M4A3E8 - Sherman Easy Eights

My American force for winter 1944/1945 is growing rather quickly and this week I added five of the new M4A3E8s from Battlefront to go with the fleet of Shermans I got from Plastic Solider Company.



M4A3E8

Stats
Length: 19 feet 5 inches
Width: 8 feet, 4 inches
Height: 8 feet, 0 inch
Crew: 5
Weight: 32 Tons
Max Speed: 29mph
Range: 100 miles
Armor: 2 inch frontal
Powerplant: One Ford V8 Gas Engine 450hp
Fuel Capacity: 158 gallons
Armament:
76mm M1 main gun
One 7.62mm coax Machine Gun
One 7.62mm bow Machine Gun
One 50 cal Machine Gun

Where it got its name

The M4A3 was the first to be factory-produced with the HVSS (horizontal volute spring suspension) suspension with wider tracks to distribute weight, and the smooth ride of the HVSS with its experimental E8 designation led to the nickname Easy Eight for Shermans so equipped.

M4A3E8 Post–World War II

After World War II, the U.S. kept the M4A3E8 Easy Eight in service with either the 76 mm gun or a 105 mm howitzer. The Sherman remained a common U.S. tank in the Korean War. Despite no longer being the primary US tank it fought alongside the M26 Pershing and M46 Patton. Both the Sherman and T-34 were comparable and could destroy each other when hit. The Sherman had better optics, which gave it a better chance of scoring a first round hit.

The Army replaced them with Pattons during the 1950s. The U.S. continued to transfer Shermans to its allies, which contributed to widespread foreign use.

Model










Review
I rather like these models from Battlefront.  As always Battlefronts team did a great job sculpting these tanks.  The box contained everything for the five tanks, plus ten rare earth magnets, decals, crew and stowage (which I did not put on the tanks) for around $50 USD.  The casting was great and the detail was fantastic. I really like how Battlefront exaggerates details on there models.  It makes the tanks easier to paint and those details really pop once the tank is done.

The only problem I had with the models was two of the resin pedestals that mounted the .50 cals on the turrets broke off.  I imagine this is common with these models since the pedestal is such a small part.  I ended up break the other three off and just gluing the .50 cals to the turret directly so the gun sits a little lower than it normally would.

You will also notice I did a little mud work around the tracks.  I have been doing this with all my Late War Bugle Americans.  I am writing an article for WWPD on how I did this so make sure you check in over there over the next few weeks to see how I did it.

WWPD


In Flames of War
The M4A3E8 is a pretty cool tank in FoW.  It can be fielded in any of the new forces from Blood Guts and Glory or Devils Charge.  The E8 has the 76mm gun, but the US had better ammo at this point in the war so it is AT 13 instead of 13.  The E8 also has front armor 7 instead of 6 like other Shermans.  Since the E8 had the new HVSS the E8 can move and fire at full rate with no penalty which is also pretty cool.  The E8 gives the Americans some much needed fire power to deal with those pesky big cats.  I am really glad I bought this set of tanks from Battlefront and give them a 9 out of 10 banana split sundays.