The M4 Sherman medium tank was regarded by many as the workhorse of the US Army during World War II. In fact, virtually all of the Allied armies employed the Sherman in their armed forces, including the British, who developed an upgunned variant called the "Firefly". Eleven different US plants manufactured six basic models of the Sherman, and by June 1944 over 49,234 battle-ready vehicles had been produced. While it was no match for the German Panther or Tiger tanks, the Sherman soldiered on, using its weight in numbers to wrest control of Europe from the Wehrmacht.

Early Shermans mounted a 75mm medium-velocity general-purpose gun. Later M4A1, M4A2, and M4A3 models received the larger T23 turret with a high-velocity 76mm gun M1, which traded reduced HE and smoke performance for improved anti-tank performance. The British offered the QF 17 pounder (76.2 mm) anti-tank gun with its significant armour penetration but a significant initial (later rectified) HE shortcoming to the Americans but the US Ordnance Department was working on a 90mm tank gun and declined. Later M4 and M4A3 were factory-produced with a 105mm howitzer and a new distinctive mantlet in the original turret. The first standard-production 76mm-gun Sherman was an M4A1 accepted in January 1944 and the first standard-production 105mm-howitzer Sherman was an M4 accepted in February 1944.

Dragon Armor is proud to announce its first ever Firefly Mk. Ic. Based on the Sherman I (M4), it has a cast one-piece differential housing and a characteristic turret stowage box - this housed the radio equipment that was displaced by fitting the larger gun. The turret and lower hull are brand new castings that capture the characteristic look of this Sherman variant. Painted in a standard green camouflage scheme, the tank is finished in the markings of a Polish Firefly from the 2nd Squadron, 1st Krechowiecki Lancers, Polish 2nd Armoured Brigade 'Warsawka'. This particular tank, christened 'Rycerz', served in Italy in 1945. This new scale model, the first Firefly IC of its kind in the Dragon Armor range, is more than ready to take on its German counterparts in a duel! Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 3-1/4-inches
Width: 1-1/2-inches

Release Date: June 2008

Historical Account: "Return to the Continent" - 2nd (Warsaw) Armoured Brigade (Polish: 2 Warszawska Brygada Pancerna) was a unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West that existed from 1942 to 1945. From 1945 to 1947, it was redesignated as the 2nd Warsaw Armoured Division. (Polish: 2 Warszawska Brygada Pancerna) The unit was the armoured wing of the 2nd (Polish) Corps.