American military technology during World War II technologies. The M4 Sherman became the standard American military tank in World War II. Due to lack of development before the war leading to inexperience in tank design, the first large scale production of a medium tank was the M3 Lee, built for the US and the British, a compromise design with the main weapon mounted in the hull. It did have a stabilized 37mm gun in the turret, which was effective against antitank guns, able to fire, and hit, even when moving. By contrast, no German tanks had stabilized guns. The M6 series was the first of the heavy
Tanks in World War II and command tanks with extra radios were also used. Some of these tank variants live on as other classes of armored fighting vehicle, no longer called "tanks". All major combatant powers also developed tank destroyers and assault guns, as armored vehicles carrying large-caliber guns, but often no turrets. Turreted vehicles are expensive to manufacture compared to non-turreted vehicles. One trend seen in World War II was the usage of older, lighter tank chassis to mount larger weapons in fixed casemates, as self-propelled guns, tank destroyers or assault guns. For example, the Soviet T-34 could mount an 85 mm gun in