接上文：

歷史

The Battle of France in 1940 proved to America that their current Tank arsenal would not be able to withstand a German assault. The only Tanks in their inventory at that time was the M2 light Tank and the M2 medium Tank, both are inadequate against the German panzer IIIs and the panzer IVs. The US Army, in response, ordered for a Tank armed with a 75 mm gun. While a 75 mm gun was available for use, a turret able to mount the gun was not. So while the turret and Tank design underwent development, the 75 mm would be mounted on the stopgap M3 Lee Tank in a sponson mount. This interim design put the 75 mm on a lower and limited traverse mount that restricted its firing angle, but it did give the Western Allies a Tank with the gun, so it was issued by the thousands until a better design could be produced.

1940年的法國戰(zhàn)役向美國證明，他們目前的坦克無法抵擋德國的進(jìn)攻。當(dāng)時他們的庫存中只有M2輕型坦克和M2中型坦克，這兩種坦克都不足以對付德國的三號和四號坦克。作為法國戰(zhàn)役的回應(yīng)，美國陸軍訂購了一輛裝有75毫米炮的坦克。雖然有一門75毫米炮可以使用，但沒有一個能安裝該炮的炮塔。因此，當(dāng)可安裝75毫米炮的炮塔和坦克的設(shè)計正在進(jìn)行時，75毫米炮將臨時安裝在M3“李”坦克上。這種臨時設(shè)計將75毫米炮裝在一個較低且有限的橫裝上，從而限制了它的射擊角度，但它確實(shí)給了西方盟國一輛帶有該炮的坦克，所以它被成千上萬的人使用，直到生產(chǎn)出來更好的坦克。

During the M3 medium's development, the designs of the 75 mm armed vehicle were being drawn up and submitted by the Ordnance Department. Specifications on the Tank design were strict in order to maximize logistical support. Restrictions were made on the Tank's height, width, and weight in order to make it able to be transported over bridges, roads, railroads, and on naval ships. These specifications would help the Army by making the Tank be very flexible on strategic, logistical, and tactical grounds. On April 1941, the Armored Force Board chose the simplest of the designs, which was a redesigned M3 hull and chassis with a turret mounting the 75 mm gun designated the T6, completed in September 1941. This Tank would then designated the Medium Tank M4 in American service. The Tank would eventually become the most used Allied Tank during World War II as it was lent out by the thousands in the Lend-Lease program to the Allied countries. The British designated the M4 the "Sherman", which coined into the Tank's name M4 Sherman that it would be known as in history. The production for the Shermans began on October 1941 and would continue to be produced until the end of the war in 1945 with around 50,000 units produced, making it the second most-produced Tank in World War II before the T-34 Tank.

在M3中型坦克的發(fā)展期間，軍械部起草并提交了搭載75毫米炮裝甲車的設(shè)計。坦克設(shè)計的規(guī)格很嚴(yán)格，以最大限度地提高后勤保障。為了能在橋梁、公路、鐵路和海軍艦艇上運(yùn)輸，坦克的高度、寬度和重量都受到了限制。這些規(guī)格將有助于陸軍在戰(zhàn)略、后勤和戰(zhàn)術(shù)方面非常靈活使用坦克。1941年4月，裝甲兵委員會選擇了最簡單的設(shè)計方案，即一個重新設(shè)計的M3車體和底盤，炮塔安裝了一門被命名為T6的75毫米炮，于1941年9月完成。這種坦克后來被指定為中型坦克M4在美國服役。這輛坦克最終成為二戰(zhàn)期間使用最多的盟軍坦克，成千上萬的M4在《租借法案》中被租借給盟國。英國人將M4命名為“謝爾曼”，并將其命名為M4“謝爾曼”。謝爾曼坦克的生產(chǎn)從1941年10月開始，一直持續(xù)到1945年戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束，大約生產(chǎn)了5萬輛，使其成為第二次世界大戰(zhàn)中產(chǎn)量僅次于T-34坦克的第二大坦克。

