Cooper served with united state armys 3rd armored division fighting the germans in 19441945. Cooper served as an ordnance liaison officer of the us 3rd armored division from the invasion of normandy until the end of the war. Belton cooper s death traps is fabricated nonhistory and should not be used as a reference i just removed a reference from cooper s book that somebody tried to sneak in. He saw a lot of battle damage on american tanks from german guns. It was a literal death trap for the crews manning it. He has appeared in programs on pbs and the military channel.
Tank busting blowing up the myth of the mighty m4 sherman. 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. When belton cooper was a young boy growing up in huntsville, he dreamed of building the worlds first unsinkable battleship. 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. During the european campaign, the division had some 648 sherman tanks completely destroyed in combat and we had another 700 knocked out, repaired and put. 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. Death traps by belton cooper is a memoir of his us army service in world war 2.
Sep 04, 2008 people who know absolutely nothing about minis should stay out of this thread. John is finally on his first real mission with the crystal gems. I have never before been able to learn so much about mai. Death traps the survival of an pobierz pdf z docer. A unique look at the war from a maintenance officers perspective. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by belton y. But between a skeptical topaz dirk, an overeager tourmaline roxy and emerald jake, an ancient pyramid overflowing with traps, and his own inexperience, it wont be. Coopers experiences in the battle to defeat germany. An important contribution to the history of world war ii. It was an unofficial army rule in ww2 because that was what was happening in combat. Belton cooper makes it seem as though to go to battle in a sherman meant certain death. Belton coopers death traps is fabricated nonhistory and should not be used as a reference. Invariably, when this topic is raised in an online forum, someone will bring up the book death traps by belton cooper. He was a liaison lieutenant in the 3 rd armor division for the maintenance battalion.
I would like to know why death traps by belton cooper is considered irrelevant. What i want and need for you to know my brothers and sisters in struggle is this. Read death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii by belton y. In 1985 1 kevin cooper was sentenced to death by the county government in san diego, ca. Please read the above talk page descriptions of all of the horrendously bad history that is in coopers book. Death traps, belton coopers aptly name book about american armored divisions in ww2 evidences this fact. Death traps the survival of an american armored division in world. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by. 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.
Cooper served as an ordnance lieutenant in the 3rd armor division 3ad, acting as a liaison officer between the combat commands and the division. Nov 22, 20 death traps, belton coopers aptly name book about american armored divisions in ww2 evidences this fact. This format is not eligible to earn points towards the reader rewards program. By kevin cooper on febuary 10th, 2004 1 am scheduled to be the next human being legally murdered by the government of this state.
If you read death traps you understand the tone of the movie as well as why the eponymous tank is named fury. Sep 12, 2017 nor did it originate with cooper, but with the g. The sherman had the second highest crew survivability of any ww2 tank second only to the mk vii churchill. The united states world war 2 main battle tank, the m4 sherman was obsolete by 1944. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii, published in 1998. The very idea that he promotes that you disregard an eyewitness account should be suspect to you. The 3rd armored division entered combat in normandy with 232 m4 sherman tanks. People who know absolutely nothing about minis should stay out of this thread. Pdf death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii belton y cooper stephen e ambrose books. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii is a 1998 memoir by belton y. Steven zaloga, an internationally recognized military historian, has written numerous books on the vehicles and campaigns of world war ii, including armored thunderbolt 9780811704243, armored attack 1944 9780811707695, armored victory 1945 9780811707718, and the devils garden 9780811712286. The german army in the second world war sought to fight and win swift, decisive victories in a succession of short campaigns blitzkrieg, or lightning war. City population history from 18502000 city, county 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 % change 9000 2000.
The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by benton y. There are some accidents, that no one is going to walk away from, even if youre driving a hummer. Cooper s experiences in the battle to defeat germany. Download pdf armor in normandy the germans book full free. Belton youngblood cooper october 4, 1917 may 26, 2007 served in the reserve. Death traps and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. As a young ordnance lieutenant in the 3d armor division, it was belton coopers job to travel with the combat units during the day and assist in coordinating the recovery, repair, and evacuation of the battledamaged tanks. Please read the above talk page descriptions of all of the horrendously bad history that is in cooper s book. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii is built around this question. Fun fact, if you discount 1941, take the casualties from all forces on the eastern front and count losses properly ie, total irrecoverable losses from combat for either side and most importantly dont count total military deaths, pows and those killed after becoming pows as 3 separate numbers. Dec 18, 2007 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.
Chuck seitsinger can be found street racing the death trap on discovery channels hit show street outlaws. If you would rather not receive this please let me know. He was there, he lived through it, he wrote about it. I played some rounds of it with nanners, gassy, and ritz. Journal of sergeant giles, by henry giles a sherman tank commander a full 33 years before death traps was written. Weigley noted, went all through the second world war refusing to develop, until too late to do much good, heavier tanks comparable to the german tigers and panthers, let alone the royal tiger or the russian stalin. Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged american tanks. I just removed a reference from coopers book that somebody tried to sneak in. Later, cooper recalled the experience in a book, death traps.
Hes determined to prove hes ready to start accompanying them. Page 6 189 i put the report and other sensitive documents in a small. Pdf armor in normandy the germans download full pdf. What are some common misconceptions about nazi germany. Cooper is president of the herman williams company in birmingham, alabama, where he lives with his. 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.
He really does not think that the m4 sherman was a good tank in any way, and uses any fact, any scenario he can to back his opinion. 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. Jul 01, 2003 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. Death traps is a reliable source because it is an eyewitness account. Some arguments are ok he reels off the vital statistics of the sherman several times, comparing them to the m26 patton, the panther, the t34, and at. Oflag ix ah and oflag ix az research news 4 january 2011 the last of these irregularly published news sheets was published in may last year.
Since my research now extends to the camps at spangenberg and rotenburg, i have changed the title to reflect the scope of my research. Jan 29, 2015 invariably, when this topic is raised in an online forum, someone will bring up the book death traps by belton cooper. 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. The book relates cooper s experiences during world war ii and puts forth an argument against the us armys use of the m4 sherman tank during the war. Anyone interested in this website may also be interested in the book death traps. Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he.
Losses of us sherman crew in ww2 sat at around 8% while infantry at %. And if he is irrelevant, then why would hunicutts books be considered relevant. 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. He served in the unit responsible for recovering damaged and destroyed tanks. Telecharger des ebooks, romans, livres gratuitement en format epub et pdf sans inscription ni. Armor in normandy the germans available for download and read online in other formats. Because eyewitness accounts are always 100% correct and should be take at face value. Death traps available for download and read online in other formats. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii is told from the point of view of an american junior officer keeping the tanks in nazioccupie.
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