Operation Plunder,
the Allied crossing
of the Rhine, was
underway. The total
darkness of night on
March 25, 1945, was the
perfect opportunity
to attack the Germans.
The Rhine River stretched
wide. On its banks,
the hushed whispers
of anxious American GIs
mingled with the mechanical
hum of war machines.
Among them stood the
crews of several Duplex Drive
Sherman tanks. Also
nicknamed the Donald Ducks,
these were no standard
M4 Shermans. They
were modified amphibious
vehicles designed
to navigate through
land and water. It was not
just a tank but a symbol
of American resilience.
With their hulls poised
at the river's edge,
engines rumbling in
anticipation, the tankers
knew the time had
come to test their rigorous
training again. They had
survived D-Day but were
now on German soil,
and resistance was fierce.
Still, they trusted their
Duplex Drive Shermans,
equipped with flotation
screens and propellers,
to cross the river.
Tension hung thick as the
tank prepared to
plunge into the murky
waters with its
modified, boat-like hull.
The river was
unrelenting, its currents
unpredictable, and
the enemy's defenses
awaited in the darkness.
The tank commander
surveyed the scene,
feeling the weight of
responsibility for his crew
and the mission ahead.
Crossing the Rhine
would spell the beginning of
the end for Germany. The Shermans
abruptly plunged into the water,
one by one, to make
the least amount of noise.
Slowly but steadily, the
heavy war machines rose
from the water and
began to advance through
the water, with their
gunners ready to open
fire at any moment.
The opposing bank rose
to life a second later,
and hell broke loose.
The M4 Sherman,
officially designated
Medium Tank M4 by
the United States Army,
was introduced in
early 1942 after the
United States joined
the fray of the global
conflict that had erupted
in Europe since 1939.
The Old World was in
flames, and the US military,
ever vigilant of
possible involvement,
had slowly readied
itself for total
mobilization despite
its isolationist posture.
Officers from the
Army's top brass carefully
studied the latest
German and British tank
designs fighting each
other in Europe and Africa
to devise an armored
vehicle that could overcome
their performance, power,
and maneuverability.
The M4 Sherman
resulted from these intense
studies and arduous
debates among World War
1 veterans who had
commanded armored
columns during
the previous conflict.
The vehicle was named after Union
General William Tecumseh Sherman,
known for his decisive
military exploits during
several campaigns of
the American Civil War.
The new medium tank
was developed with the
intelligence gathered
to replace the M3 Lee
and Grant tanks. The
M4 Sherman would prove
so groundbreaking
that it would become the
widely used Allied
tank during World War 2.
Sherman’s baptism of
fire came in 1942 during
the North African campaign.
From there onward,
the M4 was shipped and
mass-employed in all major
theaters of World War
2, from Western Europe
to the Suez Canal in
North Africa to the dense
jungles and perilous
islands of the Pacific.
The US Army employed
over 20,000 Shermans
throughout the conflict,
while the Marines
retained over 1,100
to fight the Empire of
the Rising Sun.
Despite having its fair
share of diverse
and influential tanks,
the United Kingdom
was supplied with
some 17,000
Shermans as a testament
to the vehicle’s
versatility and prowess.
France, Canada, Poland,
the Nationalist Chinese,
and the Soviet Union
even received their orders of
Shermans, turning the
tank into a multi-national
vehicle that could hold
its ground under any
environment and be
easily operated by any crew.
The M4 Sherman Medium
Tank became popular with the
Allies due to its excellent
blend of speed, armor,
firepower, and, more
importantly, mass production.
Like the Soviet T34, the
Sherman could be quickly
produced by the hundreds
while the Germans and
their mighty Panthers
and Tigers struggled to
make it out of the production line.
Weighing around 33 to 38 tons,
the Sherman featured five
crew: commander, gunner,
loader, driver, and
co-driver/bow gunner. It was
initially armed with a
75-millimeter main gun
that was upgraded in
later variants with a more
powerful 76-millimeter
gun that could inflict
more damage to heavier
German tanks such as the
Panther, Tiger I and
Tiger II, or King Tiger.
