M4 Improved – Upcoming Tier 5 US Premium

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Hello everyone,

another tier 5 medium tank appeared on the supertest – this time an American one, the M4 Improved. While we wait for the leaked photos and statistics, let’s have a look at the history of this vehicle (I sure hope it is the right one, but I think so).

M4_IP

At this point, some of the old FTR readers might remember that they saw this tank before. That’s right – it was actually amongst the huge batch of vehicles, whose descriptions and icons were leaked a year and a half or so ago. Naturally, that is no longer valid – this is the the HD version.

The initial request for an improved version of the Sherman was made as early as December 1941. A day after the infamous Pearl Harbor attack, Aberdeen was instructed to propose an improved Sherman version with better armor and mobility. Aberdeen complied and the proposal was submitted on 13.3.1942. The vehicle proposal had following characteristics:

- frontal armor remained the same except for the lower part, which was sharply angled instead of rounded, providing better protection equivalent to 63,5mm of armor, frontal armor is sloped 60 degrees from horizontal
- thickness of rear armor increased to 50,8mm
- turret was welded from rolled plates due to expect shortage in foundry capacity
- armament was standard 75mm M3 gun
- to improve mobility, new Wright G200 engine, producing 640 horsepower was proposed
- in order to keep the ground pressure the same (since the powerplant and the armor weighed more), Aberdeen proposed to utilize a modified M6 heavy tank suspension (HVSS type)
- the vehicle was weigh 37,92 tons and maximum speed of 56 km/h

This vehicle was never put into production, as further development of several components was required. Detroit Arsenal then produced another proposal of the modified Sherman of different properties, but that’s a story for another time. Unless it’s the Detroit version in WoT, but that would be too strong for tier 6.

Basically, what we have here is a mobile Sherman with better armor, but stock gun.

Source: R.P.Hunnicutt – History of the American medium tank (vol.1 – Sherman)

33 thoughts on “M4 Improved – Upcoming Tier 5 US Premium”

  2. Would like to see the M4(90)V, M4A3 (?) with M26 base turret and 90mm M3 as a premium T7.

  3. Makes you wonder if we’re going to see more Tier 5 Premiums to make every nation get one? Some new ‘complete mission with X nation get Y tank?’

    British could get a Cavalier tank (Cromwell with a 6-Pounder).
    French could get a Char G1 (Their Sherman/Cromwell/Pz4/T34 equiv)
    Russians no doubt have some random crap lying around WG can find/

    • Pah…
      I want a selection of British premiums based on Hobart’s inventions, and the other whacky stuff we produced;

      Sherman Crab with mine flail for the sheer lulz of literally ploughing through things

      Crusader AA with triple 20mm (oh, the scouts you could hunt with that)

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  6. Still no love for M4E2A4 (I wonder if in the end I will be the only one who kept this vechicle)

  8. SS, since there is already a tier 5 medium premium for the US, do you think this thing will be a reward rather than a buyable premium?

    • I’m pretty sure T14′s UFP angle is better. But yeah, it still should be possible to use this against tier 4 and stock tier 5s’ guns.

      • T14 is absolute trash, partly because of its mobility, but mostly due to that terrible gun; which by coincidence is more or less the stock M4 gun… :P

        No experience with Ram II, but it should be better than this, no?

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