Includes two Sherman (75mm) tanks.
Israel acquired its first Sherman tank via a clandestine arrangement with British soldiers tasked with destroying military equipment prior to the British withdrawal from Palestine in 1948. By 1956, they had several hundred Sherman tanks scrounged from various scrap yards around the world, including 60 M1 Shermans provided by France (M1 was the Israeli designation for the M4A1 tanks armed with 76mm guns). The Israelis acquired more M1 tanks in the late 1950s, having some 300 at their peak. By 1967 the remaining M1 tanks had been fitted with the improved HVSS suspension of the ‘Easy Eight’ and were used for infantry support work on the Jordanian front.
Check out the Sherman (75mm) in the online store here…
With the surrounding Arab nations receiving increasingly powerful Soviet tanks, the Israelis began to modify their Sherman tanks to keep pace. The first model, the M50 Sherman, mounted the French 75mm CN-75-50 gun from the AMX‑13 light tank in a modified 75mm turret. The first 50 vehicles were ready just in time for the 1956 war. The mobility of these initial vehicles was poor and the engine was overworked, so the engines were replaced with powerful Cummins diesel engines and the suspension upgraded to HVSS like the M1 Super Shermans. In 1967 the Israelis had 179 M50 ‘French’ Sherman tanks.
Designed by Evan Allen
Painted by Chris Townley
The Sherman (75mm)
The Sherman (75mm) in Fate Of A Nation
Unit Cards for the Sherman are contained in the Israeli Unit Card Pack (AIS901)…
