M4 Sherman - USA: Bücher - Geschichte, Typen und Technik (5/6)

Some tank crews referred to the American M4 Sherman tank as a "death trap." Others, like Gen. George Patton, believed that the Sherman helped win World War II. So which was it: death trap or war winner? Armor expert Steven Zaloga answers that question by recounting the Sherman's combat history.

Focusing on Northwest Europe (but also including a chapter on the Pacific), Zaloga follows the Sherman into action on D-Day, among the Normandy hedgerows, during Patton?s race across France, in the great tank battle at Arracourt in September 1944, at the Battle of the Bulge, across the Rhine, and in the Ruhr pocket in 1945.

Hundreds of photos, including many never published before with riveting accounts of armored warfare in World War II. Compares the Sherman to other tanks, including the Panther and Tiger.

The M4 Medium Tank - the Sherman - was one of the most famous tanks of the Second World War. It was produced in greater numbers than any other Allied tank, it fought on every front - in Western Europe, on the Eastern Front, in North Africa, Burma, the Pacific - and it continued to serve effectively as a front-line fighting vehicle in the Korean War, the Arab-Israeli wars, the Indo-Pakistani wars.

Pat Ware's history of this remarkable tank covers in detail its design and development, its technical specifications and the many variants that were produced, and he reviews its operational role in conflicts across the world.

While the Sherman outclassed the older German tanks it encountered when it was first put into combat in 1942, it was vulnerable to the later German medium and heavy tanks, the Panther and the Tiger I and Tiger II. Yet, as Pat Ware shows, the Sherman was more effective than these superior German tanks because it was cheaper to build, reliable, easy to maintain and produced in such large numbers.
It was also adaptable - it was converted into a tank-destroyer, an amphibious tank, a recovery vehicle, a mine-flail, a personnel carrier - and, after the Second World War, the soundness of its original design was proved as it was developed to confront more modern tanks in combat.

Pat Ware's expert account of this remarkable fighting vehicle is accompanied by a series of colour plates showing the main variants of the design and the common ancillary equipment and unit markings. His book is an essential work of reference for enthusiasts.

A brilliant and prolific collection of rare photographs celebrating the war-winning qualities of arguably the the most important tank of the Second World War. Many of the marvellous images have never been seen before but thanks to the author, who has special access to the IWM archive they are now available with full authoritative captions.

The German Tiger heavy tank was a monster of a machine that dominated the battlefields of Europe. One of the most feared weapons of World War II, the Tiger gained an aura of invincibility that was only shattered by the introduction of the Sherman Firefly during the summer of 1944. Designed by the British to combat the Tiger, the Sherman Firefly was based on the American M4A4 Sherman, but was fitted with a powerful 17-pounder gun which made it a deadly opponent.

This book describes the design and development of these two opponents, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, assessing their tactics, weaponry and training. Gunsight artwork puts the reader 'inside' the tanks during famous battle scenarios, in a victory of superior Allied numbers, tactics and engineering.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Strategic Situation - Technical specifications - The combatants - Combat - Statistics and analysis - Aftermath - Bibliography.

As the Allies attempted to break out of Normandy, it quickly became apparent that there would be no easy victory over the Germans, and that every scrap of territory on the way to Berlin would have to be earned through hard fighting.

This study concentrates on the ferocious battles between the German Panzer IV and US Sherman that were at the heart of this decisive phase of World War II. The two types were among the most-produced tanks in US and German service and were old enemies, having clashed repeatedly in the Mediterranean theater.
Throughout their long service careers, both had seen a succession of technical developments and modifications, as well as an evolution in their intended roles - but both remained at the forefront of the fighting on the Western Front.

Written by an expert on tank warfare, this book invites the reader into the cramped confines of these armoured workhorses, employing vivid technical illustrations alongside archive and contemporary photography to depict the conditions for the crewmen within.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and Development - Technical Specifications - The Combatants - The Strategic Situation - Combat - Statistics and Analysis - Conclusion - Further Reading - Index.

In this book Steven J Zaloga offers a fascinating comparison between the two most important tanks involved in the crucial fighting of 1944, the American Sherman and the German Panther. Placing the reader in the heart of this battle between quality and quantity Zaloga uses a compelling account of the ferocious fighting during the Battle of the Bulge to explain the successes and failures of each tank, highlighting the fact that a tank can only be as good as its crew, weighing up the impact of low morale, high cost and mediocre crew training on the Panther's superiority.
With full-colour battlescenes, technical drawings, photographs, digital gunsight views, extracts from crew training manuals and real combat reports, this book brings the titanic battles between the Panther and Sherman to life.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and development - Technical specifications - The strategic situation - The Combatants - Combat - Statistics and analysis - Aftermath conclusion.