If you haven't seen the movie Fury, you should, it gives you a pretty good idea of what our tank crews were up against during WWII.
Tigers had the gun no doubt. Russians paid a heavy price on the Eastern front. Saw some video footage of Tiger crews using rangefinders and picking off T34s over a mile away.
Grew up on various Army bases as a kid so always had an interest in military history.
A lot of revisionists over the last decade or so are saying now that the Sherman was a great tank. It was certainly reliable, comfortable, and much more survivable when hit than a lot of other designs.
The German tanks had one big advantage over the Allies, they were usually in the defense.
I'm not sure about the Sherman's survivability but it was more repairable in the field than a Tiger. The Tiger had to be transported back to Germany for certain repairs and a Sherman could be repaired more easily on the battlefield.
I got to visit the former Littlefield tank museum before it was disbanded, he had alot of Shermans in his collection. No Tigers but he did have what was regarded as the best restored German Panther tank in the world. Some of the old WWII vets would tear up when seeing that tank and say "that's exactly how they were!".
My dad was a big WW II buff and has a book showing Tigers where Herman's hit them, but deflected the round. It also had pictures of Sherman's with holes punched in them by the Tigers.
The latter British varient of the Sherman was the most impressive with its better gun - the 17 pounder . Called the Sherman Firefly. The Germans gave it respect by giving orders to take it out first if encountered.
The British and Commonwealth units had to face over 70% of all German armor deployed during the Battle of Normandy, including the much-feared SS Panzer units, in particular around Caen. In turn, the Germans learnt to recognise and respect the Firefly, which often became their #1 priority target in most engagements. Such was the damage they inflicted. In response, the crews usually painted the protruding half of the barrel with an effective countershading pattern to try to disguise it as a regular Sherman. A common tactic was to place the Fireflies in good hull-down positions in support of other Shermans, covering them in the advance each time an enemy tank would reveal itself, at least in theory.
A lot of revisionists over the last decade or so are saying now that the Sherman was a great tank. It was certainly reliable, comfortable, and much more survivable when hit than a lot of other designs.
The German tanks had one big advantage over the Allies, they were usually in the defense.
Hence, the Sherman’s grim nickname—Ronson, like the cigarette lighter, because “it lights up the first time, every time.”
"To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."-- Thomas Jefferson
A lot of revisionists over the last decade or so are saying now that the Sherman was a great tank. It was certainly reliable, comfortable, and much more survivable when hit than a lot of other designs.
The German tanks had one big advantage over the Allies, they were usually in the defense.
Hence, the Sherman’s grim nickname—Ronson, like the cigarette lighter, because “it lights up the first time, every time.”
Yeah, but that really wasn’t true and certainly wasn’t with the ones being produced by the end of the war.
Tigers were the "best" tanks in WWII, mostly due to their armor and the 88mm gun. But they suffered from a lack of reliability and the effort required to repair one, once they croaked. Our crews could replace a Sherman engine in hours. Over a day to do that on a Tiger.
Shermans were adequate, mostly because there were so many of them and our repair crews could get them back into the field quickly. Later versions with the higher velocity guns, did better against German Panthers.
If three or more people think you're a dimwit, chances are at least one of them is right.
Later Sherman's were actually "fairly" survivable if hit. Lots easier to get out of one than say, a T-34.
Couple of good back to back videos. The_Chieftain channel has a lot of good videos on armored and other WWII military vehicles from the various participants. He covers history, design and gives a good examination both inside and outside of the vehicles. A favorite test is his "oh bugger, the tank's on fire" exit drills to see just how hard it would be to get out of a burning armored vehicle.
Gunnery, gunnery, gunnery. Hit the target, all else is twaddle!
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