American medium tank Sherman IC Firefly Hybrid COBI 2276 - World War II

You know that:

• The M4 Sherman tank was produced in many versions from 1942 until 1945 in 6 different American and British factories.
• In addition to many modifications, the tank was also produced with a square (welded) or round (cast) hull. Crews favored the cast version because they believed in greater resistance to enemy shells. This has never been independently verified.
• The IC Firefly Hybrid version was delivered as part of Allied aid to Great Britain, where the OQF 17-pdr long-barreled gun was installed in the turret. Tanks with the hybrid designation had a combined hull made from the front cast parts, while the other parts were welded.
• A total of 49,234 Shermans were produced in various versions, of which the Hybrid version accounted for 2,096.
• In addition to the many upgrades, versions such as the bulldozer, pontoon carrier, salvage tank, deminer and flamethrower were also produced.
• The tank had ammunition stored in water with glycol to reduce the risk of fire in the event of a hit.
• More than 4,000 units were also delivered to the Soviet Union in aid.
• The tank was very popular with Red Army crews because of its high reliability. The T-34's steel tracks lasted approximately 2,500 km of driving, while the rubberized ones on the Sherman more than doubled that. However, even the Sherman had its weak points. The driver's hatch was so unfortunate to open that the gun barrel could hit it when the turret rotated, and you can imagine what happened when the 20 kg heavy hatch fell on the driver's head.
• The machine ZEMSTA II (POMSTA) belonged to the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Tank Regiment Krechowiec Uhlan formed from Polish prisoners of war in Russia. The regiment was commanded by Polish General Wladyslaw Anders, who was at the head of the Polish army at the very beginning of World War II, when Poland was invaded by Germany and Russia. During the fighting he fell into Russian captivity, was taken to Lvov and imprisoned. After the German attack on the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, General Anders was released from prison to form the Allied Polish Army. He was subsequently sent to the Middle East and Italy, where he took part in the Battle of Monte Cassino. General Anders was aware of the monstrosity of communist ideology and was never going to submit to it. It was for this that he would be stripped of his rank as a general and even his Polish citizenship in 1946. He spent the rest of his life in London working for the government in exile. General Anders died right during the 26th anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Monte Casino where he is also buried.

Technical parameters:

• length 5.9 m (6.27 m with cannon), width 2.75 m, height 2.62 m
• weight 33 000 kg
• frontal armour strength up to 51 mm/47°
• propulsion gasoline engine Continental R975 C3 with 298 kW
• 5 forward speeds + 1 reverse speed
• maximum speed 38 km/h
• fuel tank capacity 660 litres
• range 160 km on the road
• wading depth 0.91 m
• main weapon OQF 17 pounder cannon calibre 76,2 mm
• maximum fire range 13 716 m
• turret turn time 360° 15 seconds
• secondary weapon 1x 12.7 mm Browning M2HB machine gun (300 rounds) + 2x 7.62 mm M1919A4 MG machine gun (4,750 rounds each)
• crew of 4

Collector's card: