It's never made clear. We don't know how much time they spend in one location before moving on. The movie likely takes place over a few days.
All US tanks from the Sherman through the Pershing/Patton series (the last being the M60A3 which was operational into the mid-1990s) had a hatch below the driver's compartment. The Sherman had a hinged hatch. The Pershing/Patton series had unhinged hatch covers that dropped to the ground, and normally took two men to lift back in place. The M1 Abrams series eliminated the hatch to avoid feeding oxygen in case of fire inside the vehicle.
Most likely. They probably would have cast someone with singing talent.
These are not laser beams, they are "tracer rounds". Tracers are usually every fifth round which are typically loaded in machine guns and tank shells as a way to determine where the rounds are actually firing. Should they miss, you can adjust your aim accordingly by watching the direction the round is firing.
The average lifespan can't really be confirmed. But it is a generalization that Allied tank crews suffered heavy losses at the hands of the superior German armour, which is true.
The Sherman tank was used by the Allies in every theatre of World War 2 and was famed for its speed, maneuverability, reliability, ease of mass production and ease of repair/maintenance. However, its' initial 75mm, and later on 76mm gun, was generally incapable of penetrating the main armour of its' German counterparts, the Panther, Tiger 1E, and later King Tiger. The Panther's high-velocity 75mm gun, and the Tiger and King Tiger's 88mm gun (initially designed for anti-aircraft roles) could easily defeat the Sherman's armoured protection, as could German infantry anti-tank weapons. The Sherman's high profile also made it comparatively easy to spot, and its' use of a petrol (gasoline) engine gave it an unfortunate propensity to burst into flames when hit. British and Canadian troops nicknamed them 'Ronsons' due to this fact in reference to a brand of cigarette lighters that are guaranteed to 'Light every time'. The Germans rather more bluntly referred to them as 'Tommy cookers'. The German tanks also used petrol engines, but one model of the Sherman, the M4A2, did use a diesel engine, but most of its production went to the US Marines in the Pacific, and the Russians.
You can find the armor stats for almost any armored fighting vehicle in history online. Look up the Tiger I, King Tiger, and the Panther; both later models had sloped armor which greatly added to deflecting armor piercing rounds, compared that with the Sherman. It was simply pitiful for the General in charge of Ground Forces, Lesley McNair, to be allowed to send so many soldiers into battle in such an inferior weapon, that was practically obsolescent after the introduction of the Tiger. But the Sherman was designed as an infantry support tank, not a tank-vs-tank unit, like its German opponents (and most modern-day 'main battle' tanks).
Generally, German tanks were technically superior to Allied tanks. The problem the Germans had was that with a war on two fronts, and heavy Allied bombing, they simply couldn't produce the tanks quick enough. Their tanks were also over-engineered, and units produced towards the end of the war tended to break down too easily. Additionally, on the last year, they also ran out of manpower to crew the tanks. The Tiger tank was a heavy tank at 54 tonnes, versus the Sherman at 30-33.5 tonnes but (as shown by the film) it could only be knocked out by the Sherman's cannon at close quarters, from the side or behind where the armor was thinner. The Sherman could also do it with the specialized 76mm High-Velocity Armor-Piercing ammunition (type M93 HVAP) but this was in very limited supply, and priority went to the M10 'Wolverine' and the M18 'Hellcat'. Battlefield comments from Normandy onwards showed that on average it took the loss of 7 Shermans to knock out one Tiger tank. The US did, however, have a lot more tanks than the Germans. The German antitank weapon called the Panzerfaust (seen in the film, being pulled from its packing crates in the darkness) was also greatly feared by Allied tank crews. The one-shot LAW-type device had a hollow charge and could knock out any Allied tank at close range (the Panzerschreck was a heavier reloadable bazooka-like weapon). During the last months of the war in Europe, the Allies also had greatly superior air power as well and this helped to negate the tank advantage on the ground that the Germans had. The film showcases the Sherman's main strengths in combat - bristling with machine guns (including the powerful .50 M2HB, nicknamed the 'Fifty' or 'Ma Deuce') and its maneuverability, which made it an excellent infantry support weapon.
