and the Sherman wasn’t a piece of junk. It was more reliable than the kraut’s tanks. It was just outclassed. Not enough armor. Too little a gun.
semantics dude, semantics.....yes, reliable, weak armor, wimpy gun.
I can almost excuse the too little armor part. That would take a major upgrade and a degradation in speed and fuel economy.
But I CANNOT forgive the too little gun part. The British Firefly proved that the US could have fielded a high velocity 75mm gun to take on the Panthers and Tigers. There is absolutely no reason that the Sherman crews had to suffer poor armament for the entire war. No reason at all.
And the British proved you could hang a sufficiently powerful gun on the Sherman.
The Israelis took it up to a 105mm.
It was just “doctrine” that kept the Sherman inadequately armed.
Also, US tanks had powered traverse, which meant our tanks could get on target faster.