I wonder who that Nomad is, he seems to be a very intelligent, well mannered and straight up drop dead gorgeous individual 🤔 In all seriousness tho, was a blast doing some bits of reasearch with you and helping doing the video, however small my contribution was! Learned a lot! If you ever need help with anything, hmu at any time! You're on the pathway to become one of the greats! And im glad I helped you with it! ~Nomad
I have an Idea for the Origin. But it might not be all too verifiable anymore sadly. What if it was just everyones Grandpa? The common serviceman its natural for soldiers to use slang. Just an idea
I always thought the E8 designation came from multiple upgrades all put together, most notable upgrades being the up armor and up gunned version and the 8 was just a sequential number.
Holy shit i thought i was missing something. All my life i thought Easy 8 came from the E8 in the designation, then you started listing all the other theories lol
Why would HVSS in the M6 have anything to do with the Sherman E8 program though? Same suspension type but the E8 program didn't have anything to do with the M6, it was a Sherman--specific program. I'm glad to finally know exactly what the E8 refers to, but the pursuit of the nickname is kind of redundant tbh. Why is the F16 "Fighting Falcon" referred to as the "Viper" by airmen when that's not its name? Language is dynamic and often arbitrary, even if the tanks don't have E8 in their official designation it clearly stuck around when the right people popularised it.
My train of thought at the time was to go as far back as I could in the history of HVSS suspension, so I could see exactly when the E8 program started, or if somehow the nickname came from somewhere else. So learning that HVSS existed on the M6, being 2 years prior, I wondered what I could be missing out on. I do agree the whole pursuit was quite useless though.
#3 Is Not a Myth It’s The Truth Anything Past This Is Impractical and Meaningless The Name just Sound’s Cool and It’s The New Standard Combat Sherman, M4A3E8, Leading out of WW2, into Korea and then some Done, go Home
HA! I finally found something wrong with you videos! The M4A3 (76) W HVSS is NOT the only HVSS sherman in war thunder The M4A3 (105) also has the HVSS Thx for the videos btw, you are a very good presenter
“Since the only Sherman’s in the game to feature HVSS suspension are M4A3’s.” I’m referring to the fact that all HVSS Sherman’s in War Thunder are built on M4A3 chassis. 😊 Keep looking though, there is plenty wrong with my videos
So "an Easy Eight" was an M4a3 that has a welded hull (unlike M4a1) and a one peice transmission/lower plate (also unlike M4a1) with a Ford GAA V8 (standard engine for M4a3 variant) with the only difference is that it has an experimental HVSS suspension. The E stands for an experimental vehicle, an example would be the YEH-60B, the Y stands for Electronic warfare or weapons systems, the E stands for Experemental/Easy, H stands for Helicopter with the 60 representing model number and the B for variant/type.
We have used Letters as location and group markers for a long time, I think before the great war but with certainty in WW1. The common soldier would then by the game of Telephone develop names for the letters. A for Apple or Alpha and B for Butter or Beta, C for Cat or D for Dog. E for Easy. Maybe
I really don't want to say anything too drastic here in the comments, since I fully plan to acknowledge all this very soon in a video. But holy moly have I kind of exploded. Thank you to everyone who is watching, subbing, and sharing. I hope you all have learned a little something with this video. If you aren't subbed, consider it. If you liked this video, you're gonna love this channel. Also for those curious, Nomad did actually send my question over to the Chieftain, and he actually responded! He pretty much just confirmed our findings.
Honeslty man you took it to another level with this video, the quality and the reasearch are the best thing you've done. I hope the video gets the views it deserves
Honestly I always assumed it came from the designation, but figured it was more of "E8s in the long designation so the troops just gave it the nickname because it rhymed and sounded cool". Either way Im still calling that variant Easy 8. Its a cool name and it fits the tank.
@@Appletank8 even the chieftain himself posted an image of very early HVSS on an M3 Lee, but admitted “I annoyingly can’t date it.” How has the history of HVSS just disappeared like this? I think I’ll have to revisit this topic some day…
A few months back Chieftain dropped a quickshot about a Sherman with HVSS, but not an Easy-8 type. It was some type of earlier HVSS suspension with single rolers, that looks like the one on M6 as well. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-q4F17YPUBZ8.html
Even if someone was there, that doesn’t mean they can’t be biased or wrong in their conclusions and observations. If someone sees only part of an event because something is happening just around the corner, they might not have the full story. If someone works at a US Army supply and maintenance depot in WWII, and much of what they see all day is damaged and destroyed Shermans being hauled back, of course they have a negatively biased view of the tank. If someone watching the Arizona go up at Pearl Harbor sees a big plume of smoke shoot up the stack, they might assume a bomb has gone down the stack even though that isn’t actually the case.
Okay, so I've now watched both this and your bigger Sherman variants video. I cannot believe how I learned more about the Sherman (and the M6, strangely) than I have in years of playing War Thunder and rediscovering my love of tanks through that game. I went on a huge journey, studying variants of the tank and what made which classified as which, but you've simplified it in such a perfect way. The "Easy Eight" thing is just fascinating. I knew that E6 was the 76mm gun program, but I didn't know E8 was the HVSS program. I definitely knew the phonetic alphabet of the era, but for some stupid reason, I never linked that to the Easy Eight nickname. I was under the impression of one of those myths, that the M4A3E8 was the M4A3 76 W HVSS, and nothing else. I never dug into it like this, but I'm very glad to have a better idea of what's what. Thank you for your dedication to this stuff, and your brilliant presentation. So glad I stumbled upon this channel with your Battlefield 5 video.
I dunno why you're relying on War Thunder for info, it's more reliable than WoT sure but I'm sure you're sure about the whole T58 and T28 thing. Where the T28 that they have in game doesn't exist and that it's the T58 which should actually bear the name T28. This is probably just me who doesn't trust games but well my point still stands.
