#1
|
|||
|
|||
Sherman Firefly Most Underrated Tank Of The War
Hello!
I have been researching WWII for almost 13 years now. Most sources always mention how good the German Tiger and Panther tanks were, how good the Soviet T34 was and so on. Very few sources mention the Sherman Firefly. It is my opinion that the Sherman Firefly could very well be the most underrated tank of the war. It had the 17 pounder gun which was just as good as the Tiger's and Panther's gun. It had the mechanical reliability of the Sherman tank, something the German tanks did not have. The T34 did have good reliability but the Sherman was just as good. So, I wonder why this vehicle is not mentioned too much? Is it because it was only used by Canadian, British and Polish forces? Is it because, in the same way that the Canadian Forces are largely unrecognized in some respects, that vehicles used by the Canadians could very well recieve the same lack of attention? Looking for any comments, feedback and such! Cheers, Wolfkin AKA Jon Fitzgerald Calgary,AB,Canada
__________________
Amateurs limit their study to either Tactics, Strategy or Logistics. Professionals study ALL THREE of these!!! |
#2
|
||||
|
||||
The new Zealanders in Italy often felt uneasy crewing the Firefly because the Allied Air Forces (I did'nt say the Americans ) were given a quick method of identifying Allied/German tanks. All Allied tanks:- the gun barrel does'nt protrude past the front of the tank, All German tanks:- the gun barrel overhangs the front of the tank. Therefore if it has a gun barrel overhanging the glacis, shoot it up. This is probably a handy guide if you are skimming over rooftops in a fighter plane and only have milliseconds to recognise a target, but does'nt apply to a Firefly, or indeed the profusion of German self-propelled artillery and assualt guns with short barrels.
Obviously, the small numbers of Fireflies on the ground in that theatre were not enough to create an exception to the rule, or to generate a reputation for themselves as fine AFV's. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Re: Sherman Firefly Most Underrated Tank Of The War
Quote:
There were quite desperate problems initially with the solid shot that often didn't penetrate where a 2pdr would, but shattered on impact and the accuracy of the sabot ammunition; this was indeed very powerful if only you could hit something with it. These problems were overcome, but almost too little too late. Of course the enemy knew well what the Firefly could do and so it was the prime target, I would suspect the Firefly crew knew this too. . . . . . . . . . . Allied command was well aware and had various camo schemes to attempt to disguise the long 17pdr barrel, plus the idea of a short dummy barrel on the turret rear with the real one being less obvious depressed over the engine deck; all very well but the gun is then never pointing anywhere near the desired direction. Received wisdom suggests the Firefly A57 multi-bank to be the best of the engines of the period; certainly Chrysler seemed to prove this on extended endurance tests where only a change to the exhaust valve material was needed to ice the cake as it were. However, I would imagine when it does have a minor fault, the very nature of 30 cylinders to isolate and diagnose was a nightmare. For whatever reason the Americans chose not to operate the A57 but rather to donate it to the British and others. Hanno and Adrian B are our Sherman men, perhaps they can add some insight and corrections. R. |
#4
|
||||
|
||||
Re: Re: Sherman Firefly Most Underrated Tank Of The War
Quote:
"Camouflage of 17-pr Gun Mounted in Sherman Tank" might be of interest and is readily available contrary to other sources on the subject. And yes, I agree with Jon: the Firefly could very well be the most underrated tank of the war. For eaxmple, the late-war Sherman with the American 76mm gun was equal to the much higher acclaimed T34/85, better in fact with well-trained crews as it proved during the Korean War. H. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Hello all!
Thank you all for your reponses! This gives me some more facts to think about regarding the Sherman Firefly. I guess it seems that every weapon/vehicle might have had a few cons to go with the pros, the Sherman Firefly no exception. Thank you again! Cheers, Jon Fitzgerald Calgary,AB,Canada
__________________
Amateurs limit their study to either Tactics, Strategy or Logistics. Professionals study ALL THREE of these!!! |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Re: Re: Re: Sherman Firefly Most Underrated Tank Of The War
Quote:
R. |
#7
|
||||
|
||||
There was a “documentary” on the Discovery Channel some time ago, in which they were comparing the Sherman to the Tiger. In it they mentioned the Firefly and gave some details about it, but then dismissed it as being unimportant because the Americans did not use it.
From the American point of view in Normandy, the Tiger was not important. They never encountered any. The Americans did not lose a single tank or man to Tigers in Normandy. Come to think of it, the Americans did not fight very many German tanks in Normandy. It was the British, Canadians and Poles who engaged and defeated the bulk of the German Armour in Normandy. Fortunately they were the best equipped to deal with it.. |
#8
|
||||
|
||||
Hello Wolfkin!
Quote:
Of course, to some extent maybe this is public relations problem, the Firefly is not 506th PIR Band of Brothers with its own historiography and filmography but on the other hand it would be hard to find bad opinion about the Fireflies. Quote:
Quote:
Best regards C. Last edited by Crewman; 18-05-05 at 21:50. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Hello John and Crewman!
I agree with your comments about the U.S. forces receiving too much attention and the British, Canadian and Polish forces not receiving enough. This is true for many sources. They completely ignore the fact that the British, Canadian and Polish forces engaged the major bulk of the German Army in Normandy. Then these same sources have the gall to say that the British, Canadian and Polish forces could not break out, that the U.S. Forces did this. They ignore the fact that it was offensives launched by the British, Canadian and Polish forces that diverted German attention which gave the U.S. Forces the chance to break out. Of course, we know this but many sources think that the U.S. engaged the bulk of the German Army in Normandy, a German Army which was equipped entirely with Tiger Tanks, Burp Guns, 88's and SS troopers! : : Cheers, Jon Fitzgerald Calgary,AB,Canada
__________________
Amateurs limit their study to either Tactics, Strategy or Logistics. Professionals study ALL THREE of these!!! |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
R. |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Hello!
Thank you for the compliments! When it comes to research, I always try to look at as many sources as possible about a subject and then cross-reference, compare, contrast and then form my own opinion. One of my favourite things to say to people sometimes is that they should learn to differentiate between sources of entertainment and sources of information. But, to no avail sometimes, as many people still feel the need to educate themselves with the television! : : Cheers, Jon Fitzgerald Calgary,AB,Canada
__________________
Amateurs limit their study to either Tactics, Strategy or Logistics. Professionals study ALL THREE of these!!! |
|
|