1/35 Sherman....?

[Lucky13]

Just been looking at some Shermans.... When did these first see combat and where?

[timshatz]

There are three different tanks there.

M4A3E8 I think it was late 44, early 45. They were called "Easy 8s" because of their mechanical maturity (the design had been around so long that it had been pretty refined to the goal of being as easy to operate- in maintainence terms- as an automobile of the period). Pretty good tank. Saw action in Korea as well as WW2

Firefly was a British Forces tank. I believe the first useage was in Normandy but it may've been earlier in Italy. But definitely 1944.

M4A2, no clue. I do know the Russians liked them because they were much better appointed than the T34. In terms of technical effectiveness v Wermacht tanks, I do not know. But there is a website covering some oral histories and the M4 is covered in there.

Others on this board will fill in the gaps I missed.

[Lucky13]

Cheers mate! I kinda like those Shermans better with the bigger guns...
Would like to try my hands on a small diorama at some point, tank and one for an aircraft...

[timshatz]

I think the guys riding them felt the same way! At least about the guns. Bigger is generally better.

I think there were two 76MM Shermans. One had a muzzle break and the other didn't. The one that didn't was an earlier vintage of the Sherman and most of them went to Italy (although some did end up in NW Europe).

But the Easy 8 was the Sherman most of the tankers liked best. Even with a bigger gun, it still lacked the tank killing punch it needed but the reliability was phenominal. There were stories of tankers riding the thing for a month and doing nothing but routine/minor maintainence. Matter of fact, when the Korean war broke out, everyone wanted the M26 (so they could deal with the T34/85). But after the NK tank threat was neutralized, everyone wanted the Easy 8 so they didn't have to deal with the M26 anymore! It's not that the M26 (also known as the Pershing) was a bad tank, it was a good one. But it was like other tanks and needed a lot of work. Not so the Easy 8.

Almost a militarized version of the Honda!

[Bernhart]

don't think the firefly's ever made it to italy, remeber reading about Canadian tankers in normandy some prefered the 75 mm to the firefly, was quicker to load, could get off more rounds faster. Others of course lekde the heavier firepower

[timshatz]

Benhart, I think I've read the same thing. The Firefly had to be installed sideways in the turret of the Sherman. Probably made life a little cramped. Also, the 75MM had better HE performance and fired a wider range of shells. For instance, the 75MM WP (White Phosporus) was very useful if you had a fortified house. One through the window and something was bound to burn.