設(shè)計

Many variants of the Shermans were produced, but they all followed a similar layout. The driver and bow gunner sat in the front driving compartment, the fighting compartment in the middle housed the turret its three crew member, and in the back was the engine compartment. The Sherman used many features present in previous American Tank designs, the vertical volute suspension system (VVSS) and radial engine from the M2 Light Tanks, and the sloping armour of the M2 Medium Tanks. This became a contributing factor on the Sherman's reliability on the field, as most of the design flaws were ironed out with the previous Tank designs. The Tank-mounted the 75 mm M3 gun, giving the Tank very good AP and HE capabilities. The Sherman's turret traverse speed was very fast, able to traverse a full 360 degrees in only 15 seconds, which is considerably faster than the traverse speed on most German Tanks. Another unique feature on the Sherman was the installation of a gyroscopic stabilizer on the gun and sight, making the Sherman one of the first produced Tanks to incorporate those features. While the stabilization was only done for the vertical plane, it kept the gun stable enough to be able to shoot on the move effectively, with a study showing a 70 % hit probability on an enemy 300 to 1,200 yards away when moving at a speed of 15 mph. However, this feature was controversial among the crew and experiences with it vary.

謝爾曼有許多不同的被投入生產(chǎn)的型號，但它們的布局相似。駕駛員和機(jī)槍手坐在前面的駕駛艙中，中間的戰(zhàn)斗艙容納炮塔內(nèi)的三名乘員，后面是發(fā)動機(jī)艙。謝爾曼使用了很多美國坦克以前的設(shè)計特點(diǎn)，M2輕型坦克的垂直螺旋彈簧懸掛系統(tǒng)(VVSS)和星形發(fā)動機(jī)，以及M2中型坦克的傾斜裝甲。由于大多數(shù)設(shè)計缺陷都被先前的坦克設(shè)計所排除，這成為了保證謝爾曼的戰(zhàn)場可靠性的一個重要因素。安裝在坦克上的75mm M3炮，給了坦克非常好的反裝甲和反步兵能力。謝爾曼的炮塔轉(zhuǎn)速非?？?，能夠在15秒內(nèi)轉(zhuǎn)動360度，這比大多數(shù)德國坦克的炮塔轉(zhuǎn)動速度要快得多。謝爾曼坦克的另一個獨(dú)特的特點(diǎn)是在炮和瞄準(zhǔn)器上安裝了一個陀螺儀穩(wěn)定器，這使得謝爾曼坦克成為首批具備這些特點(diǎn)的坦克之一。雖然這種穩(wěn)定器只在垂直平面上使用，但它能保證火炮足夠穩(wěn)定，使其能夠在移動中有效射擊。一項研究顯示，當(dāng)以每小時15英里的速度移動時，射擊300到1200碼外的敵人上有70%的命中概率。然而，這一功能在裝甲兵中存在爭議，他們的體驗(yàn)也各不相同。

The M4 Sherman model ran on a gasoline Continental R975 radial engine and was one of the first models of the Sherman developed. The early M4 Sherman featured the M38 telescopic sight in the M4 periscope with no zoom, but experience in North Africa and recommendations from the British changed the sight into the M55 telescopic sight integrated into the gun mantlet.[1] This change in optics required appliqué armour to be added at the turret area in front of the gunner since the modification left the area weaker than the overall turret. This problem would be fixed in later-production models of the M4 Sherman. The Tank's hull was welded, with the front armour plate placed on a 56-degree sloping angle. An early design defect with the design was the protruding armoured hatches for the driver and assistant driver. These protrusions create "shot traps" as they were in a near vertical position that gave less protection on the front armour than the sloping areas. This was fixed on later models as well. Up to 6,748 M4A1s were produced from July 1942 to January 1944, out of the 49,234 total Sherman units produced in the war.

