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The M4 Medium became the second-most-produced tank of World War II, and was the only tank to be used by virtually all Allied forces (thanks to the American lend-lease program); approximately 40,000 M4 Mediums were produced during the war. [30] M4s formed the main tank of American, British, Canadian, French, Polish, and Chinese units.
An earlier design, the Heavy Tank M6, was not accepted for large scale production and only 40 were produced. Work began in early 1945 to develop a significantly heavier variant of the M26 Pershing, the T32 Heavy Tank, but after the end of the World War II, the project was cancelled and the four prototype vehicles were scrapped.
The M4 was one of the best known and most used American tanks of World War II. Like the Lee and Grant, the British were responsible for the name, with this tank's namesake being Civil War General, William Tecumseh Sherman. The M4 Sherman was a medium tank that proved itself in the Allied operations of every theater of World War II.
The first generation of main battle tanks was based on or influenced by designs of World War II, most notably the Soviet T-34. [4] The second generation was equipped with NBC protection (only sometimes), night-vision devices, a stabilized main gun and at least a mechanical fire-control system. [ 4 ]
Leonardo da Vinci sketch of his armored fighting vehicle. Leonardo da Vinci is often credited with the invention of a war machine that resembled a tank. [6] In the 15th century, a Hussite called Jan Žižka won several battles using armoured wagons containing cannons that could be fired through holes in their sides, but his invention was not used after his lifetime until the 20th century. [7]
Excluding Czech-built tanks, on 1 September 1939 the invasion of Poland was undertaken with the German armoured force of 3,195 tanks evenly split between the Pz I training tank and the Pz II light tank; of the main battle tanks, only 98 Pz IIIs were in service during the invasion of Poland, along with 211 Pz IVs, with 215 tanks of various ...
This table compares tanks in use by the belligerent nations of Europe and the Pacific at the start of the Second World War, employed in the Polish Campaign (1939), the Battle of France (1940), Operation Barbarossa (1941), and the Malayan Campaign (1942).
The tank's ability to be produced in large numbers, combined with its operational flexibility and effectiveness, made it a key component of the Allied war effort. The Sherman's role as the backbone of U.S. armored forces in World War II cemented its legacy as one of the most influential tank designs of the 20th century.