[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

You cannot compare the M4 to T-34 in terms of armour. And weapon-wise, T-34/85 was produced in much greater numbers than Firefly. The common Sherman cannot compare to the T-34/85 which was also fielded in increasing numbers towards the end of the war

I'd never count the Firefly into any discussion about design since it was meant to purely be a stopgap measure. The British outright stopped converting them after they started fielding Comets.

Originally Posted by RX-78GP04G Gerbera

One thing that endears me about the Sherman is all the variants from D-Day and on; Hobart's Funnies.

Seeing 1 single tank type being made to do SO many different things besides fighting other tanks is just so cool to see.

Churchills should get a lot of love for that as well.

Originally Posted by Endless Knackwurst

I'm surprised it took four days for a reference to The A-Team, what with the heroes seemingly trapped inside a building that may or may not be filled with welding equipment, sheet metal, air compressors, cabbages, a wrecked car or two...

Alternatively, they convert all of the tanks into one mecha and walk out.

But with the A-Team shooting, it's like everyone is Momo!

Originally Posted by Tak

Superior system in terms of reliability, materials and soft equipment such as availability of radios, increased space & overall better visuals/optics made Sherman a better machine. Many T-34 battalions lacked cohesion and effective communication, thus contributing significantly to a great number of them being lost on the field.

As for production numbers, the Sherman series were produced in comparable numbers to the T-34, and the United States only started producing Shermans in 1942, or two years after Operation Barbarossa, where T-34s were already in service.

But I wasn't comparing armor. I was comparing accessories, reliability and superiority of materials. The T-34 was not as reliable as people thought it was. Many were rushed productions, and lacked the quality control of the M4 series.

Most of the problems you brought up were improved when the Soviets moved to the T-34/85. For example, all of them got radios. Quality control was a weak point, but there were plenty of well made units. While the Sherman had better creature comforts, the T-34/85 had superior speed and greater range. The Soviets used both tanks in Manchuria, and both performed very well. However, the reason why they managed to maintain their combat tempo so well was because the T-34/85s were still on the road after the the Shermans ran low on fuel.

Generally, the two tanks are fairly even, with T-34s working better for Soviet operational doctrine, and Shermans working better for American tactical doctrine. Which you'd prefer is going to depend on which doctrine you think is better.