M4“謝爾曼”裝備有一個大陸R975星形汽油發(fā)動機(jī)，這是謝爾曼的第一個型號。早期的M4“謝爾曼”在M4潛望鏡中使用了M38望遠(yuǎn)式瞄準(zhǔn)鏡，其沒有變焦功能，但是在北非作戰(zhàn)的經(jīng)驗(yàn)和來自英國的建議，使謝爾曼將望遠(yuǎn)式瞄準(zhǔn)鏡更換為了M55望遠(yuǎn)式瞄準(zhǔn)鏡，并集成到了炮盾上。這種光學(xué)器材上的變化要求在炮塔前部增加嵌花（appliqué）裝甲，因?yàn)楣鈱W(xué)器材的修改使得該區(qū)域比整個炮塔更弱。這個問題將在M4“謝爾曼”后期型中得到解決。坦克的車體是焊接的，前裝甲板有56度的傾斜角度。設(shè)計的一個早期設(shè)計缺陷是駕駛員和副駕駛的裝甲艙口突出。這些突起形成了“射擊陷阱”，因?yàn)樗鼈兲幱诮咏怪钡奈恢茫瑢η把b甲的保護(hù)比傾斜的區(qū)域要差。這個問題在后來的型號上也解決了。從1942年7月到1944年1月，總共生產(chǎn)了6748輛M4A1，在戰(zhàn)爭中總共生產(chǎn)了49234輛謝爾曼。

戰(zhàn)斗使用

歐洲戰(zhàn)場

The Shermans first saw combat in the North African Campaign in the Second Battle of El Alamein on October 1942 in the hands of the British. It was much quicker to reinforce the British armoured divisions with the more than 300 Shermans sent to North Africa than it was to create new American ones. It proved much better than the German panzer IIIs and panzer IVs, able to eliminate them at distances more than 2,000 yards away. The Americans received their first Shermans in the next month in Operation Torch. However better the Shermans were to the German Tanks at the time, the Allied armoured units still suffered casualties against the German Tanks and anti-Tank guns, most notably in the Battle of Kasserine Pass. In Italy, the Shermans proved much more mobile than the German panzers, able to travel cross-country on the hilly terrain with ease. However, it was at this stage that the Sherman's shortcoming began to take face in the advent of the newer German Tanks, the Tiger Is and Panthers. These two Tanks featured armour that proved impenetrable when fired at the front, and with guns that could take out the Shermans from farther than the Sherman's effective combat range. The Shermans have to hit the side of these Tanks for penetration and at ranges that were considered suicidal. Although programs were initiated to up-gun the Sherman with a 76 mm gun, American leaders determine that the Panther and Tigers would not be produced in large quantities and were not as great as a threat as these two vehicles could still be destroyed by the 75 mm gun and standard anti-Tank equipment.

在1942年10月的第二次阿拉曼戰(zhàn)役中，謝爾曼坦克在英國人的使用下迎來了自己的首戰(zhàn)。300多輛謝爾曼被派去北非增援英國裝甲師，這比組建新的美國裝甲師要快得多。事實(shí)證明，它比德國的三號坦克和四號坦克好得多，謝爾曼能夠在2000碼以外消滅它們。下個月，美國人在“火炬行動”中收到了他們的第一批謝爾曼。盡管謝爾曼坦克在當(dāng)時的表現(xiàn)比德國坦克好，但盟軍的裝甲部隊在與德國坦克和反坦克炮的對抗中仍然遭受了傷亡，最著名的是在卡塞林山口戰(zhàn)役(Battle of Kasserine Pass)。在意大利，謝爾曼坦克被證明比德國坦克機(jī)動性更好，能夠輕松地穿越全國的丘陵地帶。然而，正是在這一階段，隨著德國新式坦克：虎式坦克和豹式坦克的出現(xiàn)，謝爾曼的缺點(diǎn)暴露了出來。謝爾曼坦克無法擊穿這兩者的裝甲，并且虎豹的火炮可以在比謝爾曼的有效作戰(zhàn)范圍更遠(yuǎn)的地方消滅謝爾曼。謝爾曼必須擊命中這些坦克的側(cè)面才能擊穿，而且要推進(jìn)到被認(rèn)為是自殺式的距離。雖然裝備76毫米炮的謝爾曼項目已上馬，但美國領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人認(rèn)為虎豹不會大量生產(chǎn)，而且這兩大威脅車輛仍然可以被75毫米炮和標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的反坦克裝備給敲掉。

