Sherman Firefly turrets
The Sherman Firefly was a World War II British
variant of the Sherman tank, fitted with the powerful British 17
pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon. Originally
conceived as a stopgap until future British tank designs came into
service, the Sherman Firefly became the most common vehicle with the 17
pounder in World War II (source : Wikipedia)
The standard M4 Sherman turret
was quite heavily modified to fit with British requirements :
-The standard 75mm gun was changed with a redesigned 17 Pdr gun that
had a particular recoil system, designed especially for the Sherman
turret
-A new mantlet was designed to protect the 17 Pdr gun and to be fitted on a slighly modified
M34A1 gun mount
-An armoured box (a
"bustle") was attached to the back of the turret to house the radio
-A new hatch was cut
into the top of
the turret over the gunner's position, because the 17 pounder's larger
breech and recoil system significantly reduced the ability of the
loader to quickly exit from the tank through the commander's hatch, if the tank was hit
These photos above clearly show the additions/modifications
that
were applied to M4 Sherman turrets in order to convert them as Firefly
turrets.
Some photos of the
loader's hatch, that show the particular hinge and shock absorber added
by the Brits.
These pictures show how
the armoured
box (a.k.a. the "bustle", which contains the radios) is
constructed, and how the access to the radios is done through the
original bustle ofd the Sherman turret.
These two photos show
the specific mantlet, which is different from the standard M34A1
mantlet, and the slighly modified M34A1 gun mount (with an enlargened opening for the barrel).
These photos show the gun breech and the specific recoil
system that was created to be able to house the 17 Pdr in the Sherman
standard 75mm turret. The last photo shows the typical 17 Pdr muzzle
brake.
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