What types of tanks did America use in World War 2?

Answer 1

The US Army had neglected its armed forces in the inter-war years because of a general isolationist attitude and the impact of the great depression. It fielded a small number of uninventive tanks copied from foreign designs (Ford 3 Ton, M1922, T2), but as Americans saw the success of the German blitzkrieg strategy, they raced to catch and ramp up its production. The US dedicated its efforts to the quantity production of the M4 Sherman cranking out 34,000 of what were scornfully called "Zippos" for their ability to light up every time they were hit, though later upgrades such as a high velocity 76mm gun and better protection for the ammo stowage made the Shermans more effective. The Sherman hull was also used in a number of vehicles like the Rocket Barrage tanks, Flame Thrower tanks, Mine clearing tanks and Self-Propelled guns. For example 4,700 M7 Priest a 105mm self-propelled howitzer were produced during the war. Another medium tank fielded during the early part of the war was the M3 Lee/Grant. It had a production run of about only 6,100 as it was an unpopular tank that quickly became obsolete. Four different light tanks also saw service. The M5 Stuart with a production run of 8,800 units mounted a 37mm gun. Other light tanks were created as air mobile weapons designed for insertion by General Aircraft Hamilcar Gliders. 730 M22 Locust were produced, along with 2,500 Hellcat M18 and 4,731 Chaffee. Late in the war the only US heavy tank made its appearance. The M26 Pershing with a 90mm high velocity gun was deployed late in the war to counter the Panthers and Tigers in Normandy. It only saw action in a few instances and proved very effective. ~2,000 were produced.