Britain
Medium M4A1 (Sherman II)

Tweet The Medium M4A1 was a Medium Tank designed in 1941, it was based on the fully tracked Sherman chassis and was in use from 1942 to 1980. It was commonly called a Sherman II. General Details (Medium Tank) Specifications Operational Date(s) 1942 - 1980 Quantity Produced 6281 Weight 30 tonne Crew 5 M.G's small 3 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 5.88 mtr Width 2.63 mtr Height 2.77 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 was a Medium Tank designed in 1941, it was based on the fully tracked Sherman chassis and was in use from 1942 to 1980. It was commonly called a Sherman II. 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 75mm Gun M3 L/40 which could penetrate 81 mm of flat plate at 800 metres The Sherman II 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 75mm Gun M3 was the same as that of the Sherman I. 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 75mm @ 0° (75mm) Side 50mm @ 0° (50mm) 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 75mm Gun M3 L/40 Calibre 75mm Length L/40 Number of Rounds  100 Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content AP (AP Armor Piercing) 75mm 6.32Kg 619M/Sec Quoted Penetration 70mm@500m Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.16 0.33 0.68 1.45 2.31 3.29 4.41 5.7 Penetration(mm@30°) 95 88 79 70 61 52 45 38 Penetration(mm@0°) 110 102 92 81 71 61 52 44 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 88 54 25 15 3 HE M48 (HE High Explosive) 75mm 6.76Kg 625M/Sec 0.680Kg explosive Maximum Range 5000 Mtr Range(Mtr) 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 Flight Time(Secs) 1.85 4.36 8 13.72 24.01 48.06 168.4 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.16 0.33 0.68 1.43 2.29 3.25 4.36 5.65 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 88 57 25 15 3 Blast/Fragmentation Effects Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill 3 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill 6 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill 16 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr 2 mm An explosion within 3 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal. An explosion within 6 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's. An explosion within 16 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 2 mm of the tank armour including the roof. 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

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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Page Last Updated: 2025-01-01