Introduction and Vehicle Background

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Luckily, many resin companies have recognised the need for more Shermans, and have been trying to provide other versions of this most common tank; there are numerous conversions and complete kits of various models of the Sherman tank now available in resin. But with very few exceptions, these resin Shermans are all produced by modifying existing plastic kits, so there are still relatively few choices concerning the basic hull types. Specifically, we are in dire need of the early, and lengthened hull styles. This article is intended to review and summarize the available Sherman kits and accessories, and will illustrate the need for new, high quality Sherman kits in 1/72nd scale.

Although it seems like there are many differences in the hull shapes and styles between the versions, the primary feature that distinguished one version from another was the type of engine used. So, while the M4, M4A2, M4A3 and M4A4 all had welded hulls, they can be easy to distinguish from one another if you can see the engine deck. I've listed here the basic designations of the main Sherman variants:

• M4A1 - Continental R-975 gasoline engine, cast hull

• M4 - Continental R-975 gasoline engine, welded or composite hull

• M4A2 - twin General Motors 6-71 diesel engines, welded hull

• M4A3 - Ford GAA V-8 gasoline engine, welded hull

• M4A4 - Chrysler WC Multi-bank engine, lengthened welded hull

• M4A6 - Caterpillar RD-1820 diesel engine, lengthened welded or composite hull

There were three basic hull styles: a cast hull (M4A1), a welded hull (M4, M4A2, M4A3, M4A4), or a composite hull (M4, M4A4 or M4A6). These different hull styles make it easy to identify the different Sherman variants:

• The M4A1 was the only version with a completely cast hull, so it should be easy to identify, unless you are looking at it from the front only, in which case, it may be a composite hull.

• The M4 had the same engine deck as the M4A1, but with a welded hull.

• The M4 composite had a cast hull front, and a welded rear hull, so it is easy to identify as well (again, unless you are only looking at the front).

• The M4A4 had a hull that was substantially longer than the others, so both the welded and composite M4A4's should also be fairly recognizable (look at the distance between road wheels).

• The M4A6 used an M4A4 composite hull with a distinctive engine deck. (Additionally, the M4A6 was used only for training units in the US, so it is rare to see photographs of this version.)

• That leaves us with only the M4A2 and M4A3, which are distinguished by their unique engine decks.

The M4A1 actually went into production first, before the "standard" M4. Both of these versions were equipped with the Continental R-975 gasoline engine; their only difference was cast or welded hull. The engine decks on these two tanks were identical, so for those of you who want to build something different from your rare ESCI M4A3 kit, you can simply replace the engine deck in that kit with one from the M4A1 kit (now re-released by Italeri), and you'll then have a perfect, late model M4 hull, for use with a 105mm turret.

Another feature that varied on the Sherman was the nose piece (differential housing). There were three basic varieties, none of which were restricted to any particular hull version:

• The earliest was the three-piece, bolted nose, a beautiful example of which can be found in the ESCI M12 SPH kit. The Hasegawa Lee/Grant kits also have this nose, but it is not molded nearly as well in those kits.

• The second and third types were single-piece, cast noses; the second style was a little more rounded than the third type, which was often called the "sharp nose". No available kits have the second style of nose. The third style is given in the ESCI, Hasegawa and HäT Sherman kits.

The final variation in the hulls that I will discuss here is the style of front hull (glacis) plate. The early style of front hull had a slope of 56 degrees. It had two small hatches for the driver and co-driver, and prominent bulges in the armor in front of the hatches. The hatches opened outwards, parallel to the hull sides. Often times, applique armor plates were welded onto the hull in front of these bulges to increase armor protection for the crew. The later style hull decreased the slope to 47 degrees, while increasing the armor thickness. The two crew hatches were enlarged, and opened at an oblique angle to the side and rear. Most of the basic hull styles (M4, M4A1, M4A2 and M4A3) underwent this change of front hull during their production, so there are two types of each of these basic hull styles. Unfortunately, the HäT M4 kit is the only available model with the early style hull; all other kits have the late style hull.

Around the same time that the front hull changed, so did the ammunition stowage (from dry-stowage to wet-stowage). Vehicles with dry ammunition stowage almost always had applique armor plates added to the sides of the hull and turret. Early on, these plates were welded onto the tanks in the field. Later, the added armor was incorporated at the factory, and for many late model M4A1's, the applique armor plates were added directly into the hull castings. This was also the time that the switch in armament was made from the 75mm turret to the 76mm turret.

Armament Changes

All of the early versions of the Sherman with the early style, dry-stowage hulls, were armed with the 75mm gun. The only plastic kit now available of any of these versions is the HäT M4 .

The 76mm turret was added to the M4A1, M4A2 and M4A3. These were all on the late hull style with the wet-stowage and new front hulls. No 76mm versions were produced of the M4, M4A4 or M4A6. The Revell M4A1 kit is of this version. (The Hasegawa M4A3 kit is also a late model hull, but with HVSS suspension).

Infantry support vehicles were produced by mounting a 105mm howitzer in either the M4 or M4A3 versions (again, the late hull style).

The only Sherman variant produced with the late style hull and the 75mm turret was the M4A3 (the ESCI M4A3 kit). There was apparently a very small number of the late style M4A1 dry-stowage vehicles converted to 75mm tanks for use as DD vehicles. I think that this is what the ESCI M4A1 was supposed to represent, but it is missing the applique armor plates.

British Shermans

The US gave (and/or sold) many of the different Sherman variants to the British and Commonwealth powers for use in their own armored formations. They were used pretty much without modification, with the notable and highly successful exception of the Firefly, which was armed with the excellent British 17pdr anti-tank gun. The British used a different nomenclature to identify the variants of the Sherman:

• Sherman I = M4
• Sherman II = M4A1
• Sherman III = M4A2
• Sherman IV = M4A3
• Sherman V = M4A4
• Sherman Hybrid = M4 Composite

If the armament differed from the standard 75mm, a letter was appended to the name:

• A = 76mm
• B = 105mm
• C = 17pdr

For example, an M4A3 armed with the 76mm was called Sherman IVA.

When the HVSS suspension was introduced, then a Y was added to the end of the name, so an M4A3 (76) HVSS was called Sherman IVAY.

The Firefly

As mentioned above, the only main change made to some of the Shermans provided to the British was the outstanding decision to arm some of them with the 17pdr gun. These vehicles were known as "Firefly". There were three types of Firefly: the Sherman IC (on the M4 hull), Sherman Hybrid IC (which used the M4 composite hull), and the Sherman VC (which used the M4A4 hull).

Israeli Post-War Shermans

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