M4 vs M4A*

[Ted]

Why would a late M4 cost the same as a late M4A1 and more than an M4A3?

I would have thought the M4 would improve with age(?)

Edit: One thing I found out is the M4 and M4A1 had is a one piece "cast" hull and the M4A3 had a "welded" hull.

Is there much of a difference and do you think the difference is reflected in the game?

[Ted]

Must be a tough question.

How about this, which would you choose all points being equal, a Late M4, Late M4A1 or an M4A3?

[slysniper]

Let someone else answer this better than me. But I know the welded hull was better from the cast . There is threads that already have comments about that. The cast hull was not able to produce the same quility of steel as the rolled plate. So the welded plate was a little better protection.

[Sergei]

Only the M4A1 (mid) in the game has a fully cast hull, others don't. You can tell by the lack of sharp corners (and weld marks).

[Elmar Bijlsma]

This educational post by Bullethead is mandatory reading in regards to Sherman sub-types.

You've discovered a little-known WW2 tank-grog thing here that BTS, in its search for the ultimate in realism, has modeled in CM. I've been waiting to see if anybody else noticed this.

Most people assume that the M in US vehicle designations means "Model". Thus, the Medium Tank M4 Sherman would be the "Model #4" Medium tank. This is incorrect. The M actually stands for "Mortality" and the number represents the life expectancy of the vehicle in minutes. Thus, Shermans were rated officially at 4 minutes of survival in a combat situation, which is reflected accurately in CM by having them die on turn 4.

After the Sherman had been in production for some time and combat experience had been gained, it was noticed in many cases, particularly for the earlier production runs of Shermans, that the official Mortality rating was a bit optimistic. Thus, the designation was changed to reflect the new data. This involved appending the letter A and another number to the M4 designation, the A standing for "Actually" and the new number being the revised Mortality rating. For example, the M4A2 had a combat-proven life expectancy of "Actually 2" minutes.

Later on, the designation system got even more accurate by appending a number in parentheses and the letter W. Despite the widely held conviction that the parenthetical number was the caliber of the gun, what these symbols really meant was that the tank had a 75% or 76% chance of going WHOOSH in a big fireball when penetrated. However, some models of Sherman were so inflammable that calcualtions showed they had a 105% chance of brewing up, so they just left it at that and didn't bother with the W, because they were going to WHOOSH regardless.

Towards the end of the war, some Shermans gained an E and another number in their designations. The E meant "Extra Cost" and the number was a designator for the manufacturer, to ensure that company got extra money for making the tank. CM accurately reflects this by making these types of Shermans cost more to buy in DYO.

Thus, the M4A3E8(76)W designation meant a tank with an official Mortality of 4 minutes, Actually 3 minutes, cost Extra, and had a 76% chance of going WHOOSH.

[Statisoris]

This educational post by Bullethead is mandatory reading in regards to Sherman sub-types.

Now that's just evil :-)