Category: War
The Tiger’s reputation was loud, but the Sherman’s reliability, speed, and rate of fire won real fights. Here’s how the myth met reality on WW2 battlefields.
World War 2 Scale: The Cost, the Machines, the Stakes
World War 2 was the most expansive conflict in the history of the planet. Seventy million soldiers served. Some seventeen million of those died. One fourth of the men who wore the uniform between 1939 and 1940 perished. WW2 left a scar on humanity that may never fully heal.
WW2 drove technology in ways not seen before or since. The science of radio, radar, armored vehicles, submarines, aviation, and computers got a boost from that existential fight for survival that might never have occurred otherwise. We are ourselves beneficiaries of all that today.
Evolution in Action: How WW2 Tank Design Turned Chaos Into Innovation
As each combatant nation mobilized its economy behind the war effort, military evolution followed some unexpected paths. Speaking in sweeping generalities, the Germans opted for quality over quantity, the Japanese essentially fought with the designs they originally brought to the table, and the British and the Russians just tried desperately not to die. Meanwhile, the United States churned out top-quality war materiel at an historically unprecedented rate.
We started the war with seven aircraft carriers. Production of capital ships essentially ceased by D-Day. By war’s end, we had fielded 111 flattops of various sizes. At the height of production, we were launching a new F6F Hellcat fighter every hour, around the clock. Once we got fully tooled up, we were also producing some 65,000 M1 carbines every day. Our enemies never really stood a chance. A quote once spuriously attributed to Josef Stalin opined, “Quantity has a quality all its own.”
Tank Tech: Why America Built Shermans By the Tens of Thousands
In few places did this axiom play out more starkly than in the field of armored vehicles. The Germans essentially hand-built their tanks, upgrading to entirely new models as soon as the technology advanced. By contrast, the United States tooled up to produce the M4 Sherman medium tank and then built them like there was no tomorrow.
During the course of the war, Germany fielded a total of 49,777 tanks of all types. That’s 1893 Panzer I’s, 3404 Panzer II’s, 6627 Panzer 38(t )’s, 15747 Panzer III’s, 13522 Panzer IV’s, 6557 Panzer V’s, 1368 Tiger I’s, and 569 Tiger II’s. Meanwhile, the Russians built 57,300 T-34s. We produced some 50,000 Shermans alongside countless lighter and heavier models. The British also built 27,528 tanks and self-propelled guns. The Germans were lyrically outnumbered.
Reputation Is a Weapon: Tiger Fear vs Sherman Reality
Along the way, the big German cats, specifically the Panther and Tiger, developed an outsized reputation on the battlefield. Part of this was real, and part of it was just clever marketing. Regardless, the tank-killing power of the high-velocity, long-barreled 75mm and 88mm guns used on the Mk V and Mk VI tanks was rightly feared.
This reputation pervaded the thinking of the era. It was widely presumed that the Sherman was hopelessly inferior to its German counterparts. This mindset persists to this day. In the simply amazing David Ayer movie Fury, the epic lopsided engagement between four Shermans and a single Tiger anchors the plot. However, reality was not quite so straightforward.
Details: Misidentification, Mk IV Look-Alikes, and Tank Destroyers
Allied troops of the period reported most any German tank they encountered as a Tiger. This is understandable. The Mk IV was the second most-produced German tank of the war. The later Mk IV variants equipped with a long-barreled 75mm gun looked very similar to the Tiger I, if markedly smaller. Factor in smoke, distance, and the chaos of combat, and misidentification is entirely understandable.
Tank-on-tank combat on the Western Front was actually somewhat unusual. The American M18 Hellcat tank destroyer was a lightly armored, open-topped vehicle sporting a 76mm high-velocity gun. The M18 was extremely fast (the top speed was listed as 55 mph) and was designed as a dedicated, highly mobile antitank weapon. By contrast, American Shermans were doctrinally deployed as infantry support vehicles.
Sherman Specifics: 75mm HE, 76mm Punch, and the Firefly’s Big Stick
The Allies fielded Shermans in three broad variants. There were scads of sub-types, but these were the major models as defined by their main gun armament. The basic M4 sported a relatively low-velocity, short-barreled 75mm gun that fired an exceptionally effective high-explosive round. The M4A2E8 depicted in Fury wielded a higher-velocity 76mm gun that was more effective against armored targets, though somewhat less so against infantry and fixed fortifications. These larger guns could be found both with and without muzzle brakes.
The Firefly was a standard Sherman chassis upgunned with a British 17-pounder anti-tank cannon. This quick-firing 76.2mm gun featured an extended barrel that produced a correspondingly higher muzzle velocity. The Firefly’s main gun was proof against most anything the Germans fielded. However, the bulky nature of the weapon made operations in uneven terrain or congested spaces difficult. British Fireflies were typically farmed out piecemeal in support of more conventional armored units.
