Microsoft Close Combat - Manual (Page 107)

106 Close Combat
M4A3 (76.2-mm) “Sherman” Tank
Panzer V “Panther” Medium Tank
Weight 45,500 kg (100,100 lbs)
Maximum speed 46 km/h (28 mph)
Main gun 75-mm (2.95-in.) L/70
Armor 30 to 110 mm (1.18 to 4.33 in.)
The German Panther medium tank, introduced in
1943, was probably the best tank built during WWII.
Designed in response to the Soviet T-34 medium
tank, the Panther was larger, heavier, more powerful,
and better armed and armored. Its excellent chassis
and suspension gave the Panther speed over varying
terrain to match its long-range firepower. In open
country the American-built Sherman tank was no
match for the Panther, but in the constricted
hedgerow country of Normandy the Panther could
not take full advantage of its superiority. Panther
variants included the formidable Jagdpanther
(“Hunting Panther”) tank destroyer, which carried an
88-mm gun.
Weight 32,285 kg (71,027 lbs)
Maximum speed 47 km/h (28.7 mph)
Main gun 76.2 mm (3 in.) or 105 mm (4.13 in.)
Armor 38 to 63.5 mm (1.5 to 2.5 in.)
The American M4A3 “Sherman” medium tank was
a better-armored version of the original M4A1
medium tank. Many M4A3s mounted a 3-inch (76.2
mm) gun; its HVAP (high-velocity armor-piercing)
round made this upgunned Sherman a match for
German tanks that the 75-mm version could not take
on. One M4A3 variant mounted a 105-mm howitzer.
While the Sherman was far from the finest of World
War II tanks, its durability and sheer weight of
numbers made it a major contributor to Allied
victory.