# Sherman Crab Tank Sherman Crab Tank is a British WWII mine-clearing vehicle fitted with rotating chain flails that became a TikTok edit format in January 2024. Fancam-style videos set to Cortex_Sound's 'Blaue Monarchie, Vol.3' glorified the tank's spinning chains, often joking about aiming them at Just Stop Oil road protestors. By February 2024, TikToker @47dimmka's edit passed 23 million plays. ## Origin Sherman Crab vehicles were M4 Shermans modified by the British army in 1942 with a front-mounted rotor of chain flails designed to detonate land mines through controlled impact[1]. South African Major A.S.J. du Toit originated the mine flail concept, and the British paired the design with their Sherman tank for Allied operations across Western Europe[1]. Period footage of the chains beating the ground survives on YouTube[6]. Meme edits began with a TikTok photo slideshow by @danklumi on January 17th, 2024, which joked about driving a Sherman Crab over Just Stop Oil protestors blocking a road[4]. That post attracted roughly 288,700 plays and 46,900 likes within a month[4]. - **Platform:** TikTok - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2024 ## Overview Edits typically splice archival clips of the Sherman Crab in action, usually its chains rotating against a dirt road, over the thumping bassline of 'Blaue Monarchie, Vol.3'[2]. Captions often reference what the uploader would do with the tank, with Just Stop Oil protestors and other roadblockers being the most common hypothetical targets[4]. On TikTok, where the format caught on, many commenters referred to the vehicle as the 'spinny chains tank' or 'tank with spinning chains' because they did not recognize the actual name[4]. Away from the fancam edits, users made DIY recreations. @sahaj8303's paper-clip Sherman model earned over 356,000 plays in nine days by replicating the flail mechanism in miniature[5]. The humor comes from giving an obscure engineering vehicle the same slow-motion, music-video edit treatment people reserve for Abrams or Leopard 2 clips[3]. ## How to Use A typical Sherman Crab edit splices archival footage of the mine flail, often slowed down or zoomed on the rotating chains, against Cortex_Sound's 'Blaue Monarchie, Vol.3'[2]. Captions commonly name a target the chains should clear, usually road protestors or traffic obstacles[3]. Some creators skip the edit entirely and instead film homemade models assembled from paper clips and craft materials[5]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Sherman Crab Tank? A British WWII mine-clearing Sherman tank fitted with spinning chain flails that became a TikTok edit format in January 2024, often referred to as the 'spinny chains tank'[4]. ### Where did Sherman Crab Tank come from? The vehicle was developed by the British army in 1942 from a mine flail concept by South African Major A.S.J. du Toit[1]; the meme began with a TikTok slideshow by @danklumi on January 17th, 2024[4]. ### What does Sherman Crab Tank mean? In meme form, it refers to fancam-style edits of the tank's rotating chains paired with Cortex_Sound's 'Blaue Monarchie, Vol.3,' usually captioned with a joke about clearing road protestors[2]. ### How do you use Sherman Crab Tank? Users make a short video edit of the mine flail's spinning chains set to 'Blaue Monarchie, Vol.3,' often naming a target such as Just Stop Oil protestors the tank would clear[3]. ### Is Sherman Crab Tank still popular? The format peaked in early 2024 on TikTok, with @47dimmka's edit passing 23 million plays and 2.8 million likes by mid-February before activity tapered off[3]. ## References 1. [https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.php?armor_id=969]() 2. [https://www.tiktok.com/@music2023www23/video/7330378771230477573]() 3. [https://www.tiktok.com/@47dimmka/video/7331716804810706181]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sherman-crab-tank]() 5. [https://www.tiktok.com/@sahaj8303/video/7333604201752317190]() 6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpeflBfxXzY]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/sherman-crab-tank Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library