British Sherman Tanks The M4 Medium Tank in British and Commonwealth Service

By 1944 the American M4 Medium Tank (known as the Sherman in British and Commonwealth service) was the most significant British tank. By the time of the Normandy landings there were more Shermans in British and Commonwealth armoured units than any single British tank type. From late 1942, when it was first used, until the end of World War Two, the Sherman would be used as a gun tank and converted to serve in a bewildering number of other roles.

Views on this tank have changed. During World War Two and in the decades that followed, the M4 and the British Sherman were generally regarded as effective and useful AFVs that made a significant contribution to Allied victory. During the last 25 years revisionist books and articles have suggested something quite different: that the Sherman was a flawed design that caused unnecessary casualties amongst those who served in it.

Was the Sherman a "death trap" or a useful part of the British armoured inventory? In an attempt to answer this question this book examines the design of the Sherman, looks at how the different variants of this tank used by British and Commonwealth forces and the ways in which these tanks were modified and improved. It also examines the way in which British and Commonwealth use of the Sherman differed from U.S. Army doctrine.

This is the story of British Shermans.