Sherman Firefly vs Tiger: Normandy 1944 (Duel) (Paperback)

by Stephen Hart (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Written by Stephen A Hart, this 80-page paperback contains textual and visual details of the German Tiger and the British Sherman Firefly, thanks that battled it out in Normandy in 1944. the book compares each machine's strengths and weaknesses and evaluates the tactics, weaponry and training involved." -Sue Brettingen, Model Retailer (March 2008)

"The German Tiger heavy tank dominated the battlefields of Europe and was one of the most feared weapons of World War II. Sherman Firefly vs. Tiger describes its design and deployment, with chapters offering plenty of technical construction information and analyzing strengths, weaknesses and the use of these tanks in war tactics. It's an excellent survey recommended for any library strong in the mechanics of World War II." -The Bookwatch (December 2007)

"...Stephen A Hart, senior lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, tells how the British sought to counter the already proven superior firepower and armor of the German Tiger I heavy tank by installing a high-velocity 17-pound cannon in the American-built M4 Sherman medium tank... After providing technical details, [the] book discusses crew training and tactics, profiles one or two outstanding operators of each tank and then shows how they performed against one another in combat. Enhanced by photos and artwork, including views of the interiors and through the gun sights, the Duel series is sure to spark debate among Buffs." -Jon Guttman, Military History Magazine (January/February 2008)

"Overall it is a fascinating and detailed look at these two combatants and a shift in the constantly changing 'one upmanship' of military hardware. It is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and I can most highly recommend this one to you." -Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness (September 2007)

"This, in my opinion, is an excellent book for anyone who wants to go beyond the nuts and bolts of a vehicle and look at its actual use in combat. It deals with the (frequently ignored) human factor along with the 'grand scale' of strategic planning... Highly recommended." -Jim Rae, Aeroscale (August 2007)

Product Description
The German Tiger heavy tank was a monster of a machine that dominated the battlefields of Europe. One of the most feared weapons of World War II, the Tiger gained an aura of invincibility that was only shattered by the introduction of the Sherman Firefly during the summer of 1944. Specifically designed by the British to combat the Tiger, the Sherman Firefly was based on the standard American M4A4 Sherman medium tank, but was fitted with a powerful 17-pounder gun which made it a deadly opponent for the Tiger.

This book describes the design and development of these two fierce opponents, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses and assessing their tactics, weaponry and training. Innovative gun-sight artwork puts the reader "inside" the tanks during famous real-life battle scenarios, including the infamous Panzer ace Michael Wittman leading four Tigers into battle against eight Fireflies, a clash of steel that was a victory not only for superior Allied numbers, but also for Allied tactics and engineering.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (September 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846031508
• ISBN-13: 978-1846031502
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #133,517 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of the Firefly and Tiger, October 2, 2007

By	moviemusicbuff (Walnut, CA United States) - See all my reviews

When I first saw this book listed in Amazon I bought it right away. I was not disappointed. Though it is brief (77 pages of text), Stephen Hart does a commendable job of tracing the history and development of both the Sherman Firefly and the Tiger 1 tank. He also provides the armor penetration stats for the 17 pounder gun (Firefly) and the 88mmm cannon (Tiger). What I enjoyed reading the most was the combat performance of the Firefly against the Tiger tank in Normandy in 1944. Hart goes into detail how Wittmann's Tiger tank decimated the whole armoured battalion of the British. Hart describes in detail the combat engagements of the Firefly in battles such as the advance to St. Aig-nan (where Wittmann's Tiger met its destruction at the hand of British Fireflies) and the Battle for Le Petit Ravin (where the Firefly engaged Panzer IVs and the Panther). At the end of the book, Hart provides chart analyses of the battles involving the Firefly and Tiger tanks, specifying the tank losses. There is a bibliography that points the reader to more resources for further reading. Interspersed throughout the text are beautiful colored plates of both tanks (done by Jim Laurier and Howard Gerrard).

Hart gives tank buffs some great info that is not featured in other Osprey books. He gives a brief synopsis of tank aces for the Tiger (e.g. Michael Wittmann, Otto Carius) and for the Firefly (e.g. Wilfred Harris).

The contents of this book are as follows:

Introduction
Chronology
Design and Development
Technical Specifications
The Strategic Situation
The Combatants
The Action
Analysis of the battle
The Aftermath
Bibliography
Index

This book is a welcome addition to any tank buff's and military historian's library, since there are so few books written on the Sherman Firefly in such detail. I highly recommend it.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Focuses on Death of Michael Wittmann , May 19, 2008

By	R. A Forczyk (Laurel, MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Sherman Firefly vs Tiger: Normandy 1944, by Dr. Stephen A. Hart, is the second volume in Osprey's new Duel series. This volume seeks to compare and assess the relative merits of the German Tiger I tank against the British Sherman `Firefly' tank in the context of the Normandy campaign in 1944. However, rather than looking at the tank vs tank battles in Normandy as a whole, Dr. Hart focuses most of the volume on a single famous action on 8 August 1944, that resulted in the death of the famous German Tiger `ace,' Michael Wittmann. This methodology has its advantages, in that it offers a more intimate account of a particular engagement and allows for a blow-by-blow explanation, but it also suffers from trying to extrapolate too many technical and tactical lessons from a brief battlefield `snapshot.' Overall, Sherman Firefly vs Tiger: Normandy 1944 is well-written and engaging, although the argument that it advances that this particular action demonstrated the Firefly's `moment of triumph' is a bit of an over-stretch.

