M4A3E2 Jumbo (US056) includes one M4A3E2 Jumbo tank with two turrets (75mm or 76mm gun options) & two Tank Commanders. Fears of having to breakthrough the German Siegfried Line led to the development of the M4A3E2 assault tank. The late M4A3 chassis was used with extra armour added all around. Its sheer bulk led to the nickname: Jumbo. Left: The M4A3 E2 Jumbo armed with the M3 75mm main gun. This product is no longer currently available for sale...

Bridge At Remagen On 7 March 1945, lead elements of Task Force Engeman discover that Remagen’s Ludendorff Bridge is still intact, and Brigadier General Hoge instantly recognises that a decisive battle is upon his troops. He orders the bridge to be captured. Learn more about Bridge At Remagen here...

The obvious points to look for on the Jumbo are the thick frontal and side armour plates, making it substantially larger than a normal M4A3 Sherman. The second is the Jumbo’s massive turret, built especially for the tank. The massive 7”/18cm thick mantlet is particularly characteristic of the Jumbo. One last thing to spot is the tank’s duckbill wide tracks, which had to be permanently installed to deal with the tank’s 42-ton weight! The M4A3E2 Jumbo entered combat in late October 1944 after the battles in the Lorraine. The Jumbo’s first major actions were in the Ardennes.

The M4A3E2 Jumbo in Flames Of War

Armour     Name Mobility Front Side Top Equipment and Notes Weapon Range ROF Anti-tank Firepower M4A3E2 Jumbo Slow Tank 12 8 2 Co-ax MG, Hull MG, .50 cal AA MG, Jumbo Lead the Way, Tank telephone. M3 75mm gun 32"/80cm 2 10 3+ Smoke, Stabiliser.

The M4A3E2 Jumbo (76mm)

A handful of M4A3E2 Jumbo’s were retro-fitted in the field with the M1 76mm gun taken from spare guns originally intended for a modification planned to fit them into 75mm gun turrets. Designed by Evan Allen Painted by Blake Coster

The M4A3E2 Jumbo (76mm) in Flames Of War

Armour     Name Mobility Front Side Top Equipment and Notes Weapon Range ROF Anti-tank Firepower M4A3E2 Jumbo Slow Tank 12 8 2 Co-ax .50 cal MG, Hull MG, .50 cal AA MG, Jumbo Lead the Way, Tank telephone. M1 76mm gun (late) 32"/80cm 2 13 3+ Stabiliser.

Jumbos Lead The Way Initially the M4A3E2 ‘Jumbo’ assault tank was allocated to tank battalions supporting the infantry. Once the armoured divisions caught on though, they started using Jumbos as the lead tank in their advances, deliberately encouraging the Germans to shoot at it rather than the lighter M4 Sherman tanks operating with it. You may allocate hits to an M4A3E2 Jumbo or M4A3E2 (76mm) tank as if it had the lowest armour rating, assigning it a hit before the lesser armoured tanks. This rule does not apply to hits from Artillery Bombardments or hits from Aircraft.

Tank Telephones By the end of 1944, most Sherman tanks working with infantry had been fitted with field telephones on the rear to allow the infantry to point out targets to the tanks. If a Tank team with Tank Telephone and an adjacent Infantry team did not move in the Movement Step, and the Infantry team is not Pinned Down, the Infantry team can use the Eyes and Ears rule (see page 195 of the rulebook) to Reveal one Gone to Ground enemy team to that Tank team as if the Infantry team was a Recce team. If other tanks in the platoon fire, they must either have their own Infantry team pointing out the target or continue to treat the target as Gone to Ground.

Stabilisers A stabiliser is a device fitted to the tank’s gun that keeps it level when the tank is moving. US tanks are the first in the world to be equipped with gyrostabilisers as standard. With the assistance of the gyrostabiliser, the gunner can stay on target while the tank is moving. A moving tank fitted with a Stabiliser can fire its main gun at its full ROF, but adds a penalty of +1 to the score needed to hit. Before shooting, a tank can choose not to use its Stabiliser and fire at the normal rate if that would give it a better chance.