The KV-1 Tanks
The KV-1 was produced in the year 1940. It was the Soviet's heavy tank which consisted of a 76.2mm gun of 30 calibers in length. It weighed 46 tons with a crew of five men, and had a 550hp diesel engine. It's frontal armor was 77mm thick. The KV-1 originated from the SMK tank, which had proven unsuccessful during the Russo-Finnish War. The Soviets soon added parts from the lighter T-34, which the T-34s were a lighter tank. Later in 1940 they came out with the KV-1A which had a 76mm gun at 40 calibers long and made some changes to the Suspension. When the Germans attacked the Russian front they were surprised that the KV-1 could beat the Panzer. It has been said that German shots were seen bouncing off of the KVs, and that a shot from a 150mm field gun at short range would disable it. The KVs were used and upgraded through out the war till the KV-85, but even this tank was not made on a full scale.
Panzer(PzKpfw IV)
The Panzer tanks were used by the Germans in the Second World War and ran terror in the minds of the allied troops. The PzKpfw IV entered service on 1937 and was the backbone of the Nazi Panzer force, and was produced more than any other Panzer. It was armed with a 75mm gun with two machine guns and had a crew of five men. It weighed 17.3 tons, and the engine was a 250hp gasoline motor which gave it a top speed of 18.5 mph. It's armor protection ranged from 8 to 30 mm thick. Because of the belief that the PzKpfw IV and it's cousin the PzKpfw III were so good that no replacement was needed, the Nazis had to quickly draw new designs because of the Soviet's lighter tank the T-34. The total number of Pzkpfw IVs that were made during the War was 9,000 tanks.
Sherman M4
The M4 began production on 1941 immediately after the M3 series was done. The Sherman tank was is the name that the British gave the M4 and its numerous variants. The M4 was originally armed with a 75mm gun capable of firing explosive shells. The 75mm gun was kept till February 1944 when the U.S. realized that it was outdated and replaced it with a 76mm high-velocity gun. The 76mm was longer than the 75mm and was a far better weapon. In order to supply a close support tank they placed the M4s and M3s with a 105mm howitzer in the turret. The M4 was a simple tank that was easily maintained and was reliable in its mechanical parts. By the end of World War II the M4 was outdated by the German and Soviet tanks, but it was kept in service till the 1970s, a testimony to the excellence of their design and construction 