The Powertrain was so good it remained largely unchanged throughout the Sherman production run, I would say it was pretty close to flawless. The first was duckbill end connectors on the 16-inch tracks, lowering ground pressure, and then HVSS came along in late 44, with 23 inch wide tracks that resolved the problem completely, the HVSS Sherman could go anywhere a Panther went, without risk of breaking down constantly. The narrow tracks were a flaw, in soft terrain and mud the Sherman with VVSS, and 16-inch tracks, was at a disadvantage compared to the Pather, but this flaw was resolved in two ways before the end of the war. This is true of on the early VVSS, it was replaced with the heavy duty VVSS used first on the M3A4. All the major issues with the four major power plants had been resolved in the Lee. The automotive systems on all the early Shermans were good. Let’s start with the early Shermans, and by early, I mean all small hatch hull tanks. Some of the lessons learned about the Lee/Grant design did not come in time to affect the very early Sherman design, but improvements made it into the production line fairly fast. The British, who were already at war, helped a great deal with the Sherman design with feedback from their combat experience. The Sherman was also designed by a country with little tank making experience. The Sherman tank, like anything man produces, was series of compromises to meet the US Army’s design specifications. It Just Had So Many Fewer Than Any German Tank! The Shermans Flaws: Yeah, I know the Sherman Had Flaws.
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