Its interesting to note that the tanks shown in the movie were a mixed bag: 'Fury' was an M4A2E8 (76)W HVSS Sherman tank, and 'Lucy Sue' an M4A2 Sherman, but as you don't see the engine decks, so for sake of the story, they could be mistaken for petrol-fueled units (the A2's carried a diesel powerplant. 'Matador' is an M4E8 (76)W HVSS Sherman, 'Murder, Inc.' an M4A4 Sherman, and 'Old Phyllis' an M4A1 (76)W Sherman. All but Lucy Sue were later 'W' or wet-stowage ammunition types, and only Matador and Fury had the main gun capable of doing serious damage to the Tiger, and the later HVSS wide suspension track system. They carefully did not use the up-gunned British Shermans, which got a powerful 17-pounder QF gun of equivalent calibre to the 76mm, but with considerably more penetration - this Sherman was called the Firefly.
You can find the armor stats for almost any armored fighting vehicle in history online. Look up the Tiger I, King Tiger, and the Panther; both later models had sloped armor which greatly added to deflecting armor piercing rounds, compared that with the Sherman. It was simply pitiful for the General in charge of Ground Forces, Lesley McNair, to be allowed to send so many soldiers into battle in such an inferior weapon, that was practically obsolescent after the introduction of the Tiger. But the Sherman was designed as an infantry support tank, not a tank-vs-tank unit, like its German opponents (and most modern-day 'main battle' tanks).
Generally, German tanks were technically superior to Allied tanks. The problem the Germans had was that with a war on two fronts, and heavy Allied bombing, they simply couldn't produce the tanks quick enough. Their tanks were also over-engineered, and units produced towards the end of the war tended to break down too easily. Additionally, on the last year, they also ran out of manpower to crew the tanks. The Tiger tank was a heavy tank at 54 tonnes, versus the Sherman at 30-33.5 tonnes but (as shown by the film) it could only be knocked out by the Sherman's cannon at close quarters, from the side or behind where the armor was thinner. The Sherman could also do it with the specialized 76mm High-Velocity Armor-Piercing ammunition (type M93 HVAP) but this was in very limited supply, and priority went to the M10 'Wolverine' and the M18 'Hellcat'. Battlefield comments from Normandy onwards showed that on average it took the loss of 7 Shermans to knock out one Tiger tank. The US did, however, have a lot more tanks than the Germans. The German antitank weapon called the Panzerfaust (seen in the film, being pulled from its packing crates in the darkness) was also greatly feared by Allied tank crews. The one-shot LAW-type device had a hollow charge and could knock out any Allied tank at close range (the Panzerschreck was a heavier reloadable bazooka-like weapon). During the last months of the war in Europe, the Allies also had greatly superior air power as well and this helped to negate the tank advantage on the ground that the Germans had. The film showcases the Sherman's main strengths in combat - bristling with machine guns (including the powerful .50 M2HB, nicknamed the 'Fifty' or 'Ma Deuce') and its maneuverability, which made it an excellent infantry support weapon.
Its interesting to note that the tanks shown in the movie were a mixed bag: 'Fury' was an M4A2E8 (76)W HVSS Sherman tank, and 'Lucy Sue' an M4A2 Sherman, but as you don't see the engine decks, so for sake of the story, they could be mistaken for petrol-fueled units (the A2's carried a diesel powerplant. 'Matador' is an M4E8 (76)W HVSS Sherman, 'Murder, Inc.' an M4A4 Sherman, and 'Old Phyllis' an M4A1 (76)W Sherman. All but Lucy Sue were later 'W' or wet-stowage ammunition types, and only Matador and Fury had the main gun capable of doing serious damage to the Tiger, and the later HVSS wide suspension track system. They carefully did not use the up-gunned British Shermans, which got a powerful 17-pounder QF gun of equivalent calibre to the 76mm, but with considerably more penetration - this Sherman was called the Firefly.
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