During the invasion of France, it was clear that the Sherman's current build with a 75 mm gun was no longer going to cut it against the German armoured forces. While the Sherman was adequate against what little panzer III and IVs the Germans have left and against infantry and fortifications with the 75 mm gun, the Panthers and Tigers were in much large quantity than expected, and proved better in armour and firepower to the Shermans. Though in the bocage country of France, the Allies lost more Tanks to hidden anti-Tank guns and infantry weapons than to Tanks. Despite these losses, the mass production of M4 Sherman back in the United States ensured that enough Tanks were available for the Allied Forces as they spearhead through France, plus the lack of any other capable Tanks meant they had to use the Shermans for the time being. The large quantities of Shermans produced during the war gave the Allied armoured units a major advantage of being fully equipped as the German panzer divisions were rarely in full strength, with some US infantry divisions having more tracked vehicles than some of the panzer divisions. Due to the high attrition rates, Tank crews sometimes add improvised armour onto their Shermans in the form of sandbags and logs in hopes of increased survival, but these were determined to be ineffective from evaluations. A more effective method was to have metal armour welded on in improvisation, and an official project was made for such "assault Tanks" that ended with the M4A3E2 "Jumbos" with 254 made for the fighting in Europe. The Allies continued to use 75 mm Shermans until the Battle of the Bulge in Winter 1944, when the commanders request only 76 mm Shermans to be brought into Europe as the battle showed the intense armour disparity with the German's large numbers of Panthers and Tiger II Tanks. While new units arriving in Europe were armed exclusively with 76 mm armed-Shermans, the veteran units kept the 75 mm Shermans, to which it continued to do well against softer targets with little threat from German armour due to their declining numbers.

在第二次法國戰(zhàn)役期間，很明顯，裝備75毫米炮的謝爾曼已經(jīng)無法和德國裝甲部隊對抗了。謝爾曼坦克足以對抗德國留下三號坦克和四號坦克以及使用75毫米炮的步兵和防御工事，但豹式坦克和虎式坦克的數(shù)量比預(yù)期的要多，而且在裝甲和火力方面都優(yōu)于謝爾曼。盡管在法國的叢林中，隱蔽的反坦克炮和步兵武器對同盟國坦克所造成的損失要多于軸心國的坦克。盡管有這些損失，但在美國大量生產(chǎn)M4“謝爾曼”坦克的情況下，確保了盟軍在法國的先頭部隊有足夠的坦克可用，加上沒有任何其他有能力的坦克意味著盟軍不得不暫時使用謝爾曼。在戰(zhàn)爭期間大量生產(chǎn)的謝爾曼坦克給了盟軍裝甲部隊一個裝備齊全的主要優(yōu)勢，因?yàn)楫?dāng)時德國裝甲師很少處于滿員作戰(zhàn)狀態(tài)，一些美國步兵師的履帶式車輛比一些裝甲師的還要多。由于高戰(zhàn)損率，坦克乘員有時會在謝爾曼裝甲上添加沙袋和圓木，希望能增加存活幾率，但從評估來看，這些都是無效的。一個更有效的方法是臨時焊接金屬裝甲，一個“突擊坦克”的官方項目上馬，并以生產(chǎn)出254輛謝爾曼“巨無霸”而宣告結(jié)束。盟軍繼續(xù)使用75毫米炮的謝爾曼坦克，直到1944年冬季的突出部戰(zhàn)役，當(dāng)時指揮官們只要求將76毫米炮的謝爾曼坦克帶進(jìn)歐洲，因?yàn)?5炮謝爾曼的戰(zhàn)斗力比德國大量的豹式和虎式坦克差太多了。雖然歐洲的新部隊只配備了76炮的謝爾曼，但老部隊保留了75炮的謝爾曼，在對付軟目標(biāo)時，由于德國裝甲單位的衰減，75炮謝爾曼仍然表現(xiàn)出色。

