I Love Kit - Merit International 1/16 61615 US M4A3E8 Sherman Easy Eight Medium Tank Kit

Tank, Medium, M4, to use the official US Army Ordnance Department parlance, underpinned American armoured forces during the Second World War and the Korean War, and is regarded as one of the most important military vehicles ever made. Better known as the "General Sherman", or simply "Sherman", more than 49,200 of all versions were built between 1942 and 1945, a greater number than any other AFV. To produce this volume of tanks, manufacture was subcontracted to no fewer than ten locomotive and automobile works in the United States. The Sherman saw action on all war fronts, and significant numbers were provided under the Lend-Lease aid programme to British, French and Soviet armed forces. The M4 was named "Sherman" by the British after the American Civil War general W T Sherman, a practice adopted for US tanks delivered under Lend-Lease to Britain. In its final form the M4 was classified M4A3E8 in testing (Model four, Advanced three, Enhancement eight), and featured new horizontally-mounted suspension (HVSS), wider track, bigger main gun (76mm) and improved protection. In the contemporary US phonetic alphabet, the letter "E" was represented by "Easy" which led to the tank’s nickname "Easy Eight". Sherman production ended in June 1945 after more than 8,500 "Easy Eights" in various configurations had been built. (NF)