Tank Guide: M4A3E2 Jumbo Sherman - World of Tanks Guru

The M4A3E2 is a tier 6 American medium tank that is better known as the “Jumbo Sherman” by most players.  Unlike most American mediums in World of Tanks the M4A3E2 has great armor for a medium in it’s tier.  Along with the armor it has decent mobility and firepower which this guide will touch on.  Starting out this guide is a quick video that goes over the positive and negative aspects of the M4A3E2.  Also, in the video are two matches of the M4A3E2 being played.

Armor

One of the main features of the M4A3E2 is it’s armor since it’s hull armor and turret armor(with stock turret) are capable of soaking up a lot of incoming fire.  The weak spot guide found here: http://wotguru.com/weak-spots-guide-m4a3e2/ can be used no only for those facing this tank but also for drivers looking to angle and cover up their weak spots. Generally you will only want to angle the hull between 10-25 degrees since anymore and your side armor becomes a liability. The turret should be facing which ever tank has the most penetration firing at you since the stock turret is very well protected on the sides/rear as well.  The stock turret is the better option in terms of protection since it has 152mm minimal on all sides of the turret while the upgraded turret sacrifices armor(50mm sides/rear) for the M1A2 top gun and increased RoF on each gun.

Firepower

The M4A3E2 can be played in two different set ups unlike most tanks and still be considered “the better option.” The 105mm “derp” gun is the favorite for most since you can retain the very well armored stock turret while you can also use the upgraded turret and the top 76mm gun.  With the 105mm gun + stock turret you sacrifice view range and a reliable gun for the howitzer and more armor.  The 105mm at tier 6 is pushing it against tier 7 and 8 tanks but is effective around lightly armor tanks and most tier 6 and under tanks.  Personally I like the top 76mm and upgraded turret since it is more reliable.  While you do sacrifice armor on the turret you gain a better gun in my opinion and a lot of view range.  The 76mm while it cannot punch through thick armor that you encounter at tier 7 and 8 it is still a great gun that rewards aiming. 

Mobility / Miscellanous

Although the M4A3E2 is very well armored it also retains a decent amount of mobility. It’s top speed is 35 km/h and easily maintains 30-33 km/h on level ground while slowing down to 15-22 km/h on most slopes. It’s turret and hull traverse are also fast enough to prevent most tanks from easily flanking and circling you. One drawback is the below average view range on the stock turret(330m) while the upgraded turret is an acceptable 370m. Gun depression is good enough to where it does not hindered it with a -10 degree value but for steeper hills you will need to expose some of the weak bottom armor to crest the hill to fire if you choose to advance due to it’s height. The hit point pool much like other tier 6 mediums is 730(760 with top turret) which is low enough to where you want to limit being flanked at all possible times since you will not last long.

Camouflage Values

Stationary: 11.7%

Firing While Stationary: 3.1%

Moving: 8.9%

Firing While Moving: 2.36%

Aiming Circle Spread

After Shooting: 3.356

Turret Traversing: 0.115

Turret Traversing Full Speed: 4.49 

Hull Moving: 0.23

Hull Moving Full Speed: 8.05

Hull Traversing: 0.23

Hull Traversing Full Speed: 7.36

Terrain Resistance

Hard Ground: 1.342

Medium Ground: 1.438

Soft Ground: 2.205

Tactics

Driving the M4A3E2 is rather straight forward for both the 105mm and 76mm guns.  Due to your acceptable mobility and above average armor you are a front line brawling tank that excels in bullying tanks that either cannot penetration your frontal armor or you can finish off quickly. Going toe-to-toe with t6 heavies+ is not advised as they can cut through your hull armor while you will need to aim precisely to penetrate them(even with gold ammo on either gun).  Encountering lower tiered tanks or even other t6 mediums you stand a good chance of dispatching them easily at mid to close range.  Sitting back and sniping is not advised since the 105mm has bad accuracy/low shell velocity and the 76mm simply does not have enough penetration and accuracy to be effect against anything with a decent amount of armor.

The most important aspect of playing the M4A3E2 is to keep yourself from being flanked. Although you will be guns-a-blazing and pushing out aggressively you need to choose your locations that limit enemy flanking. Limit engagements to only happen from one direction to exploit your great frontal turret and hull armor.  The American tactic of hull down works very well with the stock turret behind rocks, destroyed tanks, and small hills.