太平洋戰(zhàn)場

The M4 Sherman's importance in the Pacific theatre was less than that of the European theatre due to the different tactical doctrine established from the amphibious nature of combat. Only about 20 Tank battalions fielded by the US Army were sent to support the Pacific theatre of operations, compared to the total 16 armoured divisions and 70 Tank battalions they have in service. The low priority in Tanks was due to the following reasons. Firstly, the jungle terrain on most of the islands fought on was unsuitable for the deployment of large-scale armoured units, relegating armour support to light Tanks such as the M3 Stuarts. Secondly, the Japanese forces' armoured units were rather inferior to the American Tank forces by 1943. While the Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go Tank was comparable to the M2A4 Light Tank, the Shermans out gun these Tanks by a large margin. Such a large margin that the Tank crew prefer to use high-explosive shots against the Japanese Tank than regular armour-piercing as the AP rounds would penetrate straight through without causing much damage in the interior of the Tank. The Japanese developed the Type 3 Chi-Nu and the Type 4 Chi-To to fight back the Shermans, but these two never saw combat as they were kept at the Japanese homeland for the defence against the Allied invasion.

M4謝爾曼在太平洋戰(zhàn)場的重要性低于歐洲戰(zhàn)場，這是因?yàn)椴煌膽?zhàn)術(shù)原則，太平洋戰(zhàn)場是建立在兩棲作戰(zhàn)的基礎(chǔ)上的。美國陸軍只有大約20個坦克營被派往太平洋戰(zhàn)區(qū)支援作戰(zhàn)，而但美軍總共有16個裝甲師和70個坦克營。由于以下原因，導(dǎo)致坦克的優(yōu)先級較低。首先，大多數(shù)島嶼上的叢林地形不適合部署大型裝甲部隊，裝甲支援只能依靠M3“斯圖亞特”等輕型坦克。其次，到1943年，日本軍隊的裝甲部隊遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)落后于美國坦克部隊。雖然日本95式輕戰(zhàn)車可以與M2A4輕型坦克相媲美，但謝爾曼在對抗這些坦克時有很大的優(yōu)勢。因?yàn)椴罹嗳绱舜?，以至于坦克乘員更喜歡用高爆彈而不是普通的穿甲彈來打日本坦克，因?yàn)榇┘讖棌椏梢灾苯哟騻€對穿而不會對坦克內(nèi)部造成太大的傷害。日本人研制了了三式中戰(zhàn)車和四式中戰(zhàn)車來對抗謝爾曼，但這它們沒有交手過，因?yàn)樗麄儽涣粼谌毡颈就烈缘钟塑娙肭帧?/p>

The Shermans, when deployed, were superior to most of the Japanese anti-Tank equipment and often were essential to some of the Marines advances on some of the island assaults. In 1945, the equipping of flamethrower Shermans known as M4A3R3, nicknamed "Zippos", were a significant boost to the infantry's firepower in having a very long range of fire compared to the standard infantry-modelled flamethrowers with the benefit of being in an armoured vehicle. The Japanese solution against the Shermans, other than with their 47 mm anti-Tank guns, were often suicidal tactics ranging from placing satchel charges right onto the Tank, using pole-mounted anti-Tank mines to reach and destroy the Tank or even simply throwing oneself underneath a Tank with mine or other explosive and triggering it manually.

