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The M4 Sherman was the most prolific tank deployed by the Western Allies, and served across all the major theatres of WWII, including the Eastern Front. However, as historian Michael Haskew unpacks in this issue, the M4 was far from a perfect design. It even earned the nickname ‘Tommy Cooker’ due to the reported ease with which it burst into flames after receiving penetrating hits. Nonetheless, the design was treated to a litany of modifications across a range of versions, most notably part of ‘Hobart’s Funnies’ and Britain’s up-gunned Firefly variant. This made it a highly adaptable and effective weapon, and an iconic symbol of the eventual victory over the Axis powers.