Academy 13254 I.D.F. M-51 Super Sherman

The M50 / M51 Super Sherman (also known as Isherman or M1) was an Israeli tank from the post-war period. The first vehicles of this type were ready for service in 1956. The drive was initially provided by a single Continental R-975 engine with a power of up to 450 HP, and later - a Cummins V-8 engine with a power of 460 HP. The armament of the vehicle consisted - in the M50 version - of a single 105mm GIAT CN L44 cannon, two 7.62 or 12.7 mm machine guns and a 52 or 60 mm mortar.

Super Sherman tanks were designed for the needs of the Israeli armed forces as a response to the appearance of the T-54 and T-55 tanks in the arsenals of the Arab states. The new tanks were very far-reaching upgrades to the M4A4 Sherman vehicles already owned by Israel. In the first phase of the modernization (from 1956-1964), these tanks received a new suspension (instead of the VVSS - HVSS type), new power units and, above all, a completely new turret with a 105mm gun. This is how the M50 Super Sherman cars were created. However, already in the 1960s, a version of the M51 Super Sherman appeared - very similar to the previous one, but with the French 105 mm F1 models, with an unusual muzzle brake at the end of the barrel, and a new SKO (fire control system). The Super Sherman cars were baptized in 1964 and took part in the Six-Day War (1967) and the Yom-Kippur War (1973). At the end of the 1980s, around 150 vehicles of this type were sold to Chile. Recently, the Super Sherman was in active service with the Israeli army until the end of the 1990s!