謝爾曼坦克部署時，日本的絕大多數(shù)反坦克火力都傷不了它，謝爾曼經(jīng)常是海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊（四等人）攻擊某些島嶼的關(guān)鍵。1945年，代號M4A3R3的火焰噴射型謝爾曼列裝，綽號“打火機(jī)”，與標(biāo)準(zhǔn)步兵型火焰噴射器相比，它具有非常遠(yuǎn)的射程，大大提高了步兵的火力，并在裝甲車輛中發(fā)揮了優(yōu)勢。日本對付謝爾曼的方案,除了47毫米反坦克炮,通常是通過自殺戰(zhàn)術(shù)從把炸藥包貼到坦克上，使用刺雷（拔糞寶）摧毀坦克,甚至只是在身上綁上手雷或其它炸藥手動觸發(fā)。

租借

The Sherman Tank was given out in large numbers to American Allies during World War II under the Lend-Lease policy. While America retained about 20,361 Shermans in the Army and Marine Corps, 17,184 went to Britain (about 34% of Shermans produced and 78% of Shermans given out) and the Soviet Union obtained 4,102 Shermans.[2] China obtained 812 Shermans, Brazil with 53, and New Zealand and Australia for 153 Shermans total. Other countries using the Shermans were Poland, Free France, and Czechoslovakia. The British deployed the Sherman among their armoured squadrons in such a large number to become the standard Tank of their armoured forces. The increased threat of German Tanks in the European theatre also provoked the British to up-gun the M4 Sherman with a more capable gun, resulting in the Firefly.

在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，根據(jù)《租借法案》，謝爾曼坦克被大量分發(fā)給美國的同盟國。當(dāng)美國在陸軍和海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊中保留了20361輛謝爾曼時，17184輛被分配給了英國(援英謝爾曼約占謝爾曼總產(chǎn)量的34%，78%的謝爾曼被援助給其他國家)，蘇聯(lián)得到了4102輛謝爾曼，中國有812輛謝爾曼，巴西有53輛，新西蘭和澳大利亞共有153輛謝爾曼。其他使用謝爾曼的國家還有波蘭、自由法國和捷克斯洛伐克。英軍在其裝甲中隊中部署了大量的謝爾曼坦克，成為了其裝甲部隊的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)坦克。德國坦克在歐洲戰(zhàn)場上的威脅增加，也促使英國人在M4謝爾曼上換裝了更強(qiáng)大的火炮，從而產(chǎn)生了“螢火蟲”。

戰(zhàn)后

After the war, the Shermans continued serving America and its allies as the M4A3E8 with a new suspension and the 76 mm gun. The M26 Pershing that was introduced late in World War II was phased out for the Shermans due to its unreliability, and the Sherman stayed until the M46 Patton was introduced. After being phased out of American service, many other countries still used the Sherman as their main Tank, mainly Israel where they up-gun the Tank with the much powerful post-war French 75 mm and 105 mm gun as the M-50 and M-51 respectively (nicknamed "Super Shermans"). These proved successful as they were able to fight against the Soviet-supplied T-54 Tanks and T-34-85s in Middle East service, proving the Sherman as a successful and adaptable design for many years to come.

戰(zhàn)后，換裝新懸掛系統(tǒng)和76毫米炮的M4A3E8“謝爾曼”繼續(xù)在美國及其盟國中服役。在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)后期服役的M26潘興因其不可靠而被謝爾曼淘汰，謝爾曼一直待到M46巴頓的服役。在被美國淘汰后，許多其他國家仍然使用謝爾曼作為他們的主力坦克，其中主要是以色列，他們用強(qiáng)大的戰(zhàn)后法國75毫米炮和105毫米炮改裝謝爾曼，分別命名為M-50和M-51(綽號“超級謝爾曼”)。這些謝爾曼被證明是成功的，因?yàn)樗麄兡軌驅(qū)固K聯(lián)提供的在中東服役的T-54坦克和T- 34-85，這證明了謝爾曼在未來許多年仍是一個成功的且適應(yīng)強(qiáng)的設(shè)計方案。

游戲描述

The Americans did an excellent job recognizing the problems with the M3's main-caliber weaponry being mounted in a side sponson. Immediately after it began full-scale production, they began work on a new, more modern Tank with a 75 mm cannon in a fully traversing turret. Its prototype, termed the T6, was ready for trials at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in September 1941.

