The second largest American production tank, with over 22,400 Stuart M3/M5 family of tanks produced, the Stuart was a common sight on the major battlefields of World War Two, as well as a variety of conflicts up until the Nicaraguan Revolution of the late 1970's. Built in such large numbers, Stuarts were seen in every major Allied army in the Second World War, even in the Soviet and Chinese forces.
M4 Sherman medium tank, Draftee, 75mm cannon two .30 cal. machineguns one .50 cal. machinegun. Note the extra inch thick applique armor on extra areas of the vulnerable sides and turret.
While too lightly armored and armed to be a main battle tank in Europe by the time the US entered the war, the Stuart was still quite useful as a scout tank and against the lighter AFV's of Japan. It's original max armor of 51mm (2inches) a main gun of only 37mm and up to five .30 cal. machineguns was fine when first designed but was quickly surpassed as the war progressed. What it did possess was a great turn of speed, up 58 kph/36mph and unsurpassed reliability. So reliable were Stuarts that the British tankers in North Africa gave them the nick name "Honey." Many variants included upgraded armor, weapons (flame throwers and short 75mm cannon being especially popular) and even turrets.
As with the later Sherman's, Stuarts had a long and successful life in the armies of smaller nations after the war, the army of Paraguay was still using ten upgraded Stuarts as late as 2014.
50,000+ Sherman's were produced during World War Two, seeing combat on every front as well as in the Korean War, India vs Pakistan wars the Arab-Israel conflicts and countless smaller actions through the '50's, '60's and '70's with dozens of countries. The varieties produced are too many to list in this small post check out "The Online Tank Museum" for a more complete list.
The weight went up from 30.3 tons for the first M4 models to over 42 tons for the massive M4A3E2 Jumbo Sherman. Armor was constantly increased and changed with frontal armor ranging from 76mm (3 inches) to 177mm (7 inches)-again on the Jumbo.
Main weapons available also went through a dizzying amount of varieties, 75mm, 76mm, 76.2mm, 105mm cannons; flame-throwers and rockets from 76.2mm, 113mm, to 183mm, fired in groups of from 2 to 60 projectiles. Adaptability was a hallmark of the Sherman.
All in all, the massive number produced, reliability and the great variety of designs made the Sherman a real war winner for the Western Allies (while over 4100 Sherman's saw service in the Soviet Armies in WWII, they had their own game winner in their excellent T34 series of tanks.) The last Sherman tanks in active duty, after many upgrades, were retired in 1999, from the Chilean army. While the army of Paraguay did not fully retire their last three Sherman's until 2018, quite a career for a tank that many considered way inferior to its German advisories.
Both of these tanks are on display at the National World War Two Museum in New Orleans.
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