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Location Category ID:
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6100
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Latitude, Longitude: |
49.44393796
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-1.20967627
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Location Accuracy: |
5
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Tanks Previously Here: |
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At 6.40am on D-Day the 4th American Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach, in fact a section of beach further south than intended. An hour later the American force was moving inland; they also moved north along the coast and neutralised several strongpoints, and went through the dunes of Varreville, near the town of Saint-Martin-de-Varreville. On 30 July the French 2nd Armoured Division landed at the originally intended Utah beach under General Leclerc, and this is commemorated by a memorial nearby at Les Dunes, Saint-Martin-de-Varreville. On display are an M3 half-track, an M8 armoured car and an M4A2 Sherman tank.
The Sherman was the most widely produced tank of the Second World War, a testimony to the adaptability of its original design more than to its fighting ability. It was designed in 1940 to be the first American medium tank to mount a 75mm gun in its turret. It was developed from the M2 medium tank, which had a turret-mounted 37mm main armament, and the M3, which had a turret-mounted 37mm gun but a sponson-mounted 75mm main armament on the right side of the hull. In October 1941 the prototype T6 design was standardised as the M4 medium tank and plans were made to produce 2,000 examples per month. This was achieved by turning over to production of the M4 those plants building the M3, and by the construction of a second purpose built tank factory, the Grand Blanc Tank Arsenal, to augment production from the smaller producers and the original Detroit Arsenal.
The M4 first saw service at El Alamein in October 1942 with British troops, who named it General Sherman. There were five main production models of the Sherman; the original M4 had a Continental engine and welded hull, while the M4A1, which was actually the first model to be produced, had a Continental engine and a cast hull. The M4A2, M4A3 and M4A4 all had a welded hull but the M4A2 had twin GM diesel motors, the M4A3 had a Ford gasoline engine and the M4A4 had a Chrysler Multibank engine. The Multibank engine consisted of five linked automobile engines and required a slightly lengthened hull. All five models were in production at the same time at different plants.
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Unique ID: |
780
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Serial Number: |
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Registration: |
“420977” (French) painted on nose.
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Name: |
“NORMANDIE” painted on hull sides.
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Other Identification: |
“30” painted on turret sides.
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This Sherman is mounted on a concrete plinth. It fought in the 2nd Company of the 1st Squadron of the 12th Régiment de Chasseurs d’Afrique of 2nd Division Blindée. It is missing its bow machine-gun mount.
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