The Last Sherman Gun Tank Variant

It may surprise people to know that the M4A3(76) was not the last gun tank variant of the M4 to be produced. This example is in Bastogne Barracks.
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[@overextra8691]

idk why i was expecting the M-51 Super Sherman, although technically those were modified old shermans, not brand new builds

[@turbo-6.7l21]

I’m a super Sherman fan.

[@SaperPl1]

I thought this was going to be the M4/T26 with 90 mm gun, but no, it's just beloved cast-hull A1

[@spamuraigranatabru1149]

That was actually a vehicle made far sooner then the end of the war, certainly a surprise but the 90mm for the Sherman remained exclusive to the M36B1 (M4A3)

[@General_Cartman_Lee]

Apparently as stated on the Israeli Shermans this is not about modifications of existing vehicles. The 90mm Sherman was just a "let's put the M26 turret on a Sherman and see what happens" modification on I think 2 tanks.

[@spamuraigranatabru1149]

@@General_Cartman_Lee correct, the intention to mount a 90mm on the Sherman never was taken seriously

[@THB1945]

You play war thunder, aren’t you

[@wtpiv6041]

@@THB19456.0 moment

[@tacomas9602]

Can we take a minute to appreciate the mechanical sex appeal of an M4A1 with a 76 M1 gun and T23 turret AND hvss?? Such a nice looking machine.

[@jw6337]

The A1 hull is without a doubt the best looking hull, especially the late war variant

[@Ari.Atland]

The Iowa Gold Star Museum in Camp Dodge has one of these outside it's doors as the primary display.

[@KILOBify]

I was there last year! The museum is real nice.

[@ES90344]

I think this is my favorite version of the Sherman. Something about the cast hull and long gun is just right.

[@vaclav_fejt]

It's even more beautiful in War Thunder, where it has the narrow-track VVSS and no muzzle break.

[@cuatrokoop32v]

​@@vaclav_fejt WOT has that variant as well, and is how my M4 is configured in the game.

[@thelastofteh8528]

@@vaclav_fejt its also the best 76 Sherman tier for tier imo. I'd take it into 6.7 games any day though, and it'd be OP if looks could kill.

[@matthewbeesley5850]

The 105mm M-51 Super Sherman rules all Shermans. Though Chieftain is of course correct, since the M-51 is a modification of an earlier produced M4.

[@Perfusionist01]

A fairly common tank used for training by CONUS National Guard and Army Reserve units into the 1950s. The Nebraska Army National Guard had them mixed in with M4A3 variants until the Sherman gun tanks were declared obsolete (1957, if I remember) Some were gutted and remain on display in city parks in Nebraska. The use of the M4A1, 76mm, HVSS by US forces before VE day was debated for many years, but a couple photos did surface showing them in the hands of the troops very late in the conflict. These were also used in some numbers by the French, who supplied many to the Israelis. M4A1, 76mm, HVSS also appeared in at least two Hollywood movies; the 1953 version of War Of The Worlds had them fight Martians and one was a "star" in "Target Zero" (hard to find, but fun to watch).

[@petesheppard1709]

Boom! Short and sweet. Tanks!!

[@ConeOfArc]

Always loved the look of cast hull vehicles. I feel like they've gotten a bit of a bad rap as many aren't aware that cast armor in some situations provides better performance along with other benefits

[@cheekibreeki4638]

I suspect a certain game that shall not be named, is to blame for its less than excellent reputation.

[@tacomas9602]

Please dont stop with sherman videos Nick. Ive always loved these tanks. I wish to drive at least once and work on them someday.

[@il6993]

My mind went to the M51 “Super Sherman” but I believe they were conversions of existing models.

[@maikson97]

i thought it would be the M51/60 HVMS of the Chilean army a upgraded M51 with a 60mm HVMS gun and they had a few Chafee's and AMX's also upgraded with same gun.

[@dominuslogik484]

I am hopeful for another Q&A video soon but I am sure you are quite busy in recent years with all your work, glad to have you as a gold standard for history educators.

[@killergames391]

One of these is in a collection out in Fort Pierre SD and is running condition given by how much that tank moves around the area. Never drove through there and that tank was in the same spot twice.

