The idea of fitting a 17-pounder gun into a Sherman tank was rejected by the Ministry of Supply's Tank Decision … See more

W. G. K. Kilbourn, a Vickers engineer working for the DTD, transformed their idea into the reality of the prototype of the tank that would serve the British forces from the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. The first thing Ki… See more

The nickname "Firefly" was adopted due to the bright muzzle flash of the main gun. During the war, Shermans with 17-pounder guns were usually known as "1C", "1C Hybrid", or "VC", depending on the basic mark of th… See more

The main armament of the Sherman Firefly was the Ordnance Quick-Firing 17-pounder. Designed as the successor to the British QF 6-pounder, the 17-pounder was the most powerful British tank gun of the war, and one of the … See more

Three different variants of Sherman Firefly served during the Second World War, each based on a different variant of the M4 Sherman. The Firefly conversion was carried out on Sherman I (M4), Sherman I Hybrid (M4 … See more

Fireflies were introduced to armoured brigades and divisions in the 21st Army Group in 1944, just in time for the Normandy landings. The timing was fortunate as Allied intelligence had begun to realize in early 1944 through … See more