The opening sections of the volume on design and development and technical specifications are decent, but tend to summarize information on these two tanks that are already readily available. On the plus side, these sections provide a good introduction and would be useful for readers who want to know a bit more about these famous weapons, but without drowning in technical detail. Graphically, the volume provides color profiles of each tank, with ammunition. The author provides three sidebars on individual tankers: Michael Wittmann, Otto Carius and Sergeant Wilfred Harris.

The next section, Strategic Situation, lays out an overview of the Normandy campaign up to early August 1944 and then discusses Operation Totalize and the British efforts to trap the German army around Falaise. Beginning in this section, readers will note just a twinge of British chauvinism emerging to color this account, which seeks to downplay not just American but other Commonwealth and Allied participants. The only really sloppy section in this volume is that on Combatants, which has several errors and misconceptions. The author writes that in Germany, "each military district [Wehrkreis] had at least one tank training school and panzer training units." Actually, most of the individual panzer training in Germany was centralized at just two schools, with several others such as Putlos for advanced gunnery training (which the author mis-labels as a `maneuver area.'). Each Wehrkreis that was home to a panzer division had a panzer replacement battalion that did some unit training, but very few of the Tiger units belonged to a division - they were corps assets. Indeed, throughout the volume, the author does not seem to appreciate the distinction - the Firefly was organic to British tank divisions but the Tiger was not organic to any German panzer divisions in Normandy except some of the SS ones (not Hitler Jugend). Finally, it is also clear that the author is a bit hazy on the life of a tanker, since he writes that cleaning gun barrels "had to be carried out on a daily basis" and infers that this was quite arduous. Actually, punching the gun tube is normally only required after firing the main gun, only you are in some very wet, muddy climate like Burma. Track maintenance is far more of a grind, requiring constant attention and many bruised fingers.

The main action, the duel between a British tank squadron and Wittmann's four Tigers on 8 August 1944, is the centerpiece of the volume. In a nutshell, Wittmann's Tigers launched a counterattack across open farmland and were ambushed by British tanks in an orchard that hit them with flank shots from about 800 meters. Three of Wittman's Tigers were destroyed and the author writes, "in the space of just 12 minutes, Gordon's Firefly had dispatched three Tigers with just five rounds." This section is accompanied by a color battlescene depicting the destruction of Wittmann's Tiger, as well as a sequence of gunner's views of the same event. Most readers (except perhaps Wittmann's next-of-kin) will enjoy this section greatly. However, the author notes that "the Firefly emerged Triumphant" in this last great clash of Tiger versus Firefly, which is a bit over the top. This action was an ambush, pure and simple, and if the roles had been reversed (as they often were in Normandy), Wittmann's Tigers would have brewed up a bunch of Fireflys in the open. Earlier, the author notes that one British unit lost 21 out of 34 of its Fireflys in one day in July 1944, so it is unclear how the situation was really changed by Wittmann's death. In short, the Tiger still had superior protection, while the Firefly still had better maneuverability and numerical superiority, and each had guns powerful enough to destroy the other. The author never addresses mechanical reliability, but the Firefly also had an edge in that category, which further amplified its numerical superiority.

The author provides several charts at the end of the volume, but these only provide numbers for the fighting on 7-8 August. The key question, such as how many Fireflys were destroyed by Tigers in Normandy and vice versa is never addressed. Based on known information, it is likely that the Tigers enjoyed a healthy `kill-ratio' in their favor, at least on the order of 3-1 or better, although they were outnumbered by at least that. The author also makes little effort to discuss opposing tank tactics and avoids gruesome moments for the British like Operation Goodwood, but the evidence indicates that the British generally didn't handle their tanks too well in Normandy. Even the famed 7th Armored Division was sub-par for much of Normandy and was badly shot-up by Wittmann at Villers-Bocage. In short, this duel was decided by attrition, not technical or tactical factors.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars new look at two antagonists..., November 4, 2007

By	Gary E. Binder "Gary from Nebraska" (Waverly, NE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The faults of the American Sherman tank are well documented and often loudly proclaimed by the History Channel. Now here is a balanced look at the British use of a modified Sherman tank with a better gun and how one such tank ended the life of one of the most famous German "tank aces" of WW2. SS soldier Michael Wittmann was hailed by the German press as an example of Nazi superiority. He was a natural leader and excellent tank commander. In his last battle he was thrown into a desperate action and came up against a modified Sherman tank, called a "Firelfy", whose gunner had only fired six live shots before. In the course of the battle the British crew not only destroyed Wittmann's tank, but two other Tiger tanks.

The book starts with technical development information on the Tiger tank, and the US Sherman, with a look at the British efforts to provide better firepower for the M4. Each tank crew is reviewed, then the balance of the volume looks in detail at Michael Wittmann's last battle.

The book is softbound, in the same format as other Osprey volumes. A number of photographs, maps and detailed illustrations support ther text. An easy read, a good value for the money.