Sherman and sandbags

[jrc]

We see lots of photos of Shermans absolutely covered in sandbags even though Paton forbid it.
Question is did they actually do any good or did it just make the crew feel safer?
It must have added tons to the Sherman, especially when wet, and murdered the suspension and fuel consumption.

[[ICE]monkey]

i think they helped , but as you say more a security thing for the crew

[30+]

The same thing goes with welded on track links... I read in a book that tests during the war showed that they were more effective against HE grenades rather than AT grenades, since they weren't made from the same high-grade steel as the rest of the tank.

But on the other hand, if they - just like the sandbags - made the crew feel safer doing their job, they were a big morale booster.

Cheers, Jens

[[ICE]monkey]

i read that as well on the german armour the track links on the turret actualy made the armour less effective with certain rounds at a certain range

regards, ice

[jrc]

Yet somebody must have thought they did some good as they had engineers creating frames to hold the sandbags, not a small job when you see it.

[tankmad]

If I was in a tommy cooker against Tiger tanks I would wan't as much protection as possible.
Stevie