United States
Medium M4A1 76mm (Sherman IIA)

Tweet The Medium M4A1 76mm was designed in 1944 based on the existing fully tracked Sherman and was in use from 1944 to 1980. General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1944 - 1980 Quantity Produced 3426 Weight 30 tonne Crew 5 M.G's small 3 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 6.25 mtr Width 2.71 mtr Height 3.00 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 24 mph Max Cross Country Speed 17 mph Range Road 120 miles Range Cross Country 48 miles Fuel Type Petrol Fuel Capacity 175 gal Horse Power 350 hp Power/Weight 11 hp/tonne General Information The Medium M4A1 76mm was designed in 1944 based on the existing fully tracked Sherman and was in use from 1944 to 1980. The vehicle was powered by Continental 'R957C1' petrol powerplant producing 350 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 24 mph with a range of about 120 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 17 mph and a range of about 48 miles. It was armed with 3 light machine guns which were 0.3 inch Browning Machine Gun M1919A4s. Its main armament consisted of a 76mm Gun M1 L/55 which could penetrate 126 mm of flat plate at 400 metres The Sherman IIA M4A1 was a similar shape to the M4 but had a curved cast hull which provided less flat surfaces for AT hits, this was mostly noticable at the top of the hull next to the turret. The cast turret carrying the gyro stabilised 76mm Gun M1A1 with a squarer mantlet than the M4 was the same as that of the Sherman IA. It was driven by a Continental 350HP 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 65mm @ 0° (65mm) Side 65mm @ 0° (65mm) Rear 65mm @ 0° (65mm) Top 25mm @ 90° (25mm) Superstructure Front 65mm @ 45° (92mm) 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 14mm @ 90° (14mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 92 mm - Minimum 14 mm Weapon Details 0.3 inch Browning Machine Gun M1919A4 (Machine Gun) x 2 Manufacturer Browning Manufactured 1919 - 1945 Calibre 7.60mm Length L/80 Rate of Fire 480 rpm Number of Rounds  6000     Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content .30-06 Springfield (BALL Standard Small Arms) 7.62mm 0.012Kg 820M/Sec Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.15 Penetration(mm@30°) 2 Penetration(mm@0°) 3 Hit Probability(%) 98 Weapon Details 76mm Gun M1 L/55 Calibre 76.20mm Length L/55 Number of Rounds  72     Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content AP (AP Armor Piercing) 76.20mm 6.8Kg 792M/Sec Quoted Penetration 88mm@1000m Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.26 0.53 1.13 1.8 2.56 3.42 4.42 Penetration(mm@30°) 129 119 109 96 84 72 62 52 Penetration(mm@0°) 149 138 126 111 97 84 72 61 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 96 77 44 25 15

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.

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