M4A4 (France)

▄M4A4

▄M4A1

M4A4 (SA50)

▄M4A4

▄M4A1

M4A4 (SA50)

France

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	3.7	3.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:18 000

Purchase:47 000

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This page is about the medium tank M4A4 (France). For other M4 Shermans, see M4 Sherman (Family). For other uses, see M4 (Disambiguation).

Description

The ▄M4A4 Sherman is a rank III French medium tank with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Starfighters".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (transmission housing, turret, gun mantlet)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	50.8 mm (56°) Front glacis 50.8 mm (8-17°) + 25.4 mm (29°) Viewports 34 + 25.4 mm (spherical) MG port 50.8 mm (3°) Radio antenna bulge 50.8 mm (cylindrical) Transmission housing	38.1 mm 38.1 + 25.4 mm Ammo racks	38.1 mm (21°) Top 38.1 mm Bottom	19.5 mm Front section 12.7 mm (7°) Engine bay - centre 19.5 mm (23°) Engine bay - sides
Turret	76 mm (7-65°) Turret front 50.8 mm (9-26°) Turret front - gunner side 50.8 + 88.9 mm (cylindrical) Gun mantlet	50.8 mm (1-3°) Turret sides 50.8 mm (58-66°) Roof radius	50.8 mm (1-5°) Sponson 50.8 mm (21-65°) Roof slope	25.4 mm
Cupola	50.8 mm (16°)			25.4 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick and bogies are 10 mm thick.
• The belly of the tank is 12.7 mm thick.
• The internal wall separating the crew compartment from the engine bay is 9.5 mm thick.

The hull is very similar to the American M4 Sherman, with a 50.8 mm thick upper glacis and protruding hatches interrupting the glacis (reinforced with appliqué armour). A weak spot is the radio antenna bulge on the machine gunner side. The hull sides feature appliqué armour plates covering the ammunition storage racks. The turret is also very similar but lacks the appliqué armour on the right cheek, leaving a small weakened zone in that area. Frontal protection is quite good for its rank and shots from smaller anti-tank guns can generally be shrugged off, particularly when hull down. However more powerful guns such as the Pz.IV F2's long 75 mm can destroy the tank easily, so care should be taken. The side armour is only 38.1 mm thick and can be easily penetrated by just about any anti-tank gun if not angled.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	45	6	32.2	620	811	19.25	25.19
Realistic	41	5		354	425	10.99	13.2

Based on the chassis of the M4, the M4A4 (France) has the same good all-round mobility: the tank accelerates quickly and is able to reach a maximum speed of 44 km/h in a dozen of seconds. The brakes are powerful and will make the M4A4 skid rather than slow down when driving at maximum speed. The violent braking also causes the hull to wobble, making your targeting less accurate. The reverse speed is rather poor: it won't get you out of a dangerous situation quickly enough. The lack of neutral steering makes turning on the spot slow (2 km/h): make sure to build a little speed before turning and you'll turn much faster (11 km/h). Turning in reverse is equally slow (-2 km/h) Turning at full speed doesn't make you lose much speed as your acceleration is good. The offroad mobility is good: the M4A4 (France) reaches 16 km/h when fording, 17 km/h when driving uphill with some speed built-up but a mere 10 km/h uphill from a stop start. The tracks are large and grant you a decent mobility on hard (solid ground, roads) and soft terrain (mud, snow, sand). Light and medium obstacles (fences, posts, bushes and small trees) are not a problem but large obstacles will reduce your mobility: avoid them.

Armaments

Main armament

75 mm M3					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	98	-10°/+25°	±180°	Vertical	22.9	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	6.50	5.75	5.30	5.00
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

Ammunition

The available ammunition allows for engaging all types of targets:

• M72 shot - AP - Solid shot, stock shell. An armour-piercing shell with acceptable penetration but poor post-penetration damage.
• M48 shell - HE - A low-velocity shell useful against soft targets, in particular when hitting an open-topped vehicle. Harmless against any enclosed vehicle with more than 10 mm of armour.
• M61 shot - APCBC - A capped armour-piercing shell with a better penetration than the M72 thanks to its ballistic cap and a good post-penetration damage thanks to its explosive filler.
• M89 smoke shell - A shell deploying a smoke screen on impact, useful to blind enemy vehicles that are too remote for you to disable so that you can progress towards objectives.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
M72 shot	AP	91	88	78	67	57	49
M48 shell	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10
M61 shot	APCBC	104	101	90	78	68	59

