It had to get the first shot off "just to make it a bit more exciting for them" Fletcher is a international treasure.

"... ran the chance of running the gun into the ground. Which not everyone liked." Classic.

My grandfather can be seen inside his tank at 4:13 . Charles Edmund Saunders of Walters Falls, Ontario fighting with the British Columbia Regiment. He was the L/O in that tank.

That weapon is so strong, so powerful, so deadly... One should wield such a moustache with the utter most care.

Albert Tankenstein about to drop his theory of Panzertivity...

These videos should be longer. I could listen to David Fletcher talk tank all day.

Fun fact: The length of the 17pdr gun was disguisd by painting disruptive lines along the extra barrel length making it look like an standard 75mm gun from a distance. The paint scheme was designed by the artist Rex Whistler who served in the Guards Armoured Division and was sadly killed in Normandy.

My father drove a Sherman with a multibank Chrysler engine in the Calgary Tank Regiment(14th Armoured regiment) in Italy, Belgium and Holland. He never used the term firefly but called it a 17 pounder Sherman. He also said Canadian practice was have the 17lb equipped Sherman to be second in column in a troop to make it less likely a target for the Germans.

My father was a 75mm Sherman tank gunner in Normandy. He told me his troop didn''t have a Firefly. His war lasted three weeks for reasons I don't really need to go into, except only three of his crew survived.

I always thought of the Firefly as the most British tank ever: "You can't fit a 17pdr in a Sherman turret"! "Oh, really"?, says the chap smoking a pipe and with leather patches on the elbows of his tweed jacket. *Retires to workshop at the end of the garden* *Sounds of loud banging, grunting and polite swearing* *re-emerges from workshop* "There you go"! "But the gun is on its side!" "Yes, but it works". "You had to cut a hole in the back of the turret!" "Yes, but it works" "You've had to get rid of the spare driver!" "Yes, but it works" "Oh, all right then; how many do you want?"

That's called a stealth mustache, it allows you to speak without anyone noticing you're talking.

"You can't fit a 17 pounder into a Sherman turret!" "Hold my Claret."

Can we fit a 17-pounder in there? Yeah. Let's do it!

I was at the museum when they were filming the internal shots of the turret :)

I love Shermans, but the British really made a beast out of an already good tank.

"Just to make it a bit more... exciting for them" This guy is the best presenter of anything ever.

Always bothered me that in the movie Kelly's Heroes the tank commander character 'Oddball' bolted a length of steel pipe onto his Sherman's regular sized cannon to make it look like a Firefly. He claimed he did it to scare the Germans when in fact what he was really doing was making himself more of a target.

Sir 17-pounder won’t fit! Put it in sideways Radio won’t fit! Cut a hole in the back an have it stick out the back Engine’s no good! Get 5 car engines and put em together

What is a great the way to start the morning? With a tank chat of course

Everyone likes to think that the German tanks were as huge as houses but just look at Mr. Fletcher next to that thing! He's tiny compared to the Sherman.

You would not believe your eyes if ten million Sherman fireflies light up the world as I fell asleep

Mr fletcher and a firefly... awesome

Tank so gangster even IT holds it's gun sideways

Back to work after two weeks off, feeling blue then my mood lifts after spotting another "Tank Chat" with David Fletcher. Kettle on and 8 mins of tank pleasure

I love how the british decided to call the more powerful version of the Sherman something as unthreatening as 'Firefly'

A great way to start a morning

If I go to the UK, this is the first place I will visit

"A reliable Chrysler engine", you don't hear that every day?

I was gonna sleep, but damn it David, I'll watch one more video.

Stunning machine! The British definitely overhauled her! I'm just back from Bovington this week it was great! I bought a few model kit's and got this one from RYE field model's to build! Doing the Sherman Jumbo on white wash just now can't wait to start my firefly! I bought the AFV club model David Fletcher favourite rota trailer lol

According to David Render in his book, the blast of the gun was so powerful that the tank commander actually had to dive in the turret at every shot to avoid harm.

My father's older brother my Uncle Cliff, was a sergeant in one of these in the war. And yes, he did survive the war, and died aged 99, and 20 days short of his 100th.

