Very true..my father, who turns 100 in a few months, was a platoon sergeant in a maintenance company in the 3rd Armored Division. They came ashore in late June and early July, then plunged into the fight. Over the next 11 months, they lost over 600 Shermans (out of an original complement of 232). Many of those tanks were repaired and returned to service, creating that endless stream of Shermans the Werhmacht sergeant referred to.
There has been much discussion about the deficiencies of the Sherman—and that list was long. The early models were under-gunned and under-armored; ammo storage on some variants made the tank more prone to explode if it was hit. But the Sherman was designed for ease of maintenance, and in that regard, it was superior to other tanks. The radial engine was also used in American trainer aircraft, so spare parts were readily available. Electrical systems and other components could be easily replaced as well.
By comparison, the more-complex Panthers and Tigers were more subject to breakdowns. If they suffered more than moderate damage, they were usually written off, because the Panzer units didn’t have the time or resources to complete more complex repairs on the battlefield.
But perhaps the real difference was provided by men like my father. He grew up on a farm and had experience working on tractors and other types of equipment. Other men in his unit had been mechanics, or worked as maintenance technicians in factories. They were, in the words of one writer, “crafty with their hands,” and took readily to the task of fixing damaged tanks and getting them back into battle. Their skill was one reason the 3rd Armored could lose 600 Shermans and remain a combat effective unit. Many of those knocked-out M4s were back in battle in a matter of days, thanks to the efficiency of our logistics system and the skill of our mechanics.
During a recent coversation, I asked my Dad what it was like to pull a tank from the battlefield—sometimes under enemy artillery fire. He said their Diamond T wrecker could do 20 mph with a light tank on the hook; if they were retrieving a Sherman, the wrecker’s top speed was about 10 mph, given the weight of the medium tank (37 tons).