E-mail:
“Dear Mr Lowry,
It may interest you (perhaps not) that in 1944 the US Army experienced a similar problem with the mainstay of its armored force- the M4 Sherman Tank.
The Sherman was a powerful vehicle when it was designed in 1941-42. Unfortunately German technology progressed much faster than ours during the years of conflict. The result was that by D-Day the Sherman was significantly behind in terms of armor and firepower. A typical Sherman was no match for German Panther and Tiger tanks. The Germans referred to them as ‘ronsons’ after the popular lighter whose motto was ‘lights every time.’
Many attempts were made by troops in the field to increase armor protection on the Sherman. Period photographs often depict Shermans virtually buried under sand bags, welded on armor plates, track link sections, even logs. Although various upgraded models were fielded, the numbers were limited and the Germans learned to destroy them first in battle. A new design, the M-26 Pershing, did not appear until March of 1945 and had little impact on the war….”