The Chieftain got into the turret of a Firefly and could barely fit into the gunner's position. (The look on his face was priceless!) It's a pity David Fletcher didn't give it a try. He looks to be about the same size as Joe Ekins, the most famous Firefly gunner. I can't help but believe crewman size was what determined who would be the Firefly's gunner!

"To make it more exciting for them" :D Thank you for another awesome video in this series :)

this series of videos is just about my favorite thing on youtube .

Excellent in every aspect . These videos are jewels .

This is the stuff that should be on the internet more : facts, presented by people who research and know the facts, without any form of sensationalism.

I like David Flatcher. Can watch him for hours. Another great Video. Thx and greetings from Germany :)

Love this series. It's an excellent format and very informative. Thanks for the new one, because i've seen them all! Mr. Fletcher does excellent work and is a great presenter. I hope he conducts tours at the museum and that i get to meet him some day.

Mr Fletcher is a freaking legend. love this man. thank you so much!

A tank chat on my birthday ! Thanks tank museum !

"It had to get the first shot in and destroy the enemy tank before the enemy tank fired at *it*; Just to make it a bit more exciting for them" I can really never be quite sure how self-aware David Fletcher MBE is of how hilarious his commentary is.

Good job, David! (As always!) Excellent research... your videos never get boring! Thanks and keep up the good work......

A great man gives great talks about great tanks!On top of all the other fantastic things here, they find some awesome WW2 images and footage I've never seen.

The Firefly is kind of like that Big Brother you have when you're getting bullied at School. You're the Normal Sherman and the Bully is the Tiger... No wonder most Tankers called Firefly crews "Charlie."

David Fletcher all the way. He is brilliant.

David Fletcher - consummate master of the understatement. Wonderful!

I absolutely adore this channel, the videos are top top quality and the presenters are an eternal fountain of armoured vehicle knowledge which EVERYONE should listen to. Brilliant work fellas, I love the content!!🇬🇧✌️

War Thunder has messed up my sense of tank sizes. I never imagined Shermans to be this huge, David looks quite tiny next to it

If this guy would talk about peeling potatoes, I would listen. What a LEGEND!

I just love David Fletcher, I could listen to him all day.

Extremely interesting and very well presented. Thank you for the upload.

The flash when the 17pdr was fired was so fearsome that not only did it give the Fireflies' position away to the Germans, but it would also temporarily blind the firefly crew and even singe the commander's eyebrows if he failed to duck inside the turret! Crews quickly learned to close their eyes when the gun was fired and then immediately pull back into cover to avoid return fire. Initially there were only enough fireflies to provide one per troop, so they tended to be used in overwatch positions while the other 3 Sherman's roved forward; if the 75mm armed Sherman's ran into a German tank they couldn't deal with, then the firefly would be called to take out the German tank. Eventually there were enough fireflies available to provide 2 per troop. After doing nothing but find fault with the firefly before D-Day the Americans did eventually request to be supplied with fireflies but the British were short of both fireflies and 17pdr ammunition, so couldn't comply

They don't like it up them Captain Mainwaring. Reminds me so much of Corporal Jones from Dads Army.

American and British cooperation resulted in two legends. The Firefly and the P51 Mustang with its Merlin engine. 🙂👍

Thank you Sir David.

Simple: I liked before I even watched the video

Glad to see you have moved the credit to the patreons to the end. Having them flash on screen during the lecture was distracting. Thank you.

Wonderful video, thank you for posting it.

I can't work out why is there a Dislike button shown for any of David Fletcher videos, it's redundant and will never be used, the man is priceless!

What a Legend...and that tank is pretty good too...

Fascinating information as ever. I hope he explains Challenger soon that, was the upgraded Cromwell 17Pounder, making the tank very tall. It was used in Normandy it will be interesting to know how it got on. The firefly was the better compromise though very tight in side. The commonwealth forces understood they needed something to combat the cats during 1944, until comet and Centurion arrived. The ordnance department let the US armour force down, they had to struggle on until the 90mm M36 and Pershing arrived late 44 early 45. The controversy that dogged the Firefly 74 years ago is alive to day a pragmatic solution to a significant problem. However, the most important factor is those guys in the tank. It provided a major psychological boost to the Commonwealth Allied forces, Montgomery quoted they love it, they did make around 2100 of them and the German Army went after it first. Psychologically, what do you prefer, alive in an uncomfortable tank, or a casualty in a comfortable tank. The US armoured divisions had 54,872 casualties in the European theatre, total fatal 11,566 of which 9,559 in action.the controversial question how many could have been saved with Firefly? Refer, Battle casualties by theater, organization, type, and disposition: 7 December 1941-31 December 1946.

