Product Description

The most powerfully gunned tank fielded by the Allies during World War II was the Sherman Firefly. An ordinary American-built Sherman modified by the British, the Firefly had the firepower that could finally match the awesome German tanks that had dominated Europe. David Fletcher examines the controversy that dogged the Firefly and the psychological boost the tank provided to Allied forces. Exploring its successes and failures on the battlefield and providing a realistic assessment of the tank's worth, this is essential reading for anyone wanting to know the facts about a tank variant that quickly developed its own mythology.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #252342 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, .0 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

About the Author
David Fletcher was born in 1942. He has written a number of books and articles on military subjects and is currently the historian at the Tank Museum, Bovington, UK. He has spent over 40 years studying the development of British armoured vehicles during the two World Wars.

Customer Reviews

Short but interesting
This short little book focuses on the technical development of the 17 pounder armed Sherman variant, the Firefly, by the British. There are no first hand combat accounts of Fireflies in action, so if you're hoping for derring-do tales of Fireflies shooting it out with Panthers and Tigers then you're going to be disappointed. If on the other hand if you're interested in the technical aspects of Firefly development, then the book appears to be pretty much as thorough as any book on the Firefly is ever likely to be, and at only 44 pages long doesn't have time to outstay it's welcome. The only niggle is that for all it's discussions of the modifications to the tank - and the 17 pounder - in order get the gun to fit, there are no photos of a Firefly's interior, which means that if like me you have no technical knowledge of how a gun breach works then the page describing it becomes a mental blur of recoil cylinders and chases.

An excellent read if a little concise.
I agree totally with the previous review. The only real fault with this volume are few battlefront opinions of the men that crewed the vehicles. One gem of an opinion that is ventured is that a troop of Shermans should have 3 fireflies to one 75mm sherman. This mirrors the ratio that the Germans had already concluded before the war in their ratio's of MkIII and IV's, ie 3 anti tank afv's for each one that delivers high explosive. A little more technical data would have also been useful. Also too short, otherwise excellent as it is a compelling read.