M4 Sherman Tank 3D model

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The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, emerged as the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies throughout World War II. This tank proved to be highly reliable, relatively inexpensive to produce, and readily available in great numbers. Thousands were distributed through the Lend-Lease program to the British Commonwealth and Soviet Union. The tank was named after American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman by the British. The M4 Sherman evolved from the M3 Medium Tank, which had its main armament mounted in a side sponson. The M4 retained much of the previous mechanical design but moved the main 75 mm gun into a fully traversing central turret. One feature, a one-axis gyrostabilizer, was not precise enough to allow firing while moving but helped keep the reticle on target, so that when the tank stopped to fire, the gun would be aimed in roughly the right direction. The designers stressed mechanical reliability, ease of production and maintenance, durability, standardization of parts and ammunition in a limited number of variants, and moderate size and weight. These factors, combined with the Sherman's then-superior armor and armament, outclassed German light and medium tanks fielded between 1939 and 1942. The M4 went on to be produced in massive numbers, becoming the most produced tank in American history. The Soviets' T-34 medium tank, which was produced in a total of some 64,549 wartime examples, split roughly 55-45% between 76 mm and 85 mm gunned examples, was the only tank design produced in larger numbers during World War II. The Sherman spearheaded many offensives by the Western Allies after 1942.