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
Ethnic minorities in the US armed forces during World War II Ethnic minorities in the US armed forces during World War II Ethnic minorities served in the US armed forces during World War II. All citizens were equally subject to the draft. All minorities were given the same rate of pay. The 16 million men and women in the services included over 1 million African Americans, along with 33,000+ Japanese-Americans, 20,000+ Chinese Americans, more than 20,000 American Indians, and 16,000 Filipino-Americans. About 65,034 Puerto Ricans served as well as about 500,000 Mexican-Americans (both white and mestizo) and smaller numbers of other Hispanics. Group totals for European ethnic groups were not tabulated.