Cooper random house publishing group, dec 18, 2007 history 384 pages. Will bring tears to the eyes of any retired or active 19 kilo vet for sure. Belton cooper was a mechanic during the war, and thus lacked a good overall perspective of the shermans performance. Other people have pointed out that all tanks are death traps, which is true. Discussion in the library started by aquist, apr 18, 2005. Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged american tanks. Invariably, when this topic is raised in an online forum, someone will bring up the book death traps by belton cooper. Belton was an ordnance officer in the 3rd armored div or spearhead division. Thats a full 33 years before death traps hit the book shelves. From there, i printed off allot of photos and kept them above my work bench for reference, oh, the double door loaders hatch i made from pvc plumbing pipe found at home depot. Was the sherman tank a deathtrap once penetrated by a.
Cooperss book is somewhat unusual in that cooper served in a support unit instead of combat arms. Please note, with regards to my latest mingles with jingles where i talk about belton coopers death traps book, that while coopers book is an entertaining read, its been pointed out to me that he presents a lot of opinion as historical fact, and ive annotated links in this video to an operation thinktank video where they specifically address issues that cooper got wrong and which ive. An important contribution to the history of world war ii. Nor did it originate with belton coopers book in 1997, who scion trys to dismiss as an ignoramus. When taking that all into consideration, its becomes clear just how far off the mark pos and his conclusions are. If you read death traps you understand the tone of the movie as well as why the eponymous tank is named fury. Thanks, me old matey, for your offer of a loan of the book death trap. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii belton y. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii is a 1998 memoir by belton y. The five to one legend wasnt something that belton cooper just pulled out of his ass sometime in the 90s. And to what extent the answer is no, depends on the model. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by benton y. The united states world war 2 main battle tank, the m4 sherman was obsolete by 1944. Read belton coopers book death traps to get a better understanding of what our tankers went through in world war 2.
I am sorry to be a pain, but i dont know how to private message you since you seem not to have. This is why belton coopers death traps misses the mark. The problem is, john keegan mentioned the legend his 1989 book, and so did janusz piekalkiewlcz in his 1986 book. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii ebook. Cooper served with united state armys 3rd armored division fighting the germans in 19441945.
A memoir is a historical work, and a primary source, of course a memoir could be wrong, and should be contrasted if possible with other sources, but definitely memoirs are historical works and primary sources. Later, cooper recalled the experience in a book, death traps. There are armor wonks on the web today who nitpick death traps to death without doing much harm to coopers major thesis. Wwii 90mm freedom seed the leading glock forum and. Read death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii by belton y.
He served in the unit responsible for recovering damaged and destroyed tanks. Why is belton coopers death traps considered unreliable. But the wikipedia article on the film mentions it was inspired by death traps, the autobiography of maintenance company officer belton y cooper. Does anyone have a copy of belton wassnames book death traps to loan me. The book is a memoir that constantly makes claims about things the author had no direct involvement with, a thing you should never do when writing a memoir.
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Losses of us sherman crew in ww2 sat at around 8% while infantry at %. A good historian looks at multiple perspectives and hard evidence, not just a single book to justify their already existing bias. In a downtoearth style, death traps tells the compelling story of one mans assignment to the famous 3rd armored division that spearheaded the american advance from normandy into germany. Coopers experiences in the battle to defeat germany. Belton coopers death traps was the first book i ever read on maintenance and logistics during ww2. This was a heavy armored division that was the tip of the spear of the allied advance across europe. It was already a well established myth by that point.
The main theme of the book is that m4 sherman was, as the title implies, a death trap to the men that operated them. Belton coopers book death traps is a good book about the sherman. It was a literal death trap for the crews manning it. The main theme of the book is that m4 sherman was, as the title implies, a death. Written by 3rd armored world war ii veteran belton cooper of birmingham. Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from penguin random house. Weather or not is a true story, it is a great movie. I surprise how much attempt you place to make this type of excellent informative website. Death traps death traps is easily one of the bestknown memoirs of any us junior officer during world war ii, and certainly so for the us armored forces. The tactics and equipment for the time period are dead on. Our metal brother from another mother tom salzburg our fearless leader of coopers dead things and a staple in the music community and one bad ass drummer.
Death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii the survival of an american armored division in world war ii by belton y. The information in this obituary is based on data from the us governments social security death index. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii 9780891418146. As a young ordnance lieutenant in the 3d armor division, it was belton coopers job to travel with the combat units during the day and assist in coordinating the recovery, repair, and evacuation of the battledamaged tanks. I have never before been able to learn so much about mai.
It is written in the style of a memoir, but it also presents itself as a history of the 3rd armored division, the unit in which cooper served as an ordnance lieutenant. Cooper served as an ordnance liaison officer of the us 3rd armored division from the invasion of normandy until the end of the war. You can enhance belton coopers memory by upgrading beltons public record with words and pictures, signing beltons memory book, recording an audio memory or lighting a candle. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii, published in. Death traps the survival of an american armored division. The true saga of spearhead heroes of a different sort.
Sherman tank performance page 5 axis history forum. For measurements, i referred to belton coopers book death traps and other sources on the pershing. Death traps a look at sherman tanks in wwii mouse click the following post oct 18, 2019 at 2. Gen patton refused to go with the m26 90mm gun, in favor of the 75mm m4 series of tank. When belton cooper was a young boy growing up in huntsville, he dreamed of building the worlds first unsinkable battleship. But when we ask if the sherman was specifically a death trap were comparing it to other tanks. He was an ordnance officer, not a tanker and thus could not know whats its like to fight in a tank against tanks. The book relates coopers experiences during world war ii and puts forth an argument against the us armys use of the m4 sherman tank during the war.
I read this book immediately after reading spearhead. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii. Death traps is a somewhat unique book among books written about wwii in. Death traps the book the true saga of spearhead heroes of a different sort written by 3rd armored world war ii veteran belton cooper of birmingham, alabama, and first published in 1998, death traps has received wide acclaim in military circles. His laments about shermans being no good against tigers and panthers are questionable, as his unit did not encounter tigers and panthers when he. With a forward by popular historian stephen ambrose and the backing of a major publisher, death traps has become quite well known amongst ww2 history aficionados. What are some common misconceptions about nazi germany. Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost. Myths and facts about m4 sherman and t34 wwii forums. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii, published in 1998. Remembering the death traps belton cooper 3rd armored division.