The secondary armament
comprised a .50 caliber
Browning M2 machine
gun and between
two to four .30
caliber Browning MGs,
depending on the variant.
Like these Teutonic tanks,
the Sherman’s sloped
armor provided additional
protection. Still, it was
relatively thinner than
its counterparts, making
it highly vulnerable
against a hit from a
Panther or a Tiger.
The M4s were powered
by a radial gasoline engine,
offering decent mobility
and a top speed of around
30 to 40 miles per hour.
The medium tanks had an
operational range of 100
to 150 miles, depending
on the variant and the
additional fuel carried.
The Sherman was
mass-produced by various American
manufacturers, including Chrysler,
Ford, and General Motors, with
over 50,000 units
manufactured during the war.
With its widespread
deployment and adaptability,
the M4 played a crucial
role in Allied operations
during World War 2
despite facing challenges
in combat against
heavier German tanks. The
tank's reliability and
ease of production
contributed to its
popularity among Allied
forces. Consequently, the
tank underwent constant
upgrades, with different
models accommodating
varied roles, such as
infantry support, anti-tank
roles, and mine clearing,
among more unique
roles. Chapter 3
Preparing for Normandy
As the German war
machine was decimated by
multiple fronts, especially
the Eastern Front
led by the Soviet Union,
the Allied High Command
began preparations for
the liberation of Europe
through Italy and Normandy, France.
But first, the Allied troops had to
gain a foothold
over the impregnable
Atlantic Wall devised
by the Wehrmacht
and Adolf Hitler to
prevent the enemy from
breaching into the
continent from the sea.
From Norway to the
French-Spanish border,
the Atlantic Wall was
an extensive network
of coastal defenses,
bunkers, artillery
placements, minefields,
and obstacles.
The wall aimed to defend against a
possible Allied amphibious assault,
particularly anticipated
at the Pas-de-Calais or
Normandy regions.
Despite its formidable scale,
the Atlantic Wall had
vulnerabilities due to
its vast length, the
geography of some areas,
and a shortage of resources,
especially manpower.
While preparations
were being made for the
D-Day Normandy Landings
of June 6, 1944, Allied
troops began to envision
how tanks and other
armored vehicles
could be safely delivered
to the various landing
zones to provide cover
and fire support to the soldiers.
The beachheads were rough terrain,
the tide was everything
but calm, and the
German troops were
heavily entrenched. As such,
American and British
leaders decided to devise an
idea first used during
World War 1: an amphibious
tank, or at the very
least, a floating tank that
could reach the beach
safely and engage the enemy.
Tanks were bulky and
heavy. Still, the Allies
resorted to different
methods, such as external
flotation devices that
could be discarded
once the tank had
reached a safe location.
Systems like these
were not practical, as
the floats were almost
as giant as the tank,
making them
entirely impractical for
a large-scale
amphibious operation.
Nonetheless, engineer
Nicholas Straussler came
up with an ingenious
idea feasible enough to
make a trusty Sherman
float. This began the
Duplex Drive or Donald
Duck series of tanks.
Straussler devised
the idea in 1941, but
it finally came in
handy for the imminent
Operation Overlord.
His idea was a flotation
screen, a waterproof
canvas device that
covered the top
half of tanks, creating
a canvas hull and
improving freeboard.
The first trial of a
Duplex Drive tank,
which originated as
a front to protect the
amphibious tank
during its development,
was conducted in
June 1941 at the Brent
Reservoir in London,
using a Tetrarch light tank.
The trials expanded to
Portsmouth Harbour with
a Duplex Drive Valentine
tank prototype in May
1942, but it sank during
a machine gun fire test.
Despite the setback,
permission was granted
in June 1942 to produce
450 Valentine DDs.
The Sherman tank
proved more suitable for the
screen than the Valentine,
and by April 1943,
the DD screen was
adapted for the Sherman.
The Sherman's ability
to move in water with
its gun forward made
it more favorable,
while the Valentine
was considered an
older and inferior
design. For D-Day, the
UK manufactured 247
Valentine DDs and 693
Sherman DDs in
preparation for the different
beachheads the Allied
troops had to capture.
