Panzers 1936-1945 (Hitler's War Machine) by Bob Carruthers

Author:Bob Carruthers [Carruthers, Bob]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Coda Books Ltd.
Published: 2013-02-12T22:00:00+00:00

British officers inspect a German Pzkw-IV knocked out in France in June 1944 by the Durham Light Infantry.

The Allies had also been developing lethality improvement programs of their own; the widely-used American-designed M4 Sherman medium tank, while mechanically reliable, suffered from thin armor and an inadequate gun. Against earlier-model Panzer IVs, it could hold its own, but with its 75 mm M3 gun, struggled against the late-model Panzer IV (and was unable to penetrate the frontal armor of Panther and Tiger tanks at virtually any range). The late-model Panzer IV’s 80 mm (3.15 in) frontal hull armor could easily withstand hits from the 75 mm (2.95 in) weapon on the Sherman at normal combat ranges, though the turret remained vulnerable.

The British up-gunned the Sherman with their highly effective QF 17 pounder anti-tank gun, resulting in the Firefly; although this was the only Allied tank capable of dealing with all current German tanks at normal combat ranges, few (about 300) were available in time for the Normandy invasion. The other British tank with the 17 pdr gun could not participate in the landings and had to wait for port facilities. It was not until July 1944 that American Shermans, fitted with the 76-mm (3-inch) M1 tank gun, began to achieve a parity in firepower with the Panzer IV.

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