15 April 1942. Dorset, England.
allanpcameron
Donor
15 April 1942. Dorset, England.
It wasn’t uncommon among the instructors of the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School of Gunnery at Lulworth Camp to place bets with each other on which guns and gunners would do best. The days when the tank gunner cradled the tank’s main gun on his shoulder for firing on the move was long gone, and generally the overall result had been an improvement in tank gunnery. The pre-war regulars who’d had plenty of time and training had been quite proficient, but the numbers of new conscripts joining the Royal Armoured Corps would never have been able to match the time and training necessary.
Firing on the move was still an idea that the Americans were committed to. The new American M4A1 Medium tank, known by the British as the Sherman, had been brought to Britain for evaluation. The M34 mounting for the 75mm gun had a gyrostabiliser and control box attached to the arm of the cradle of the gun. The American crew who’d come over with the tank were keen to show off their skills to the Limeys. The Americans were obviously thought of being a ‘crack’ crew if they’d been given the task to show the British what their best tank could do.
The British instructors had been giving the Americans a very flattering welcome, the best hospitality that the RAC could offer, and were on their best behaviour around their visitors. The new British Victor tank, armed with the 75mm HV cannon was also being evaluated at the same time. The American crew agreed to have a competition between themselves and a British crew, Sherman against Victor, in the gunnery course.
Working on the principle that the Americans had provided a ‘crack’ crew, it was only right and fitting that the Victor should be crewed by a similar ‘crack’ crew. Captain Peter Smith DSO, Sergeant John Twist MM, Corporal Bill Jones, and Corporal Jim Wilson, combat veterans from North Africa, and now instructors at Bovington, would crew the Victor.
The Victor, with the moniker Adsum II, took to the gunnery range alongside its American rival. In outward comparison, the two tanks were immediately distinctive by height. The British tank had a much lower profile that the American, which seemed to tower over it. While nominally both were fitted with a 75mm gun, the British version had a considerably longer barrel, giving it the High Velocity that followed the designation.
The sloped armour on the front of the Sherman, compared with that of the Victor, simply because of the size of the hull, seemed less capable, especially once the thickness of the armour between the two tanks was taken into account. The Victor lacked the hull machine gun position, which allowed the sloping to be at a better angle. The fact that the British tank had armour of 4-inchs compared to the American’s 2-inch had come as a surprise to the American crew, while British were appalled at what the Americans thought was battle worthy.
In terms of speed, while the Victor was heavier, its meteor engine was more powerful and hence the British tank mostly had the advantage. The one thing that the British crew found better in the American tank was there was much more room inside to move around. The British tank, with its lower silhouette and more pronounced angular armour, was a tight fit for the four crewmen. The Americans could hardly believe that the British crew could fight their tank in such a confined space.
As the competition between the two tanks got underway, there weren’t many instructors prepared to lay bets on the American tank winning on anything, which was proven to be a wise decision. Later when a Crusader with the 6-pdr was brought in for comparison, it was the other way around, there were too few bets on the British tank to make it a worthwhile gamble.
It wasn’t uncommon among the instructors of the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School of Gunnery at Lulworth Camp to place bets with each other on which guns and gunners would do best. The days when the tank gunner cradled the tank’s main gun on his shoulder for firing on the move was long gone, and generally the overall result had been an improvement in tank gunnery. The pre-war regulars who’d had plenty of time and training had been quite proficient, but the numbers of new conscripts joining the Royal Armoured Corps would never have been able to match the time and training necessary.
Firing on the move was still an idea that the Americans were committed to. The new American M4A1 Medium tank, known by the British as the Sherman, had been brought to Britain for evaluation. The M34 mounting for the 75mm gun had a gyrostabiliser and control box attached to the arm of the cradle of the gun. The American crew who’d come over with the tank were keen to show off their skills to the Limeys. The Americans were obviously thought of being a ‘crack’ crew if they’d been given the task to show the British what their best tank could do.
The British instructors had been giving the Americans a very flattering welcome, the best hospitality that the RAC could offer, and were on their best behaviour around their visitors. The new British Victor tank, armed with the 75mm HV cannon was also being evaluated at the same time. The American crew agreed to have a competition between themselves and a British crew, Sherman against Victor, in the gunnery course.
Working on the principle that the Americans had provided a ‘crack’ crew, it was only right and fitting that the Victor should be crewed by a similar ‘crack’ crew. Captain Peter Smith DSO, Sergeant John Twist MM, Corporal Bill Jones, and Corporal Jim Wilson, combat veterans from North Africa, and now instructors at Bovington, would crew the Victor.
The Victor, with the moniker Adsum II, took to the gunnery range alongside its American rival. In outward comparison, the two tanks were immediately distinctive by height. The British tank had a much lower profile that the American, which seemed to tower over it. While nominally both were fitted with a 75mm gun, the British version had a considerably longer barrel, giving it the High Velocity that followed the designation.
The sloped armour on the front of the Sherman, compared with that of the Victor, simply because of the size of the hull, seemed less capable, especially once the thickness of the armour between the two tanks was taken into account. The Victor lacked the hull machine gun position, which allowed the sloping to be at a better angle. The fact that the British tank had armour of 4-inchs compared to the American’s 2-inch had come as a surprise to the American crew, while British were appalled at what the Americans thought was battle worthy.
In terms of speed, while the Victor was heavier, its meteor engine was more powerful and hence the British tank mostly had the advantage. The one thing that the British crew found better in the American tank was there was much more room inside to move around. The British tank, with its lower silhouette and more pronounced angular armour, was a tight fit for the four crewmen. The Americans could hardly believe that the British crew could fight their tank in such a confined space.
As the competition between the two tanks got underway, there weren’t many instructors prepared to lay bets on the American tank winning on anything, which was proven to be a wise decision. Later when a Crusader with the 6-pdr was brought in for comparison, it was the other way around, there were too few bets on the British tank to make it a worthwhile gamble.
