- Yes
- No
IWM (MH 4116)
History
The Sherman was designed from the outset with the intention of being able to mount different guns and, when the need arose in 1942 for Assault Guns in the Tank Battalions, the Ordnance Department began looking into mounting a 105mm howitzer in place of the 75mm. In March 1942, Aberdeen Proving Ground proceeded with designing a mounting for the 105mm M2A1 which became the Combination Mount T70.
Chrysler was contracted to produce and fit a pair of pilot mountings into a couple of M4A4s with additional changes being made in the form of swapping the 75mm ammo-racks with 105mm stowage and the installation of a gyro-stabiliser. Receiving the designation of M4A4E1, one was sent back to Aberdeen while the other went to the Armored Force Board based at Ft. Knox.
Testing highlighted a number of deficiencies with both the howitzer and the mounting itself. The cast mantlet was heavy and the balance of the turret was affected so badly that it overloaded the powered traverse causing the turret to be incapable of rotating on a 30° slope.
Redesigns of both the howitzer and mounting lead to the creation of the 105mm M4 and Combination Mount M52. The howitzer was now much easier for the loader to operate and the new mantlet, now much closer to the M34A1 shield of the 75mm Shermans, allowed an increase in maximum elevation and depression. Two more pilots were built receiving the designation of M4E5 and being sent for testing in August 1943.
The redesigns were deemed acceptable but it was decided that full production would use the large-hatch hulls which were still under design and that a number of other changes would also be made. For example, the Armored Board decided that the gyro-stabiliser wasn’t required for the 105 but also made the questionable choice that powered traverse was also not required. This lead to a number of complaints once the tanks were finally in the field from the units having to actually deal with the limiting hand-traverse in combat.
Chrysler ended up being the only manufacturer of 105mm Shermans with 800 M4 (105) VVSS and 841 M4 (105) HVSS Shermans being built between February 1944 and March 1945.
British and Commonwealth Service
As with the M4A1 (76) W, there wasn’t an immediate requirement for the M4 (105), but the shortfall in 75mm Shermans meant that there was no alternative, and so a number of 76s and 105s were accepted as substitutes.
Britain’s need for Shermans meant that around 1000 105s would be required to make up the difference but Lend-Lease documents put the final figure at 593 tanks being received with these being sent over from May to October 1944. 276 of them were to be allocated to units fighting in North-West Europe and the other 317 to units fighting in Italy.
Opinions on the IB probably varied a fair bit but the 17th/21st Lancers of 6th Armoured Division stated this in their history:
A new weapon arrived at this time - the Sherman fitted with the 105mm gun howitzer for close support. These were issued to Squadrons and Regimental Headquarters in the same role as the old 3in Crusaders in Africa. The 105mm HE shell was considerably bigger than the 75mm, and the smoke shell was particularly effective. However, it was too complicated a weapon for tank use, since the need to use varying charges at different ranges made the tank commander’s task more suited to an artilleryman; and though much research was done to get a general-purpose setting, the weapon remained redundant until the end of the war, and then 75mm would have done the task just as well.
Sherman tanks advance, 11 April 1945. - IWM (NA 24015)
Italian Front
In late '44, IBs started to be distributed by the 15th Army Group in Italy and, as of 23rd September, 1st Armoured Division had 17, 6th Armoured Division had 9, 4 were in a Tank Replacement depot, and 91 were in transit from America. By the end of the year, 100 were reported on strength with British, Canadian, South African, and Polish units, with another 46 in reserve.
By mid February 1945, 1st AD had been disbanded and their 2nd Armoured Brigade was now an Independent Brigade with 18 IBs. 6th AD had 12, 5th CAD had 18, 6th SAAD had 18, 7th AB had 19, 9th AB had 4, and 1st CAB had 18. A further 38 were with Tank Replacement Groups and 133 were in ordnance/training stock.
Men of the 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers are carried forward on Sherman tanks near Ferrara, 22 April 1945. - IWM (NA 24365)
North-West Europe
Despite a fair number of 105s being allocated for the fighting in NWE, none actually saw service with any British units there. A number did see use with Canadian units though it was still a relatively small amount. As of December 31, 1944 it was reported that there were 24 IBs in the UK with training and experimental establishments and that none were in Northwest Europe with the 21st Army Group.
By 30th June 1945, there were 82 IBs in NWE with 21st Army Group with 50 of these being listed as in Depots. 7th Armoured Division is listed as having 1, 8th Armoured Brigade having 3, and 4th Canadian Armoured Division having 4. 5th Canadian Armored Division was the only Commonwealth unit in NWE shortly after the war that had any significant numbers of IBs with 24. Some of these were likely issued in Italy before the 1st Canadian Corps was transferred in March 1945.
In-game
The Sherman IB would be a relatively unique Lend-Lease tank for a Close Support line, with it currently not being found in any other tree and being visually distinctive enough from the M4A3 (105) HVSS in the American and French trees. It would also add an intermediate caliber between the British 95mm and 165mm weapons.
Specifications
Crew - 5
Weight - 31.5t
Engine - Continental R-975 Radial
Max speed - 24mph
Armament
105mm M4
2x .30cal MG
1x .50cal MG
Max elevation/depression - +25/-10
Ammunition
66 shells
3,000 .30cal rounds
600 .50cal rounds
Figures taken from War Thunder Wiki
M67 Shot - HEAT: 130mm of penetration at 0° at all ranges. 113mm at 30°, 65mm at 60°.
M1 Shell - HE
M84 - Smoke
Armour
Nose - 63.5mm
Glacis - 63.5mm
Lower Hull Sides - 38.1mm
Upper Hull Sides - 38.1mm
Hull Rear - 38.1mm
Hull Roof - 19.5mm
Engine Deck - 10mm
Mantlet - 88.9mm
Turret Front - 76.2mm
Turret Sides - 50.8mm
Turret Rear - 50.8mm
Turret Roof - 25.4mm
Additional Images
Sources
British Battle Tanks: American-Made World War II Tanks - David Fletcher & Steven J. Zaloga
Sherman Minutia (Sherman minutia homepage) - Pierre-Olivier Buan, Joe DeMarco and Leife Hulbert
https://youtu.be/8r1pAAMwycU?si=gjmFVDattwKqsIiB - Tank Chats #122 | Sherman 105 | The Tank Museum
Sherman Medium Tank Canadian, New Zealand and South African Armies, Italy 1943–1945 - Dennis Oliver
Lend-Lease Sherman tanks - Wikipedia
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/us/m4_sherman