Sherman Medium Tank 1942-45 (New Vanguard) [Paperback]

Steven Zaloga (Author), Peter Sarson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: New Vanguard | Publication Date: May 27, 1993

The M4 Sherman tank was the mainstay of the Western allies between 1942 and 1945. Fast and modern it was better than most of the tanks Britain had to offer. The American Chief of Staff claimed in November 1943 that it had been hailed widely as ‘the best tank on the battlefield today’. However, by the time of the Normandy invasion of June 1944 this was not the case. The new heavy tanks being produced by the Germans were able to outclass the Sherman in both armour and armament. This title describes the development and operational use of the Sherman medium tank throughout World War II and beyond.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The unrivalled illustrated reference on fighting vehicles, transport and artillery through the ages. Each volume is illustrated throughout, making these books uniquely accessible to history enthusiasts of all ages.

About the Author

Steven J. Zaloga was born in 1952, received his BA in history from Union College, and his MA from Columbia University. He has published numerous books and articles dealing with modern military technology, especially armoured vehicle development. His main area of interest is military affairs in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the Second World War, and he has also written extensively on American armoured forces.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (May 27, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 185532296X
• ISBN-13: 978-1855322967
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,108,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Zaloga is a senior analyst for Teal Group Corp., an aerospace consulting firm. His professional specialization is the commercial and technological aspects of the international trade in missiles, precision guided munitions, and unmanned aerial vehicles. He also serves as an adjunct staff member with the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federal think-tank.

Mr. Zaloga has published numerous books and articles on military technology and military history. His books have been translated into Japanese, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, and Russian. He has been a special correspondent for "Jane's Intelligence Review" and is on the executive board of the "Journal of Slavic Military Studies". From 1987 through 1992, he was the writer/director for Video Ordnance Inc., preparing their TV series "Firepower" that aired on The Discovery Channel in the US.

Mr. Zaloga was born in 1952 and received his BA in history from Union College, Schenectady, NY. He received an MA in history from Columbia University specializing in modern East European history, and did graduate research and language study at Uniwersitet Jagiellonski in Krakow, Poland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Short, Format Not so Good, February 16, 2005

By 

R. J Szasz "Rod Szasz" (Tokyo, Japan Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sherman Medium Tank 1942-45 (New Vanguard) (Paperback)

Although I have invested quite a pot of money into Osprey publications, some of the series are better than others... one problem is if the subject matter is so long that it cannot be handled by the short page format.

This is definitely the case in this book: since the Sherman tank became the unfortunate defacto standard for the western allies in WWII, it can potentially encorporate a lot of space and detail. Zaloga covers the advent of the tank and how it was put through it production paces. I also learned why the production run of the Lee-Grant tanks was so short --- it was an interim version between the Stuart and the Sherman -- the turret for a gun larger than the 37 mm had not been made, so the hybrid was the only way to get large amount of up-gunned tanks into the field quickly(even if they did look wierd).

There is a lot of detail on the many versions but I did find a few things that annoyed me:

1) There is no detail on the "why" of the choice of the Sherman. Surely a tank as critically flawed and used as long as it is either being defended by misdirected intentions, or it really has some solid points.

2) Although British and Cmmonwealth forces were using this tank in some of the largest engagements on the western front, there is little on the variations used by these forces. There is in addition no mention of any variations that may have been shipped to Burma.

3) As carrolary of the above there is nothing on the Firefly version with the 17 Lbr version of its gun. Certainly arguably the most worthwhile upgrade done on this tank.

4) No mention of the impact of model development and the impact on the field. The 17 pounder on the Firefly meant that the British and Canadians could match the Panzer IV and also score hits on the Panther and Tiger (though still outgunned).

A good reference but I think that there was just too much info and the Osprey format was just too short.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good photography - limited information, September 30, 2010

By 

Marcus Q. Harmon "Mad Dog" (Spencer, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sherman Medium Tank 1942-45 (New Vanguard) (Paperback)

This book has great photography and it is well printed. The illustrations, although few, are well done. The book provides fun-to-read information on the M-4 tank It is a good supplement to use with other books on the subject. Note though, the book is more like a pamphlet than a book. It's thin, has a mere 48 pages, and can be fully read by an average reader in 10 to 15 minutes. Think about this before you dish out 17 clams for it.