FIRE ENGINES
Three tanks that powered the Rangers’ advance on Germany
THE M4 SHERMAN HIGHLY EFFECTIVE ON THE MOVE
Some 49,000 Shermans were built in the 7nited 5tates, and numDers most definitely counted. +t had a SuicM firing main gun, two machine guns and, uniquely in the war, a gun stabilising gyro, which made it very eʘective on the move.
Highly manoeuvraDle, the 5herman was easy to maintain and reliable. It had many advantages despite thinner armour and a less powerful gun than the German Panther or Tiger. Its gun could still prove highly eʘective in the close ranges of north west Europe: Sergeant George Dring’s crew, for example, knocked out two Panthers, one Tiger and two Panzer IVs on 26 June 1944 – all with their 75mm main gun.
THE M3 AND M5 STUART A “HONEY OF A TANK”
This light 16.5-tonne tank was also built in large numbers – 22,700 in all – and was fast and manoeuvrable. Although thinly armoured and equipped with only a 37mm main gun and machine gun, it was widely used for reconnaissance, the role for which the Sherwood Rangers employed it.
#lthough officially called the p5tuartq by the British, most British and Commonwealth troops Mnew it as the pHoneyq. 6his was Decause when it was first issued to British troops in north Africa, it was called a phoney of a tanMq Decause it was so sweet to drive.
THE FIREFLY THE REGIMENTES KILLER SHOT
This was a Sherman adapted by the British to house the 17-pounder anti-tank gun, a weapon that exceeded even the German 88mm in terms of velocity. When armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) rounds were introduced in #ugust 1 44, the 1 pounder could fire them at a staggering 4,000 feet per second, compared with around 2,900 for the 88mm. The barrel was too long for the Dody of the tanM and the gun fired with a very Dright mu\\le flash s two disadvantages – but it certainly packed a punch and the crews soon learned how to use them eʘectively.