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Canada
Medium M4A3 (Sherman IV)

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The Medium M4A3 was designed in 1942 based on the existing fully tracked Sherman and was in use from 1942 to 1980.

Flag of World War 2 Canada

General Details
Specifications
Operational Date(s)1942 - 1980
Quantity Produced1690
Weight34 tonne
Crew5
M.G's small3
M.G's large(>10mm)n/a
Length5.95 mtr
Width2.63 mtr
Height2.77 mtr
Engine Details/Performance
Max Road Speed26 mph
Max Cross Country Speed17 mph
Range Road130 miles
Range Cross Country52 miles
Fuel TypePetrol
Fuel Capacity168 gal
Horse Power500 hp
Power/Weight14 hp/tonne
General Information
The Medium M4A3 was designed in 1942 based on the existing fully tracked Sherman and was in use from 1942 to 1980.

The vehicle was powered by Ford 'GAA-III' petrol powerplant producing 500 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 26 mph with a range of about 130 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 17 mph and a range of about 52 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 IV M4A3 was a similar shape to the M4 but had a welded hull and was powered by a Ford GAA-III engine producing 500HP.

The cast turret carrying the gyro stabilised 75mm Gun M3 was the same as that of the Sherman I.
As with the earlier Sherman I the drive sprocket was at the front, the track went under 3 double bogie wheels onto the idler, then back over 3 return rollers. Some of the 75mm armed version of this tank had glycol filled ammunition racks which were known as wet stowage they were designated as M4A3W

Armour Details
Turret
Front75mm@(75mm)
Side50mm@(50mm)
Rear50mm@(50mm)
Top25mm@90°(25mm)
Superstructure
Front50mm@45°(71mm)
Side50mm@(50mm)
Rear38mm@(38mm)
Top19mm@90°(19mm)
Hull
Front40mm@45°(57mm)
Side40mm@(40mm)
Rear38mm@(38mm)
Top19mm@90°(19mm)
Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°)
Effective Armour - Maximum 75 mm - Minimum 19 mm



Weapon Details
Flag
0.3 inch Browning Machine Gun M1919A4
(Machine Gun) x 2
Blank
ManufacturerBrowning
Manufactured1919 - 1945
Calibre7.60mm
LengthL/80
Rate of Fire480 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)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.15
Penetration(mm@30°) 2
Penetration(mm@0°) 3
Hit Probability(%) 98


Weapon Details
Flag
75mm Gun M3 L/40 Blank
Calibre75mm
LengthL/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)1002004008001200160020002400
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)10002000300040005000600070008000
Flight Time(Secs) 1.85 4.36 8 13.72 24.01 48.06 168.4
Direct Fire
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
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% kill3 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill6 mtr
Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill16 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr2 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.

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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