I love it when i see there is a new video .... absolutely brilliant

Great video , I live near and have visited slapton sands many times in commemoration of operation/exercise tiger tragedy of ww2. Great to learn more about the firefly and Sherman m4, thanks

A crewman on this after a normal Sherman must've thought "right fritz! Time for you to get yours!!!"

It occurs to me that if you were a German crew member of a towed anti-tank gun (rather than in an armoured vehicle) then the 75 mm Sherman was more of a threat to you, because it could blow you to bits with a high explosive round?

loved this as with the other Tank Chats but would always like more. The Chrysler multibank engine sounds interesting too so will have to learn more about it. Thanks for Tank Chats, they are appreciated.

Nice video. Thanks David. That tank is much larger than I thought it was.

I didnt know Albert Einstien was a tank expert.

When it comes to asthetics, the 17-pounder is my favourite gun of ww2. Panthers Kwk-42 comes close but 17-pounder is still the sexiest.

Great speech great video and those photos are brilliant. Thanks!

Love this guy.

British Sherman best Sherman

2:12 Being hit on the weld _"didn't do it any good"_. Love it.

No idea how I ended up here, but the David Attenborough of tanks seems to be a very knowledgeable well presented gentleman, who's very informative and interesting to watch! Well done sir!!

Great stuff, sir. Thank you.

Thanks for yet another very interesting video! This is yet another exmple of a very good characteristic of the Sherman. It was how well it could be converted to other variants. Just think of it. The Shermans itself used four guns. 75mm, 76mm, 105mm and the 17pdr. Also, the M10 and M36 TD-s with 3-inch and 90-mm guns were based on the Sherman chassis. Also, they built so many specialized vehicles on the Sherman. The Duplex Drive amphibious tank, the Crab mine-clearer, the M32 ARV. What other tank of WWII era was so flexible?

The 17pdr on my Dad's tank got stuck into the side of a ditch or gulley. They had some of the crew from another disabled Sherman crammed into the turret. It was pitch dark and when dad pulled forward the tank went down into the gulley, forced the gun back and ejected a round onto the lap of one of the "passengers"...Austin Baker. (From his wartime diary with the 4/7 RDG. The length of the barrel could certainly pose problems at times, hence the gun cradle on the side of the rear deck.....when out of the line That is !

Best video yet, the firefly is awesome!

I love the Firefly, it's a amazing tank and very unique.

That officer at Lulworth Camp decided to bring all the lulz to the Germans.

David Fletcher for PM 👍🏻

Great video...very informative. Thanks for your work. Cheers!

Brilliant as always.

A thirty plug engine... it sounds dreadful but it worked very well! Lol

Sherman is a lot bigger than I thought.

excellent talk as usual! Well done! well done!

Got your little book on the Firefly mr Fletcher. My fave WW2 Tank with the Panther.

7:40 Sherman Easy 8: Am I a joke to you?

"The only Sherman that could knock out any German tank .." That makes it the best Sherman by a long shot ...no pun intended

Love this, thank you !!

Well done, David! Greetings from Germany!

The17 pounder Firefly was British, the Americans should have used the 76mm Sherman that was comparable to the Firefly, but failed to do so.

Sir the 17 pounder won't fit!

Thank you for the great video in detail and changes made compared with the US Sherman. Keep up the good work!

Thank you for teaching more on the firefly!

Americans - puts a 76 on a small turret sherman, you can’t figth on it, you don’t have the space. British- hold my tea, because that fits a 17 pounder

Never heard of an American firefly, the British kept them all, after all thy developed it , the US Army said it wasn't possible, like many, many things they were wrong as usual

David your chats make my day

Amazing thanks! 😃 would love to see more of the inside! 😍