[@shakenmate8609]

Hey, there is a man in the Detroit area in Michigan who has the very last Sherman ever built. I believe he is currently keeping it at the Selfridge Air Force Museum at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base. You should go check it out!

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

It's about 25 from the last, but close enough. It's in good condition, but it's a little out of the way for the expense

[@haveraygunwilltravel]

Interesting to know what was the final model off the assembly line. People working on the assembly line probably followed the last one all the way through the assembly line to the finish.

[@YoBoyNeptune]

I 3D printed this exact model and it is currently on my desk

[@rosbif4960]

According to Chamberlain and Ellis the M4A1 Medium Tank was also the first of the Sherman variants off the production lines (at the Lima Locomotive Works though, rather than at Pressed Steel for the last variants).

[@Lukusprime]

Something I’ve always wondered about is how cast armor works. Rolling/forging armor compacts the metal and therefore makes it more dense and stronger, and it also aligns the grains so the structure of the metal is stronger at a microscopic level. You can’t do either of those things with casting. I know that a lot of armor properties comes from the specific chemical makeup of the alloy, the carbon content, amount and type of other trace metals, etc, but even using the same exact type of steel, cast armor should still be of a world weaker than rolled armor. So how was cast armor made strong enough that it was favored and used in dozens of tank designs on multiple sides throughout the war?

[@raybrindos4514]

Surprisingly, nobody makes a model kit of this version. Had to make my own in French service.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

That is indeed surprising. After a quick hunt around because I didn't believe it, nothing obvious came up.

[@iatsd]

@@TheChieftainsHatch I believe ESCI used to make one in 1/72nd. They did the 75mm *and* 76mm variants. (I used the 75mm variant for building some British Fireflies for a wargaming army way back when WRG rules were a thing)

[@mitchanthony1548]

There isn't one in 1/35 but it is a fairly simple conversion get a M4A1 Italeris kit while old is repectable (no idea if anyone else makes a 76mm M4A1) and either a tamiya or dragon easy 8 and swap the VVS and HVVS between the kits. You could then swap the barrels if desired. Lots of other aftermarket parts for detailing too.

[@michakrupowicz8901]

I believe asuka makes 76 a1​@@mitchanthony1548

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

@mitchanthony1548 It's weird. You can buy a kit of a Tiger 1 hull number 723 on 14th June 1944 and also one of the same Tiger a week later after it bent its headlight after a small traffic collision, not of a factory produced Sherman variant.

[@theflatwoods2002]

Every time I go home my mother talks to me about this tank in our town, I could never get the variant right because I too thought they stopped at M4A3E8. Now I can tell her next time what exact model it is. Thank you very much.

[@spamuraigranatabru1149]

A good point to mention is the US combined all their HVSS and later 76mm guns plus later T23 turrets onto their M4A3 75Ws to recycle a lot of vehicles post war, meaning almost no M4A3 75ws remain and the number of HVSS users were extremely limited.

[@robertsolomielke5134]

TY-Major M.. I never loved the Sherman , until I saw this one The prettiest one ever, but say nothing to the others, they will pout.

[@tasman006]

I thought it would be the M51 Super Sherman upgraded with the help of France by Isreal and used to good affect up to even the Yom Kippur War where one account of them taking out Soviet supplied T62s to Syria happened. Since it had a modified 105mm gun which is bigger than the 76mm gun you would think that this was the last Sherman gun tank variant. Or is it just only in American Sherman tank in service being talked about here.

[@chefchaudard3580]

I understand that it is about the last Sherman built. The israeli Sherman’s were using existing hulls, not new ones.

[@pyeitme508]

Awesome 😎

[@Michael_OBrian]

Any chance of an Inside the Hatch video on the Merkava?

[@avishai7830]

Sorry Mike! It would have to be a previous gen Merkava, as many parts of the current Mk. IV are still classified.

[@Michael_OBrian]

@@avishai7830 unfortunate, but not surprising. Hopefully a video can be made on one of the older models.

[@HarveyAndToddTheWraith]

I don't know why, but for me M4A1 Shermans look way better than any other variant

[@atfyoutubedivision955]

My favorite M4 variant.

[@cheesenoodles8316]

The last of a long successful line.

[@abitofapickle6255]

My favorite Sherman. That's a curvy tank!

