M 50 Mk2. Super Sherman

===UWAGA===
OPIS W JĘZYKU ANGIELSKIM

The Sherman M-50 and the Sherman M-51, both known abroad as the Super Sherman, were modified versions of the American M4 Sherman tank that served with the Israel Defense Forces from the mid-1950s to early 1980s. The M-51 was also referred to as the Isherman (i.e. Israeli Sherman). However, Super Sherman and Isherman names were never used by the Israel Defense Forces.

The first 25 M-50s were finished just in time for the Operation Kadesh in the Sinai against the Egyptian Army (which also employed its own up-gunned version of the M-4, fitted with the AMX-13 turret, making it equal to the M-50 in firepower).

In 1964, Israel started to divert water from the Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) to the Negev Desert for agricultural purposes. The Arab nations were in uproar, and Syria decided to divert water into Jordan. Maj General Israel Tal had trained Israeli tank gunners to shoot beyond 1.5 km. On March 6, 1965, an M-50 engaged a Syrian recoilless rifle that had killed an Israeli tractor driver. At such long distance, General Tal personally destroyed the recoilless rifle with his M-50. A few days later, one M-50 and one Centurion Mk III with 105 mm gun were waiting for a chance to fire upon the Syrian water diverting project. When Syrian gunners fired on a border patrol, general Tal's M50 tank and a Centurion Mk III fired on 8 tractors 2 km away, and in two minutes and after 10 shots, destroyed all of the targets. General Tal destroyed 5 tractors with his M-50's 75 mm gun, and the Centurion destroyed the remainder.

Both the M-50 and M-51 saw combat in the Six-Day War that left the Golan Heights, the West Bank and the Sinai peninsula in Israeli hands, often fighting Soviet World War II-era armor like the T-34-85 (for example at the Battle of Abu-Ageila). Both were also employed in the 1973 Yom Kippur War alongside and against much more modern tanks. The use of such seemingly obsolete tanks was necessary given the desperate nature of the fighting.

In combat against the Arab armies, the M-51 proved itself capable of fighting newer, heavier tanks like the Soviet-built T-54/55/T-62. The M-51's 105 mm gun could penetrate these adversaries using HEAT ammunition. The M-51 served well during its time, and is regarded as an excellent example of how an obsolete tank (the Sherman) can be upgraded beyond the limits of its original capabilities.

M-50 Continentals were retired by 1972. The M-50 Cummins and M-51 were gradually phased out in late 1970s - early 1980s. During the Lebanese Civil War, a total of 75 M-50s were given to the Israeli-supported Christian militias – Kataeb Regulatory Forces (19), Tigers Militia (20), Guardians of the Cedars (1), the Lebanese Forces (40), and the South Lebanon Army (35) – in 1976; two tanks were later captured by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), which they employed in the defense of West Beirut during the June 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

Many tanks were also sold to Chile, and some of those were fitted with 60 mm HVMS gun and are often referred to as M-60. This variant was never used by the IDF.

The few M-51s that Israel retained were converted into engineer vehicles and self-propelled artillery.


Operators
Chile M-50, M 51
Israel M-50, M-51
Lebanon M-50 (Kataeb Regulatory Forces, Lebanese Forces, Tigers Militia, Guardians of the Cedars, South Lebanese Army).
Palestine two captured M-50s employed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon by 1982.

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