The M4 Sherman: The Best Tank of WWII
Okay… I’m going to tell you something controversial, that just might piss a lot of people off…
The M4 Sherman was the best tank of WWII and superior to the German King Tiger. And I will tell you why.
The Superiority of the M4 Sherman
A lot of people, mostly fanboys of WWII German equipment, would be quick to tell you that Germany had some of the best and most powerful tanks of WWII. They had the biggest guns, the best armor, and if the Germans had built enough of them, we would all be speaking German right now. By comparison, the American-built M4 Sherman has often been snubbed and seen as inferior to the German Panzers and King Tigers.
Now to be fair, the Sherman at first glance is nothing special. It had a relatively small main gun, the armor was comparatively thin when compared to what the Germans were fielding, and one well-placed shot from an 88mm would effectively kill a Sherman and its crew. But what the Sherman lacked in firepower and armor, it more than made up for in the “soft factors,” something most people tend to overlook.
Design and Maintenance Advantages
For one thing, the Sherman was a “simple” design, and this was done on purpose. It was a relatively easy tank to not only build (it took three hours to assemble from start to finish) but also to maintain and operate. Its design allowed for easy maintenance in the field, and its simple controls meant that anyone could learn to drive it. It was also a *comfortable* tank for its crew, who had enough breathing room to carry out their duties effectively and efficiently.
The Sherman was also a very adaptable tank and could be modified to carry out a number of tasks. The most notable variants being the Sherman “Firefly” and the “Skink.” By comparison, the Tiger was an absolute beast but for all the wrong reasons.
Flaws of the German King Tiger
Though on paper the Tiger II looked like a real monster, it was anything but. Not only did it lack the build quality that made the Sherman quite good, but it was also a very complex tank to build, maintain, and operate. Crews would need special training and special equipment just to operate the Tiger, while the tank itself would take up to two weeks to build and require even more specialized equipment and materials just to work. And it was anyone’s guess if the tank that finally rolled out of the factory would break down in two weeks or two days. Especially in the closing months of WWII, where build quality was non-existent in Germany.
Comparing with the Soviet T-34
Now I can hear some other groups screaming at the top of the rooftops about the Soviet T-34 being the best and how it drove back the Germans and defeated Germany. But I should also point out that the Sherman never had to carry a spare transmission into battle either, and the Red Army also imported and used a large number of Shermans and even British-made Churchill Tanks and used them against the Germans as well.
~NC
