Flies of Steel news

Let's begin with the Shermans. As with the M4A1 model (called the Sherman II by the British), we also have a bunch of M4A4s. This includes the famous Sherman VC 'Firefly', armed with the 17-pounder. These Shermans were modeled by Omni and skinned by Toddel.

Construction of the first M4A4 Medium tank began in July of 1942. It was, much like the M4A2, mainly intended for export through the lend-lease agreement. Later in the war, the UK became the primary user of the M4A4, which they named the 'Sherman V'. (V being the roman number 5, the reason the M4A4 isn't the Sherman IV is because the British started their naming at the M4, which became the Sherman I, while the next version, being the M4A1 was called the Sherman II). An interesting fact about the M4A4 is that is it longer than the other Sherman models. This is because it used the Chrysler multibank engine, which was five car engines combined to run as a single engine. Nearly 7500 M4A4s were built.

One especially interesting, and by far the most common, modification of the M4A4 was the Sherman VC 'Firefly'. Instead of the regular American 75mm gun, it mounted the powerful British 17-pounder. Although there were many problems involved with mounting such a large gun into such a relatively small turret, the firefly design was highly successful and about 2000 fireflies were made during the war.