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M72 shot	AP	619	6.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	47°	60°	65°
M48 shell	HE	463	6.3	0.0	0.1	666	79°	80°	81°
M61 shot	APCBC	618	6.79	1.2	14	63.7	48°	63°	71°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
M89	259	3.0	13	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
98	91 (+7)	89 (+9)	86 (+12)	79 (+19)	62 (+36)	46 (+52)	31 (+67)	1 (+97)	No

Ammo racks of the M4A4 (France)

Notes:

• Racks disappear after you've fired all shells in the rack.
• To go into battle with the turret basket empty of ammo, pack 79 (+19) shells (racks 1 to 4 emptied).
• To go into battle with the turret basket and the flanks empty of ammo, pack 31 (+67) shells (racks 1 to 7 emptied).
• The 8th rack is large and located in a weak spot: the bottom section of the armor. In case of penetration, there is a high risk of ammo rack detonation. Make sure not to expose your flanks unnecessarily.

Machine guns

The M4A4 only has a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun and lacks the familiar pintle-mounted M2 Browning seen on other Sherman models. This makes fending off lightly-armoured and fast opponents like the Puma more difficult as the main gun must be used instead. The lone M1919A4 is also unlikely to do significant damage to incoming aircraft.

7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	3,000 (250)	500	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

A well-rounded tank like most Shermans, the M4A4 enjoys decent armour, mobility, and firepower compared to its peers. Anyone familiar with the early Sherman models from other tech trees will feel right at home. It is best used at medium ranges, where the gun and armour are both quite effective, but it can partake in close range brawling in a pinch thanks to its vertical stabilizer. Stick close to teammates, keep an eye on the surroundings, and avoid overextending, as the reverse speed is bad and it is hard to retreat quickly.

While the frontal armour is good, especially when angled, staying constantly exposed to enemy fire is not advised due to a large number of weak spots. When hull-down, try to hide the portion of the right turret cheek next to the gun mantlet when possible, as the armour there is thin and lucky shot from a reserve tank might go through it. The side armour is very poor and it pays to watch out for flankers, even SPAAs.

Enemies worth noting:

M4A2 / A4: these Sherman tanks are widely used by over 3 nations that spread across both the Allied and the Axis side, so no matter which nation you play they can be quite tough to destroy in the hands of a skilled tanker. Given the rather weak penetration of your short 75mm gun, their hull can be almost impossible to penetrate when angled, hull down or 300m away. For a M4A4, there are 2 apparent bulges on the upper front plate, a penetration through there is a guaranteed kill most of the times. But in case the opponent covers them up or when it's a M4A2, aim for the middle parts of the gun mantlet or the turret armor unprotected by the mantlet, you can at least make them defenseless. Note that their guns are equally weak against you, so wiggle around to disrupt their aim while you reload, you have a good chance of bouncing some shells.

KV I C 756 (r):

A vehicle that the M4 Sherman will have trouble against is this German KV-1. While the L-11 is underpowered, the ZiS-5 is potent enough to punch through the Sherman's front, and the Sherman is unable to penetrate the KV-1's thick armour especially with its add-on armour plates. If this heavy tank is encountered and it's angling the hull, aim at the gun mantlet as it is only 50 mm thick. You can knock out its gunner easily. Or shoot at the thin cupola, there's also some chance to kill the gunner. Of course, the best way is to shoot at its sides and rear without any angle, where its armour is unsloped, though it will still have to be at a close range to penetrate the armour. In addition, shots to the sides will most likely hit fuel tanks or ammunition storage, causing a fire or ammunition detonation and at best, time to reassess the situation.

