Lend-Lease Sherman tanks


The United States provided tens of thousands of its Medium Tank M4, also named the Sherman, to many of its Allies during the Second World War, under the terms of Lend-Lease.

British nomenclature

The British received far more M4 medium tanks, approximately 17,000, than any other Allied nation. The British practice of naming American tanks after American Civil War generals was continued, giving it the name General Sherman after Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, usually shortened to Sherman. The US later adopted the name and the practice of naming tanks after generals.
In the British naming system, the major variants were identified by Mark numbers, the M4 being "Sherman I", the M4A1 "Sherman II" and so on. Letters after the mark number denoted modifications to the base model: "A" for the 76 mm L/55 gun instead of the 75mm, "B" for the 105 mm M4 L/22.5 howitzer, "C" for the QF 17 pounder gun, and "Y" for the later wider-tracked Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension type suspension. Gun and suspension letters were used in combination, e.g. Sherman IBY. However, no production 75mm Shermans were built with HVSS and no HVSS 17pdr conversions therefore existed. HVSS Shermans were only fitted with 76mm M1 guns or 105mm M4 howitzers, AY and BY respectively in British service.
Conversions and modifications of the M4 by their foreign users included the British-Commonwealth a version with the potent British QF 17 pounder anti-tank gun; Adder, Salamander, Crocodile, and Badger flame-throwing Shermans; Kangaroo armoured personnel carrier; Armoured recovery vehicles ; artillery tractors, and the specialist military engineering vehicles of "Hobart's Funnies" designed specifically for Operation Overlord and the Battle of Normandy. In 1945, the 1st Coldstream Guards at the Rhine fitted Sherman turrets with two "60 lb" RP-3 air-to-ground rockets on rails to create the Sherman Tulip. Canada created a prototype anti-aircraft vehicle with four 20 mm Polsten cannons mounted in a turret on Canadian-made M4A1 hull, which was called Skink. The Soviets reportedly replaced the US 75 mm gun on some M4A2s with the 76.2mm F-34 gun of the T-34 medium tank to create the M4M; they discontinued the practice when assured of US ammunition supply. For the D-Day landings, the British developed special and specific deep wading kits for Shermans I/II, III and V. US forces in the Pacific suffered many drowned M4s by not having such kits early in the island landing campaigns, and they were rapidly copied for later landings.

Conversions

A number of Sherman tanks were converted to carry different armament or fill different roles than those for which the tank was originally manufactured. Among these were:
British developments for Shermans were extensive and included the fascine carrier, "Crib", "Twaby Ark", "Octopus",

Britain

The British Empire received 17,184 Sherman tanks from the USA under Lend-Lease, roughly 78% of all American Shermans provided worldwide under this program. This includes Sherman tanks used by all members of the British Empire and those Allies who were equipped by the UK, such as the Free Poles. The first M4A1 Sherman II received by the UK was equipped with two driver-operated fixed mount machine-guns in the hull front and carried the shorter M2 75mm tank gun with a counterweight. The two extra hull machine-guns were a standard feature of very early Shermans, carried over from the previous M3 Medium tank, and were one of the first elements to be discarded from the original plan. Bovington Tank Museum has an example of this build-standard, the very first Sherman tank supplied to the UK under Lend-Lease and christened "Michael". The British became the primary users of the M4A4 Sherman V, which they found to be far more reliable than did the few US users. M4 Sherman I, M4A1 Sherman II and M4A2 Sherman III were also used in that order of importance. Free Polish and Czechoslovak-in-exile armoured units supported and equipped by the British had M4A1s, M4A2s and some M4A4s.
Some Shermans in British service were also converted to specialist-type combat engineering vehicles. The Sherman Crab was the main conversion, which was designed to be used for clearing minefields in northwestern Europe and Italy. The Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle was a waterproofed armoured recovery vehicle produced in small numbers and used only in support of beach-landings to pull drowned tanks and vehicles from the water and to push off stuck or beached landing-craft.

North Africa

The first Shermans to see battle in World War II were M4A1s with the British Eighth Army at the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942. The tanks had been supplied in a hurry from the US, which had removed them from their own army units. They were then hastily modified to meet British military requirements and for desert and hot-weather conditions, such as the addition of sandshields over the tracks. Over 250 of these US-supplied Shermans, which were divided among 12 regiments, participated in the battle. They formed the so-called "heavy squadrons" of one brigade in each division of X Corps and some other squadrons of the other units taking part in the battle, with the other heavy squadrons still being equipped with M3 Lee/Grant tanks and light squadrons possessing M3 Stuart 'Honey' light tanks and Crusader cruiser tanks. The British Shermans were able to tackle enemy rearguard units and defending troops by using high-explosive shells which were fired indirectly at them whilst the German 5 cm Pak 38 anti-tank gun was only effective against the Sherman if it could engage it from the more-vulnerable sides. More of the British armoured units in North Africa were converted to increasingly-larger quantities of Shermans over time from their successful outcome at El Alamein, including the addition of Sherman IIIs aside from the previous Sherman II, although the infantry tank units retained use of their Churchill tanks.

