This vehicle was the early production model of the Sherman tank, it had a welded hull, and a cast turret carrying 105mm close support howitzer. The vehicle was first produced in October 1941 and was derived from the earlier M3 tank chassis.
General Details
Specifications
Operational Date(s)
1944
Ordnance classification
Quantity Produced
1641
Weight
unknown
Crew
5
M.G's small
3
M.G's large(>10mm)
n/a
Length
5.95 mtr
Width
2.63 mtr
Height
2.84 mtr
Engine Details/Performance
Max Road Speed
24 mph
Max Cross Country Speed
15 mph
Range Road
120 miles
Range Cross Country
unknown
Fuel Type
Petrol
Fuel Capacity
175 gal
Horse Power
450 hp
Power/Weight
unknown
General Information
This vehicle was the early production model of the Sherman tank, it had a welded hull, and a cast turret carrying 105mm close support howitzer. The vehicle was first produced in October 1941 and was derived from the earlier M3 tank chassis.
It was driven by a Continental 400HP air cooled engine with the drive sprocket at the front, the track went under 3 double bogie wheels onto the idler, then back over 3 return rollers.
Armour Details
Turret
Front
75mm
@
0°
(75mm)
Side
65mm
@
0°
(65mm)
Rear
50mm
@
0°
(50mm)
Top
25mm
@
90°
(25mm)
Superstructure
Front
50mm
@
45°
(71mm)
Side
50mm
@
0°
(50mm)
Rear
38mm
@
0°
(38mm)
Top
19mm
@
90°
(19mm)
Hull
Front
40mm
@
45°
(57mm)
Side
40mm
@
0°
(40mm)
Rear
38mm
@
0°
(38mm)
Top
19mm
@
90°
(19mm)
Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°)
Effective Armour - Maximum 75 mm - Minimum 19 mm
Weapon Details
105mm Howitzer M3A1 L/18
Manufactured
1942 - unknown
Calibre
105mm
Length
L/18
Ammunition Details
Name/Id
Calibre Weight MVelocity
Explosive Content
AP(AP)
105mm 14.9Kg 310M/Sec
Range(Mtr)
100
200
400
800
1200
1600
2000
2400
Flight Time(Secs)
0.33
0.66
1.34
2.79
4.37
6.09
7.97
10.04
Penetration(mm@30°)
56
52
48
43
38
33
29
25
Penetration(mm@0°)
65
61
56
50
44
39
34
29
Hit Probability(%)
98
98
90
39
15
3
2
0
M1 Shell(HE)
105mm 19.08Kg 472M/Sec
2.180Kg explosive
Maximum Range 11250 Mtr
Range(Mtr)
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
Flight Time(Secs)
2.34
5.23
8.9
13.69
20.22
29.67
44.51
71.19
Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill
4 mtr
Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill
8 mtr
Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill
20 mtr
Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr
6 mm
An explosion within 4 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal.
An explosion within 8 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's.
An explosion within 20 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 33% casualties.
The blast effect of this shell exploding within 1 mtr of an armoured vehicle will penetrate 6 mm of the tank armour including the roof.
HC BE M84 Shell(SMOKE)
105mm 19.02Kg 0M/Sec
Range(Mtr)
100
200
400
800
1200
1600
2000
2400
Flight Time(Secs)
Penetration(mm@30°)
0
Penetration(mm@0°)
Hit Probability(%)
Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.
The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive
and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The
information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre,
the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation
originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.