What is often lost in the timeless argument pitting German against American armor are the salient benefits of the Sherman’s superlative drivetrain and fire control systems. Not only was the Sherman markedly more reliable than the Panthers and Tigers it faced, but the M4 also included a gyro-stabilized gun that made it much more accurate when firing on the move. Those stubby 75mm cannons also offered an amazing rate of fire.
War Story: Sherwood Rangers vs SS Tigers in Normandy
The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY) was a British armored unit that fought in North Africa and then all the way across Europe from D-Day until the armistice. A part of the British Territorial Army, they were formed regionally much like our own Army National Guard. The SRY’s bloody slog across Europe was catalogued in the superb book Brothers in Arms. Brothers in Arms offers gritty, up-close descriptions of armored combat throughout WW2. A compelling read, it is available on Amazon.
The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry fought their way across Europe using American Sherman and Stuart tanks sprinkled with a few Fireflies. One particular engagement took place toward the end of June 1944 in the congested countryside of Normandy. The Allies were desperate to expand their invasion beachhead, while the Germans pushed every available unit into action, trying to stop them. This desperate battle ultimately pitted the Shermans of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry against the Tigers supporting the 12th Waffen SS Division Hitlerjugend. This was the same unit that included the famed German tank ace Michael Wittman.
The Fight in Normandy: Point-Blank, Fast, and Decisive
Combat at this time and place was all chaos and confusion, with friendly and enemy units intermixed amidst the fog of war. This engagement began when a British tank commander named David Render spotted the head of a fellow tanker moving at speed above a nearby hedgerow. Assuming it to belong to one of his mates, his first inkling that something was amiss was when he recognized the distinctive black cap of the German panzer corps. This particular German tanker was commanding a Panzerkampfwagen Mk VI Tiger I, 56 tons worth of mechanized pain now charging forward at a terrifyingly close range.
A nearby short-barreled Sherman commanded by John Semken was first to get an angle. At a slant range of 120 yards, Semken ordered his gunner, Henry Simons, to fire the 75mm armor-piercing round they kept up the spout for emergencies. This hardened solid shot moved at around 2,000 feet per second and produced a prominent trace visible even in bright daylight.
That first shot connected, but smoke from the muzzle blast and the tracer element occluded the space between the two vehicles. Amazingly, Semken’s crew then cycled off another nine rounds in the next thirty seconds. Simons tweaked the lay of his gun throughout to keep his shot on target as best he could, given the diminished visibility. Meanwhile, the rest of the British tanks also got tooled up. However, by then, the hapless Tiger was done.
This big cat was from 2. Kompanie, SS-Panzerabteilung 101–Wittman’s outfit. The Tiger I sports some prodigious 100mm frontal armor. However, it was hot this day, so the driver had his hatch locked open. Simons’ first round struck the Tiger’s thick gun mantlet and showered the German driver with white hot steel splinters from above. The next nine rounds in such rapid succession did not brew up the German beast, but they convinced the crew to call it a day. The SRY captured the Tiger and its crew more or less intact.
One-on-one, the Tiger and Panther were objectively more formidable tanks than the Allied Shermans they faced. However, they were notorious for breaking down, particularly later in the war.
They were also badly outnumbered and chronically short of fuel. Additionally, the capacity to fire an astronomical number of rounds on the move and in a short period of time obviously worked in the Sherman’s favor.
While the Sherman’s high profile was much maligned, it was actually shorter than the Tiger and Panther and only two inches taller than the Mk IV that made up the backbone of the German panzer corps. In short, the Sherman was a fine tank that held its own against all comers when played to its many manifest strengths.
Ruminations: Driving a Real Sherman and Debunking the Legend
I’ve been described by friends as the luckiest man alive. That’s not necessarily hyperbole. I have had the privilege of flying a restored British Spitfire and have also driven a magnificent WW2-vintage Sherman tank. I even got to fire the main gun. Getting up close and personal with that 67,000-pound beast was a once-in-a-lifetime privilege. Your reading this stuff is what makes all that possible. Legit and from my heart, thanks.
We Americans have always made exceptional war machines. Even 75 years after it was produced, the running gear on that Sherman was remarkably smooth, and the drive train remained unnaturally reliable.
In the hands of citizen soldiers drawn from free nations around the world, our mass-produced Shermans were instrumental in helping win World War 2. Even when pitted one-on-one against the vaunted German Tiger I, when deftly wielded, the Sherman could still be a formidable adversary.