Italy

The British forces in Italy did not use their standard cruiser tanks. Instead, in their place, they used Shermans and turretless Stuart tanks. The other tank of the campaign was the Churchill tank, with such equipped tank units being bolstered with Shermans. In general, the Shermans acted in the infantry-support role in difficult terrain against fixed-type German defences and fortifications. At the end of 1944, 76mm-, 105mm- and 17-pdr-armed Shermans began to be fielded by the British troops as they came up against the German-built and strongly-defended Gothic Line.

Northwest Europe

British and Commonwealth use in Europe was comprehensive. The Sherman replaced the M3 Grant and Lee tanks and the Ram Tank in Canadian service and was in the majority by 1944 – the other main late-war tanks being the Churchill and Cromwell. The Cromwell was used largely in the reconnaissance role. The slower, more heavily armoured Churchills were used in the infantry-support Tank Brigades.
The Sherman 17pdr variant was converted mostly from the M4 Sherman I and M4A4 Sherman V, with possibly a few Sherman III, and was used both in Sherman and Cromwell-equipped units to add extra anti-tank capability. The VC was necessary as the intended supplement. A 1944-pattern British armoured squadron had one 17pdr Sherman per troop of four Shermans. The 17pdr Sherman was retained in Cromwell units until the introduction of the Comet, which carried the 77mm HV, a shortened derivative of the OQF 17 pounder firing the 17 pounder shell from the cartridge of the obsolete 3-inch 20cwt AA gun for less recoil but with slightly less armour penetration.
By the end of the war, 50% of the Shermans in British service were VCs or ICs. With the end of the war, and with superior tanks entering service, the UK returned its Shermans to reduce its Lend-Lease payments. However, the US did not really want the 17pdr conversions returned and many found their way from British stocks into other armies post-war, where they served until the 1960s in many cases.

India

In the Indian Army tradition, formations included British regiments alongside Indian Army units. As well as some Indian units receiving Shermans, the 116th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps part of 255th Brigade was equipped with Shermans. As part of the 255th, they were involved in January and February 1945 in Burma in action near Meiktila and Mandalay. The actions were predominantly in support of infantry with few enemy tanks encountered. After that, they were part of mobile columns that moved to retake Rangoon.

New Zealand

The 4th New Zealand Armoured Brigade operated approximately 150 M4A2 Sherman tanks from late 1942 until the end of the war. The 4th Brigade formed part of the New Zealand 2nd Division and was converted from an infantry brigade. The 4th Armoured Brigade saw action during the Italian Campaign.

Australia

Although the Australian Army received 757 M3 Lee/Grants in 1942, it only received three Sherman tanks. These three tanks were supplied by the UK and were only used for trials purposes. When the Australian Cruiser tank program was cancelled in 1943, after US authorities promised M4 Mediums would be available in any quantity required by Australia. A proposal was made to replace the entire order of 775 Australian Cruiser tanks with 310 Sherman tanks; however, this proposal was not acted on. Early in 1944 Australian Army was requested by War Office to undertake trials of Churchill and Sherman tanks in "New Guinea conditions". Trials were conducted in the jungle terrain of New Guinea using British Churchill Mk IV, Mk V and Mk VII Infantry tanks and American Sherman M4A1 and M4A2 Medium tanks, and included armament tests involving firing 75mm and 95mm main guns on a Japanese style bunker constructed from coconut logs. It was considered by those trials results that the Churchill was preferable to the Sherman for operations in jungle.
Australia's first Sherman, an M4A2, arrived in Australia in 1943 with a further two M4s arriving for tropical trials in New Guinea in 1944. The tanks were manned by crews drawn from the Australian 4th Armoured Brigade. The results of these trials showed that the British Churchill tank was better suited to jungle warfare's low-speed infantry support than the Sherman. As a result, the Australian Government ordered 510 Churchills, of which 51 were delivered before the order was cancelled at the end of the war, and did not order any further Shermans. Following the war, the three trials tanks were placed on display at Australian Army bases and one was later destroyed after being used as a tank target.

Canada

The United States officially did not list Canada as a Lend-Lease recipient, but did create the 1941 Joint Defense Production Committee with Canada so that "each country should provide the other with the defense articles which it is best able to produce" and American Locomotive Company enabled its Canadian subsidiary, the Montreal Locomotive Works, to build M4A1 variants in Canada. Canada received four Shermans under Lend-Lease; the mechanism of this is not fully understood. The MLW built 188 Shermans called the Grizzly I cruiser in Canadian service, which were restricted to training. MLW investment in Sherman production was turned to production of the Sexton self-propelled gun. In European combat, the Canadian Army used American-built Shermans supplied by the UK. These were armed with 75 mm, 105 mm and 17-pounder guns.

China

An estimated number of 812 Shermans were transferred to the Republic of China under Lend-Lease. Chinese forces based in British India received 100 M4A4 Shermans and used them to great effect against considerably-inferior Japanese tanks and their infantry in the subsequent offensives, such as in Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan, between 1943 and 1944. After the war, some vehicles remaining in India went to the British, with several others put to use by the Nationalist Chinese against Chinese communist forces in the Chinese Civil War until the KMT's defeat in 1949.

