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20th Armored Division
M4 Sherman Tank
The 20th Armored Division primarily employed two versions of the venerable Sherman tank. Although out gunned and out armored by its German counterparts, the Sherman was fast, maneuverable and available in great quantities. Fortunately, the 20th was not involved in many tank versus tank engagements, but anti-tank weapons from the panzerfaust to the vaunted 88 mm anti-aircraft gun were encountered.
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9th Tank Battalion Sherman, April '44.
Photo by PFC Jim Carroll.
The Sherman M4A3(75)W Sherman was the standard medium tank of the division, and made up the bulk of its offensive punch. Weighing almost 35 tons, the A3 was equipped with a 75 mm main gun, a .50 caliber machine gun and two .30 caliber machine guns. Its 500 horsepower engine delivered an off-road speed of approximately 26 miles per hour.
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J. Morrison of the 9th Tank Battalion on the "Cobra".
The Sherman M4A1(76)W was an upgrade that one company of each battalion received after arriving in Europe. It featured a cast hull as opposed to welded on the original model and, more importantly, the higher velocity 76 mm cannon. This main weapon upgrade provided much greater penetrating power.
Although several specialized variants of the Sherman were produced, the one most important to the 20th was the tank-dozer model whose front mounted blade cleared obstacles, covered trenches and underground emplacements during the assault on the SS barracks near Munich. (See After Action Battle Reports section.)
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