Sherman tanks were mainly used to provide close support for the Infantry. In this role they fired a much greater number of HE rounds than AP. In Normandy I’ve heard of a 3 to 1 ratio of HE vs. AP. In other fronts there was an even greater imbalance. For example on the 13th of May 1944 in Italy, two Regiments from the 1st Cdn Armoured Brigade fired 1555 HE rounds and only 50 AP rounds.
The Sherman 75 also had a smoke WP round. In Radley-Walkers bio he tells of how they would use smoke to blind German positions. The German tanks would always moved up wind to get open fields of fire, however, the 17 pdr Fireflies would be waiting in ambush positions to kill the panzers as they came out of the smoke.
Stuart Hill who was a troop commander with the Nottinghamshire Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, wrote in his book “By Tank into Normandy” that the main weapon of the Sherman tank were the machine guns. They were the weapons that were used most often to engage targets. He criticized the Firefly for its lack of a hull MG.
Note that the 17pdr HE Mk 2 that was used with the Firefly tank was smaller and lighter than the 75mm HE and therefore weaker. The 17pdr Mk 1 HE was closer to the 75mm in performance, but because of its length (three inches longer that the Mk 2) it could only be used with the 17pdr A/T guns and not in the Firefly.
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02-10-10, 03:10
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