The m26 was always regarded as an underpowered vehicle until it. Cooper random house publishing group, dec 18, 2007 history 384 pages. Belton was an ordnance officer in the 3rd armored div or spearhead division. The main theme of the book is that m4 sherman was, as the title implies, a death trap. This was a heavy armored division that was the tip of the spear of the allied advance across europe. Read tons of textbook, novel and other ebook genre includes audiobook at. Yes, it sucked under some aspects but it was a totally effective war machine, it contributed to the victory of many important battles. Lets clarify this once for all the sherman tank was not one of the best tank of the war. Death traps is the fiction, military, action, thriller and adventure novel which plots the story of the retired army officer cooper. Death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii, by belton y cooper.
Belton youngblood cooper, 89, of birmingham, died saturday. Cooper grew up in huntsville and attended the virginia military institute and the university of michigan. Ive got the impression elsewhere that belton y coopers book death traps played a fairly significant part in the negative reputation the sherman suffered, as anyone can guess from the title he wasnt exactly on the fence when it came to the sherman but with that in mind i think he was pretty unfair to them. In his 1998 book death traps, belton cooper, who was a lieutenant in the 3rd armored division during world war ii, working as a liaison officer for the divisions armor repair units, made the claim that general george s. Belton cooper saw how the german panzer tanks were destroying the.
Invariably, when this topic is raised in an online forum, someone will bring up the book death traps by belton cooper. I have recently read belton coopers memoir death traps and generally liked it but i would like to make a couple of remarks on it. 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 is built around this question. The book while a descent memoir is almost nothing factually correct when it comes to a sherman, the pershing or any us armor. The death rate for tankers in europe was 3% the safest combat. Belton coopers description of the inadequacies of the m4 sherman tank and the superhuman efforts of maintenance crews to restore damaged ones to combat is very gripping. Death traps by belton cooper and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Was the sherman tank of ww2 fame a death trap or a good. Jan 30, 2020 the 5 tanks to kill a tiger and the rear shot is based on belton cooper\s book death traps written by a man who never was in a sherman or in combat. Ps i got most of this information from reading belton y. Jun 30, 2016 on a separate note with a completely different opinion of the sherman,there is the memoir death traps by belton cooper.
May 14, 2016 the consequences of the sherman decision are brutally detailed in belton cooper s vivid memoir death traps. Patton was primarily responsible for delaying the development and production of the m26. Death traps is a somewhat unique book among books written about wwii in so far that it features the. An important contribution to the history of world war ii. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii ebook. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii. Cooper served with united state army s 3rd armored division fighting the germans in 19441945. His laments about shermans being no good against tigers and panthers are questionable, as his unit did not encounter tigers and panthers when he. Belton coopers book death traps is a good book about the sherman. Remembering the death traps belton cooper 3rd armored division. When author belton cooper found himself assigned to the hardcharging 3d armored division, he discovered that recovering the divisions brokendown, battle damaged, and even destroyed tanks often took him and his team of technical experts to the front lines, and. Your favorite tank and why page 14 forum dakkadakka. For the same reason internet hobby historians love to rate the tiger ll as the greatest tank ever the m1 abrams is based off it dontcha know and routinely place rommel at the top of the list of greatest generals ever. Coopers book, death traps about americas sherman tanks in wwii, and had brought my copy for him to.
Defective timing tensioner cause catastrophic damage to your engine. Interesting perspective from the maintenance and support perspective of armored vehicles in wwii. Aug 28, 2000 as a young ordnance lieutenant in the 3d armor division, it was belton cooper s job to travel with the combat units during the day and assist in coordinating the recovery, repair, and evacuation of the battledamaged tanks. Belton cooper s controversial memoir death traps makes interesting reading. However, the truth is apparent to those that read belton coopers book, death traps that while armored vehicles can be knocked out most if not all, of them can be recovered and put back into service, if they are not allowed to totally incinerate. Death traps a look at sherman tanks in wwii mouse click the following post oct 18, 2019 at 2. Read death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii by belton y. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by belton y.
Why is belton coopers death traps considered unreliable. In a book about patton, a book about the third army, a book on the battle of the bulge, and a book called against the panzers however, ive read at least 7 separate incidents where groups of shermans attacked a superior number of panthers in the majority of these, the. He served in the unit responsible for recovering damaged and destroyed tanks. 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.
Death traps is a shocking firstperson story of the fatal vulnerability of americas tank force in france and germany in 1944 and 1945. 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. Cooper served as an ordnance liaison officer of the us 3rd armored division from the invasion of normandy until the end of the war. The main theme of the book is that m4 sherman was, as the title implies, a death trap to the men that operated them. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Cooper, 9780891418146, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. I have never before been able to learn so much about maintenance methods of an armored division, with precise details that underline the importance of the work, along with descriptions of how the job was done. Im not sure if it is still availableit was outofprint for a while. Losses of us sherman crew in ww2 sat at around 8% while infantry at %. Death traps is a very good memoir by belton cooper. His stories are vivid, enlightening, full of lifeand of pain, sorrow, horror, and triumph. A good historian looks at multiple perspectives and hard evidence, not just a single book to justify their already existing bias.
Coopers book, death traps about americas sherman tanks in wwii, and had brought my copy for him to autograph. Sep 14, 2002 one was read online, and the other two in belton coopers death traps. Jan 27, 2015 one of the more popular books regarding the sherman tank is death traps by belton cooper. Cooper s experiences in the battle to defeat germany. Its a perfect example of taking autobiographies with a grain read.
