M4 Sherman / Firefly IC with T34 Calliope Tank Mounted MRL Bundle by Rubicon Models USA

The M4 Sherman, a widely-used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies during WW2, demonstrated reliability, affordability, and abundance. Thousands were distributed via the Lend-Lease program to the British Commonwealth and the Soviet Union. Named after American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman by the British, the M4 Sherman evolved from the M3 Medium Tank, featuring a side sponson mount for its main armament. The M4 retained much of the previous mechanical design but housed the main 75mm gun in a fully traversing turret. A one-axis gyrostabilizer helped keep the reticle on target, aiding accurate firing when the tank stopped. The designers prioritized mechanical reliability, ease of production and maintenance, durability, standardization of parts and ammunition, and moderate size and weight. These factors, combined with Sherman's superior armor and armament at the time, outclassed German light and medium tanks fielded from 1939 to 1942. Produced in large numbers, the M4 spearheaded many offensives by the Western Allies after 1942. When the M4 tank, known as Sherman I by the British, entered combat in North Africa with the British Army at El Alamein in late 1942, it bolstered Allied armor advantage over Axis armor and outperformed lighter German and Italian tank designs. Consequently, the US Army believed the M4 would be adequate to win the war, and no further tank development was pursued due to logistical and transport restrictions. Tank destroyer battalions, using vehicles built on the M4 hull and chassis with open-topped turrets and more potent high-velocity guns, also entered widespread use in the Allied armies. Even by 1944, most M4 Shermans retained their dual-purpose 75mm gun. By this time, the M4 was inferior in firepower and armor to increasing numbers of German heavy tanks but could still fight on with numerical superiority and mutual support from growing numbers of fighter-bombers and artillery pieces. Some Shermans were produced with a more capable gun, the 76mm gun M1, or refitted with an Ordnance QF17-pounder by the British (the Sherman Firefly). The ease of production allowed for large-scale manufacturing, and significant investment in tank recovery and repair units enabled disabled vehicles to be repaired and returned to service quickly. These factors combined to give the Allies numerical superiority in most battles, and many infantry divisions were equipped with M4s and tank destroyers. After World War II, the Sherman, particularly its many improved and upgraded versions, continued to see combat service in various conflicts worldwide, including the Korean War, Arab-Israeli Wars, Vietnam War, and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

• Comes with both small and large hatch hulls
• Features both low and high bustle turrets
• Includes both 75mm gun and 105mm howitzer
• Offers options to build a British Firefly IC
• Provides multiple mantlet choices
• Includes open or closed turret and hull hatches
• Tank crew figures are included