Sherman

The American M4 Sherman is one of the most famous tanks of World War II, along with the German Tiger tank and the Russian T-34 tank.

In 1952, the Danish army received 8 M4 Sherman tanks as weapons aid from the United States. The purpose of this modest contribution was to allow the army to gain experience in the use of tanks before the first modern tanks, the British Centurion tank, were received in 1953. The 8 tanks were used at the Armour NCO School in Oksbøl, and served from 1952-1954. In 1952, 2 M32 Sherman recovery vehicles were also delivered.

The M4 Sherman was built in more than 50,000 units from 1942 to 1945. The Sherman tank on display at the museum is the M4A3E4 variant. The designation “A3” indicates that this is the fourth main variant which is equipped with the Ford GAA engine (there are also sub-variants designated M4, M4A1, M4A2, M4A4 and M4A6). The “E4” indicates that this version has been upgraded with a 76.2 mm (3 inch) gun of the M1A1 type.

The museum’s M4A3E4 is also special in that it was originally built as a sort of artillery piece with a 105 mm howitzer, instead of the 76.2 mm (3 inch) gun it has now. At some unknown time, the tank’s turret was replaced with a turret from another M4 tank, and presumably in the process the gun, originally an M3 75 mm gun, was replaced with the current 76.2 mm (3 inch) M1A1 gun.

The 76.2 mm (3 inch) M1A1 gun had better armour-piercing characteristics than the M3 75 mm gun and was therefore more suitable for fighting enemy tanks. The Sherman Firefly version used the British 17 Pounder (also 76.2 mm (3 inch)), but it is not the same gun as the American M1A1 gun.

The Sherman tank is probably the tank type that has been in service for the longest continuous period, in that the M4 Sherman entered service with the British Army in the autumn of 1942 and was withdrawn from service from the Chilean Army in the mid-1990s.

Our exhibited Sherman No. 6 is not running, only static display. However, we are restoring Sherman No. 2 to fully running status.

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