The US medium tank line is one of the most well-rounded tech trees in the game, with very few outright bad tanks, if any.
The line technically starts off at tier II, but I'm ignoring the tier II and III because fuck those tiers.
M3 Lee
The M3 Lee can be considered bad, and it is bad as a stereotypical medium tank. However, playing it as a tank destroyer can see some success.
Firepower
The firepower of the M3 is actually rather good, assuming you can get it on target. The 75mm M3, mounted in a casemate rather than the typical turret that you see on most medium tanks, can actually put down a ton of fire down range.
The M3 Lee boasts the highest DPM of any tier IV medium(2,200 base DPM), even having higher DPM than most tier 5s, only being lower than the 10.5cm Pz IV H, T-34, and tank destroyers
The penetration is on the higher end of tier IV(92), however, tanks.gg's stat listing is broken, and lists both standard and premium penetration regardless of what filters you set. Therefore I can't get an accurate determination of where exactly the penetration lays. Regardless, the M3 Lee will see little issue penetrating same-tier tanks, even the heaviest among tier IVs.
The big downside of having all this firepower on a tier IV medium is the fact that the gun is mounted in a casemate rather than turret, which means that it cannot brawl or flank effectively.
Armour
The armour of the M3 Lee is rather poor, being only around 57mm effective on average. Lower tier vehicles tend to have trouble penetrating, while same-tier vehicles tend to penetrate. Overall, the armour prepares you for the M4 rather well, teaching you that you should not try to take hits.
Mobility
The mobility of the M3 Lee is rather low, with a paltry 38km/h top speed. It is the third slowest medium tank at tier IV, with only the T-28E F-30 and Matilda having a lower top speed.
That said, the P/W ratio of the M3 Lee is rather decent, with a 15.6 P/W. While not the best, it's certainly isn't the worst.
Concealment
Uh, how are you going to hide this thing? You can't. Not effectively.
View range
Despite having that giant tumour on top of the tank in the form of a useless turret, the view range of the M3 Lee is weak, being 320m, joint lowest with the A-32.
Verdict
Overall, it kind of deserves its' reputation for being a shitty medium, because as a medium, it's shit. However, if you play it like a tank destroyer, the gun can actually perform exceptionally.
That being the case, it's still not a good tank, especially compared to the newer tier IV mediums.
3/10
M4 Sherman
The M4 Sherman is a sight that's very familiar to all tier 5 players, and with good reason. Having two viable armaments on a flexible chassis means that no matter what your playstyle is, you can almost always make the M4 Sherman work.
Firepower
Let's get into the interesting bit first. The choices of guns.
On the one hand, for those preferring to have a more traditional tank gun, the 76mm M1A1 provides a well-rounded approach to gunnery, with no real weaknesses. With 128mm of standard penetration, you should have no issue penetrating most tanks at your tier, and with 177mm of premium penetration, you will find that you won't be entirely incapable of penetrating higher tier tanks once you find yourself in a rather uncomfortable match-up.
On the other hand, for those who want to go on a point-&-click adventure, and don't want to play artillery, you have the 105mm M4 howitzer.
Featuring HE and HEAT shells rather than the usual AP/APCR, this gun sacrifices almost all penetration for the hilarious one-shots and the ability to annoy virtually all tanks that rely on armour by abusing the HE splash mechanics.
Armour
lol
But for real, you shouldn't be playing the heavy tank flank. You just don't have the armour. Most guns will be able to penetrate you, and the only bounces that you'll get are those from stock 25TPs and the occasional glancing hit. Overall, not a very strongly armoured tank.
Mobility
The Sherman has decent mobility all things considered. While it is no speed demon, it's able to get into most positions without much issues.
Concealment
While the concealment isn't as bad as the M3 Lee, it's not good either. You won't be sneaking up on the enemy team without them knowing it.
View range
This is the tier where the US medium tank line starts to get one of its' key characteristics, which is their view range. The M4 Sherman gets the highest baseline view range for tier 5 mediums of 370m.
Verdict
8/10. A very flexible vehicle that has something for everyone. Except those that want to take hits like no tomorrow. This thing has little effective armour.
M4A3E8 Sherman Easy Eight
The tier VI American medium is the M4A3E8, commonly known as the Easy Eight. The other designation that you'll see is M4A3 76 (W) HVSS.
Firepower
The E8 has an upgraded 76mm compared to the M4, however, it has exactly the same hard stats, with the upgrades being to the soft stats. It gets a wicked quick reload of 3.16s base. That being said, the alpha is very low for a tier VI medium.
Those that want to use the howitzer will be rather disappointed that you will not be getting an updated version of the M4, rather, you get the exact same howitzer.
Can mount a vertical stabilizer.
