The early models of the Sherman, armed with a short 75 mm gun were woefully inadequate against German Panthers and Tigers (switching to a more powerful vehicle would have disrupted the production lines and limited the number of tanks being sent to the front). Something like 49,000 Shermans were produced by General Motors, Ford, and Wright before the end of the war. Later models were equipped with upgraded turrets fitted with a long 76 mm high-velocity gun.
