US Sherman VC Firefly WWII 1/72 UM 386

US Sherman VC Firefly WWII 
1/72 WWII military VEHICLE scale plastic model kit
UniModels (UM) 386

Manufacturer: Universal Models / UniModels / UM (Ukraine)
Scale: 1/72
Material: Plastic
Condition: New in Box

Number of parts: 190parts + 22 photo-etched parts

The Sherman Firefly was a Second World War British variant of theAmerican 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 the war.

Though the British expected to have their own new tank models developed soon, British Major George Brighty championed the already-rejected idea of mounting the 17-pounder in the existing Sherman. With the help of Lieutenant Colonel Witheridge and despite official disapproval, he managed to get the concept accepted. This proved fortunate, as both the Challenger and Cromwelltank designs experienced difficulties and delays.

After the problem of getting the gun to fit in the Sherman's turret was solved, the Firefly was put into production in early 1944, in time to equip Field MarshalMontgomery's forces for the Normandy landings. It soon became highly valued as the only British tank capable of defeating the Panther and Tiger tanks it faced in Normandy at standard combat ranges. In recognition of this, German tank and anti-tank gun crews were instructed to attack Fireflies first. Between 2,100 and 2,200 were manufactured before production wound down in 1945.It was W.G.K. Kilbourn, a Vickers engineer at the time working for the Department of Tank Design, who transformed the prototype into the tank that would serve the British forces fromD-day onwards. The first thing Kilbourn had to fix was the lack of a workable recoil system for the 17-pounder. The 17-pounder travelled 40 in (1.0 m) back as it absorbed the recoil of the blast. This was too long for the Sherman turret. Kilbourn solved this problem by redesigning the recoil system completely rather than modifying it. The recoil cylinders were shortened to allow the turret to take the gun and its recoil, and the new cylinders were placed on both sides of the gun to take advantage of the width of the Sherman's turret rather than be hindered by its height.

The gun breech itself was also rotated 90 degrees to allow for loading from the leftrather than from on top. The radio which was mounted in the back of the turret in British tanks had to be moved. An armoured box (a "bustle") was attached to the back of the turret to house the radio. Access was through a large hole cut through the back of the turret.

The next problem encountered by Kilbourn was that the gun cradle, the metal block the gun sits on, had to be shortened to allow the gun to fit into the Firefly, and thus the gun itself was not very stable. Kilbourn had a new barrel designed for the 17-pounder that had a longer untapered section at the base, which helped solve the stability problem. A new mantlet was designed to house the new gun and accept the modified cradle. The modifications were extensive enough to require that 17-pounders intended for the Firefly had to be factory built specifically for it.

Kilbourn had to deal with other problems. On the standard Sherman tank, there was a single hatch in the turret through which the tank commander, gunner and loader entered and left the tank. However the 17-pounder's larger breech and recoil system significantly reduced the ability of the loader to quickly exit from the tank if it was hit. As a result, a new hatch was cut into the top of the turret over the gunner's position.The final major change was the elimination of the hull gunner in favour of space for more 17-pounder ammunition, which was significantly longer than the 75 mm shell and thus took up more room.

Sherman Firefly
Sherman VC Firefly, Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, Brussels
Type	Medium tank
Place of origin	United Kingdom / United States
Production history
Designed	1943
Number built	~2,000
Specifications
Weight	34.75 long tons (33 tonnes)
Length	19 ft 4 in (5.89 m) 25 ft 6 in overall
Width	8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)
Height	9 ft (2.7 m)
Crew	4 (Commander, gunner, loader / radio-operator, driver)