| Sherman Firefly |
|
| Type |
Medium tank |
| Place of origin |
 United States
 United Kingdom |
| Specifications |
| Weight |
36 tons (33 tonnes) |
| Length |
19 ft 4 in (5.89 m) |
| Width |
9 ft (2.75 m) |
| Height |
8 ft 7 in (2.62 m) |
| Crew |
4 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver) |
|
| Armour |
89 mm (turret front) |
Primary
armament |
OQF 17 pdr (76 mm) gun |
Secondary
armament |
Flexible .50 Browning M2 machine gun (12.7 mm)
Coaxial .30 Browning M1919 machine gun (7.62 mm) |
| Engine |
Chrysler Multibank (5 x inline-6) petrol
425 hp |
| Power/weight |
11.8 hp/ton |
| Suspension |
Coil spring |
Operational
range |
120 miles (193 km) |
| Speed |
25 mph (40 km/h) |
The Sherman Firefly was a World War II British variation of the American Sherman tank, fitted with the powerful British 17 pounder (17-pdr) anti-tank gun as its main weapon.
Origins
The concept of fitting a 17 pounder gun into a Sherman tank had initially been rejected by the Ministry of Supply's Tank Decision as being impractical. This was due to the development of the 17-pdr-equipped Challenger design based on the Cromwell tank and the fact that at this time it was still thought the High Velocity 75mm gun (later changed to 77 mm HV) would be the main armament of the Cromwell tank just starting to come into service in the British Army. However, Lt-Col George Witheridge of the Royal Tank Regiment, on his arrival at Lulworth Armored Fighting School in 1943, became interested in mounting a 17 pounder in the Sherman Tank after having seen the A30 Challenger and found it wanting. Others at Lulworth has also been investigating mounting a 17 pounder on a Sherman chassis with mixed outcomes. Lt-Col George Witheridge and a small team started to attempt to fit a 17 pounder into the turret of a Sherman. Despite warning to abandon the project, Witheridge, with support from Maj-Gen Raymod Briggs, Director Royal Armoured Corps (DRAC) and Claude Gibb of the Ministry of Supply, proved that a 17 pounder gun could be successfully fitted into the turret of a Sherman. This was done by moving the radio to a new bustle on the turret rear and by turning the long-recoiling gun on its side. A distinctive overhang at the back of the turret was added to give space for the recoiling weapon. The hull machine gun was also eliminated to allow more room for the much larger shells for the 17 pounder gun, with a consequent reduction of the crew to 4. By October and November of 1943, enthusiasm began to grow for the project. The 21st Army was informed of the new tank in October 1943. Even before final testing had taken place in February of 1944, an order for 2,100 Sherman tanks armed with 17 pounder guns was placed. This reaction was understandable, as the Challenger program was suffering constant delays and would not be ready in time for Normandy, and even worse the realization the Cromwell tank did not have a turret ring big enough to take the new High Velocity 75mm gun ( 50 calibres long), so the Cromwell would have to be armed with the weaker 75mm M3 gun of the Sherman tank. Thus the Sherman Firefly represented the only available tank with superior firepower over the 75mm M3 gun in the British Army’s arsenal, and not surprisingly it was given ‘highest priority’ by Winston Churchill himself. [1] The nickname "Firefly" quickly became synonymous with any Sherman fitted with this gun, and while plans were devised to modify the Sherman IV, only the Sherman I and V were used in the end. In British nomenclature, a "C" at the end of the Roman numeral indicated a tank equipped with the 17-pdr, and the resulting tanks were designated Sherman IC and VC Firefly.
-
Service
Fireflys were introduced to British armoured divisions in 1944 just in time for the Normandy landings. After experience in the Battle of Normandy, it was decided to employ Fireflys by assigning one (later two) to each four-tank troop instead of concentrating them in Firefly-only troops or squadrons. They were among the few Allied tanks capable of taking on the German Panzer V (Panther) and Panzer VI (Tiger) tanks at normal combat ranges. Though they were no better-armoured than most M4 versions, the 17-pdr anti-tank gun offered far better performance than the standard 75 mm gun which had been chosen for the infantry support role. Even using the regular APC round it could penetrate the front armour of a Tiger I at up to 1,000 metres; with the more advanced APCBC and APDS rounds that became available towards the end of the war, it could penetrate at over 2,000 metres. The principal disadvantages of the Firefly were its low rate of fire (about half that of a 75 mm Sherman), due to the cramped nature of the turret and difficulty in reloading a gun turned on its side, and the very large, bright muzzle flash of the 17-pdr gun. The Germans soon realized the potency of the new Sherman tank, and crews were instructed to eliminate the more effective Fireflys first before dealing with the regular M4 tanks. In an attempt to prevent the Fireflys from being identified, some had the front half of the gun barrel painted white on the bottom and dark green or the original olive drab on the top to give the illusion of a shorter gun barrel; the actual effectiveness of this tactic is questionable. A proposed alternative was to point the gun over the rear of the tank where it could be concealed under camouflage. A shorter wooden dummy gun would be mounted on the rear of the turret and point forward; however, this tactic does not appear to have been used in combat. [1]. However due to tactics employed by the British in the Battle of Normandy, Sherman Firefly tanks had a statistically lower chance of being knocked out then regular M4 Shermans. The Firefly conversion was carried out on Sherman I (M4), Sherman I Hybrid (M4 Composite) and Sherman V (M4A4) tanks. Some sources state that several Sherman IIs (M4A1) were converted and used in action but photos allegedly showing these conversions are in fact views of the front half of Sherman I Hybrid Fireflys. To complicate matters, a very small number of Canadian licence-built Sherman IIs (M4A1) known as Grizzlys were converted to Fireflys in Canada and were used for training, but none saw action. The majority of Shermans converted were the Sherman V/M4A4 model of which the British received about 7,200. Some 2,200 Fireflys were produced. A Firefly is commonly credited as the tank type most likely responsible for the destruction of the Tiger tank commanded by German tank ace Michael Wittman.
References
- ^ Source: J. Buckley, "British Armour in the Normandy Campaign 1944."
See also
External links
