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The Sherman Firefly was a medium tank used by the United Kingdom and some armoured formations of other Allies in the Second World War.It was based on the US M4 Sherman but was fitted with the more powerful British 76.2 mm (3.00 in) calibre 17-pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon.
On orders from the troop commander, they held their fire until the German tanks were well within range. Ekins, the gunner of Sergeant Gordon's Sherman Firefly (called Velikiye Luki, as A Squadron's tanks were named after towns in the Soviet Union), had yet to fire his gun in action. [6] With the Tiger tanks in range, the order was given to fire.
An isolated Tiger II (King Tiger) attempting to manoeuvre out of danger, was caught by an Irish Guards Sherman tank that had also become detached from its unit. The Sherman crew fired into the Tiger and then rammed it; anti-tank fire from other British units then penetrated the Tiger's armour.
A 76 mm-armed Sherman could penetrate the upper frontal hull superstructure of a Tiger I tank from normal combat ranges. Although the new gun lessened the gap between the two tanks, the Tiger I was still capable of knocking an M4 out frontally from over 2,000 m (2,200 yd). [78]
With the tank's very wide tracks, a design feature borrowed from the Soviet T-34, the Tiger had a lower ground pressure than many smaller tanks, such as the M4 Sherman. The first production series Tiger Fgst Nr 250001 with Motor Nr 46052 was only run-in for 25 km (16 mi) by Henschel before being sent to Kummersdorf for testing.
M4 Sherman Crocodile – M4 tank modified with the flamethrower and fuel trailer from a Churchill Crocodile. Four built and issued to 739th Tank Battalion, which was attached to the 29th Division for Operation Grenade in February 1945, where they cleared the Old Citadel in the town of Jülich .
By now, the Tiger Tank was traversing its gun towards Gorman's Sherman so he ordered his driver L/Cpl James Brown to ram the German Tank. The collision disabled the Tiger and caused its crew to bail out. After seeing his own crew to safety, Lt Gorman commandeered a Firefly, Ballymena, whose commander had been killed and continued to fire at the ...
To account for this difference, tank squadrons were teamed with Challenger and Sherman Firefly tanks armed with the 17-pounder. When the Cromwell's replacement, the Comet , was at the design stage, the 75 mm HV concept was reworked to fire the same projectiles as the 17-pounder through a shortened 17-pounder barrel but retaining the 3-inch ...