The M-50 was designed with the CN 75-50 gun to defeat T-34 and T-85 tanks, with appearance of T-54 and T-55 Israel needed a new gun and as on M-50 Israel used a French gun, the new 105mm CN 105 F1 gun. This gun was a 56 caliber and 6m long, firing a HEAT round with a 1000 m/sec velocity. However, this gun could not be installed in a Sherman turret, as this offered not enough recoil space. Israel then came up with a solution of their own: By shortening the gun to a 44 caliber gun (about 1.4 meters shorter) and accepting a lower muzzle velocity of around 800 m/sec. this modification, called the CN 105 D1 gun, could indeed be crammed into a T23 turret.
This gun was fitted in M4A1 tanks with HVSS, 180 M-51 tanks were ready in late 1960's.
The M-51 Sherman tank developed with French-Israeli collaboration of the basis of the US Sherman tank, mounted a long 105 mm gun. The tank also had installed a US diesel engine and wide track and suspension. The tank participated in combat during the Six Day War (1967). The M-51 was a key participant in the famous battle in the Dotan Valley, as well as in the Yom Kippur War (1973).
When the Six Day War (1967) war broke out, Israel had 515 Sherman tanks ready for battle out of a total of 520 Shermans, and when the Yom Kippur War (1973) war broke out, Israel had 340 Shermans.
In the mid to late 70s, Israel had supplied over 150 M-51 Sherman tanks to the Chilean army.
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