> Where did the names "FIREFLY" and "GRIZZLY" originate from for the
> Sherman variants ? ? ? ? ?
Firefly is the English name for a Sherman re-gunned with a 17pdr gun,
they were specifically intended to take on Tigers and Panthers as
the standard Sherman 75mm was all but useless against these vehicles.
> ...as far as M 20 is concerned...did I not hear the name "STAGHOUND"
> for it some time ago ??
No. The Staghound was a T17E1, it was built to English specification
(a giveaway is the turret shape, US turrets at this time did not have
the rear bulge for radios, instead US practice was to mount them in
the hull, this is why the M3 Medium Tank in American use "Lee" had
a cylindrical turret, whilst those to English order "Grant" had a
fatter turret with a rear bulge to take the radios). Somewhere
along the line, the US allocated the Staghound the number M6, you
will look long and hard to find this on anything official, but it
does exist.
The US did not use the Staghound, as they had decided to standardise
on the M8 Greyhound. Given the chance to compare the 2 vehicles (I have
owned both) you can only shake you head in puzzlement. The Staghound
is light years ahead in every aspect, other than not having overhead
hatches for driver and hull gunner. The Staghound in Commonwealth
usage was a highly regarded vehicle, only let down by having the same
37mm gun as the Greyhound.
I sold my Staghound as I could not road register it due to the
restricted vision from the drivers position (that lack of overhead
hatch) and that was the only reason.
Regards
Doug
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Armoured Vehicles Collector
_______
_/_(_o_)_\_ ____
_/|___|_|___|\_ /____\
/ [___] [___] \ Douglas Greville _/[o]___\_
/\_ [o] [o] _/\ Broken Hill __/=_|____|_=\__
|w||___________||w| N.S.W. /__\__________/__\
|w|\u u/|w| Australia |w| \ / |w|
|w| \_________/ |w| |w|$ \______/ $|w|
[w] [w] [w] [w]
M8 Ferret
dgrev@ruralnet.net.au
Web Armour site at: http://Fast.to/DG
(http://members.xoom.com/dgrev/index.html)
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