Named after the controversial Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, the 30-ton M4 Sherman tank was the most commonly used American tank in World War II. Despite being inferior to the heavier German tanks, this legendary wartime workhorse was reliable, capable and would play a part in helping the Allied forces win the war.

The M4 Sherman wasn’t an entirely new design – it took inspiration from the Grant and Lee medium tanks, but with several key adjustments. For a start, the M4 was the first tank to have a gun on a fully traversing turret and was also equipped with a stabiliser. These design features meant the M4s main gun could be fired accurately while the tank was moving.