Sherman tanks who faced an uphill battle against more powerful German tanks during World War II.
Such a fact probably gave very little comfort to the five-man crews of U.S. Subscribe to to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox.Sometimes a "good enough" military technology can achieve victory over better military technologies. Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, has you covered. Blake Stilwell can be reached at He can also be found on Twitter or on Facebook. Caldwell, a company commander with the 26th Marines, said of the modified flamethrower tanks, "In my view, it was the flame tank more than any other supporting arm that won this battle." Japanese deaths numbered around 18,000.Ĭapt. But the tanks kept on, dousing the defenders with about 10,000 gallons of napalm every day of the battle.įighting on Iwo Jima raged on for 36 days, killing nearly 7,000 Americans. The Japanese troops did everything they could, including suicidal attacks, to stop the Shermans from torching their defenses. "Zippo" tanks - as they came to be called - were much more effective against the caves and reinforced concrete than aerial bombardment or naval artillery. Once their effectiveness was realized, however, word quickly spread, and Marines held off their advances until the flaming Sherman tanks could be brought to bear. The Navy landed all eight of its flamethrower tanks onto Iwo Jima on the first day, but they weren't used until the second day of fighting. Marines now had an armored vehicle that fired napalm-thickened death through a 75mm main gun with a range of 150 yards. Navy Seabees finally modified a Sherman M4A3 tank with the Mark-1 flamethrower. Marine Corps)Īfter a few iterations of mounting flamethrowers onto light-armored vehicles in the Marianas and on Peleliu, U.S.
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