It is written in the style of a memoir, but it also presents itself as a history of the 3rd armored division, the unit in which cooper served as an ordnance lieutenant. The united states world war 2 main battle tank, the m4 sherman was obsolete by 1944. Ayer was influenced by the service of veterans in his family and by reading books such as belton y. Coopers experiences in the battle to defeat germany. Compared to its german opponents, it was undergunned, underpowered and underarmored. The lights inside barry and honey shermans multimilliondollar home in a tony north york neighbourhood were beaming monday night, two forensic vans and a toronto police cruiser still parked. The author spares no criticism in his description of george s. Worthwhile reading, however, quite a bit of erroneous detail. Fury is a fictional film that draws a composite portrait of tank crews and the final days of the war in europe. Death of toronto billionaire barry sherman and his wife.
Dispelling the myths surrounding the m4 sherman knowledge glue. The m4 sherman tank was hell on wheels and a death trap. Coopers death traps, about american armored warfare in world war ii. When the mammal is attracted inside by the bait, it eventually steps on the treadle, releasing treadle latch and allowing the trap door to snap shut. Death traps, belton coopers aptly name book about american armored divisions in ww2 evidences this fact. Death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii, by belton y cooper.
However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii is a 1998 memoir by belton y. The book contains only a couple of maps and virtually no photographs. The m4 sherman tank was hell on wheelsand a death trap. Small sherman aluminum folding live capture trap forestry. Sep 12, 2017 perhaps the greatest m4 sherman myth of the 21st century has to go with the moniker death traps. The united states world war 2 main battle tank, the m4 sherman was obsolete by. During the european campaign, the division had some 648 sherman tanks completely destroyed in combat and we had another 700 knocked out, repaired and put. Shermans has been proudly selling down east books since they published their very first book.
Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged american tanks. Ayer went to considerable lengths to seek authentic uniforms and weapons which fitted the final months of. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii belton y. Death traps a look at sherman tanks in wwii mouse click the following post oct 18, 2019 at 2. Death of toronto billionaire barry sherman and his wife investigated by homicide detectives. It seems odd to me, most often when i have a conversation with a normal person about the sherman tankmy wife says im weird for doing it, if they have heard of the sherman, and read a book on it, theyve read death traps, and have never heard of steven zaloga, r. Was the sherman tank of ww2 fame a death trap or a good. Most tanks at the time ran on diesel, a safer and less flammable fuel than gasoline. When it was first introduced in the north african desert in mid1942, the m4 sherman was the most powerfullyarmed and most heavilyarmored tank in north africa. The book itself is called death traps and it refers to the thousands of crew members who died or were injured in sherman tanks because the tank was designed by a committee and it was no match for german panzers with far superior armour and firepower. Sherman folding traps have the advantage of folding down to a size and shape which is easy to transport. Coopers death traps about american armoured warfare in world war ii.
The technical inferiority of american to german armor in world war ii is well documented and very familiar to students of that conflict. Pattons recommendation to empasize manufacturing of the m4 sherman over the m26 pershing tank. And finally, as an indictment of the m4 sherman tank, the book is filled with so many factual errors and outright falsehoods. Sherman traps are an environmentally friendly way to research small mammal populations and can be used for mammal collection, teaching and environmental impact studies. American tank crews quickly learned that these death traps were no match for heavier german tanks such as the panther and king tiger. The acclaimed author of troublesome young men reveals the behindthescenes story of how the united states forged its wartime alliance with britain, told from the perspective of three key american players in london. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Death traps by belton cooper is a memoir of his us army service in world war 2. Dec 18, 2007 in a downtoearth style, death traps tells the compelling story of one mans assignment to the famous 3rd armored division that spearheaded the american advance from normandy into germany. Yes, it sucked under some aspects but it was a totally effective war machine, it contributed to the victory of many important battles. M4 sherman tank crew tell how shocking it was youtube. Patton and other generals whose belief in mobility over heavy armor kept the sherman medium tank as the standard.
Death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii ebook. Dec 18, 2017 the lights inside barry and honey shermans multimilliondollar home in a tony north york neighbourhood were beaming monday night, two forensic vans and a toronto police cruiser still parked. Police reveal cause of death as friends and family of barry. Death traps is an interesting and very readable memoir of a time when american soldiers went into battle with second rate weapons, and the price they paid to defeat a better equipped foe. Death traps is a shocking firstperson story of the fatal vulnerability of americas tank force in france and germany in 1944 and 1945. Some places claim that up to 60,000 americans became casualties because of the m4 sherman. The sherman was apparently grossly outclassed by enemy armour.
Death traps the survival of an american armored division in. Death traps 9780891417224 by cooper, belton and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. Springpowered trap door folds down to inside floor and is held by treadle latch. The consequences of the sherman decision are brutally detailed in belton coopers vivid memoir death traps.
Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. But the sanitized legacy we have is of the sherman as a warwinner, a triumph of allied technology. Nov 22, 20 death traps, belton coopers aptly name book about american armored divisions in ww2 evidences this fact. Sherman trap small folding aluminium nhbs wildlife. Much of the hate against the sherman has been perpetrated post war and sadly most of it is from belton cooper. Honey and barry sherman, chairman and ceo of apotex inc.
