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
American women in World War II and Vichy French codebooks. Virginia Hall, who was labeled by the Gestapo as "the most dangerous of all alien spies", disguised herself as a milkmaid in France in order to spy on German forces. In 2017, Sadie O. Horton, who spent World War II working aboard a U.S. Merchant Marine barge, posthumously received official veteran’s status for her wartime service, becoming the first recorded female Merchant Marine veteran of World War II. U.S. women also performed many kinds of non-military service in organizations such as the American Red Cross and the United Service Organizations (USO). Nineteen million American women filled