The Sherman Tank was an American designed and built tank.
The British Army started to re-equip it's armoured divisions with the Sherman from 1942 onwards. Although the Sherman was inferior to the best of the German Army's tanks its reliability and ease of mass production made the Sherman a vital part of the British Army's campaigns in North Africa and Europe.
In early 1943 both 16th/5th Queen's Royal Lancers and 17th/21st Lancers were re-equiped with the Sherman Tank. The new tanks provided more armoured protection and firepower than the Valentine and Matilda Tanks previously used by both regiments.
The Sherman would be vital in both regiments' involvement in the Battle of Fondouk in April 1943.