Re: Sherman tank info available [TANKS]

[Steve Edwards <sedwards-at-awger.net>]

jon s kowitz wrote:

> It's probably some variant of the Sherman 76 which was equipped with the 
> 76mm M1A1 gun instead of the 75mm M3 gun.
> 
>>
>>     Keep forgetting to post that I have easy access once a month to a
>> Sherman tank near where my parents live.
>>   I think that it is the Canadian Sherman Firefly as I am here in
>> Ontario,Canada and the main gun is much longer than ones I have seen in
>> pictures.


"Dissatisfied with the weapon, but not under the thumb of the American 
War Department, the British modified a number of their Shermans to a new 
standard. They replaced the 75 mm with their own high-velocity 
17-pounder anti-tank gun, a 76 mm weapon but with a much longer barrel 
and therefore muzzle velocity, and firing a far larger round. To 
accomplish this, they had to cut out the rear wall of the Sherman’s 
turret and add an armored box, add a new hatch for the loader and mount 
the cannon sideways. To carry a reasonable number of the big 17-pounder 
rounds, they also removed the bow machine gun and gunner."

Pictures at http://freespace.virgin.net/shermanic.firefly/mh3.html

More Firefly info than you can shake a stick at at 
http://freespace.virgin.net/shermanic.firefly/home.htm#links

        - Steve "Google + OC3 = Fast Searches" Edwards