Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford · Episode 22 · May 29, 2026 · 39 min
Can You Make a Sherman Tank Float?
It’s D-Day and the Allies are about to invade Nazi-occupied France. For the landings to succeed, American soldiers on Omaha Beach will have to break through some formidable coastal defences - Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. Sherman tanks will come in very handy - and the Allies have come up with a novel solution for getting them to the beach. These tanks will swim. Everyone from Winston Churchill down thought swimming tanks were a great idea… but were they? For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.