I've seen the Sherman quoted as costing 46-50k USD and taking about 48,000 manhours of labor, and the Panther as 130k RM / 52k USD and 55,000 manhours. Does anyone have good sources on the Sherman cost and manhours needed and the Panther manhour cost? ( I'm pretty sure about the price in RM )
If the above numbers mentioned are semi accurate then it does suggest the Sherman is not a cheap mass produced thing that was the better investment of resources than German tanks, but instead a poor/mediocre piece of gear that was spammed in large numbers due to the large US industrial base but was not very cost effective as is commonly held.