Thanks for the link.
Very interesting.
Very interesting.
First, an interview with the Russian tanker who served in the M4 Sherman.
http://www.battlefield.ru/en/memoirs/369-loza.html
With regards to British 17 pounder, there is also the problems of logistics and fitting it into the Sherman's turret(I've read that rate of fire was halved due to the tight fit). And most of the advantage of the 17 pounder is more due the ammo(APSD) I suspect.
As for Sherman's burning up, that was due to improper ammo stowage which the Army did fix in time for Operation Overlord. However, tanker often blame the gasoline over everything else and would often over load their tanks with extra ammo, negating the wet ammo stowage that the Army upgraded the Sherman to prevent fires.
It should also be noted that in this regard, Soviet tankers found the Sherman must safer then the T-34 which tended to explode...
Lastly, BlairWitch749 makes a major point about US Army tanker training. They receive training that was only slightly better then Soviet tankers and didn't qualify for British tank schools until 1944 due to the rush to replace lost tank crews. The misconception that they had the best tank in the world also hurt them. And I suspect that due to poor training, many Panzer IV were confused for Panther tanks which would explain why the Tiger has a bigger reputation then the Panther which was more numerous.