Canadian M4A4 Sherman Medium Tank and Duplex Drive (DD) Tanks preserved overseas
(Joost J. Bakker Photo)
M4A4 Sherman Medium Tank, 51, 30, “Argyle“, LdSH (RC), Airborne Museum, Arnhem, Netherlands.
The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by Canada and its Western Allies during the Second World War. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. Thousands were distributed by the USA through the Lend-Lease program to the British Commonwealth and the Soviet Union during the war. The tank was named by the British for the American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman.
The M4 retained much of the previous mechanical design of the M3 Lee tank, but put the main 75-mm gun armament in a fully traversing turret. One feature, a one-axis gyrostabilizer, was not precise enough to allow firing when moving but did help keep the reticle on target, so that when the tank did stop to fire, the gun would be aimed in roughly the right direction. The designers stressed mechanical reliability, ease of production and maintenance, durability, standardization of parts and ammunition in a limited number of variants, and moderate size and weight. These factors, combined with the Sherman’s then-superior armour and armament, initially outclassed German light and medium tanks fielded in 1939–42. The M4 went on to be produced in large numbers, and spearheaded many offensives by the Western Allies after 1942.
By 1944, however, the M4 was inferior in firepower and armour to increasing numbers of German heavy tanks, although it continued to fight on with the help of considerable numerical superiority, greater mechanical reliability, better logistical support, and support from growing numbers of fighter-bombers and artillery. Some Shermans were produced with a more capable gun, the 76-mm M1 gun, or refitted with an Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun by the British (the Sherman Firefly).
The relative ease of production allowed large numbers of the M4 to be manufactured, and significant investment in tank recovery and repair units allowed disabled vehicles to be repaired and returned to service quickly. These factors combined to give the Allies numerical superiority in most battles, and many infantry divisions were provided with M4s. Tank destroyer battalions using vehicles built on the M4 hull and chassis, but with open-topped turrets and more potent high-velocity guns, also entered widespread use in the Allied armies.
During the Second World War, approximately 19,247 Shermans were issued to the U.S. Army and about 1,114 to the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. also supplied 17,184 to Great Britain (some of which in turn went to the Canadians and the Free Poles), while the Soviet Union received 4,102 and an estimated 812 were transferred to China. These numbers were distributed further to the respective countries’ allied nations.
(Astrz Photo)
M4A4 Sherman Medium Tank, 51, 30, “Argyle“, LdSH (RC), Airborne Museum, Arnhem, Netherlands.
M4A4 Sherman Duplex Drive, front view, 1944. (IWM Photo MH3660)
Both the Americans and the British developed a wide array of special attachments for the Sherman, although few saw combat, remaining experimental. Those that saw action included a bulldozer blade, the Dupl;ex Drive system, flamethrowers for Zippo flame tanks, and various rocket launchers such as the T34 Calliope. British variants (DDs and mine flails) formed part of the group of specialized vehicles collectively known as “Hobart’s Funnies” (after Percy Hobart, commander of the 79th Armoured Division).
DD or Duplex Drive tanks, nicknamed “Donald Duck tanks”, were a type of amphibious swimming tank developed by the British during the Second World War. The phrase is mostly used for the Duplex Drive variant of the M4 Sherman used by the Western Allies during and after the Normandy Landings in June 1944. DD tanks worked by erecting a ‘flotation screen’ around the tank, which enabled it to float, and had two propellers powered by the tank’s engine to drive them in the water. The DD tanks were one of the many specialized assault vehicles, collectively known as Hobart’s Funnies, devised to support the planned invasion of Europe.
M4A4 Sherman Duplex Drive with screen up, front view. 1944. (IWM Photo MH 3661)
M4A4 Sherman DD (Duplex Drive) with screens lowered, forward view. (IWM Photo MH 2210)
M4A4 Sherman Duplex Drive with screen up, rear view showing the two propellors. 1944. (IWM Photo MH 2214)
M4A4 Sherman DD (Duplex Drive) with screens lowered, rear view. (IWM Photo MH3662)
(Michael McCormack Photos)
(Thomas Skelding Photos)
(Marianne Casamance Photo)
M4A4 Sherman Duplex Drive, CT453671, “Bold”, “Audacieux”, D-Day Memorial, Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy, France.
M4A3E8 Sherman Medium Tank, 30, “Athena”, Ortona, Italy. (Not a Canadian tank)
Major Hal Skaarup has woven together an informative and detailed synopsis of the carefully preserved and restored armoured fighting vehicles on display in Canada. He highlights the importance of these upon key turning points in history when these AFVs were in use as tools of war at home and overseas. We often associate the evolution of military prowess with the advancement of sophisticated technology. Major Skaarup’s descriptions of Canadian armour as it evolved to the level it has today reveals that military planners have had to be continuously creative in adapting to the changes in modern combat. They had to devise many intricate techniques, tactics and procedures to overcome the insurgents and opposition forces faced in Afghanistan and future overseas missions where Canadian armour will be brought into play. This guide book will show the interested reader where to find examples of the historical armour preserved in Canada, and perhaps serve as a window on how Canada’s military contribution to safety and security in the world has evolved.
Lieutenant-General Steven S. Bowes
You may order the book “Ironsides” on line at these websites:
Order Book: http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000479183/Ironsides.aspx.
Order E-book: http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000479183/Ironsides.aspx.
Order book in Canada: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Ironsides-Canadian-Armoured-Fighting-Vehicle-Harold-A-Skaarup/9781462034642-item.html?ikwid=harold+skaarup&ikwsec=Books