The M4 Sherman is one of the most famous tanks in all of War Thunder. Entering service in 1942 with the United States Army, it quickly became one of the most versatile tank on the battlefield. With its hard hitting 75 mm gun and secondary M2 Browning allowed it to become a jack-of-all-trades. The Sherman’s role as the backbone of U.S. Armored Forces in World War II cemented its legacy as one of the most pivotal tank designs of the 20th century.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 75mm gun with good penetration (104mm) | Armour is average at best |
| Vertical stabilizer | low reverse speed (5kph) |
| fast reload (5s with aced crew) | Relatively tall profile, can be easily spotted |
Survivability and armour
The M4 Sherman generally has decent armor for its BR. Some small differences between the early Shermans armed with the 75mm gun are that the M4A1's hull was entirely cast and rounded, unlike its M4A2 counterpart, which featured a welded hull. The M4A2 also lacked the curved corners seen on the M4A1.
Armor-wise, the M4A2 had the strongest hull protection of the early Shermans, with 63 / 38 / 38 mm (front / side / back), compared to the M4 and M4A1, which had 51 / 38 / 38 mm of hull armor. The M4A2 is also more survivable when angled since it does not have the curved hull corners of the M4A1. As for the turret, it features armor thickness of 76 / 50 / 50 mm.
In terms of survivability, the M4 can be quite hard to maneuver out of sticky situations due to its poor reverse speed of just 5 kph (3 mph). With a crew of five, it can take a few hits, but losing too many crew members will significantly hinder your reload speed.
However, the Sherman still has some weak points, such as the ball-mounted MG on the front of the hull, the frontal transmission, the driver and gunner hatches, and its side profile.
Armaments
The M4 is equipped with a 75mm M3 cannon, which is a longer derivative of the 75mm M2 cannon. The 75mm M3 was also used in various American and British vehicles, including the M3 Lee, the M4 Sherman itself, and the Churchill III/IV NA75 (which featured cannons scavenged from Shermans in the North African theatre).
The M4 gets access to 4 round types M72 shot (AP), M48 shell (HE), M61 shot (APCBC) and M89 (Smoke). The M61 being the most used shell type as it has the most penetration at 104mm at point blank range, it also has a explosive mass of 65g which helps take out tanks in one hit.
The M4 also gets a roof mounted 12.7 mm M2HB Browning machine gun, carrying 600 rounds with 200 per belt, with a fire rate 575 shots/min and an incendiary AP rounds, it can be quite deadly against lightly armored targets and enemy planes.
It also gets access to a 7.62 mm M1919A4 machine gun (coaxial) with a total ammunition count of 3,000 rounds, and a belt capacity of 250 rounds with a fire rate of 500 shots/min. This MG are not as useful as the Browning, but it can be used to clear up some bushes and cover, and taking out open-topped vehicles.
Playstyle
Within War Thunder, the M4 has many different playstyles, the best way I have found to play it is to find cover and destroy unexpecting foes. Don’t stay in the same spot as you will get flanked.
With the 75mm M3 cannon, you can penetrate most things at its BR, and with a 5-second reload you can out easily out-shoot most other tanks before they. You can also run-and-gun, with the help of a vertical stabilizer, you can shoot at enemies without stopping and waiting for your gun to stabilize.
At the battle rating of 3.7 you can have a formidable lineup with vehicles like the M24 (Chaffee), T77E1 (SPAA), M4A1 (3.3) and the M10 GMC (3.3), you can completely dominate this BR with this lineup. Optionally you can add a plane to your lineup if you like to do some CAS. Overall, the early M4 is a versatile tank that can excel in many roles.
As the early 75mm Shermans do range from 3.3 to 4.0, the playstyle does change a little between the tanks. The M4A1 (75) sits at 3.3, meaning it will significantly dominate in down-tiered games facing early and pre-WW2 tanks with minimal armour and guns. For the M4A2, it is not quite as potent as it can be up-tiered to 5.0 matches, meaning it can face T-34s and the VK 3002 (M); however in down tiers, the M4A2 will definitely shine; with its stronger armour, it will be significantly harder for enemies to kill you.
Variants
The M4 has many different variants within War Thunder. There are currently 12 variants of the Sherman the US tree alone, including the more deliciated anti-tank version with 76 mm gun and the heavily-armoured "Jumbo" variant, along with massive 25 among all other nations.
Some of these M4s only use the chassis like the French M4s and the Sherman Firefly. Other variants include the M51, using the Sherman's hull and turret, it was used by the IDF from the late 1950s to late 1970s to early 1980s and saw combat against Soviet tanks such as the T-54/5/T-62
