In June of 1944, after D-Day, the Allies dispatched armored forces to Europe to join the fight. The American Army's second and third armored divisions were designated “heavy armored divisions,” and were equipped with the M-4 Sherman tank. The GIs hoped the Sherman was the finest tank on earth, but in fact, the American tank was woefully inadequate. When faced with a powerful gun and heavy armor of the German Panther and Tiger tanks, all too often, the Sherman was reduced to a, “steel coffin.” Bert Close, was a 19-year-old Sherman Tank crewman. During the war, he was forced to bail out of four destroyed Sherman tanks.