Degem Alef M-3, Isreali first standard sherman

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i would like to suggest what became the standard of the Israeli tanks after the independence, the Degem Alef M-3 Sherman

Tanks_of_the_Israeli_8th_Armoured_Brigad

the Degem Alef M-3 Sherman was the Israeli designation given in the 50s for the M4 Sherman in services with the 75mm M3 gun. been into service since 1948 in the Israeli militia, some of them, 3 exactly, saw action during the late stage of the Arab-Israeli war of 1948. while it seems the M4 105s chassis with early M34 gun mount was bought from an Italian Scrapyard, Israel had bought 30 Sherman in 1948 but 14 were ready to service but lacked of guns. the M34 mount was installed for the initial services on the first 3 tanks and got the M34A1 mount later.

they served originally in the Brigade 8, Battalion 82, Company Bet “the Anglo-Saxon Company” and were by far, the best tank in service in the region. fighting mainly obsolete light tanks, the M-3 was giving Israel a real advantage in combat.

following the war of 1948, Israel bought a lot more Sherman all around the European junkyard full of decommissioned material at cheap prices. those went to strengthen the Israeli armored forces and became the standard Israeli tank. in 1956 Israel went into a deep upgrade of their Sherman fleet by installing the SA50 gun, it was there that Sherman received a designation according to the gun’s name. the M4 (105)s having the 75mm M3 gun, became known as the M-3 Sherman.

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Firepower

the M-3 Sherman used like his name indicate, the 75mm M3 gun . this gun being a standard US gun for the Sherman would be very familiar to the players. capable to fire the mighty APCBC-HE M61 shot who’s penetration reach 100mm at 100m , the M-3 wouldn’t deceive the players. the fire-rate reaching 12 rounds a minute wouldn’t make it feel slow. the elevation of -10°/+25° would make it a pretty flexible gun to use in combat and the rotation of the turret reaching 24°sec would also make it suitable for close combat. the tank carry 98 rounds for the 75mm which is over twice what a common player would need. the gun has been stabilized , the use in combat would seem sweet

the tank also have a 7.62mm M1919 as coaxial and another m1919 in the hull for close defence. but during the war of 1948 the Sherman wasn’t mounting the 12.7mm, those guns seemed to be installed later during the 50s

Mobility

The mobility of the M-3 is not his best feature, but it’s not lacking either. powered by R-975 engine C-4 providing 460 hp , it remain in his best condition a decent engine. weighting 31,500 kg , the tank would be capable of reaching 38 km/h which is nothing bad. The power-weight ratio of 13.2 hp/ton , would allow the M-3 to move around decent and be where it belongs, in the frontline.

Protection

the M-3 has the main disadvantage of being a rather big target. but outside his size, the tank delivers good protection. with a hull featuring 51mm at the front with a important slope, 38mm at the side and rear , the M-3 would hard to penetrate by a frontal hit. his side being more vulnerable still can offer good protection. but there is an important detail to note on the M-3 suggested here. even if the chassis is the M4 105 late, the turret has the M34 gun shield wich was smaller, and most of the turret only gave 50mm of armor with a rather flat surface this made this particular Sherman closer to the US M4 than the M4 105 from any nation. The crew of 5 men would also allow the tank to take good damage before being destroyed. It wouldn’t be rare to survive and return fire even if you lost 1-2 crew members during a fight.

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