by Bob Barnetson

In February, Osprey Publishing released Sherman Firefly. This 48-page book examines the development of the Firefly tank during the Second World War and comes fairly hard on the heels of Osprey’s 80-page Sherman Firefly vs Tiger: Normandy 1944 which we also reviewed. The book retails for $17.95 USD or $21.00 CDN.

Sherman Firefly is part of Osprey’s New Vanguard series, which focuses on the design, development and operation of the machinery of war. The Firefly gets lots of attention on my wargaming table, normally from German commanders keen on eliminating the threat posed by its 17-pounder main gun.

Initial Impressions
This 48-page, perfect-bound book has a wrap-around colour cover with both illustrations and pictures of the Sherman Firefly. Inside, there are eight pages with colour images and 41 black-and-white photos. I’ve always been curious how the Firefly came about and was keen to read the book.

That said, I was a bit surprised by how thin the book itself was. While the New Vanguard series is intended to focus on specific machines, I wonder if there really was enough material to warrant a separate book on the Firefly, particularly since Osprey has just told the story in its Duel series.

The Development of the Firefly
Author David Fletcher begins by discussing the Firefly’s 17-pounder gun—the thing that sets it apart from the regular 75mm-armed Sherman. This includes discussing the tendency of British tanks to be undergunned throughout the Second (insert “World”?) War and the gun’s development in the context of increasing Axis firepower.

Mounting this powerful weapon on a Sherman chassis (and more importantly, fitting it into a Sherman turret) was the brainchild of a major named George Brighty. After an initial stage of almost amateurish development, the project eventually gained traction despite competition from the rival (and ultimately less successful) Challenger design, based on the Cromwell chassis.

Fletcher spends significant time discussing the accommodation of the larger gun in the turret. I found much more interesting his explanation of ammunition storage and handling in combat. The inner workings of a tank are little discussed in most books available to wargamers. The insight he provides on how much of the ammo load out is reasonably available to a crew and the difficulties that ensue once the readily available rounds are shot should (but likely won’t!) make the fellows at my club much less likely to engage in low-percentage shoot outs.

Firefly in Combat
Despite Fletcher’s engaging tone, I was ready for some combat assessment of the Firefly by the time page 32 (of a 48-page book) rolled around. Discussion begins with an assessment of the Firefly’s ability to bust concrete in anticipation of the Normandy landings and the fire support given by Fireflies on the run in to Sword and Juno beaches.

The back cover promises the book will “Explore (the Firefly’s) successes and failures on the battlefield and providing a realistic assessment of the tank’s worth.” Discussion of actual Firefly performance on D-Day is quite brief, reflecting the paucity of sources says Fletcher. There is no discussion, however, of actual combat experiences of crews throughout 1944 or 1945. And the book provides no meaningfully substantiated evaluation of the tank’s combat worth. I found this to be very disappointing.

Comment
From the perspective of a wargamer, this was a disappointing book. It contains almost no information about the combat performance of the Firefly, no after action reports, and no tactical discussions. This omission is fairly difficult to understand; wouldn’t this sort of information be at the core of a book on a combat vehicle? Again, an Osprey book ignores arguably the most storied encounter with Fireflys: Michael Wittman’s ambush of the 22nd Armoured Brigade at Villers-Bocage in June of 1944. This action included at least two Fireflys. Including any of this sort of combat information would have beefed up the book, which, at 48 pages, looks a bit thin.

Although I’m at a loss to explain why Osprey would release another Firefly book only months after the tank was profiled in the Duel series, there are some good points to this book. The author writes in an engaging style and clearly has considered the development of the tank at length. Despite the omissions I noted above, Fletcher’s tone held my interest throughout.

The book is also nicely illustrated, with many photos I have not seen before. These often show off interesting adaptations by crews (e.g., adding treads and junk for additional protection, inventive camouflage from the Italian theatre) as well as the alterations required by mounting such a large gun in the turret. One diagram showed (to my surprise) that the Firefly is actually taller than the massively turreted A30 Challenger. Illustrator Tony Bryan does a creditable job with a dozen coloured drawings.

Conclusion
This book will appeal to those interested in learning some basic information about the Sherman Firefly. I plan to pass my copy on to an eight-year-old I know who is keen on tanks and doesn’t know much about them. Hopefully, nurturing his interest in the gadgetry of war will lure him into gaming when he is older.

I would not, however, bother passing this book on to any gaming buddies. It simply lacks the content to be of interest to experienced gamers. There is no material suitable for designing scenarios. There is no real discussion of tactics that can be transferred to the tabletop. Really, it just lacks depth.

Pros

• The artwork is nicely done.
• The history is competently presented.
• Discussion of ammunition stowage is interesting.

Cons

• The book is very thin.
• No examples of combat suitable for scenario generation.
• No discussion of tactical doctrine transferable to the gaming table.