I READ a reader's letter last week about the Battle of Second Alamein, and, as a military historian, felt I had to comment.
Unfortunately, your writer is incorrect about seeing Sherman tanks fitted with mine-clearance devices at this battle. The vehicles would, in reality, have been the experimental Matilda Scorpions, from which the Sherman Crab mine-clearer was eventually developed and used from D-Day, June 6, 1944 onwards.
About 300 Sherman tanks were used in action for the first time at Second Alamein, and many were rushed into action with radios and other equipment missing until the last minute -- there would have been no time to convert any of these into mine clearance vehicles.
Moreover, as the best tank available to the British Shermans were too precious to use for subsidiary tasks such as mine clearance, for which more expendable, obsolete, vehicles like the Matilda were plentiful.
Flail tanks were not perfect mine clearers; mines were missed by the chains, especially as every detonating mine tore off the chain that hit it. Eventually the vehicle was statistically certain to be blown up on a mine if the minefield outlasted the number of chains, or if the depleted set of chains missed a mine in the path of the vehicle's tracks. Following vehicles were not guaranteed immunity either, although losses were normally kept within acceptable limits.
Charles Markuss
Melrose Road
Bolton
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article