However, the increased weight of the vehicle combined with narrow tracks led to poor off-road mobility.

Consequently, for the rest of the conversions, hulls fitted with HVSS suspension and Cummins V-8 460 horsepower (340 kW) diesel engine were adopted.

[8] In the 1960s, 180 Sherman tanks received a shortened version of the even more powerful French 105 mm Modèle F1 gun.

The barrel length of the gun was reduced from 56 caliber to 51[9] and it was equipped with a unique double-baffle muzzle brake; ammunition was altered to use a smaller cartridge.

[5] The first 25 M-50s were finished just in time for Operation Kadesh – the Israeli 29 October 1956 invasion of the Sinai – against the Egyptian Army[5] (which also employed its own up-gunned version of the M4 Sherman, fitted with the French AMX-13 turret, making it equal to the M-50 in firepower).

The Arab nations were in uproar, and Syria began a project to divert water into Jordan (the Headwater Diversion Plan).

A few days later, General Tal, with an M-50 and a Centurion Mk III tank, was waiting for a chance to fire upon the Syrian water diverting project.

The M-51 served well during its time, and is regarded as an excellent example of how an obsolete tank (the Sherman) can be upgraded beyond the limits of its original capabilities.

Some of those were fitted with the IMI-OTO 60 mm Hyper Velocity Medium Support (HVMS) gun, and were often referred to as M-60.