availability. It was tall and top-heavy, making it a better target than the panzers or T-34, and it was outgunned by enemy tanks. Consequently, diesels were used in M4A2s and A6s. Its gasoline engine (variously 425 to 500 horsepower) was prone to ‘‘brewing up’’ and burning its five-man crew to death. The Sherman had many failings as a battle tank. The M5 was primarily distinguished from the M3 by sloping glacis armor and a larger engine compartment to accommodate two Cadillac V-8s. Owing to a need for more tanks of already existing models, the first of some 6,800 M5s were not delivered until November 1942. The M5 was an upgraded version of the M3, weighing 16.5 tons. British tankers were so fond of the type that they nicknamed it ‘‘Honey,’’ and not without reason-it was fast, reliable, seldom threw treads, and proved reasonably easy to maintain. Total M3 production was some 13,600 tanks, of which 5,400 were provided to Britain and 1,600 to Russia. In Normandy, the M3 had no chance against German armor but was useful as an infantry support and reconnaissance vehicle.įrom 1941 to 1943 Stuarts were built in three main variants and several lesser models. Powered by either gas or diesel engines, Stuarts could reach thirty-seven miles per hour on roads. ![]() Armed with only a 37 mm gun and protected by no more than two inches of armor, it was nevertheless fast and agile with a four-man crew. However, the M3 was available in numbers sufficient for export and used by the British, who dubbed it the ‘‘Stuart’’ after the Confederate cavalry hero of the American Civil War. Certainly it could not compare to the German Mark IV or the British Crusader, let alone the Soviet T-34. When the M3, an evolutionary design based on the M2A4, was introduced in March 1941 it was in no way competitive as a battle tank. Though America produced enormous numbers of armored vehicles (forty-seven thousand tanks alone in 1943–44), only two main types were used by the U.S. To focus on a particular instance in which WW2 tanks came into direct conflict, this article will focus on the Invasion of Normandy.
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