On the official william cooper website, his family states that his death was apparently not related to his opposition to the federal government, but came as a result of a sheriffs deputys attempt to serve a warrant in a local matter. 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. Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged american tanks. When it was first introduced in the north african desert in mid1942, the m4 sherman was the most powerfullyarmed and most heavilyarmored tank in north africa. While death traps offers a decent perspective of a soldiers first hand experience, thats all it is, a perspective. Coopers incredible book, death traps, which follows the 3rd armored divison spearhead from normandy to the heart of germany. The 3rd armored division entered combat in normandy with 232 m4 sherman tanks, writes belton cooper, author of the appropriately named death traps, a study of u. Cooper is president of the herman williams company in. Belton youngblood cooper, sr 19172007 find a grave. Death traps 9780891417224 by cooper, belton and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. I was pretty sure that i found this in a book recently, within the last 6 months, and was intrigued by the concept. Belton was a tank maintenance officer in europe and was responsible for seeing that disabled shermans were retrieved and refitted if possible. So, someone asked me my opinion on belton coopers book death traps and all hes a damn heretic jokes aside.
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. The book itself is called death traps and it refers to the thousands of crew members who died or were injured in sherman tanks because the tank was designed by a committee and it was no match for german panzers with far superior armour and firepower. Death traps the survival of an american armored division in. Death traps by belton cooper is a memoir of his us army service in world war 2. Please read the above talk page descriptions of all of the horrendously bad history that is in coopers book. 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. This has been repeated everywhere from internet forums to the history channel. His book reflects his frustrations at having to send young, undertrained tank crews out to almost certain death in the face of mark iv, mark v and mark vi german tanks. Belton coopers memoir of his world war ii service with the 3rd armored division in europe is a gem. The book, commonly found, is wellwritten, an easy read, and provides good insight as to the thinkings and workings of a junior grade ordnance officer in a field unit. Weigley, author of eisenhowers lieutenants cooper saw more of the war than. Its really a kind of visual presentation of belton cooper s book, death traps.
Cooper s death traps, about american armored units in. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii presido press new york 2003 9780. Coopers room, where he was confined to a wheelchair due to a leg broken from a household fall. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii belton y.
Later, cooper recalled the experience in a book, death traps. Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone. Cooper death traps cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone. A memoir by a world war ii ordinance officer offers a behindthescenes account of his ordnance inspections during the european campaign, detailing his experiences on the front line and his job coordinating the recovery and repair of. The technical inferiority of american to german armor in world war ii is well documented and very familiar to students of that conflict. Original title isbn 9780891418146 published on 1998. Death traps by belton cooper is a memoir of his us army service in world. Jul 28, 20 in belton coopers death traps on page 175 he claims the german tanks had a qualitative superiority of as much as five to one over our m4 sherman. As a young ordnance lieutenant in the 3d armor division, it was belton cooper s job to travel with the combat units during the day and assist in coordinating the recovery, repair, and evacuation of the battledamaged tanks.
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. Belton cooper was a mechanic during the war, and thus lacked a good overall perspective of the shermans performance. The only tank that came even close to the only tank that came even close to the tiger, or the panther, was the m24 chaffee, which had a 90mm gun. As a member of the 3rd armored division maintenance battalion, he had liaison duties that took him far and wide, so he saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than most anyone. Jan 30, 2015 death traps and fury fury is a relentlessly grim world war ii movie, and as the source autobiography death traps makes clear, it should be. Coopers death traps tour i recently completed a 3day tour with the cooper family from the usa. His laments about shermans being no good against tigers and panthers are questionable, as his unit did not encounter tigers and panthers. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
A maintenance officer who served in the legendary third armored division spearhead, cooper was charged with the critical task of locating damaged shermans, directing their recovery, and ensuring the flow of new or repaired tanks to. Cooper was not the first author to take this position, but. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by benton y. It keeps coming up in forum threads as people keep citing it, so i figured i may as well make my position clear in a more formal manner. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by author belton y. Rebecca cooper, a very pretty lady, full of southern charm, answered the door. You can read about its uparmoring in belton coopers book death traps or you can read about one of its gunners in john irwins another river, another town. It was a short paragraph, talking about how theres a literary effect that happens when authors use words derived from other words in their stories, and how using those words creates a paradox of sorts.
Coopers experiences in the battle to defeat germany. Ayer was influenced by the service of veterans in his family and by reading books, such as belton y. Belton coopers death traps is fabricated nonhistory and should not be used as a reference i just removed a reference from coopers book that somebody tried to sneak in. Death traps is the military, fiction, action and adventure novel which plots the story of the retired.
Death traps by belton y cooper 1998 tanks wwii germany. History, military, military fiction, military history, nonfiction, war, world war ii. I read this book immediately after reading spearhead. Given the title of the book, he is the main proponent arguing that the shermans long lasting combat years were a mistake. I surprise how much attempt you place to make this type of excellent informative website.
This memoir by a world war ii 3rd armor division ordnance officer seems to have generated a fair amount of controversy amongst tank enthusiasts. The united states world war 2 main battle tank, the m4 sherman was obsolete by 1944. If you are enjoying fog of war videos, please subscribe to the youtube channel and like my videos so i. We use the traditional book grading system of from best to worst. The book is advertised as giving an insight into tank combat. It s not a bad memoir highlights a lot of ordnance officer activities, but it is a bad technical source so you can read this to see where all the misconception of us armor has come from. Sep 30, 2016 for the same reason internet hobby historians love to rate the tiger ll as the greatest tank ever the m1 abrams is based off it dontcha know and routinely place rommel at the top of the list of greatest generals ever.
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