[@coolmikefromcanada]

was that a crescent wrench next the the gun mantlet?

[@Catrik]

0:30 why is there a crescent wrench stuck behind the mantlet? :D

[@maikson97]

i thought it would be the M51/60 HVMS of the Chilean army a upgraded M51 with a 60mm HVMS gun, they had a few these all the way into 2000's until they got replaced by leopards 1's. they do have one in a museum in Chile

[@arthurreis1906]

But do we know the reason to keep this production line alive for so long for the export market? Not enough welding facilities to keep the demand for lend lease? Or was it cheaper (either USD or man-hours)? Or just inertia and good-enoughness?

[@LumpyinAZ]

Didn't even manage to stir the debate whether any of these made it to the ETO in the last months of the war. I've seen one picture that makes me go hmmmm.

[@builder396]

0:50 Its a cast hull. I mean, the turret is cast, too, but nobody says that because all Sherman turrets are cast. Obviously misspoken there. Seriously though, HVSS tanks that arent M4A3s dont get enough love.

[@GeneralJackRipper]

It's adorable.

[@franklinlewis6059]

So,... were any (used) by the American in the ETO?

[@ditzydoo4378]

I did not know this. o~0 and I am so glad I subscribe and am now richer for the knowledge. hmmm, M4A1 (76mm) HVSS... very much was old tech combined with new tech. ^~^

[@bairdswestciv9542]

I defer to the Chieftain's knowledge since he has been looking into tanks far more than me, but I'll have to disagree on this one. The M4A1 76 was not principally an export tank. During WWII, the US Army actually preferred the cast hull over the welded (the welded hull was easier to make), and my research shows that there were even plans (not carried thru with) to re-engine 76 gunned M4A1s with the GAA engine. While the M4A2 and especially the M4A4 were earmarked for lend-lease, the 76 gunned M4A1 was kept mainly for US troops with only a few given to the South Africans/Brits in Italy, the Poles after D-day, and the Free French. The very first 76mm gunned Shermans were the M4A1s. The M4A3 (especially the 76 version), having the preferred engine, was held for US troops almost exclusively. After WWII when 76 gunned M4A2s that had not been lend-leased were being cannibalized to convert late-model M4A3s to 76mm gun or HVSS, the M4A1s in US stocks were reconditioned and given to mainly the French and Belgians with a few going to the Italians. That's how highly the US army thought of them. The Israelis preferred the cast hulls as well. This is why the M-51s with 105 gun are almost all M4A1s.

[@Paladin1873]

I'd like to see a Jumbo based on the E8 platform, but with a diesel engine and the 105 howitzer.

[@chrisbisho9785]

I think thats the same type as the one at the park at Ft Polk ... sorry ... Johnson .

[@Kevin-dz2oj]

I like the M60

[@darnit1944]

Imagine if we put LRF and thermals on it too

[@biomike01]

@@darnit1944 Thats what Israel did with their M60s, in addition to a newer gun, ERA and a bunch of other things

[@raybrindos4514]

We did, it's called the M60A3 TTS

[@darnit1944]

@@biomike01 No no, you are mistaken. I was referring to the M60 Sherman armed with 60mm HVMS. It was used by Chile to counter potential invasion by Argentina and their TAMs Additionally they also armed their M24 with that.

[@c3aloha]

Was going to say wasn’t the Chilean M-60 variant the last serving Sherman?

[@tinman3586]

Why didn't CoH3 use this model for their E8?

[@christianwilson5956]

Because they didn't do any research and used an m4a3 76. It doesn't even have hvss.

[@tomhenry897]

When dad was in the NG 60 to ? The Sherman was in his soldiers book

[@rare_kumiko]

I had no idea they stopped production already on July 1945! I thought it would have lasted until the end of the war or even beyond that.

[@jic1]

They'd already moved on to Pershings and later Pattons by that point. This is why you see T-34s in service a few decades longer than Shermans: it's not anything to do with the design, it's that they made almost twice as many and they were in production for over a decade longer.

[@1BigBen]

short to the point

[@ishikaorimura6803]

I thought it would be the M51 Super Sherman since it has the longest service time. Well all good.

[@kKingkazuma]

I really wish for this to be in War Thunder some day...

