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Products mentioned in this Article
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Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) includes five Sherman V / Firefly VC plastic spures, one plastic Tank Commander sprue & one British Tank decal sheet. During 1942-43 the standard size of an armoured troop (platoon) was three tanks and had served the British well. However, it became clearer as the war progressed that the standard 75mm gun of the Sherman would not be powerful enough to deal with the ever increasing amounts of armour the German were applying to their tanks. This model is no longer available for purchase... |
Already in service in 1943 was the excellent 17 pdr Anti-tank gun and it was decided to mount this in a Sherman turret. After some trial and error, a mounting was affected. The new 17 pdr armed Sherman was dubbed the Firefly. The Firefly was then issued to the armoured divisions, with most formations issuing them to the Armoured Troops as an extra tank, thus bringing the strength of a troop up to three Shermans and a Firefly. |
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Some squadrons grouped their Fireflies together in a single troop, and later in the war some Armoured Troops had up to two Fireflies. The Sherman V (M4A4) was the most common Sherman available to the British Armoured Divisions (while the Independant Armoured Brigades mostly had Sherman III) during the D-Day landings. To keep mechanical repairs and maintenance streamlined the Firefly VC (based on the M4A4) was issued to the Armoured Divisions. Designed by Will Jayne Painted by Blake Coster |
The Sherman V / Firefly VC Plastic Sprues |
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Tank Commander Sprue |
British Tank Decal Sheet |
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The Firefly VC in Flames Of War |
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Armour |
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Name |
Mobility |
Front |
Side |
Top |
Equipment and Notes |
Weapon |
Range |
ROF |
Anti-tank |
Firepower |
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Firefly VC |
Standard Tank |
6 |
4 |
1 |
Co-ax MG, Tow hook. |
OQF 17 pdr gun |
32"/80cm |
2 |
14 |
3+ |
No HE, Semi-indirect fire. |
Firefly VC (late) |
Standard Tank |
6 |
4 |
1 |
Co-ax MG, Tow hook. |
OQF 17 pdr gun (late) |
32"/80cm |
2 |
15 |
3+ |
No HE, Semi-indirect fire. |
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The reliable Sherman tank equips the armoured regiments of most British armoured brigades and divisions. The armoured divisions place their faith in the new Sherman V with its Chrysler multi-bank engine. The armoured brigades make do with the older Sherman I, II, and III. |
All of them are equipped with the excellent Sherman Firefly VC armed with a long-barrelled 17 pdr anti-tank gun, ideal for taking out the big German tanks. The Firefly will keep the enemy tanks occupied as your Shermans rush around the flank to finish them off. |
No HE Some weapons come equipped only with armour-piercing ammunition, and have no high explosive ammunition at all, reducing their effectiveness against infantry and ‘soft’ targets. Hits from weapons with No HE cannot be allocated to Infantry or Gun teams. If only Infantry and Gun teams are valid targets, all hits from weapons with No HE are ignored completely as the anti-tank gun has no targets. Gun teams with No HE are not completely helpless against Infantry teams though as they can shoot as Rifle teams if necessary (see page 117 of the rulebook). |
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Armour |
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Name |
Mobility |
Front |
Side |
Top |
Equipment and Notes |
Weapon |
Range |
ROF |
Anti-tank |
Firepower |
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Sherman V |
Standard Tank |
6 |
4 |
1 |
Co-ax MG, Hull MG, Tow hook. |
M5 75mm gun |
32"/80cm |
2 |
10 |
3+ |
Semi-indirect fire, Smoke. |
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Tow Hooks The infantry often had difficulty getting their anti-tank guns forward after attacks, so an armoured brigade in Tunisia devised a very clever solution. They fitted their tanks with tow hooks allowing them to tow the 6 pdr guns. It worked so well that soon almost every British tank was fitted with a tow hook. Any tank fitted with a tow hook may tow a 6 pdr or 17 pdr gun, carrying the crew as Passengers riding on the Tanks (see page 47 of the rulebook). |
Semi-indirect Fire British heavy tanks often open fire at very long ranges, where their prolific use of ammunition can compensate for the difficulty of hitting the target. It means that their ammo racks empty fast, but there’s plenty more available for resupply. Weapons capable of Semi-indirect Fire that didn’t move in the Movement Step may re-roll failed rolls to hit when shooting their main guns at platoons with all teams more than 16”/40cm away. |
Smoke Sometimes your weapons won’t destroy the enemy quickly enough to prevent them from wreaking havoc on your own troops first. One way to protect your troops in the meanwhile is to fire smoke at the enemy to temporarily impair their vision. Only weapons listed as having the Smoke attribute in their Arsenal may fire smoke. Some weapons can also fire Smoke Bombardments (see page 136 of the rulebook). |
The Contents of the Sherman Armoured Platoon Box Set |
Contact the customer service team at [email protected] if you have any issues with any of the components. |
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Description of Components |
a. 5x Plastic Sherman V / Firefly VC hull sprues. |
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Description of Components |
a. 5x Plastic Sherman V / Firefly VC track sprues. |
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Description of Components |
Description of Components |
a. 1x Tank Commander sprue. |
a. 1x British Tank Decal sheet. |
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Assembling The Sherman Armoured Platoon Join Blake as he demonstrates how assemble the Firefly VC and Sherman V included in the new all-plastic Sherman Armoured Platoon. Assembling The Sherman Armoured Platoon...
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Last Updated On Wednesday, February 20, 2019
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