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To: gatorbait
I have a picture of a Russian" Sherman in Vienna somewhere.

They hated the Grant's though:

M3 Lee\Grant Tanks - When the United States rearmed in 1940 they saw France overrun by the German panzers and felt they had to build a tank with thick armor and a powerful gun. The tank designers ran into an unforeseen problem, there were not currently any U.S. foundries capable of manufacturing large castings of turrets and hulls in large quantities. So the tank had to be improvised, having a 75mm gun mounted to one side of the body, and a small turret with a 37mm gun. The armor was riveted together due to the casting problem. Unfortunately it was found out if the tank hull was struck by a shell, even if it did not penetrate the armor, it would result in rivets popping off into the interior of the tank. This caused high crew casualties. Additionally the Grant was rather tall and thus an easy German target. The Soviets used it anyway, despite the depressing nickname "a grave for seven brothers". The U.S. eventually solved the casting problem and decided to produce a more improved tank known as the M4 Sherman.

86 posted on 12/31/2003 12:04:32 PM PST by SAMWolf (I live in a quiet neighborhood - they use silencers)
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To: SAMWolf
I have a picture of a Russian" Sherman in Vienna somewhere. They hated the Grant's though:

Sam, you're right there, The Brits ,on the other hand, calledthe Grant Egypt's last hope. They used them VERY effectively in Burma, too. There's a slim volume out there ,written by a Russian tanker about his time in Shermans..I'll freepmail you with the title after my oldtimer's disease flicks off.

89 posted on 12/31/2003 12:22:49 PM PST by gatorbait (Yesterday, today and tomorrow......The United States Army)
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