The M4 Sherman medium tank was regarded by many as the workhorse of the US Army during World War II. In fact, virtually all of the Allied armies employed the Sherman in their armed forces, including the British, who developed an upgunned variant called the "Firefly". Eleven different US plants manufactured six basic models of the Sherman, and by June 1944 over 49,234 battle-ready vehicles had been produced. While it was no match for the German Panther or Tiger tanks, the Sherman soldiered on, using its weight in numbers to wrest control of Europe from the Wehrmacht.

Dragon Armor's newest M4 Sherman features a tank fitted out for the D-Day amphibious landings. It has the deep wading kit installed on the engine deck, which allowed the tank to drive through the surf onto the beachhead. The wading kit is delicately reproduced. Join the greatest amphibious invasion of all time with this remarkable new M4 w/Wading Kit from Dragon Armor. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 3-1/4-inches
Width: 1-1/2-inches

Release Date: September 2008

Historical Account: "Hobart's Funnies" - DD tanks (for Duplex Drive, but nicknamed Donald Duck-tanks) were amphibious swimming tanks developed during the Second World War. The phrase is mostly used for the M4 Sherman medium tanks used by the Allies in the opening phases of the D-Day landings in 1944.

The swimming tracked Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT) had already been used in the 1942-43 Solomons campaign in the Pacific, swimming 2-1/2 ton trucks in the 1943 invasion of Sicily, swimming Ford jeeps appeared in 1944, and the Soviets had developed swimming tankettes in the 1930s --but swimming medium tanks presented their own design problems.

The swimming tank idea arose when it was realised that the first waves of infantry that reached an invasion beach would be acutely vulnerable without the support of tanks. But if landing craft were used to carry those tanks, they themselves would be vulnerable to German heavy guns. The loss of too many landing craft would slow the movement of reinforcements from ships offshore and the invasion beaches would be choked with disabled and sunken landing craft. By giving tanks the ability to float, they could be launched from landing craft several miles from the shore and make their own way onto the beach.

The DD tanks were one of the many specialised assault vehicles, collectively known as Hobart's Funnies, derived to support the beach landings. All were extensively used by the British and Canadians, but the DD tanks were the only ones adopted by the American forces. It has been speculated that if the DD tanks were better used, or if some of the other specialised vehicles had been used, that American losses on the beaches of Normandy, particularly Omaha beach, would have been far less.