Soviet Union

The M4A2s used by the Red Army were considered to be much-less prone to blow up due to ammunition detonation than their T-34/76 but had a higher tendency to overturn in road accidents and collisions or because of rough terrain due to their much-higher center of gravity.
Under Lend-Lease, 4,102 M4A2 medium tanks were sent to the Soviet Union. Of these, 2,007 were equipped with the original 75 mm main gun, with 2,095 mounting the more-capable 76 mm tank gun. The total number of Sherman tanks sent to the U.S.S.R. under Lend-Lease represented 18.6% of all Lend-Lease Shermans.
The first 76mm-armed M4A2 diesel-fuel Shermans started to arrive in Soviet Union in the late summer of 1944. By 1945, some Red Army armoured units were standardized to depend primarily on them and not on their ubiquitous T-34. Such units include the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps and the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps, amongst others. The Sherman was largely held in good regard and viewed positively by many Soviet tank-crews which operated it before, with compliments mainly given to its reliability, ease of maintenance, generally good firepower and decent armour protection, as well as an auxiliary-power unit to keep the tank's batteries charged without having to run the main engine for the same purpose as the Soviets' own T-34 tank required.

Poland

Poland was not a recipient of Lend-Lease aid directly from the United States, however, Polish forces also used a wide variety of Shermans redirected from Lend-Lease shipments to the British Empire. The Polish 1st Armoured Division entered the Battle of Normandy mostly equipped with Sherman Vs with 75 mm guns, and VC Shermans. The reconnaissance battalion was equipped with Cromwells, as in British armoured divisions. After heavy losses closing the Falaise Pocket and in the Dutch campaign, the division was re-equipped, largely with Sherman IIA models.
The Polish II Corps, fighting in Italy, primarily used M4A2s that had been used by the British Army in Africa. However, some ICs and Sherman IB howitzer tanks were also used.
Parts of the Polish First Army also briefly used M4A2 borrowed from the Soviet armies after heavy losses in the conquest of Danzig. After receiving replacements, the army was re-equipped with T-34s.

France

The first use of Sherman tanks by a French unit appears to have been with 1ère Compagnie Autonome de Chars de Combat, it was merged with the French Army Corps Reconnaissance Group, and was known as the "Free French Flying Column". It was part of the British Eighth Army, and fought from El-Alamein to Tunisia. The tank company was attached to "Force L " and later became the 1st Company of the newly organized 501ème Régiment de Chars de Combat, 2ème Division Blindée.
Free French Forces were created after invasion of North Africa, and used all major versions of the M4. Report indicates France received 656 Sherman Medium Tanks, being the third largest recipient of the Sherman. Tanks were provided by the U.S. under Lend-Lease. French armored divisions were organized and equipped the same as U.S. Army's "light" armored division table of organization and equipment of 1943. Each division was equipped with 165 Shermans. In 1943, the French decided to create their new army in north Africa, and had an agreement with the Americans to be equipped with modern US weapons. The French 2nd Armored Division entered the Battle of Normandy fully equipped with M4A2s. The 1st and 5th DB, which entered southern France as part of the First French Army, were equipped with a mixture of M4A2 and M4A4 medium tanks. M4A3 and M4A3W tanks were later received as replacements to make up for M4A2 losses in combat. The French were also issued M4A3Shermans, not under Lend Lease but since their units served under US Army command, additional equipment was provided from US Army stocks. The 2ème DB received a few M4s at the end of July 1944 while still in the UK. The 3rd DB, which served as a training and reserve organization for the three operational armored divisions, was equipped with roughly 200 medium and light tanks. Of these, 120 were later turned in to the U.S. Army's Delta Base Section for reissue. Subsequent combat losses for the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Armored Divisions were replaced with standard issue tanks from U.S. Army stocks including M4, M4A1, and M4A3 models. In the final weeks of the War in Europe, French units received supplies of M4A1s, remanufactured in the US before shipment overseas.

Brazil

Brazil received 53 Sherman tanks under Lend-Lease in 1941, all equipped with the 75 mm gun. These tanks were not used by the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in Italy during the war, but sent directly to defend Brazil itself. In the early 1950s, another group of 30 Sherman tanks was delivered under the Military Assistance Program, bringing the total number of Shermans to 83 tanks. The variants of these tanks consisted of 40 M4, 38 M4 with the Composite Hull, and 2 M4A1. The Brazilian Army used the Shermans until 1979 when they were replaced by M41 tanks.

Czechoslovakia

While the Czechoslovak government-in-exile did not receive Lend-lease equipment from the United States, its 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade was equipped and supplied by the British Army. The Brigade's equipment during the siege of Dunkirk included 36 Sherman ICs in addition to Cromwell tanks, which constituted the primary armoured vehicle operated by the brigade. The 17pdr Shermans were, in May 1945, exchanged for 22 Challengers with which the brigade returned home. In addition, one damaged Sherman I abandoned by an unknown unit was salvaged from the battlefield by the brigade's repair shop and was later used as a recovery vehicle. This vehicle returned with the brigade to Czechoslovakia.

South Africa

South African Shermans were used by the 6th Armoured Division.

Endnotes

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