Sherman Tank: A Pocket History

Once described as the ‘worst tank that ever won the war’, the Sherman tank was never going to be the equal of the German heavies in a direct tank-on-tank confrontation. It was never meant to be. What is was, though, was reliable, maneuverable and built in such prodigious quantities that it became ubiquitous. Sheer weight of numbers and interchangeability of parts was what made the Medium Tank M4, as the Sherman was officially designated, a war winner. Built in the States in car factories, railway works and new bespoke factories, the Sherman came in many variants, and was converted for other uses by the Allied forces. The Brits gave it a bigger gun, made ‘funnies’ that could wade ditches, build bridges, even float in the sea and clear minefields. The Sherman lasted in service into Korea with the Americans and many were sold overseas to Israel, Uganda, India, Paraguay, Argentina and Mexico, with the last coming out of service in 1989 in Chile. John Christopher tells the story of the M4 Sherman, using both new and archive images to show the most famous tank in the world in all its guises and variants.