Product Description

Among the first tanks ashore on D-Day, the story of the Sherman Crab Flail is told here using rare sources and photographs. The 'Crab' proved its worth both in its mine-clearing role and as a fighting machine, this title recounts some of its more glorious moments with the famous British 79th Armoured Division and the US Army. From the beginnings of the design in the Matilda Scorpion and Baron flails, developed for the Valentine and M3 Grant tanks, through to the Sherman and particularly the Crab version; this is a detailed exploration of the history of this powerful and innovative machine and the deadly mines it faced.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #307738 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, .0 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

Customer Reviews

Misleading title with limited content
Even allowing for this being an Osprey publication this is wery thin on content. I am used to better from David Fletcher and I cannot understand how little he must have used in the way of available material. The bibliography for this topic was surprisingly brief.

The title is "Sherman Crab Flail Tank" but over half the book is about it's predecessors and post war trials. The organisation table at the end of the book does not reflect the wartime structure of the three flail regiments - 22nd Dragoons, 1st Lothian & Border Yeomanry, Westminster Dragoons. Pre D Day there were 4 troops of flails and 1 of rollers in each Squadron, post D Day the roller troops were disbanded. About 8 weeks after that the Squadrons were reduced to 3 Troops of 5 flails with 3 command tanks which remained the case for the rest of the war.

The illustration of the 22D flail reputedly set for D Day is very inaccurate. No .50 Browning on the commander cupola (later disposed of or swapped for .30 Browning), none of the lane marking equipment, and even the badge commonly worn by the other ranks is wrong. The most common variant was voided and other ranks had a baize green diamond behind it.

The D Day information about Sword beach is also wrong. A Sqn 22D landed reinforced by 2 troops C Sqn and approx 3 hrs later reinforced by A Sqn WD. By the end of D Day out of 26 22D flails fewer than 5 were still operational.

If you're new to flails and want to know a bit about them I do recommend this booklet. It is informative and worth the price.