Redefining canon for Shermans

[plloyd1010]

This should satisfy 10 of the 13 respondents, make 7 of them happy, and be tolerable for the other 3.
I will make the Sherman's variable per time frame and theater, and have it's alternate available through a sub-menu. None of this will happen until the December update (though people playing with may could get the updates on the side).

European theater Shermans of 1943 and before, and Pacific theater Shermans of 1945 and before will have an armor of 3, with armor 4 as the alternate.
This means Shermans in OOB extensions intended for Armor of Saipan, An Army at Dawn, Leyte '44, Blackshirt Division, Nihon Silk, Marianas 1944 and Saipan 1944 would default to an armor of 3.

European theater Shermans of 1944 and after, and Pacific theater Shermans of 1946 and after will have an armor of 4, with armor 3 as the alternate.
That means OOB extensions intended for all other games would have a default armor of 4. This would include all of the American allies and lend-lease recipients.

The Soviet M4A2 was a bit of pause. Reading a little bit about Soviet Shermans, I found a few interesting tidbits. Soviet tankers considered the Shermans to be less explosive than the T-34s when penetrated, with ammunition detonation being noted most often. I don't know if this was because of wet storage (which reduces ammo fires) or just better stowage. Either way, it makes an armor of 4 reasonable when compared to the armor 5 T-34 of the period. I also noted that about ½ of the Shermans sent to Russia had the 76mm gun. So I will be making and adding that counter to the Soviet late war and Iron Curtain OOB extensions.