Assistant
driver in a Canadian 22nd Armored Regiment Sherman gets a glass of wine
from a grateful French woman in Broglie, Normandy. August 1944
The crew of a heavily sandbagged M4A2 76(W) usher their tank under electrical wires in northern France, early 1945.
How did the space inside the Sherman compare with other tanks of that era? Did the crew have less room, the same, or more space in comparison?
The Sherman was MASSIVE in comparison to other vehicles of the era. It was something along the lines of 8’7"-10 feet tall depending on the variant. It easily dwarfed the Cromwell, T-34 and Panzer IV which are more or less considered counterparts of the vehicle.
Here’s a comparison of the Tiger series next to the Sherman.
Other nations (specifically Japan) had complaints about the Sherman’s height. The Japanese received Shermans to arm the new Japanese self defense force after the war. Due to the average height of the Japanese male being shorter than that of the American male you would often get complaints about not being able to reach the pedals or a certain scope.
Ironically when the M41 was put into American service there were complaints of the vehicle being cramped and claustrophobic. While the opposite was true in Japanese and Vietnamese service as they felt right at home in the smaller vehicle.
Since the Sherman, most MBTs developed for use in the United States Military have been extremely comfy (by Soviet standards; the maximum height for a crewman of a T series tank is 5’9") in terms of internals. This is why the M60 is so tall since it was designed with crew comfort in mind.
These are images I found comparing the heights of the tanks in question.
And these are examples of interior space since it’s kinda hard to measure comparisons
I hand these out to proselytizers who come to my front door.
A M10 Wolverine and a M4 Sherman pass the Leaning Tower in Pisa, Italy. 1945
Been thinking of the Tower of Pisa.
This works.
Yugoslav M4 Sherman armed with a 122mm gun.
The Biggest Boi
Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick?
This was a thing?
Sherman gets shit done.