B-Ration: Were Sherman Tanks on the Western Front Death Traps?

POV:WW2 — Cinematic Stories from World War II · May 28, 2026 · 4m

This is the latest in a bonus content series called “B-Rations" (B for Bonus). The next full episode of POV:WW2 is due out on June 4th so keep an eye on the feed.

Sources and for further research:

"One Casualty Per Tank": Trevor N. Dupuy's analysis of 898 U.S. First Army tank losses (797 medium and 101 light tanks) confirms an average of 0.98 crew casualties per knocked-out tank.

Sherman vs. T-34 Survivability: The ORO-T-117 report corroborates that the fatality rate for Sherman crews was 24.6 percent when their tank was destroyed, compared to approximately 28 percent for T-34 crewmen.

The…