M4 (105)

The M4 (105) was an M4 Sherman with 105 mm howitzer. It was a secondary version of the M4 Sherman, which was mainly used for personal protection reasons, although the tank also used high-explosive anti-tank missiles and was heavily armored.

History

A total of 6748 M4 (from July 1942 to January 1944) and 1641 of the late variant were produced with a 105 mm howitzer for infantry support, the M4 (105). Early models had the three-piece screwed nose, while later models had a mixed cast/rolled fuselage. The gun coat also evolved from the M34 to a more protective M34A. A known weakness of the early M4 was the slight flammability of the ammunition after a hit, especially because the cartridges were large howitzer cartridges, which then set the engine on fire or blew up the tank. However, many tanks of the states involved in the war had this problem. Because of this fire danger, the Sherman was also called "Ronson" by the crews (a well-known lighter brand with the advertising slogan "Ronson always burns!"), the Germans called it "Tommykocher". It was only with the M4, which was produced at the beginning of 1944, that this weakness was remedied by installing water tanks on the storage areas of the ammunition. This system, known as "wet congestion," reduced the fire risk by more than a factor of four after hitting the combat room.