Sherman Firefly VC

[maple_leaf_eh]

War Diary 27th Canadian Armoured Regiment, 07 Jun 44.

"Major F.H. Baldwin is organizing B Echelon to supply the forward troops. Ammunition, petrol and Derve were sent forward during the day as they were badly needed, many of the tanks being immobile as they had run completely dry and were out of ammunition. Some had even been firing 75-mm HE at German infantry as they were our of Browning ammunition. The Sherman V(C) tanks which use petrol were in a worse state for fuel than the Sherman III tanks which use DERVE."

Two spellings for Diesel Engine Road Vehicle, and a real world comment on the need for a senior Major in the regiment to manage the rear area admin, behind the F and A Echelons. Interesting that the ammunition consumption rates were so high that some vehicles were empty - shades of Op MEDUSA in Afghanistan 2006.

[tankbarrell]

I think that's just a spelling mistake. It is an acronym so can't be spelt with an extra E.

I wonder how often the wrong fuel was put in the tanks.....

Sherman V certainly has a higher fuel consumption than Sherman III, by quite some margin!

[Tim Bell]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

War Diary 27th Canadian Armoured Regiment, 07 Jun 44.

The Sherman V(C) tanks which use petrol were in a worse state for fuel than the Sherman III tanks which use DERVE

Sherman VC = Petrol
Sherman III = Derv(e)

Am sure the reason for insisting that all Fireflies were Petrol was to reduce complexity in the supply chain.

Tim

[tankbarrell]

The Sherman III was not suitable for conversion to 17 pdr. I think that is because the generators protrude into the fighting compartment enough to prevent fitting of the ammunition stowage.