[@edl617]

I thought it was going to be the Israeli super Sherman with the 105 mm rifle gun. the M-51 proved itself capable of fighting newer, heavier tanks like the Soviet-built T-54/55/T-62. The M-51's 105 mm gun could penetrate these adversaries using HEAT ammunition. The M-51 served well during its time, and is regarded as an excellent example of how an obsolete tank (the Sherman) can be upgraded beyond the limits of its original capabilitie

[@BugattiONE666]

I mean, what about the M50, M51 and the Chiliean one with the 60mm HVG gun

[@frostedbutts4340]

Still the last ones 'produced'. Those were all refurbs of WW2 stock.

[@osmacar5331]

"cast turret and radial engine" you meant hull right? right?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Yeah, slip of the tongue

[@osmacar5331]

@@TheChieftainsHatch i think contorting yourself into increasingly smaller vehicles is having an effect on you. though am surprised the sherman went THAT long with stock production.

[@mattwoodard2535]

Somehow that looks one cooler than the other Shermans. sm

[@derrickstorm6976]

0:18 Does anyone know the script, what is he saying?

[@Masada1911]

“At least gun tank”

[@richard_the_lion_farted]

This one and the Israeli M50 are the bee's knees IMO.

[@crazeelazee7524]

How come the last Sherman was built atleast half a month before the war's end?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

They didn't need any more to win the war and Pershing was in production anyway. As it was, they reduced tank production in 1944 as they felt they were building enough for the job.

[@crazeelazee7524]

​@@TheChieftainsHatch Thanks for the answer, though it's one of those that creates more questions. Did US army feel like they had a large enough stockpile to cover their needs for the invasion of Japan or did they plan on using Pershing in Japan? I suspect it's the former, because I can't see any reason for the latter (given the state of the Japanese army and the added logistics strain).

[@AsbestosMuffins]

someone must have stopped and realized one day that they were working on the last factory sherman

[@WildBillCox13]

The Isherman.

[@sammymartin7891]

So the first and last Sherman's built were M4A1s

[@VirginiaRican]

M50

[@maxgern9186]

Ey

[@komng6280]

a classy sherman or artisan sherman lol

[@user-fe7bo5mm1o]

isnt the m51 the last sherman?

[@frostedbutts4340]

No. Those were upgrades on old US built vehicles.

[@user-fe7bo5mm1o]

@@frostedbutts4340 then did he mean the last variant of ww2?

[@QALibrary]

So the Sherman used by the Israel where rebuilds and not new? … how did they fit a 105mm gun in such an tank

[@Panzermeister36]

This video is not on modifications of existing vehicles. It is about the last Sherman types that was "built new". Many countries, such as Egypt, Israel, and Chile, have modified Shermans with new engines, guns, turrets. But those aren't newly built hulls.

[@JeffHenry-cq3is]

It was the French Who sold them to Israel

[@Gepedrglass]

she's beautiful

[@hetspook666]

This video is 20 minutes to short

[@joshuathinker8546]

Did Israel actually build a few super Shermans (M-51's) from the ground up, not just modifying the old ones?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

No. They were all conversions.

[@merlinwizard1000]

45th, 31 January 2024

[@BENKYism]

Does the M-50 count?

[@Masada1911]

Those were using existing hulls so not technically “new” tanks.

[@matthewanderson9754]

Do Sherman's count as far as upgraded by other countries Sherman's? Cause Israel did some work with Sherman's...

[@Panzermeister36]

Those aren't newly built vehicles. They are modifications. The Chileans have the most recently modified/upgraded Shermans, not the Israelis.

[@matthewanderson9754]

@Panzermeister36 I wasn't meaning the most modern, I just meant this more modernized after ww2. Sorry I didn't explain properly.

[@needed2bleed]

1st

[@kirkstinson7316]

So? What, you want a cookie?

[@vistaredgt]

May I have a cookie too?

[@mcmoose64]

I always considered the Israeli M51 to be the ultimate Sherman. 🤔

[@BigSauce_]

These videos are getting too long man… Please make them more concise

[@alexander1485]

Thats a lie, it was the Israeli M51

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

A conversion of these tanks, not a new build

[@jic1]

Even if he was lying (he isn't, grow up), Israeli M51s were later modified further by the Chileans into the M60, so you're wrong in two ways.