Soon, all these
improvised tank designs
became known as the
Donald Duck tanks by the
tankers and infantry
after the famous cartoon
character created by the
Walt Disney Company.
The British Valentine
Donald Ducks were primarily
used for crew training
in the US, British,
and Canadian forces.
On the Norfolk/Suffolk
border, Fritton Lake
served as the training
ground for crews to
learn tank waterproofing,
maintenance, launching
from mock LCT ramps,
and navigating around the lake.
After initial training, crews moved
to Stokes Bay in
Hampshire for three weeks
of intensive training
involving loading DDs
onto landing craft and
launching into the Solent.
During Operation Smash
at Studland Bay on April 4,
1944, the Valentine
DDs faced challenges due
to harsh weather
conditions, leading to the
loss of six tanks and
six crew members. Still,
training continued for
the Normandy landings.
The Donald Duck Shermans
had to be modified for
their amphibious use.
The hull was modified with
a boat-like structure
added around the existing
hull lines. The lower
hull was also sealed,
and a collapsing wading screen
and floating system were added.
This system featured
36 air-filled rubber
tubes that provided
the necessary buoyancy.
When not in use, the
flotation screen was put
around the edges of
the tank so the Sherman
could operate normally
for combat operation.
The screen rose just
above the turret roof
line to prevent
seawater from passing
over the top and
sinking the Sherman.
Raising the flotation
system took 15 minutes,
collapsing quickly
upon reaching the shore.
Considered expendable, crews often
discarded it after reaching land,
yet some units retained
the equipment for
use in multiple
amphibious operations.
Propulsion came from
propeller units fitted
on the lower rear hull
of the tank and could
be steered. The challenge
of transmitting power
to the propellers due to
Sherman's transmission
configuration was
resolved using sprocket
wheels at the tank's
rear, conveying power
to the propellers
through the tank's tracks.
The Duplex Drive Shermans
achieved speeds of up
to 4 knots in water,
with both the commander
and driver capable of
steering, employing a
hydraulic system and
a tiller, respectively,
from different
locations within the tank.
Most Donald Duck
tanks saw combat during
Operation Overlord, the
invasion of Normandy;
Operation Dragoon, the invasion of
Southern France;
and Operation Plunder,
the crossing of the
Rhine in March 1945.
During the D-Day
landings, DD Shermans,
equipped by American, British, and
Canadian forces,
played a pivotal role
across the invasion
beaches. Their deployment
varied across the
different invasion areas.
At Sword Beach, the
eastern end of Normandy,
DD tanks operated
effectively due to calmer
seas. Despite one tank
being unable to launch
and another sinking
after an LCT collision,
they successfully
navigated through the
waters. At Gold Beach,
rougher seas led to some
challenges, with
Nottinghamshire Yeomanry
tanks encountering
difficulties en route
and others landing
after Sherman Crab
tanks had neutralized
German strongholds.
In Juno Beach, 21 out
of 29 tanks reached the
beach, while the 8th
Canadian Brigade faced
rougher seas and heavy
initial casualties without
DD tanks, which failed
to reach the beach in time.
The tougher landings
occurred at Utah
Beach. The 70th Tank
Battalion's DDs lost
four tanks during
the landing. Confusion
erupted due to smoke
screens deployed to
cover the troops from
accurate German fire. The
Americans who landed
at Omaha Beach suffered
greatly. Most of the DD
tanks launched offshore
were lost, either sunk
or destroyed by German
fire. As a result, the Army
Rangers suffered heavy
casualties at the
beachhead and struggled for
every inch of ground,
leading to a slow advance.
Due to the element of
surprise, most Shermans
deployed for Operation
Dragoon in August 1944 made
it safely to the landing
zones of Southern France,
pursuing the enemy retreating from
them without any mechanical issues.
Many of the DD Shermans
deployed during these
initial operations fought
their way to Berlin.
They crossed the Rhine
during Operation Plunder
on the night of March
23, 1945, and later crossed
the River Elbe at
Artlenburg on April 29, 1945.
Although the Duplex Drive
Sherman's performance
varied widely, from
successful landings to
devastating losses, their
impact and effectiveness
across the various
beachheads and operations
proved important for
the ultimate Allied victory.