The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the medium tank most widely used by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman was reliable and well adapted to mass production. Tens of thousands were distributed through the Lend-Lease program to the British Commonwealth, Soviet Union, and other Allied Nations. The tank was named by the British after the American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman. It was also the basis of several other armored fighting vehicles including self-propelled artillery, tank destroyers, and armored recovery vehicles.