美國人做了一個出色的工作，即認(rèn)識到M3的大口徑武器被安裝在一側(cè)是個問題。在M3開始大規(guī)模投產(chǎn)后，他們立即開始著手設(shè)計了一款新的，更現(xiàn)代化的坦克，75毫米火炮被安放在了一個可全向旋轉(zhuǎn)炮塔中。這就是謝爾曼坦克的原型，代號為T6，并準(zhǔn)備1941年9月在阿伯丁試驗(yàn)場進(jìn)行試驗(yàn)。

The M4 was a medium Tank boasting a welded hull, a cast turret, and the 350 hp Continental R-975, a gas-powered radial engine. Design of the M4 began in 1941, and by July 1942 it was ready for full-scale production. between July 1942 and January 1944, 6,748 M4s rolled off the line. The Tank's welded hull boosted its ammunition capacity in comparison with cast hulls by expanding its internal armoured capacity. The hull's front plate initially had viewing slits, though armour covers were welded over them and periscopes were added. The front part of the hull's gear compartment on older models consisted of three sections bolted together. Tanks had a narrow mantlet for the M34 artillery mount, while subsequent units employed a fully cast forward hull section and M34A1 artillery mount with a wide mantlet. The last batches, which were made beginning at the end of 1943, had the front of their hulls made from cast and rolled pieces. At the beginning of 1944 the frontal plate became one piece, moving the driver and gunner hatches to the top of the hull. The angled frontal armour went from 56° to 47° from vertical.

M4是一款中型坦克，擁有焊接車體、鑄造炮塔和350匹馬力的大陸R-975，這是一種汽油動力星形發(fā)動機(jī)。M4的設(shè)計開始于1941年，到1942年7月，它已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好全面投產(chǎn)。在1942年7月到1944年1月之間，6748輛M4走下生產(chǎn)線。與鑄造車體相比，該坦克的焊接車體通過提高裝甲質(zhì)量提高了防彈能力。車體的前板最初有觀察窗，有裝甲板焊接在上面，并增加了潛望鏡。在舊型號的車體的前部分齒輪是由三部分螺栓連接在一起。坦克有一個狹窄的炮盾用于安裝M34火炮，之后生產(chǎn)的單位使用一個完全鑄造的前車體和M34A1火炮，并安裝有一個寬的炮盾。最后生產(chǎn)的一批，開始于1943年底，它們的前車體有鑄造的也有軋制的。在1944年初，謝爾曼的前裝甲板成為一塊整體，并將駕駛員和炮手艙口移到車體頂部。前裝甲的垂直傾角從56°減少到47°。

The Pressed Steel Car Company kicked off production of the first M4 Tanks in July 1942. Four more companies were added later.

1942年7月，沖壓鋼汽車公司開始生產(chǎn)第一批M4坦克。后來又增加了四家公司來生產(chǎn)謝爾曼。

M4 Tanks saw combat in Africa, Italy, the Western front, and the Pacific islands through 1945.

M4坦克經(jīng)歷了非洲、意大利、西線和太平洋島嶼的戰(zhàn)斗，一直持續(xù)到1945年。

Shermans proved a strong option with good reliability and maneuverability in addition to armament and armour suiting its roll as a medium Tank.

謝爾曼被證明是一個很好的選擇，具有良好的可靠性和機(jī)動性，除了火力和裝甲稍拉，它很適合作為一款中型坦克。

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