History of the Sherman in the IDF
The opening phases of WW2 found all of the Allies woefully unprepared for armoured warfare. Most tanks in Britain and the US still mounted machine guns as primary weapons. Doctrine still saw the Tank as a support unit for infantry even after the Nazi Blitz across france and into Russia. For most of the war the allies would play catch up with Germany in terms of weapon caliber and thickness of armour. The allies would also fight within their own ranks between those that saw the tank as infantry support or those that were proponents of TD tanks rather than upgunning the Sherman for tank vs. tank fighting. While all these problems contributed to the murder of countless tankers by their respective commanders and nations. The difference really came down to two different philosophies on tank design and logistics.
The philosophy of Germany reagarding tank design was one of building the most
powerful, armoured and engineered tank, capable of taking on all comers. While
the Allies and more specifically the US chose a different route in designning
a basically simple sound tank with a medoicre weapon, thus accomplishing two
things. Allowing vast numbers to be produced with for the most part only minor
changes and two ease of maintnance in the field. This impacted greatly the
out come of the war as follows . Germany who had comparitively limited supply
resources couldn't replace as quickly combat losses. This is especially true
concidering the myriad of tank types used by Germany, which also great ly
impacted logistical supply of spare parts.
While Germany kept on looking for the perfect tank, the US designed the M4
Sherman tank. Initialy armed with a short 75mm gun, it would eventualy mount
the 76mm gun with longer barrel and muzzle break as on the M4a3e8. The sherman
was produced in numerous subvariants and specialty types. All of which however
kept the basic hull and engines . The basic variants were the M4, M4a1, M4a2,
M4a3 and M4a4.
While different variants had minor changes in engine, nose, welded vs cast
hulls and turrets, all kept to the basic shape and had a large list of common
parts. By the end of hostilities in 1945 tens of thousands of Sherman had
been built. Sherman tanks had bested all comers, and fought in weather as
hot as the Saharan desert to the frozen tundra of Russia.
Following WW2 the Sherman was used by numerous countries. Its basic design
and ease of operation has kept it in service into the new milenium. Even today
Israeli modified Shermans mounting 60mm HV guns protect Chilean borders. Israel
was by far the largest user of the Sherman post WW2, retiring the last from
reserve units in the late 80s. In Israeli hands the sherman once again bested
tanks from its old nemesis the PZ4 to the Russian T-62. Israel added to the
list of 'funnies" as well, building numerous specialty variants to fit
its needs. Many of these are now on display at the Latrun museum in Israel.
Israel received her first shermans through various means including stealing
them or buying demiliterized versions from European scrapyards. by the Suez
crisis in 1956 Israel was fielding a sizeable fleet including the new M50
with a french modified Panther gun. While the Shermans routed the Egyptians
without to much difficulty, the need For a more powerful main gun was evident.
this process eventually developed into the M51 with 105mm main gun.
Israel also developed two SP howitzers on Sherman chassis as well as rocket
systems of varying calibers. Engineering vehicles were adapted, as were exiting
'Funnies' Like the Crab mine clearing type. others like the cherry picker
types were totaly based on homegrown needs. Overall the IDF used just about
every subvariant produced , not including test or one offs. Just a note here,
there never was an Isherman this is totaly a media given name. For a more
in depth look at Israeli Shermans pick up Tom Gannon's book thru Darlington
Productions*. For General history find R.P. Hunnicutts book.
*Note: Darlington has disappeared and the book is only available via ebay
IDF Designations and Types Used
| common designation | IDF designation | summary | picture | article /photo reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherman | Sherman שרמן M3 |
This M4 modified from a 105mm gun is a good example of a vehicle to get the M3 designation. The vehicle is distinguishable by the lower mounted gun lock. M3 is the 75mm gun mounted in the turret hence the designation. this would be the same regardless of hull type. |  |
|
| Sherman שרמן M1 | The IDF M1 would have been any tank which had the M1 76mm main gun, again regardles of hull type. this photo shows two M4a1s rearming during the Suez crisis in 1956. of interest is the T23 turret mounting a M1 gun on a M4a1 hull vvss not a comon site outside of Israel. |  |
||
| Supersherman M1 | The M1 "supersherman" was a M4a1 or possibly an M4a3 (although I have no photo evidence) with original engine deck, hvss suspension and 76mm main gun with muzzle break. These tanks fought in the Jerusalem area during 1967 before being either made into M51 or other artillery mounts. |  |
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| Sherman M50 שרמן | The M50 was a joint Israeli french venture to improve the basic sherman at least as far as firepower went. The result was the mating of the 75mm from the amx 13 into the early type sherman turret. this weapon was a modified German PAnther main gun. Due to the extra weight of the gun forward, a lead weight was added at the turret rear. this leaves a prominent weld joint . |  |
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| Sherman M51 שרמן | The M51 was the next step in the sherman evolution process and resulted in the most poerfully armed sherman the IDF used. The M51 mounted a 105 mm gun in a T23 turret. the barrel even needed to be cut short due to the high muzzle speed . This version also rquired a additional lead weight at the rear of the turret |  |
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| Sherman Ambulance type one | ||||
| Sherman Ambulance type 2 |  |
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| Sherman 160mm Mortar | ||||
| M7 Priest 105mm self propellled howitzer | Priest פריסט | |||
| Sherman 155mm SP early type | ||||
| Sherman 155mm late type | ||||
| M32 ARV | Sherman M32 ARV טנק חילוץ שרמן | The IDF used at least 2 hull types of M32s. the M4a1 early and M4 early. both had the small hatches for driver and co driver. later M32s recieved the standard IDF engine upgrades and served until the sherman was taken out of service. | ||
| Sherman Dozer M1 | This is the standard dozer as manufactureds and used during WW2. IT could be most likely be mounted on any vvss equiped sherman | |||
| Sherman w/IDF dozer early | ||||
| Sherman w/IDF dozer late | ||||
| Tailblazer / Gordon | ||||
The List below covers articles in print, on the web, photo references on th eweb and reference books. While I do endeavor to check periodically, web links may change so I therefore list and link to the home site as well. IF the link doesn't work please contact us.
| Title | Article location | Summary | Vehicles covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building DML's Israeli M50 "Super Sherman" | Tracklink website | A nice fairly straight forward build Of DMLs offering. | M50 |
| M51 Photo page | IDF modelling | photos of the M51 captured from various books and personal photos | M51 |
| M50 photo page | IDF modelling | Photos of the M50 captured from various books and personal photos | M50 |
| IDF M51 "Isherman" page | Israeli weapons site | M51 | |
| M50 "super Sherman" page | Israeli weapons site | M50 | |
| How to build an Israeli M51 | IDF Modelling | Thomas Antonsen's article on building | |