25207 - U.S. M4A3(75) Sherman Tank 6th Armored Division, 69th Tank Battalion Co. H, Germany 1945

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U.S. M4A3(75) Sherman Tank 6th Armored Division, 69th Tank Battalion Co. H, Germany 1945

It has been argued that the ubiquitous Sherman tank was the best armored fighting vehicle of the war. It first saw service with the British 8th Army, October 1942 at the battle of El Alamein and outclassed much of the German armor – and all of the Italian armor – in North Africa at that time. It equally matched the Panzer Mark IV (the German main battle tank) for the rest of the war. The Sherman was designed to be easy to maintain. Its standard chassis and universal power plant meant that much of the mechanics were interchangeable with many of the allied armor components. If the road wheels or suspension system were damaged by an anti-tank mine, the crew just unscrewed 16 securing bolts and swapped out the bogie. Much easier than doing the same repairs on a T-34, Tiger, or Panther tank. Its armament was a respectable 75 mm main gun; two .30 caliber machine guns; one .50 caliber machine gun (the M2, or “Ma Duce” is still used today). The Sherman had good speed both on and off-road. In the desert, Sherman’s rubber-block tracks performed well, while in the confined, hilly landscape of Italy, the smaller, more nimble Sherman could often cross terrain that some heavy German tanks could not. But perhaps its greatest strength was its sheer numbers: More than 50,000 Shermans were produced between 1942 and 1945.