What is the sherman tanks anyway?

Question

Had they anything to do with Normandy landing in WW2?

Answer 1

The American main battle tank during World War Two was the Sherman. This was a medium tank weighing 35 tons and armed with a 75mm, 40 calibre cannon. This gun was capable of punching through 3.7 inches of armour at 500 yards. The Sherman had an effective armour thickness of 2.8 inches in the front, 1.6 inches in the sides, and 1.4 inches in the rear. It carried a crew of five and had three machine guns.
The Sherman was a poor match for any of the German tanks against which it fought. Even the Panzer IV, the weakest of its opponents, had a more powerful gun. Against the Panther and the Tiger, the Sherman was hopelessly outclassed. The Panther and the Tiger had frontal armour of 4.8 and 4.0 inches respectively; thus, the Sherman's gun could not kill either tank in a head-to-head encounter, even at close range. The German guns were more powerful than the Sherman's; they could easily penetrate the Sherman's frontal armour even at great ranges.

The only chance a Sherman had against a Panther or a Tiger was to shoot it in the side or rear, where the armour was thinner. This required that the Sherman lay in wait and shoot its victims from hiding.

But the Sherman possessed two less obvious advantages: reliability and simplicity. These may not be very exciting traits, but in the heat of combat a little thing like a sticky clutch can be disastrous. A minor breakdown during a retreat can result in the complete loss of the tank. Such problems were rare with the Sherman. And their simplicity made it possible to manufacture them in astounding numbers.

In March 1941 the United States Army decided it needed a new tank to replace the Grant M2A1. After looking at five different proposals the Sherman M4 was chosen. Production began early in 1942. The original armament was a 75mm gun capable of firing high explosive shells. Its 500hp engine had a maximum speed of 26mph. This was replaced by a 76mm high-velocity gun in February 1944. The tank's suspension was redesigned and improved by the beginning of 1945.
Although inferior to the best German and Soviet tanks in armament and protection, it was superior in terms of reliability, serviceability and cost-effectiveness. The British Army used the Sherman Tank at El Alamein in 1942 and by 1943 was the mainstay of Allied operations in Africa and Europe.

Specially outfitted Sherman tanks did take part in the Normandy invasion landings however rough seas caused many of these tanks to be lost while "swimming" to the beach especially at Utah and Omaha beaches.

Answer 2

Yes, there were Sherman tanks at the Normandy invasion, including some that were specially fitted to clear mines, cut barbed wire, etc.

The Sherman tank was the most common tank used by the US army in WWII. They were tough and easy to produce, but the early versions were outclassed by German tanks. Later versions had more armor and better guns.

Answer 3

Sherman tanks were the most common American tanks manufactured during WWII, and named after General Sherman. Unfortunately, they were under-armored and under-gunned. This means that American shells tended to bounce off of German tanks and that German tanks were able to easily send shells through the Sherman tank's relatively thin armor.

Answer 4

the above three answers are all correct..the Sherman tank was named for General William T Sherman of the Union Army in the US Civil War......the US Army names its armoured vehicles for famous cavalry leaders........so, in WW2, we also had the Stuart light tank, named for a Confederate General.......some sort of equal time provision me thinks..........currently the Big 2 in US armor are the Abrams, named for Creighton Abrams, and the Bradley, named for Omar Bradley who lead the US Army in Europe in WW2 ( sorry folks, not Eisenhower....he was Supreme Commander of American AND British armies....)

Answer 5

These were the tanks used during world war ll. I believe they were at the invasion. The guns were enlarged to keep up with the German ones though.

Answer 6

they were the main tank of the US forces and many wound up with our dads in the UK! Small and light but bunches of them!