M1A1 Dozer blades Modification for Shermans
During the early stages of World War II, the U.S. Army realized that standard tanks were often halted by roadblocks, craters, and hedgerows that required dedicated engineering vehicles to clear. To solve this without deploying vulnerable unarmored bulldozers to the front lines, the M1 dozer blade was developed as a kit for the M4 Sherman. Introduced in 1943, the kit featured a rugged blade mounted on the lower hull and operated by a hydraulic cylinder. This allowed a standard combat tank to retain its 75mm main gun and machine guns while gaining the ability to clear paths through rubble and anti-tank obstacles under enemy fire.
The Sherman dozer proved its worth most famously during the push out of Normandy in June 1944. Where allied forces were bogged down by the natural terrain and hedgerows that German defenders used to ambush tanks from the flanks. While many Shermans used “Culin” cutters to slice through the brush, dozer-equipped Shermans were used to physically bulldoze gaps through the heavy earth walls, allowing entire armored columns to bypass German kill zones. These “tank-dozers” became so essential that commanders frequently requested one for every tank platoon to ensure mobility in all environments.
By the end of the war and into the Korean conflict, the role of the dozer blade expanded from simple clearing to defensive fortification. Tank crews used the blades to rapidly dig hull-down positions. This allowed the crew to position a tank in a way that significantly increased crew survivability during static defensive battles. Though the added weight of the blade placed a heavy strain on the Sherman’s front suspension and reduced its top speed, the tactical flexibility it provided made the “dozer” one of the most successful and enduring modifications of the M4 chassis.
The Dozer blades used by the Shermans also happened to be the downfall of the T28/T95 superheavy tank. It was intended to be used to push through the Siegfried Line; however, by the time it could have been used, Shermans equipped with dozer blades had already built earth bridges over the anti-tank structures along it.
Stats:
Weight: 7400 lbs
Width: 138in
Blade Height: 48in
Max Load: 5000 lbs
Lift Height of Blade: 1ft 8in up to 3ft 6in
Compatibility: The M1A1 Dozer blade is compatible with all HVSS and VVSS Shermans.
Images
Sources
#37 Dozers: The M1 and M1A1 Dozer Blade Kit. | The Sherman Tank Site
https://www.theshermantank.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/TM9-719-Tank-Mounting-Bulldozer-M1-and-M1A1.pdf
Panzerserra Bunker- Military Scale Models in 1/35 scale: M4A1 Sherman with M1 dozer - a case report.
Would you like to give the Shermans Dozer blades?
9 Likes
+1
you can never complain about an extra bit of protection
Spoiler
The last thing the stug will see before I throw them to the river in eastern europe:
3 Likes
Even if you never use it to dig a fighting position you might survive a extra shell here or there. Might be useful for infantry mode in destroying a building with a mg post in it.
Even at top tier the dozer blade has saved my tank a few times.
The fact that they basically just gave a few high rank mbts dozers and then never bothered with them again is a travesty. There may be a bit of an imbalance between nations in the ww2 ranks but every sherman based vehicle could mount a dozer blade. I know the Churchill and Matilda could also mount dozers without serious modifications. However I can’t think of a single German or Soviet example
2 Likes
+1 if for no other reason than extra frontal protection. It may not be RHA, but that metal has to count for something!
1 Like
+1 I can imagine Gajin looking at this for new premium options instead of modifications
1 Like
It is worth noting that this bulldozer blade is not M1 or M1A1, but it’s an M2 Bulldozer for M4A3, 76-mm gun, medium tanks.
M1 was for Shermans with VVSS, while the M1A1 could be used on Shermans with VVSS or HVSS.
Not relevant in this suggestion’s scope, but M46 has an M3 Bulldozer.
2 Likes
Yeah I noticed that before it got accepted I’ll fix it tomorrow on my day off, well not that it was an m2 but that it wasn’t the correct dozer
Really sad top tier is fast so you have little time digging in low tier might be better plus people experiment more.
Germany had armoured bulldozers made from tanks Soviet had some post war stuff if I remember right T-34 with dozer but I will try to dig up the image if I can.
Issue with the Germans is that they didn’t really put dozers on fighting vehicles bu rather tended to use/make specialist vehicles. I did find some info on a T-34-85 modded with a dozer post war.
But regardless, yeah much more possibility to dig fortified positions and lower brs especially in something like a Matilda or Churchill that can just ignore some of the people shooting back, especially at longer ranges
2 Likes
Imagine ur in a sherman with ur friend. You stop on a hill. Your friend - A giant grown ass tank filled with hulking soldiers - begins digging a hole
I would fall over laughing
would this serve any purpose in terms of concealment? Shermans are kinda taller than Godzilla. Ehh why do I care +1 xD
2 Likes
Make the Sherman shorter lol
2 Likes
Some of these dozers where meant more to demolish buildings but digging a fighting position is just one job.
They tried but not mass produced would be part of the tank development that would evolve into the Patton tank. The tall Sherman though was an issue but it made mass production easier at the time.
I meant by placing it in a hole lol
1 Like
I think all vehicles that used Dozer blades Modifications irl should have their version in war thunder too.
and the dozer blade is far more usefull in lower thier than at top tier (where they’re more common) in top tier they’re just used for extra spaced armor.
My theory is that gaijin haven’t added dozer blades to lower br’s yet, because soviet tanks didn’t use those in their tanks. (the T-34’s and KV-1’s)
3 Likes
They have the engineering hookups at the front on some vehicles and other nations that used T-34 attached dozers. Gaijin might have placed low tier dozers on hold as its a lot of work from what they saw a small sector of the community using them. Germany had it worse as I never seen any sort of fighting bulldozer they kept them very separate there even where project for a high power armored demolishing vehicle.
Also this thing (mine clearing)
With infantry mode coming vehicles like these might be more useful in a anti intrenchment role (demolishing a building)
This one was actually armed with a 20mm, so it could be a low tier meme machine
1 Like
Goddess help us please go make a post then of the tractor with a identity crisis.
With these models and images I see the 20mm or where it was supposed to go.
With infantry mode these could be useful also I wonder what attachments they could put on the front I doubt they just kept it to the rollers maybe some dozer was cooked up.
