Tanks of the United States saw limited action in the battle for Normandy as armored recovery vehicles with dummy guns. The M4 was the best known and most used American tank of World War II. Christened "Sherman" by the British, it was named for the famous US Civil War General, William Tecumseh Sherman. The M4 Sherman was a medium tank that proved itself in the Allied operations in North Africa, Europe and the Pacific theaters of war in World War II. The Sherman was a relatively inexpensive, easy to maintain and produce combat system. Similar to production efforts on the part of the Soviet Union
Medium tank battle tank in most countries. The first tanks to carry the name Medium appeared in the First World War with the British Medium Mark A "Whippet". It was smaller and lighter than the British heavy tanks and only carried machine guns. The medium tank doctrine came into use in the interwar period. Its existence outlasted the super-heavy tank and heavy tank and gradually transitioned into the main battle tank. Medium tanks of the interwar period included the British Vickers Medium Mark II and the Soviet multi-turreted T-28. In the period leading up to World War II, the British stopped using