Barry shermans death stuns apotex at a difficult time subscriber content december 18, 2017 family urges thorough investigation into deaths of apotex ceo barry sherman, wife honey. Barbara ehrenreichs natural causes is a hilarious and informative perspective on all the ways we and the medical system try to keep us alive. The 3rd armored division entered combat in normandy with 232 m4 sherman tanks. Belton youngblood cooper october 4, 1917 may 26, 2007 served in the reserve. Although thousands of soldiers both tank crewmen and the infantry who depended on the sherman tank for support were killed and wounded as a result of the m4s shortcomings. Cooperss book is somewhat unusual in that cooper served in a support unit instead of combat arms. Cooper served with united state armys 3rd armored division fighting the germans in 19441945. Lets clarify this once for all the sherman tank was not one of the best tank of the war. A revealing personal account, the book demonstrates that the sherman tank was. The field manual covering the use of the sherman fm 1733, the tank battalion, light and medium of september 1942 devoted one page of text and four diagrams to tank versus tank action out of.
It keeps coming up in forum threads as people keep citing it, so i figured i may as well make my position clear in a more formal manner. Tank busting blowing up the myth of the mighty m4 sherman. The 3rd armored division entered combat in normandy with 232 m4 sherman tanks, writes belton cooper, author of the appropriately named death traps, a study of u. In the book, cooper makes a statement than the name sherman must have been due to. Racing along the front lines to ensure the delivery of tanks to frontline units, the author was clearly too busy. I have never before been able to learn so much about maintenance methods of an armored division, with precise details that underline the importance of the work, along with descriptions of how the job was. Death traps is about survival and resourcefulness in. Perhaps the greatest m4 sherman myth of the 21st century has to go with the moniker death traps.
These two results in combination strongly suggest that the sherman was, in most. The book relates coopers experiences during world war ii and puts forth an. Jul 01, 2003 death traps is a somewhat unique book among books written about wwii in so far that it features the accounts and feelings of a man who by his own admission was fortunate enough to have avoided any real front line action. Fury is a fictional film about a tank crew during the final days of the war in europe. For example, the author states that the ford v8 used to power many m4 sherman tanks was originally a british aircraft engine. Death traps is a very good memoir by belton cooper. Death traps is well worth reading, but the work is not without its faults. Apr 29, 2003 the book itself is called death traps and it refers to the thousands of crew members who died or were injured in sherman tanks because the tank was designed by a committee and it was no match for german panzers with far superior armour and firepower. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Racing along the front lines to ensure the delivery of tanks to frontline units, the author was clearly too busy to snap pictures during his service in world war ii. Oct 23, 2014 the 3rd armored division entered combat in normandy with 232 m4 sherman tanks, writes belton cooper, author of the appropriately named death traps, a study of u.
The survival of an american armored division in world war ii ebook written by belton y. We have covered welded and cast hulls, but even the welded tanks used many cast parts welded to the plates. Sherman trap small folding aluminium nhbs wildlife survey. Sep 18, 2011 the field manual covering the use of the sherman fm 1733, the tank battalion, light and medium of september 1942 devoted one page of text and four diagrams to tank versus tank action out of.
When it was first introduced in the north african desert in mid1942, the m4 sherman was the most powerfullyarmed and. If youre interested in reading a quality rebuttal against belton coopers antisherman book death traps, heres one of the best from amazon. One of the armys two heavy armored divisions, the 3rd lost 648 m4 shermans and had another 700 tanks damaged, repaired and put back in service by the time. The legendary german tiger i has a reputation as a machine feared by the allies, combining lethal firepower and excellent armour. Death traps is about survival and resourcefulness in the face of brutal conditions. The book, commonly found, is wellwritten, an easy read, and provides good insight as to the thinkings and workings of a junior grade ordnance officer in a field unit. Sherman s has been proudly selling down east books since they published their very first book. In a downtoearth style, death traps tells the compelling story of one mans assignment to the famous 3rd armored division that spearheaded the american advance from normandy into germany. Simply put, in the heat of battle it was as dangerous inside of a sherman tank as it was outside of one. Death traps the survival of an american armored division. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii. Ayer was influenced by the service of veterans in his family and by reading books, such as belton y. Ehrenreich begs the question of whether or not those things.
The shermans powerplant was a 400horsepower gas engine that, combined with the ammo on board, could transform the tank into a hellish inferno after taking a hit. The book relates coopers experiences during world war ii and puts forth an argument against the us armys use of the m4 sherman tank during the war. An important contribution to the history of world war ii. Police reveal cause of death as friends and family of. I surprise how much attempt you place to make this type of excellent informative website. Ayer went to considerable lengths to seek authentic uniforms. He served in the unit responsible for recovering damaged and destroyed tanks. Jul 28, 20 please dont use the 5 m4s 1 panther myth. The m4 had wellbalanced armor in the same class as the other medium tanks of the war.
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