This information, however interesting, is also the book s achilles heel. Cooper for having a very grim and dour view of the sherman considering his grisly war experiences, but it no way does it offer a balanced, big picture overview of what the m4 tank was like in all its aspects. Was the ww2 memoir death traps by belton cooper historically accurate. As a member of the 3d armored division maintenance battalion, he had liaison duties that took him far and wide, so he saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than most anyone. Belton coopers book death traps is a good book about the sherman. If you are enjoying fog of war videos, please subscribe to the youtube channel and like my videos so i. He said it had the same 75mm gun but it was faster and they could get out of trouble quicker.
American tank crews quickly learned that these death traps were no match for heavier german tanks. Most memoirs written by the soldiers in the field focus on the anecdotes which can. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii. Coopers insight makes this book an interesting read from a historical point of view death traps definitely has a significant amount of historical contents. Invariably, when this topic is raised in an online forum, someone will bring up the book death traps by belton cooper. The book, commonly found, is wellwritten, an easy read, and provides good insight as to the thinkings and workings of a junior grade ordnance officer in a field unit. Army during ww2, only some 1400 armor crew were kia. Death traps is a somewhat unique book among books written about wwii in so far that it features the accounts and feelings of a man. And to what extent the answer is no, depends on the model. Evenbelton cooper whose book death traps was highly critical of the m4 sherman s performance did note several times that german antitank crews had a very difficult time catching the tank on fire in mid 1944, the us introduced wet stowage to the ammo compartment of the tank. A lot of shermans marmite reputation is owed to belton coopers book death traps which was edited by stephen ambrose, and theres still a wealth of questions as to how much the latter dabbled. Cooperss book is somewhat unusual in that cooper served in a support unit instead of combat arms. Patton and other generals whose belief in mobility over heavy armor kept the sherman medium tank as the standard. The 5 tanks to kill a tiger and the rear shot is based on belton cooper\s book death traps written by a man who never was in a sherman or in combat.
His laments about shermans being no good against tigers and panthers are questionable, as his unit did not encounter tigers and panthers when he. Cooper served with united state armys 3rd armored division fighting the germans in 19441945. And finally, as an indictment of the m4 sherman tank, the book is. But when we ask if the sherman was specifically a death trap were comparing it to other tanks.
Death traps, belton coopers aptly name book about american armored divisions in ww2 evidences this fact. This was a heavy armored division that was the tip of the spear of the allied advance across europe. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by benton y. A maintenance officer who served in the legendary third armored division spearhead, cooper was charged with the critical task of locating damaged shermans, directing their recovery, and ensuring the flow of new or repaired tanks to. Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone.
The 3rd armored division entered combat in normandy with 232 m4 sherman tanks. Historic video, tank battle in the center of cologne, 1945. It was for this reason that the army thought the sherman would be able to hold its own during the invasion of normandy and into europe. If youre interested in reading a quality rebuttal against belton coopers antisherman book death traps, heres one of the best from amazon. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii english. It is written in the style of a memoir, but it also presents itself as a history of the 3rd armored division, the unit in which cooper served as an ordnance lieutenant. A maintenance officer who served in the legendary third armored division spearhead, cooper was charged with the critical task of locating damaged shermans, directing their recovery, and ensuring the flow. Rebecca cooper, a very pretty lady, full of southern charm, answered the door.
Thanks for contributing an answer to history stack exchange. Ive seen the end footage of this video many times before but ive never seen it with the captions. Written by 3rd armored world war ii veteran belton cooper of birmingham. Well, i can think of a few reasons right off the bat for that like. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii is a 1998 memoir by belton y. With a forward by popular historian stephen ambrose and the. Belton coopers description of the inadequacies of the m4 sherman tank and the superhuman efforts of maintenance crews to restore damaged ones to combat is very gripping. Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged american tanks. For the same reason internet hobby historians love to rate the tiger ll as the greatest tank ever the m1 abrams is based off it dontcha know and routinely place rommel at the top of the list of greatest generals ever. Death traps the book the true saga of spearhead heroes of a different sort written by 3rd armored world war ii veteran belton cooper of birmingham, alabama, and first published in 1998, death traps has received wide acclaim in military circles. Death traps is a very good memoir by belton cooper.
