Chrysler built M4 Sherman Tank Photos   Chrysler built M4A3 Sherman Tank Photos    Chrysler built M4A4 Sherman Tank Photos  Fisher Body built M4A2 Sherman Tank Photos    Fisher Body built M4A3 Sherman Tank Photos   Ford built M4A3 Sherman Tank Photos 

Sherman Tanks of the American Auto Industry

This page added 11-16-2016.

The M4 series Sherman tank is the best known and most recognizable American tank built during World War Two.  It is also the most documented tank of that era.  There is a multitude of excellent publications and websites available, providing information on just about everything one would want to know about the Sherman.  Everything but the importance of the contribution of the numerous and types of Sherman tanks developed and the quantities built by the American Automotive Industry.

From the table below it can be seen that Chrysler, Fisher Body, and Ford combined to produce 30,996 Sherman tanks.  This was 62.95% of the total 49,234 built.  At the beginning of World War Two, the preferred Sherman tank of the US military was the M4 and M4A1, powered by a Continental-built Wright R-975 air-cooled radial aircraft engine.  If  Army Ordnance could have had its way, all 49,234 Sherman tanks would have been powered by the R-975.  However, there were not nearly enough to meet all of the demand.  To fill the gap, Chrysler, Fisher Body, and Ford all developed alternate engines to power the Sherman tanks.

Chrysler met the challenge with the A57 multibank engine, which had five six cylinder automobile engines driving a common output shaft.  Chrysler was the only manufacturer of 7,499 M4A4s that were powered by the A57 engine.  Most of the M4A4s were provided to the British through Lend-Lease to rebuild its stock of tanks after losing most of them at Dunkirk.  The M4A4 was the Sherman used by the British in North Africa, Italy, and Europe.  Photos of the British Sherman tanks at Normandy and in the European Theatre of Operations are the Chrysler-built M4A4.  They provided an important role in liberating Europe during 1944 and 1945.  The M4A4 was utilized by the US Army for training at the California Desert Training Site, and also in limited combat in China and Burma.

Fisher Body was the first of the auto makers to go into production on the M4 series tank in April 1942.  It chose to power what was designated as the M4A2 with two Detroit Diesel 6046 six cylinder diesel engines.  Fisher Body built 7,608 M4A2s at its Grand Blanc, MI tank plant.  Another 3,460  M4A2s were built by Pullman Standard, American Locomotive, Baldwin Locomotive Works, Pressed Steel, and Federal Machine and Welder.  A total of 11,068 Fisher Body-designed M4A2 Sherman tanks were produced.  This is 22.4% of all Shermans built.  Most M4A2 Sherman tanks were provided to the Russians through Lend-Lease.  The M4A2 was the standard Sherman tank of the US Marines in the Pacific until it could not get any more and started acquiring large hatch M4A3s.  The Canadians also received the M4A2 and used them extensively in combat in Europe.

Ford, which produced the smallest number of Sherman tanks during World War Two, developed what became the preferred Sherman tank for the US Army in Europe by late 1944.  The M4A3 Sherman tank was powered by a Ford GAA V-8 gasoline engine, which was a cut down version of a V-12 aircraft engine the company had been working on.  Because of the small number of small hatch M4A3s built by Ford, and the fact that the M4/M4A1 was the preferred tank in 1942 and 1943, the M4A3 was relegated to US training.  After Ford went out of production, the Ordnance Department gave both Chrysler and Fisher Body production contracts for large hatch versions of the M4A3.  These tanks were shipped to Europe where they then became the preferred Sherman of the US Army.  The Marines also started receiving the M4A3 for use in Europe.  After the Battle of the Bulge and the loss of many American tanks, some Ford built M4A3 tanks were rebuilt and then shipped to Europe to replace the losses.  After World War Two, the Fisher Body and Chrysler-built M4A3 Sherman tank with the Ford V-8 became the standard Sherman tank in the US arsenal. 

Today there are 1,300 Sherman tanks of all types left in the world.  In the US there are over 225 Shermans; and in Canada there are 60.  In the various Sherman tank photo pages above, I have images of the different types of M4 tanks produced by the US auto makers during World War Two.  While there are many websites with Sherman photos, the ones linked above are the only ones categorized by car maker.  Included in the Fisher Body M4A2 page is the oldest M4A2 in North America.  This particular tank served with the Canadians starting at Normandy and made it all the way through the war and then back to Canada.  On the Ford M4A3 photo page is the world's oldest of this type, located in South Boardman, MI.