Rare photos of US super tank production in World War 2

The M3 Lee and M4 Sherman were the most modern American tanks used against the Nazis in World War II.

Before 1940, the Americans were not too interested in developing tanks, but the need for use on the battlefield and the fear of German tanks forced the United States to change. From 1940 until the end of the war, with its powerful defense potential, the United States manufactured tens of thousands of M3 and M4 medium tanks to fight the fascists. In the photo is the factory manufacturing M3 Lee medium tanks.

And here is the factory that produces the M4 Sherman medium tank – the most successful and famous tank model in US Military History. About 50,000 were built from 1942-1945, and supplied to dozens of allied countries for use during and after World War II .

Gasoline engine production line for the M4 Sherman.

The M4 Sherman tanks were equipped with a 400-horsepower Continental R975 gasoline engine that produced 2,400 revolutions for a maximum speed of nearly 40km/h (quite fast at that time).

Workers work on the chassis of an M3 Lee medium tank. About 6,000 M3 Lees were built between August 1941 and December 1942.

The M3 Lee tank design was developed in 1940 to meet the requirements of the British allies at that time who needed a tank to counter the Panzer III and Panzer IV of Nazi Germany. However, this was considered an “unusual” design, or a failure of American tank design because of its large size and poor mobility.

The typical abnormality of the M3 Lee is the firepower aspect, instead of placing the gun in the middle of the turret like Soviet or German tanks, the Americans put the 75mm gun on the side of the vehicle, limiting the rotation. In addition, there is a 37mm gun in the turret on the top of the tank.

In contrast to the M3 Lee, the M4 Sherman is considered the most successful tank design in American history, as evidenced by the 50,000 units produced. Although its firepower and armor were not considered to be too strong, the M4 had the advantage of being produced very quickly and at low cost, which made it overwhelming when facing the German tank – a powerful machine, extremely powerful weapons but high cost, complicated production, causing limited quantity.

The M4 Sherman weighed 30.3 tons, had 19-91mm thick armor, and its main firepower was a 75mm M3 L/40 gun (90 rounds of ammunition) along with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun and two 7.62mm heavy machine guns. On the European battlefield, the M4 Sherman could fight the Tiger I tank effectively, but then gradually became obsolete against the German Panzer IV and Panther tanks.