History
The mainstay of the Allied armies, the Sherman was one of the most versatile tanks during the war, from the fields of Europe to the jungles of the Pacific. The M4 Sherman was produced by the thousand in the automotive factories of Detroit, and became a platform for countless variants as the way developed – not only up-gunned and up-armoured continuously to tackle the evolving Axis threat, but there were also a wide range of specialist vehicles developed on the M4 chassis – from mine clearance and bridging duties to armoured recovery vehicles, bulldozers and flamethrowers!
Early Shermans had relatively thin side armour and unprotected ammunition stores in the sponsons above the tracks, making them particularly vulnerable to the high velocity rounds from the German Panzers – earning the nickname of ‘Ronson’ – after the popular American cigarette lighters, which ‘light first time.’
- Produced – 1941-1945
- Variants – 75mm anti-tank gun, 76mm anti-tank gun, 105 Howitzer, 17-pdr (Firefly)
- Numbers built – 49,234
- Crew – 5
Platoon organisation
American armoured platoons tended to consist of five tanks – M4 Sherman platoons included (with one being the command tank.)
In Bolt Action
Overall thoughts: The Sherman in any of its variations is one of the best all round vehicles in Bolt Action. With its Medium Armour rating of 9 and its Medium Anti-Tank gun it can hold its own against most. It rocks in at a very reasonable 195 points, has the Easily Catches Fire rule but that is more than compensated by the extra HE. It replaces the usual D2 hits with an astonishing D6 against Infantry.
Best target: Enemy tanks up to Medium Armour and Infantry caught in the open!
Most feared foe: TIGER! Or any tank with a Heavy/Super Heavy Anti-tank gun that would make short work of the Sherman’s armour.
Most memorable action: During a TOP SECRET mission, Andrew Chesney’s lone Sherman faced off against three units of German Infantry trying to grab the objective. During the course of the game it destroyed two of them and pinned the third allowing the Allied Infantry to grab the package and seal the victory!
Hobby
The Plastic Sherman kit goes together quickly – the kit comprises two sprues, and is supplied with an easy-to-follow assembly guide that gives step-by-step instructions that mean your tank will be battle-ready in no time. A handy digital form of the instruction leaflet can be found here for your reference also.
Darek Wyrozebski – who has painted countless vehicles for use on our box artwork and across our website – has created a step-by-step Painting Guide for the Sherman, which can be found here.
The standard kit can be built-upon in several ways, with the addition of accessories found in the Armoury – Decals, Stowage, US Tank Crew, Alternate Head Sprues, Oil Barrels, Jerry Cans, or more specialist equipment such as the Culin Prong or the Calliope Missile Launcher will all add to the character and uniqueness of your tank.
Article written by Sam Phillips
In addition to all the great new content in the Tank War book you receive an exclusive miniature for free of this superb panzer commander. Unhorsed and letting loose with his trusty MP40 ‘Schmeisser’ SMG, he can represent dismounted tank crew or even be fielded in your Last Levy army as a panzer crewman with no tank left to ride in!
Dan Hewitson
Tom Mecredy
Craig Nixon