@@digit-zero I don't "rely on" games or get my information from games. I credit games for igniting (or reigniting, in this case) my passion for studying these subjects. For instance, I decided to main Italy in War Thunder, a decision I now thoroughly regret but refuse to give up on. On the bright side, it made me go study Italy's vehicles, aircraft, and military history more than I ever would have before. Every time I unlock a new vehicle, I go research it. Everything from its service history to how markings were placed on it.
Just discovered your channel and promptly subscribed. Can’t believe you have so few subscribers considering the quality of your productions. I felt an immediate connection to your easy and comfortable delivery, and the specific focus of your content. Keep doing what you’re doing and I can see this channel easily having hundreds or thousands of subscribers. Whether through the gaming community, war history aficionados or just tank nerds (I tick all those boxes) there are millions of people out there who will love this type of content!
Turns out saying M4A3E8 is a whole lot faster than saying M4A3 (76)W HVSS both on paper and in words, so people would naturally say the less complex name.
Very great research and dedication. Although I focus more on german infantry and reenactment, I can appreciate finally knowing proper designation for the tanks and ridding of misconceptions. Should you ever need any information regarding german infantry in any sort (especially with gëbirgsjager) or any german translating please make me aware.
Me, a dumbf*ck, thinking the M4A3E8 is called an Easy 8 because of the E8 on it's name. Edit: So I was kind of right but designation was dropped but in good old military fashion it actually wasn't.
I appreciate your use of credits at the end and smooth Jazz throughout the video very nice. Also the ending with the candle is a cool way to end it. Nice filming 👌
Hah! This is hilarious, i can only imagine armchair fanboys cringing by the hundreds upon learning everything they thought they knew was false. Excellent production, sir!
After seeing this I was both right and wrong about that Sherman model ramble I went on. Looking at the running gear of the model I have, it has single wheel / outside guide, not double wheel / center guide running gear, so not HVSS, and it is a British Sherman V so not THE Easy-8.
i was recent my at the museum of american armour in ny and there was a sherman there designate as m4a3e8 and i’m wondering if that is a real easy 8 or if it’s just because it had hvss because i did see that it did
Wait, if the E8 prototypes were accepted into service and the E8 name was gotten rid of officially, why was the Jumbo Sherman provisionally accepted but maintained with the M4A3E2 designation?
note this is me seeing if my understanding i correct before watching but the M4A3E6 was the name given to the 76mm gun Sherman and it had no mussel break. the track designed was from the M4A3E4 the turret was what made the M4A3E8 different and it had the option to fit either the 75mm that all Sherman had the 76mm M1A1 gun from the M4A3E6 (no muzzle break) ore the 76mm M1A2 76mm high velocity gun that was tried but didn't fit probably in the M4A3E7 tank.
it seams i was close but not quite it seam that the chieftain mention that the E8 programme that developed twin road wheel with canter guide HVSS suspicion. so by that logic it seams that there is a slight difference with the standard single road wheel HVSS suspicion that could in theory be the ones that where called E8.
so... i was correct about "easy eight" being experimental and not an official name? like in army name, not nickname. cuz i just weirded out when playing wotb and see E8 have different modifications, and then see war thunder and like... "wait, thats just another E8'. and from that i conclude, that E8 is experimental tank and never given official name, thus concluding that "easy eight" is just a nick name of experimental success, not official army name
It wasn't an official name for the final production tanks with HVSS, no. However, it became such a common nickname among generals, the ordinance branch, and the military as a whole; that even though it was never an "Easy 8" on paper in the US, it might as well have been. In fact I've stumbled on an Israel document that labels an HVSS tank as a Sherman Easy 8. So there is an instance where it was acknowledged as an Easy 8 on official military documents.
im glad you cleared this up for me, i was under the impression that it was an american tank retrofitted with a captured 88mm gun. i got that info from a teacher in my highschool who taught both history and german.
My theory is as follows: The Easy 8 designation and nickname came from the pre NATO US phonetic alphabet using the word "Easy" for E. That being said, the nickname of "easy" due to having a smooth ride can also be true, with troops in the field hearing it called the Easy 8 and assuming that as the reason, or because it's fun to say, etc. That then leads to Easy 8 continuing to be used by troops in the field, with the slang reaching it's way all the way up to the top brass and even into other nation's lingo. Many sense to anyone?
E8 basically referred to the HVSS style M4s then lol either way what sounds cooler? WE NEED AN HVSS M4 whatever SHERMAN!!! or SEND IN THE EASY EIGHTS!!!
The name “Easy Eight” is a well known nickname usually used for the M4A3E8, but its real meaning is not actually specific to that tank. The name comes from the code given to the horizontal volute spring suspension system (HVSS) during testing, “E8” (“E” standing for “Experimental”). Tanks fitted with this suspension during testing had “E8” added to their designation. for example; “M4A2E8”, or “M4A3E8”. In service, the tanks simply received the suffix “HVSS” to signify that they were fitted with HVSS suspension. for example, an M4A3 with a 76 mm gun and HVSS suspension would be designated “M4A3(76) HVSS”. As the M4, M4A1 and M4A2 also received this suspension, the name “Easy Eight” should, in theory, apply to them too. But today the name has stuck, and is mostly reserved for informally referring to the M4A3(76) W HVSS.
This is why German tanks are better, you have "[type of vehicle (like pzkpfw)] [number] [letter]" possibly what canon it has, unlike the Americans, with 10 different Shermans that all look the same (because pzkpfw 4 e & f have massive differences xD
@@chris2ndaccount69 I'm not sure what part you're refering to, Yes, I know all shermans are NOT the same, and that pz IV e & f don't have massive differences.