Sherman vs Tiger Quick Facts
| Tank | M4 Sherman, Tiger I, Panzer IV |
|---|---|
| Main Guns | 75mm short, 76mm high velocity, 17-pounder |
| Weight | Sherman 67,000 pounds, Tiger I 56 tons |
| Armor Note | Tiger I frontal armor 100mm |
| Output | About 50,000 Shermans; Germany fielded 49,777 tanks total |
| Doctrine | Sherman for infantry support; M18/M10 for antitank |
Pros & Cons: Fearsome Cats vs Workhorse Shermans
- Pros: Sherman reliability and rate of fire; stabilized gun for accurate fire on the move; Firefly 17-pounder punch; massive Allied production.
- Cons: Early 75mm suboptimal vs heavy German armor; Tiger and Panther carried powerful long guns; urban or tight terrain challenged long barrels like Firefly’s.
Categories
Every German Artillery Used in WW2
Two young Marine F4U Corsair pilots entered a savage Pacific dogfight and somehow survived the impossible. One met a Japanese Zero’s propeller. The other fell 2,000 feet without a working parachute.
Table of contents
- The Pacific Dogfight That Set the Trap
- Why the Japanese Zero Ruled Early Pacific Skies
- A Long Way Down: Samuel Logan Bails Out
- Cold-Blooded Code: A Zero Circles Back
- Fish in a Barrel: A Zero Hunts Logan Under Canopy
- A Fine Mess: Wounded in the Pacific
- One Wild Ride: J.G. Percy Falls 2,000 Feet
- Why a 2,000-Foot Fall Turns Water Into Concrete
- Brace for Impact: Percy Hits the Pacific
- Two Marine Pilots Who Simply Refused to Die
- Related Reads from GunsAmerica Digest
The Pacific Dogfight That Set the Trap
The summer of 1943 was a busy time in the azure blue skies above the Pacific. Allied pilots battled their Japanese counterparts to the death over control of tiny spits of sandy jungle jutting up out of the ocean. If war had ever truly been chivalrous and gentlemanly, any pretense of that was gone some 18 months after the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor.
7 June 1943 saw brutal aerial combat over the Russell Islands in the Solomons. Marine F4U Corsairs and Army Air Corps P40 Warhawks mixed it up with Japanese Zeroes until the sky was dirty with smoke and death. One particular engagement produced two comparably extraordinary tales.
Why the Japanese Zero Ruled Early Pacific Skies
At the onset of the war in the Pacific, the Japanese Zero and the men who flew it seemed unstoppable. Japanese naval aviators in particular were some of the most well-trained pilots in the world. However, their bench was shallow. While the United States tooled up to produce combat aircraft and pilots at a rate not seen before or since, Japanese aviators killed in combat could not readily be replaced. This attrition was beginning to be felt over the battlefield by mid-1943.
The Zero was considered invincible because of an intentional mechanical compromise. Where American fighters were fat with armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, and .50-caliber heavy machine guns, the A6M5 Zero was a stripped-down, lightweight thoroughbred. The Zero’s lack of armor and amenities made it nimble and fast but vulnerable.
The Zero’s radios were rubbish. Unreliable, heavy, and quirky, Japanese radios of the day often pummeled Zero pilots with mind-numbing static. As a result, a great many Japanese pilots pulled the heavy radio gear out of their machines to improve their performance. This left tactical control up to such primitive stuff as hand signals and wing waggling. American tech would soon play a huge part in our coming overwhelming tactical superiority.
As a result, Japanese combat aircraft often flew in huge mixed formations. On 7 June, some 50 Japanese Zero fighters and single-engine bombers were droning along above the Russell Islands. Army P40’s bounced this huge gaggle of Japanese warplanes. The resulting frenetic dogfight devolved into a swirling maelstrom of aerial violence.
A Long Way Down: Samuel Logan Bails Out
22-year-old Marine aviator LT Samuel S. Logan was flying an F4U Corsair when he came upon a solitary Zero hot on the tail of an Army Warhawk. Logan unleashed his half-dozen .50-caliber machine guns on the Japanese plane only to have another Zero get the jump on him.
He felt his heavy gull-winged machine shudder and realized that the control surfaces in his tail were shredded. With the big Marine fighter now beginning to come apart, Logan slid his canopy back, unfastened it, and crawled out of the cockpit.
One of the biggest threats to a successful egress from a crippled WW2-era fighter was being struck by one’s own plane during the jump. As a result, Sam Logan worked his way hand-over-hand down the length of his stricken machine and leapt clear from the damaged empennage. In moments, he was falling free. Once away from his airplane, Logan pulled the ripcord and found himself suspended underneath his parachute.
Cold-Blooded Code: A Zero Circles Back
The Zero pilot who had shot him down was not satisfied simply to have destroyed Logan’s airplane. He torqued his nimble little fighter around in a tight circle and lined up for a firing pass on the helpless Marine aviator. LT Logan knew what was coming.
Killing pilots while under canopy was illegal per the laws of war, but there wasn’t anybody around to enforce those laws. American pilots machine-gunned their helpless opponents on rare occasions, usually in response to barbarity such as this, but the Japanese did it quite a lot. This practice stemmed from the weird Bushido code that drove the Japanese war machine.