Armour
The armour of the E8 is actually improved. While the hull is still rather weak, the turret finally gets some bouncing power. That said, it's only in the form of the gun mantlet, with gun mantlet being 178mm thick. While not reliable, against people who snap shot onto your turret will find that their shells simply bounce off.
Mobility
The mobility of the E8 is almost exactly the same as the M4, the only key difference being the fact that the E8 gets an improved engine. The Ford GAA engine gives the E8 17.21 base P/W.
Concealment
See M4 Sherman.
View range
The view range of the E8 is virtually unchanged from the M4, at 370m.
Verdict
5/10. While the upgrades are nice, I don't think they necessitate the move up to tier 6. If they buffed the penetration to be more in line with the other tier VI mediums, it would be placed higher.
T20
The T20 is a significant departure in playstyle from the M4s, with it having even less effective armour than the previous tanks. However, the firepower is finally improved.
Firepower
The T20 is the first American medium to be armed with a 90mm gun, with much higher penetration(160/243) and a significant upgrade in alpha damage(240). However, it has a very low base DPM, and the gun handling leaves something to be desired.
Armour
lol
Mobility
The mobility of the T20 is the outlier in the American medium tree, with a 56km/h top speed and a 18.19 P/W ratio. That said, you shouldn't use this mobility too much, as the low DPM will lead to you being overwhelmed by the majority of tanks you face.
Concealment
The concealment of the T20 is rather good, being almost as good as some light tanks, and finally being in line with other medium tanks. With a full camo crew, you can actually hide this thing.
View range
The view range of the T20 is exceptional, with 390m base. It doesn't take much to get to the view range cap.
Verdict
While it isn't bad, the T20 has been somewhat powercrept by some of the newer medium tanks. You can certainly make it work, but it's not the powerhouse that I ground through 4 years ago. 7/10
M26 Pershing
The Pershing is one of the older medium tanks, and also one of those that hasn't seen much love. It's not hard to see why.
Firepower
The gun is an upgrade from the T20. With 30mm higher base penetration, and 25mm higher premium penetration, the gun can penetrate a lot more vehicles. However, with the proliferation of super-heavy tanks, the 190mm penetration doesn't really cut it. Which is where the premium comes in. Get tier 10 medium penetration at tier 8 here, folks! The gun handling also allows you to snap-shot incredibly easily.
Armour
The Pershing actually gets a rather large and thick gun mantlet, with the gun mantlet being 203mm. That said, the turret itself is rather weak. The hull is capable of bouncing lower penetration guns, but not much else.
Mobility
A significant downgrade from the T20, the M26 goes back to the relatively standard 48km/h top speed. While not slow, it's not fast either.
Concealment
No longer are you able to easily hide.
View range
400m base view range means you can get to the 445m view range cap much easier.
Verdict
While not good, it's not bad either. It's no T-34-2, but it's no Progetto 46 either. 7/10
M46 Patton
The M46 Patton gives you a 105mm tank gun, and a strong turret.
Firepower
The gun finally gets a significant improvement. Gone are the days of 240 alpha, you finally get 390 alpha and very high DPM.
218/265 penetration, while decent, isn't that great against heavies.
Armour
You actually get a rather strong turret, being able to bounce a large amount of guns off of your turret, as long as you use your gun depression.
Mobility
While it does get a P/W improvement, the top speed is still 48km/h.
Concealment
The concealment is also bad, but at this tier, it's to be expected of an American, isn't it?
View range
Highest in tier base view range of 410m.
Verdict
9/10. A very good vehicle for those who know how to use it. Very good all-rounder with no terrible faults aside from concealment.
M48A5 Patton
The M48A5 Patton is the pinnacle of the US medium tech tree, and also the best.
Firepower
The firepower of the M48A5 is a significant increase from the M46. With 268/330 penetration, and even higher DPM, the M48A5 has a rather good gun with extremely good soft-stats. Also keeps its' 390 alpha.
Armour
Take the M46, and give it an even better turret. Also give it some hull armour. You now have the M48A5.
Mobility
While the M48A5 is an overall upgrade to the M46, the M48 is the slowest tier 10 medium, with a 45km/h top speed limit, and a poor P/W ratio.
Concealment
lol
You're not hiding this fat-ass.
View range
As always, best in tier at 420m.
Verdict
10/10. The M48A5 is a nice blend of medium and heavy tank. You can bounce a significant amount of shells of your turret, and the gun is no slouch. Overall, a very nice end to the American medium line.
Overall Verdict
The American medium line is a good introduction to medium tanks from tier 5 and up. The tier 9 and 10 are very comfortable to play, and most of the tanks in the line are at least decent. 8/10 grind.
Edit #1: M4A3E8 is the first tank to get a VStab, not the M4.
