Sherman Tanks: US Army, North-Western Europe, 1944–1945

By Dennis Oliver

Following his first book in the TankCraft series on the British army’s Shermans during the battle for Normandy, Dennis Oliver has compiled a companion volume on those used by the US Army throughout the campaign in Western Europe. These were the tanks that made up the bulk of the American armored forces that swept across occupied France and advanced into Hitler’s Germany.Wartime photographs and carefully researched, exquisitely presented color illustrations show in detail the types of Sherman – including the main variants – that played a vital role in Allied operations. As with all the books in the TankCraft series, a section of this work displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also explained.This book will give the modeler all the information and knowledge required to recreate an authentic miniature representation of the most famous American armored vehicle of the Second World War.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Nov 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781526741875

Dennis Oliver

Dennis Oliver is the author of over twenty books on Second World War armored vehicles.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

The United States was a relative newcomer to armoured warfare, creating the army's Armored Force just eighteen months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and American's entry into the Second World War (1).

In 1941 the US Army's main battle tank was the M3, a scale-up version of the unsatisfactory M2, which owed much the French army's concept of armoured operations. In reality, the M3 was chosen as it was felt that it would not tax the capabilities of US industry at the time and the limitations of its design were realised by many from the outset. By October 1941, after a number of proposals had been put forward, the design for the successor to the M3 was standardised as the M4 Medium Tank. This new vehicle would use the M3 suspension and tracks with a completely re-designed hull and, importantly, a fully traversing turret mounting a 75mm gun. Christened Sherman by the British, the M4 went into action for the first time at El Alamein in October 1942 and from that moment onwards it became the mainstay of the Allies' armoured formations. With the US Army alone the Sherman served in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, north-western Europe, East Asia and the Pacific.

Whatever its shortcomings, the tank's uncomplicated design, reliability, speed and ease of maintenance led to it becoming the backbone of the US Army's armoured force during the Second World War and up-gunned and up-armoured it also served in the Korean conflict of 1950-3. The Sherman was highly regarded by British crews, not least for its comfort, and New Zealand tankers fighting in Italy believed that there was no terrain their Shermans could not cross. In terms of numbers produced it was second only to the Soviet T-34 with almost 50,000 vehicles being built by eleven major manufacturers and a host of sub-contractors and it should be mentioned that this figure does not include the highly successful self-propelled artillery pieces or tank-destroyers which utilised the M4 chassis.

The Armored Force that fought in northwestern Europe would eventually be made up of fifteen Armored Divisions and thirty-six Separate Tank Battalions and this book devotes a section to each type of formation. It should be noted that the organisation of the battalions attached to armoured divisions were essentially identical to that of the Separate Tank Battalions (2) and I have not repeated the establishment in detail in both sections.

The section on technical details and modifications could not possibly include all the additions and omissions that were made to these tanks between 1941 and 1945 and I have tried to point out a number of these in both the colour illustrations, which are all based on contemporary photographs, and the images reproduced throughout this book.

A heavily-camouflaged M4A1 76mm tank photographed as it disembarked from a US Navy LCM (landing craft, mechanised) during the 9th Army’s Rhine crossing operation in March 1945.

Notes

1. A Tank Service had been formed in 1918 but was disbanded in 1920.

2. The Separate Tank Battalions were not truly independent units and the intention was that they would more or less permanently come under the command of an infantry division. In practice most moved between infantry and armoured divisions. The numbers given here do not include the 759th Tank Battalion which was completely equipped with light tanks.

THE NORTH-WEST EUROPEAN BATTLEFIELD

THE ARMORED DIVISIONS

By the end of the Second World War the US Army had raised sixteen armoured divisions and all but one, 1st Armored Division, served in north-western Europe.

As mentioned earlier, two of the armoured divisions retained the March 1942 organisation based on two armoured regiments. The regiments of these 'heavy' divisions each contained three tank battalions made up of three companies. The first battalion was equipped with light tanks, usually the M5 by 1944, while the second and third battalions were medium tank units.

In all, the division could field 232 M4 medium tanks with a further 24 M4 105mm howitzers, referred to as assault guns. The armoured regiment's nine tank companies were identified by the letters A to I, the letters running consecutively through the regiment. Additionally each regiment contained a headquarters unit (1), an assault gun company, a reconnaissance company, a service company and a maintenance company.

The armour strength of the September 1943 'light' divisions was reduced to three medium tank battalions and a light tank company. In total the division was allocated 168 medium tanks, 18 M4 105mm assault guns and 77 light tanks. The tank battalions contained four companies, A, B, C and D, the latter a light tank unit. In addition each battalion contained a headquarters company, a service company and reconnaissance, mortar and assault gun platoons. This establishment was also used for the separate tank battalions which are examined from page 14.

A new innovation of the light divisions was the Reserve Combat Command (Combat Command R). The division’s Combat Commands, usually led by a brigadier-general, were flexible battle formations of brigade or regimental size organised from elements of the division for a specific mission. They typically contained armour, infantry, artillery, tank destroyer and engineer battalions or companies and could be further split into Task Forces.

Following are brief histories of the armoured divisions that served in northwest Europe from D-Day until the end of the war in May 1945.

During the early spring of 1945 many of the tanks of 2nd Armored Division were given a thick layer on concrete armour applied to the tank’s glacis as shown here. This M4A3 76mm tank has the earlier version of the T23 turret with the split-hatch cupola for the loader. Note the radio antenna on the turret roof. What appears to be a name on the hull side is unfortunately indecipherable. The tank’s driver, Technician 5th Grade William A. Hede, seems to be testing the concrete armour.

Notes

1. Somewhat confusingly know as the Headquarters and Headquarters (H&H) company.

Photographed during the fighting for the village of Frandeaux in southern Belgium in December 1944, this M4A1 76mm tank of 2nd Armored Division is carrying troops from the 75th Infantry Division. Of note are the very worn T41 rubber block tracks fitted with end connectors, the cast hull’s large hatches and the later commander’s cupola with one-piece hatch and vision blocks.

2nd Armored Division. Formed in July 1940, the division served in North Africa and Sicily before landing in the United Kingdom in November 1943. This division, with 3rd Armored Division, retained the 'Heavy Division' table of establishment when most of the