Japanese troops were indoctrinated to sacrifice everything for their Emperor. Surrender was a disgrace worse than death. As a result, enemy troops who had willingly saved themselves under such circumstances were not considered worthy of basic human protections.
Fish in a Barrel: A Zero Hunts Logan Under Canopy
It is actually tougher to engage an essentially stationary aerial target from a fast-moving fighter plane than you might think. The Japanese pilot lined up on LT Logan and fired a long burst but missed. Logan lifted his legs as the enemy plane passed mere feet below him. The Zero then circled around for another try.
The second effort ended about the same as the first. Logan again had to lift his feet in an effort to avoid the attacking fighter. Miraculously, the Japanese pilot failed to connect a second time.
By the third pass, Logan was pulling madly at his risers in an effort to make himself a tougher target. Now focused entirely on killing the American flyer, the Japanese pilot loosed another burst at close range.
Misjudging the distance, the Zero pilot actually struck the dangling Marine with his propeller. The Zero removed most of Logan’s right foot as well as his left heel. As the Japanese fighter wheeled around for a fourth pass, a nearby American P40 noticed the carnage, engaged the enemy plane, and drove it away.
A Fine Mess: Wounded in the Pacific
LT Logan was now in a bit of a spot. The murderous Japanese pilot was no longer actively trying to kill him, which was great. However, he had just had his legs run through an airplane propeller. It was in this sordid state that he touched down in the warm waters of the Pacific.
Logan somehow got his life raft inflated and pulled himself out of the water. Clawing through his survival gear, he managed to get a tourniquet around his mangled right foot and liberally covered the wound in sulfa powder. He then injected himself with a morphine syrette to dull the pain.
Despite his injuries, Logan retrieved his signal mirror and successfully attracted the attention of an American floatplane. The friendly aircraft landed nearby and successfully effected a rescue. Logan was medevac’d to a Naval hospital where his right stump was dressed.
One Wild Ride: J.G. Percy Falls 2,000 Feet
During this same engagement, one of Sam Logan’s fellow Corsair pilots, a Marine aviator named J.G. Percy from San Francisco, downed one Zero and damaged another. In the melee, Percy’s Corsair was also riddled with bullets and cannon shells. At 2,000 feet, the 21-year-old Marine aviator dove out of his dying plane.
The parachutes used by military aviators of that era were last-ditch survival tools. They were designed to be lightweight and portable. There were no reserves. When LT Percy yanked his ripcord, the white nylon chute malfunctioned into a worthless ribbon. He had no other options except simply to fall.
From nearly half a mile up, Percy accelerated to a ridiculous speed. Once he neared the water, he oriented himself feet-first and twisted his head skyward. In this configuration, he hit the water like a rocket.
Why a 2,000-Foot Fall Turns Water Into Concrete
Liquids are incompressible. Gases are not. What that means is that you can compress a volume of air or similar gas into a tank to be used at your convenience. By contrast, no matter how much pressure you put on a liquid like water, that volume will not get appreciably smaller.
What that practically means in this case is that the Pacific Ocean had no give to it. Jumping into the water from a diving board allows the human body to slip into the water such that this potential energy is dissipated gradually and safely. At LT Percy’s speed, however, the water acted almost like concrete.
The fastest a human body can typical strike water without injury is between 35 and 40 mph. That equates out to a jump height of around 40 to 50 feet. Terminal velocity for a human being dropped from 2,000 feet is closer to 120 mph when falling belly-first. Percy was more like a pencil. Something had to give.
Brace for Impact: Percy Hits the Pacific
Percy later said that he “Landed in the water feet-first and felt something break.” That something was his pelvis, but he was, against all odds, still alive. The young Marine got his Mae West life jacket inflated, and that kept his head above water.
Despite his grievous injuries, LT Percy swam for three hours until he reached a jagged reef. Pulling himself over the coral, he made his way with difficulty to the nearby beach. Percy remained on the beach throughout the night, unable to stand or walk. The following day, he attracted the attention of four passing natives who summoned aid and got him to safety. Once stabilized in an American military hospital, Percy recovered.
Two Marine Pilots Who Simply Refused to Die
World War 2 was the most expansive conflict in human history. Between 70 and 85 million people lost their lives. 16 million Americans served. One in every 39 perished. Those are the raw numbers. However, the real drama of WW2 was not found in these cold statistics. It was embedded within the individual stories.
Sam Logan and JG Percy were two young Americans who answered the call to go and fight in defense of democracy. When faced with the prospect of violent, gory death, these two brass-balled jarheads simply said not today.
One man ran through an airplane propeller, while the other fell from a burning fighter plane without a parachute. Both Marines survived the war and miraculously lived to build lives and families back home. Our great nation is built upon such amazing stuff as this.