The M4 Sherman (named for the American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman) was the primary tank used by the U.S. during World War II. Tall, fast, versatile, moderately armored, with a sloped glacis and a rounded turret housing a 75mm or 76mm gun, the reliable M4 saw worldwide use in both the Pacific (where it excelled) and the European theaters of the war.
While the tank proved to be quite superior against the light armor used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, the much heavier and potent tanks of the German Wehrmacht became very dangerous foes for the Sherman, which was even nicknamed "The Tin Coffin" or "The Coffin on Tracks" by American crews operating it in the European theater.
Nevertheless, its superior numbers and the fact that it was very easy to produce (in vast numbers), maintain, repair and modify (European crews eventually added extra armor and more potent anti-tank armament) proved crucial for the American war effort and made the Sherman tank a very successful combat machine design in the end.
More extensive modifications undertaken during the Cold War - specifically, the fitment of the AMX-13's turret and gun on the M4 chassis by Egypt, and the addition of more powerful engines and a tweaked 105mm F1 gun taken from the AMX-30 by Israel (the later receiving the designation of M-51 or Super Sherman) gave the old design a new lease of life decades after its retirement, proving the tank's capabilities could be expanded much further beyond its original specifications.
