Well, i can think of a few reasons right off the bat for that like. Cooperss book is somewhat unusual in that cooper served in a support unit instead of combat arms. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by benton y. Rebecca cooper, a very pretty lady, full of southern charm, answered the door. Written by 3rd armored world war ii veteran belton cooper of birmingham. Belton coopers memoir of his world war ii service with the 3d armor division in europe is a gem. Historic video, tank battle in the center of cologne, 1945.
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. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii at. Was the sherman tank a deathtrap once penetrated by a. 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. 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. But when we ask if the sherman was specifically a death trap were comparing it to other tanks. Ive seen the end footage of this video many times before but ive never seen it with the captions. 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. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii. 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. The 3rd armored division entered combat in normandy with 232 m4 sherman tanks. Belton coopers book death traps is a good book about the sherman. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii ebook written by belton y. The sherman tank, until the introduction of the easy eight, was a horrible tank, for the two reasons ive given.
Cooper served with united state armys 3rd armored division fighting the germans in 19441945. 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. The united states world war 2 main battle tank, the m4 sherman was obsolete by 1944. And to what extent the answer is no, depends on the model. Much of the hate against the sherman has been perpetrated post war and sadly most of it is from belton cooper. Coopers book, death traps, the third armored division alone had 648 tanks totally destroyed, with another 700 knocked out in combat, but subsequently repaired. 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. Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Other people have pointed out that all tanks are death traps, which is true. Later, cooper recalled the experience in a book, death traps. He said it had the same 75mm gun but it was faster and they could get out of trouble quicker.
Coopers insight makes this book an interesting read from a historical point of view death traps definitely has a significant amount of historical contents. Its really a kind of visual presentation of belton coopers book, death traps. Death traps on apple books apple books apple apple. Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged american tanks. The consequences of the sherman decision are brutally detailed in belton coopers vivid memoir death traps. In this regard its like david renders memoir, excellent but problematic edit. Death traps the survival of an american armored division.
Most memoirs written by the soldiers in the field focus on the anecdotes which can. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A medium tank like the sherman was not as good as the german armor. The only tank that came even close to the tiger, or the panther, was the m24 chaffee, which had a 90mm gun. The main theme of the book is that m4 sherman was, as the title implies, a death trap to the men that operated them. If youre interested in reading a quality rebuttal against belton coopers antisherman book death traps, heres one of the best from amazon. 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. 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. Armor, apcs, artillery, anti tank, mortar, warplane, warship forum. Patton and other generals whose belief in mobility over heavy armor kept the sherman medium tank as the standard.
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. When it comes to the history of armored warfare in the second world war, the us m4 sherman tank is always sure to draw controversy and a good bit of discussion. And finally, as an indictment of the m4 sherman tank, the book is. 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. 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. Was the ww2 memoir death traps by belton cooper historically accurate. If you are enjoying fog of war videos, please subscribe to the youtube channel and like my videos so i. Coopers experiences in the battle to defeat germany. Belton cooper was a mechanic during the war, and thus lacked a good overall perspective of the shermans performance. Morans evaluation of casualties, he states that in the entire u.
This was a heavy armored division that was the tip of the spear of the allied advance across europe. Death traps, belton coopers aptly name book about american armored divisions in ww2 evidences this fact. 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. His stories are vivid, enlightening, full of lifeand of pain, sorrow, horror, and triumph. Cooper war angehoriger einer instandsetzungseinheit. 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. He served in the unit responsible for recovering damaged and destroyed tanks. Death traps by belton cooper is a memoir of his us army service in world war 2. 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. Belton was an ordnance officer in the 3rd armored div or spearhead division. My father always said he preferred his m24 chaffee light tank over the sherman. 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. 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. With a forward by popular historian stephen ambrose and the.
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. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii, published in 1998. Death traps is a very good memoir by belton cooper. Sherman tank performance page 5 axis history forum.
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. American tank crews quickly learned that these death traps were no match for heavier german tanks. The main theme of the book is that m4 sherman was, as the title implies, a. Cooper, an ordenance officer in the us 3rd armoured division, across the west european campaign of wwii and as such fills a. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii is a 1998 memoir by belton y. I surprise how much attempt you place to make this type of excellent informative website. 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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read death traps. Why is belton coopers death traps considered unreliable. His laments about shermans being no good against tigers and panthers are questionable, as his unit did not encounter tigers and panthers when he. 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. Belton was a tank maintenance officer in europe and was responsible for seeing that disabled shermans were retrieved and refitted if possible. 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.
The true saga of spearhead heroes of a different sort. This information, however interesting, is also the book s achilles heel. When belton cooper was a young boy growing up in huntsville, he dreamed of building the worlds first unsinkable battleship. 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. 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. Belton coopers controversial memoir death traps makes interesting reading. Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone. Thanks for contributing an answer to history stack exchange.