Churchill I, Churchill III, Pz.Kpfw. Churchill:

The Churchills, with their complex hulls and sturdy turrets, can be quite hard to kill at range. Again, manoeuvre as close to them as possible, the ideal distance being no more than 200 m. If they are angling their hull but facing their turret at you, only go for the turret. For the Mk I Churchills, aim at the near-vertical part of their rounded cheeks to ensure successful penetrations. For the Mk III and the German Churchill, also aim for their flat turret which is at most 89 mm. The shell should go in easily and knock out most, if not all of the crew. Only when you are facing their hull without any angles should you shoot the hull, otherwise shoot the turret only, as their big tracks can easily get in front of the frontal hull. The side hull have multiple layers of armour, some of which are weirdly angled and can absorb plenty of shells.

Pz.IV F2/G/H/J:

The historical nemesis of any Sherman, the Panzer IV is one of the Sherman's biggest threats at this rank. The long barrel 75 mm gun will easily penetrate the Sherman from the front. The F2 variant is admittedly easy to deal with. A single APCBC to its hull or turret should end it pretty quickly, even at long range. The other variants are slightly harder to deal with. They have thicker hull armour, at 80 mm, which will be much harder to penetrate with the APCBC over 500 m. Luckily the turret armour remains the same at 50 mm. Either aim here with APCBC or sacrifice damage potential and use the AP round to penetrate the hull.

StuG III F/G:

Another historical nemesis of the Sherman, and another big threat. The StuG III packs the same punch as the Panzer IV line with its long barrel 75 mm gun, whilst losing the turret, which turns out to be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Lacking a turret means that it will have to traverse the whole vehicle to target an enemy, but it also means that it has a lower profile. The StuG's armour profile is also more complex than the Panzer IV, with less flat areas. Certain areas are sloped and very bouncy. Luckily, there is a big weak spot. There are two flat plates on the front of the hull. The flat plate on the right is the drivers port. Shoot that and you are able to kill the driver, gunner and loader in one go. This is a very efficient way to destroy this vehicle. With the F variant, you can use APCBC to instantly one-shot this vehicle. With the G variant, it is more reliable to use AP at ranges within 500 m to ensure penetration.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	M61 shot
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	M89

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent gun depression of -10° plus the angled frontal turret allows it to utilise hills very well
• Great penetration and post-penetration damage when using M61 shells; can frontally penetrate and one-shot most opponents like the T-34, Crusader, M4 and others
• Vertical stabiliser allows it to fire on the move, or, in a sudden encounter, fire before the enemy which is critical
• Well angled frontal armour; when angling the hull it can deflect some low calibre / low-penetrating shells like the Stuarts' 37 mm, 75 mm M1, 76 mm F-34 / Zis-5 and others
• Adequate top speed allows it to get to positions in time, or to do tactical manoeuvres like flanking
• Rather fast reload speed for follow up shots
• Plenty of reserve ammunition for prolonged fighting without replenishing at captured points
• Due to it being a part of the German tech tree, you will not have to face the long barrel 75 mm (RB/SB) which increases its survivability quite a bit

Cons:

• Large profile and weak side armour; flankers like the M24 Chaffee can easily see and penetrate it
• Frontal armour is still inadequate, will get frontally penetrated and one-shot by tanks like Achilles, M10 and T-34-57
• The best M61 shell struggles to penetrate heavy targets like KV-1 (ZiS-5), Churchill Mk.III or even the T-34 and M10 when angled
• Trajectory is curved and velocity is low due to its short barrel, thus distant/moving targets are hard to shoot at
• Hull traverse is quite slow, making it sluggish in a turn
• Roof armour of 19.5 mm thick is vulnerable to airstrikes with AP cannons. For example the widely used M2 Browning

History

Combat usage

The M4A4 was a M4 variant exclusively manufactured for export purposes. They equipped British, French, Italian and French armies. The M4A4 (France) were provided officially to the Free French Forces through the lend-lease program alongside the M4A2 in 1943 and 1944. 656 Shermans were allocated to the Free French Forces: 274 M4A4 and 382 M4A2. The first M4A4 were delivered in 1943 in the ports of Algiers and Casablanca to equip French Armoured Divisions. They were then transported to the UK in 1944 in preparation of the invasion of France and saw combat action in France in 1944 and in Western Germany in early 1945.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the M4A4 (France) from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• M4A4 (1st PTG)
• M4A4 (China)
• M4A4 (Italy)

External links

• [Wikipedia] M4 Sherman
• [Tanks Encyclopedia] Medium Tank M4 Sherman
• [The Shadock] French Shermans during WW2