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 is a very good memoir by belton cooper. 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 war ii download. 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. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii is a 1998 memoir by belton 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. In a downtoearth sort, death traps tells the compelling tale of 1 mans task to the recognized third armored department that spearheaded the yankee enhance from normandy into germany. Cooper s experiences in the battle to defeat germany.
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. 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. Rebecca cooper, a very pretty lady, full of southern charm, answered the door. 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. Coopers experiences in the battle to defeat germany. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read death traps. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii pdf for free category. 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. I surprise how much attempt you place to make this type of excellent informative website. Cooper random house publishing group, dec 18, 2007 history 384 pages. Invariably, when this topic is raised in an online forum, someone will bring up the book death traps by belton cooper. 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.
Because eyewitness accounts are always 100% correct and should be take at face value. 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. 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. Cooper pdf death traps is the military, fiction, action and adventure novel which plots the story of the retired. 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. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii. Ambrose from his foreword in a downtoearth style, death traps tells the compelling story of one mans assignment to the famous 3rd armored division that spearheaded. Death traps is a reliable source because it is an eyewitness account. 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. 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 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.
Cooper s room, where he was confined to a wheelchair due to a leg broken from a household fall. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over. Coopers book is probably the most egregious example of citing a memoir and making more of it than. I have never before been able to learn so much about mai. Death traps is the fiction, military, action, thriller and adventure novel which plots the story of the retired army officer cooper. Over 52,000 copies have been sold, and a third printing is set for 2006. Death traps available for download and read online in other formats. Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he. Find link is a tool written by edward betts searching for death traps 181 found 185 total alternate case.
The very idea that he promotes that you disregard an eyewitness account should be suspect to you. 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. Losses of us sherman crew in ww2 sat at around 8% while infantry at %. Death traps is the military, fiction, action and adventure novel which plots the story of the retired. Death traps the survival of an american armored division in world war ii, by belton y cooper. Belton cooper makes it seem as though to go to battle in a sherman meant certain death.
He served in the unit responsible for recovering damaged and destroyed tanks. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii by belton y. The technical inferiority of american to german armor in world war ii is well documented and very familiar to. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii belton cooper on. Jan 30, 2015 but the wikipedia article on the film mentions it was inspired by death traps, the autobiography of maintenance company officer belton y cooper. The united states world war 2 main battle tank, the m4 sherman was obsolete by 1944. His stories are vivid, enlightening, full of lifeand of pain, sorrow, horror, and triumph. Death trap definition is a structure or situation that is potentially very dangerous to life.
Death traps the survival of an american armored division in. The final maximum ride adventure 2,028 words case mismatch in snippet view article find links to article have wings, and if motorcycles werent essentially extremely cool death traps, i would want to ride on one all the time. Cooper s book, death traps about americas sherman tanks in wwii, and had brought my copy for him to. 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. Apr 29, 2003 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 an important contribution to the history of world war ii. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii free ebook download. But the wikipedia article on the film mentions it was inspired by death traps, the autobiography of maintenance company officer belton y cooper. The sherman had the second highest crew survivability of any ww2 tank second only to the mk vii churchill.
It was a literal death trap for the crews manning it. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii ebook. Belton youngblood cooper october 4, 1917 may 26, 2007 served in the reserve. The survival of an american armored division in world war ii ebook written by belton y.
Cooper, 9780891418146, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. Death traps by belton cooper is a memoir of his us army service in world war 2. Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the ahead parts and used to be chargeable for coordinating the restoration and service of broken american tanks. 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. Belton was an ordnance officer in the 3rd armored div or spearhead division. 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. If you read death traps you understand the tone of the movie as well as why the eponymous tank is named fury. Death traps the survival of an american armored division.
Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Jan 29, 2015 invariably, when this topic is raised in an online forum, someone will bring up the book death traps by belton cooper. Death traps a look at sherman tanks in wwii mouse click the following post oct 18, 2019 at 2. He was there, he lived through it, he wrote about it. Death trap definition of death trap by merriamwebster. Mar 18, 2018 invariably, when this topic is raised in an online forum, someone will bring up the book death traps by belton cooper. An important contribution to the history of world war ii. 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. 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.
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