Belton was an ordnance officer in the 3rd armored div or spearhead division. Death traps the survival of an american armored division. A medium tank like the sherman was not as good as the german armor. Belton coopers memoir of his world war ii service with the 3d armor division in europe is a gem. When belton cooper was a young boy growing up in huntsville, he dreamed of building the worlds first unsinkable battleship. Death traps a look at sherman tanks in wwii mouse click the following post oct 18, 2019 at 2. Why is belton coopers death traps considered unreliable.
Morans evaluation of casualties, he states that in the entire u. The true saga of spearhead heroes of a different sort. In this regard its like david renders memoir, excellent but problematic edit. I have recently read belton coopers memoir death traps and generally liked it but i would like to make a couple of remarks on it. Cooper war angehoriger einer instandsetzungseinheit. Later, cooper recalled the experience in a book, death traps. Belton coopers controversial memoir death traps makes interesting reading.
The survival of an american armored division in world war ii at. He served in the unit responsible for recovering damaged and destroyed tanks. On april 30, 2001, i drove to belton coopers house in a very nice neighborhood in birmingham, book, tape recorder, and gifts in hand, and rang the front doorbell. The book itself is called death traps and it refers to the thousands of crew members who died or were injured in sherman tanks because the tank was designed by a committee and it was no match for german panzers with far superior armour and firepower. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii ebook written by belton y. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Death traps is an interesting and very readable memoir of a time when american soldiers went into battle with second rate weapons, and the price they paid to defeat a better equipped foe. The only tank that came even close to the tiger, or the panther, was the m24 chaffee, which had a 90mm gun. His stories are vivid, enlightening, full of lifeand of pain, sorrow, horror, and triumph. The sherman tank, until the introduction of the easy eight, was a horrible tank, for the two reasons ive given. Much of the hate against the sherman has been perpetrated post war and sadly most of it is from belton cooper. Ambrose, from his foreword in a downtoearth style, death traps tells the compelling story of one mans assignment to the famous 3rd armored division that spearheaded the american advance from normandy into germany. Coopers experiences in the battle to defeat germany.
In a downtoearth style, death traps tells the compelling story of one mans assignment to the famous 3rd armored division that spearheaded the american advance from normandy into germany. Was the sherman tank a deathtrap once penetrated by a. Armor, apcs, artillery, anti tank, mortar, warplane, warship forum. A revealing personal account, the book demonstrates that the sherman tank. Belton was a tank maintenance officer in europe and was responsible for seeing that disabled shermans were retrieved and refitted if possible. Its really a kind of visual presentation of belton coopers book, death traps. His book reflects his frustrations at having to send young, undertrained tank crews out to almost certain death in the face of mark iv, mark v and mark vi german tanks. Sherman tank performance page 5 axis history forum.
Other people have pointed out that all tanks are death traps, which is true. My father always said he preferred his m24 chaffee light tank over the sherman. Death traps on apple books apple books apple apple. The united states world war 2 main battle tank, the m4 sherman was obsolete by 1944. The main theme of the book is that m4 sherman was, as the title implies, a. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read death traps. I surprise how much attempt you place to make this type of excellent informative website. Cooper, an ordenance officer in the us 3rd armoured division, across the west european campaign of wwii and as such fills a. Some would accuse the military of not providing them with good equipment, and belton coopers book death traps would give the sherman its never live it down postwar reputation, which is significantly exaggerated and undeserved only 1,407 or 3% of us tankers got killed, a number so small its incredible. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii, published in 1998.
The main theme of the book is that m4 sherman was, as the title implies, a death trap to the men that operated them. The consequences of the sherman decision are brutally detailed in belton coopers vivid memoir death traps. The book relates coopers experiences during world war ii and puts forth an argument against the us armys use of the m4 sherman tank during the war. It keeps coming up in forum threads as people keep citing it, so i figured i may as well make my position clear in a more formal manner.