In his book death traps belton cooper believes that the m4 got many american servicemen unneedlessly killed due to intentionally poor construction. His stories are vivid, enlightening, full of lifeand. Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from penguin random house. Cooper s experiences in the battle to defeat germany. Cooper, 9780891418146, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. 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. Death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii ebook. Cooper served with united state armys 3rd armored division fighting the germans in 19441945. Cooper, an ordenance officer in the us 3rd armoured division, across the west european campaign of wwii and as such fills a very important gap in. Death traps an important contribution to the history of world war ii. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii, which can be purchased at a lower price at. He was a liaison lieutenant in the 3 rd armor division for the maintenance battalion. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii belton y.
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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read death traps. I eagerly awaited this book s coming out since i heard of its release. 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. He served in the unit responsible for recovering damaged and destroyed tanks. From some checking on the arm chair general, there seems to be some discussion as to its historical accuracy.
His stories are vivid, enlightening, full of lifeand of pain, sorrow, horror, and triumph. On april 30, 2001, i drove to belton coopers house in a very nice neighborhood in birmingham, book, tape recorder, and gifts in hand, and rang the front doorbell. Belton cooper s memoir of his world war ii service with the 3d armor division in europe is a gem. Cooper served as an ordnance lieutenant in the 3rd armor division 3ad, acting as a liaison officer between the combat commands and the division maintenance battalion. 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. Death traps by belton cooper and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Cooper is a very polished writer, and the book is very readable. The 3rd armored division entered combat in normandy with 232 m4 sherman tanks. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by belton y cooperbuy.
I have recently read belton cooper s memoir death traps and generally liked it but i would like to make a couple of remarks on it. Belton cooper s book death traps is a good book about the sherman. Read death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii by belton y. 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. 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.
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. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by benton y. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii at. Cooper death traps cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone. The survival of an american armored division in world. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii is a 1998 memoir by belton y. The sherman had the second highest crew survivability of any ww2 tank second only to the mk vii churchill. Death traps by belton cooper is a memoir of his us army service in world war 2. He saw a lot of battle damage on american tanks from german guns.
Belton cooper s controversial memoir death traps makes interesting reading. Death traps ebook king county library system bibliocommons. I would like to know why death traps by belton cooper is considered irrelevant. 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.
The united states world war 2 main battle tank, the m4 sherman was obsolete by 1944. His laments about shermans being no good against tigers and panthers are questionable, as his unit did not encounter tigers and panthers when he. 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 served as an ordnance liaison officer of the us 3rd armored division from the invasion of normandy until the end of the war. Discussion in the library started by aquist, apr 18, 2005. Rebecca cooper, a very pretty lady, full of southern charm, answered the door. 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. Ebookscart page 1292 of 1450 free books one click away. As a member of the 3d 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. Over 52,000 copies have been sold, and a third printing is set for 2006. Death traps, belton y cooper shop online for books in new. Does anyone have a copy of belton wassnames book death traps. About death traps an important contribution to the history of world war ii. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by belton y.
Death traps 9780891417224 by cooper, belton and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. Belton was an ordnance officer in the 3rd armored div or spearhead division. 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 somewhat unique book among books written about wwii in. Apr 29, 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.
Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged american tanks. Cooper pdf death traps is the military, fiction, action and adventure novel which plots the story of the retired. Jan 03, 2016 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. Written by 3rd armored world war ii veteran belton cooper of birmingham. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Belton cooper makes it seem as though to go to battle in a sherman meant certain death. Death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii. Belton cooper was a mechanic during the war, and thus lacked a good overall perspective of the shermans performance. Rent or buy death traps 9780891418146 by cooper, belton y. The true saga of spearhead heroes of a different sort.
When belton cooper was a young boy growing up in huntsville, he dreamed of building the worlds first unsinkable battleship. 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. 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. This was a heavy armored division that was the tip of the spear of the allied advance across europe. On april 30, 2001, i drove to belton cooper s house in a very nice neighborhood in birmingham, book, tape recorder, and gifts in hand, and rang the front doorbell. 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. Cooperss book is somewhat unusual in that cooper served in a support unit instead of combat arms. Jan 29, 2015 invariably, when this topic is raised in an online forum, someone will bring up the book death traps by belton cooper. And if he is irrelevant, then why would hunicutts books be considered relevant. 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. Ambrose from his foreword in a downtoearth style, death traps tells the. I read this book immediately after reading spearhead. Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost. Death traps the survival of an american armored division.
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. Death traps, belton cooper s aptly name book about american armored divisions in ww2 evidences this fact. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii. Death traps is a very good memoir by belton cooper. 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. Cooper served as an ordnance lieutenant in the 3rd armor division 3ad, acting as a liaison officer between the combat commands and the division. Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone. May 26, 2007 it was the first trip by this yankee to alabama. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii ebook. Death traps is the fiction, military, action, thriller and adventure novel which plots the story of the retired army officer cooper. As one who loves wwii history, i could not put this book down. Invariably, when this topic is raised in an online forum, someone will bring up the book death traps by belton cooper.
Losses of us sherman crew in ww2 sat at around 8% while infantry at %. Apr 15, 2003 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. 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. Ambrose from his forewordin a downtoearth style, death traps tells the compelling story of one mans assignment to the famous 3rd armored division that spearheaded the. An important contribution to the history of world war ii. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii ebook written by belton y. How the super pershing got that super to its name for. 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. Patton and other generals whose belief in mobility over heavy armor kept the sherman medium tank as the standard. With regards to ww2, many socalled experts have determined that the american m4 sherman tank was one of the worst weapons fielded by the allies. Later, cooper recalled the experience in a book, death traps. American tank crews quickly learned that these death traps were no match for heavier german tanks such as the panther and king tiger. If you are enjoying fog of war videos, please subscribe to the youtube channel and like my videos so i. 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.
I have never before been able to learn so much about mai. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii 9780891418146. Cooper, an ordenance officer in the us 3rd armoured division, across the west european campaign of wwii and as such fills a. 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. Coopers experiences in the battle to defeat germany. 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 is an interesting and very readable memoir of a time when american soldiers went into battle with second rate weapons, and the price they paid to defeat a better equipped foe.
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