Outstanding Review of Tiger (I) and Firefly tanks

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	• Sherman Firefly vs Tiger: Normandy 1944 (Duel) Stephen Hart Osprey Publishing, 2007 - 80 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Excellent overview of the Firefly and Tiger

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 synopses 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 books 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.

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Outstanding Review of Tiger (I) and Firefly tanks

This is an outstanding resource on both the German Tiger (I) and the British Sherman Firefly tanks.

Most people know about the German Tiger tanks, which were so notorious that the recorded kills by Allied armies of the Tigers far outnumbers their actual production.

The Sherman Firefly, based on the U.S. Sherman tank (which was no match for the Tigers) and specifically built to defeat the fearsome Tigers, is less well known.

This book does an excellent job of describing the characteristics of both tanks and their battlefield records, particularly when matched against each other. Also included are accounts of tank aces for each model.

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new look at two antagonists...

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.

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