The M1 Abrams ( / ˈ eɪ b r ə m z/) is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. US$6.21 million (M1A2 / FY99) Estimated in 2016 as US$8.92 million (with inflation adjustment) When you watch Fury, remember Stuart Hills – and all those who experienced the extraordinary reality of life inside a World War II tank.Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) Esprit de corps, that intangible quality that kept people together during the horrors and terrors of battle, was crucial in those metal boxes. In the extreme close quarters of the tank, the interplay between the crew members was incredibly important.

Tank crews that fell out with each other were much more likely to end up dead”.

“Trust”, said Hills, was “a key commodity. The tank had to be an informal place where rank was forgotten – except in battle – and first names were used. His tank did not make it to the beach, sunk by a shell fragment, but his crew survived. His crew were all 22 and 23 years old, he was 19. He commanded a one of the “swimming” tanks that were to accompany the infantry onto Gold Beach. The tank regiments used in D-Day were made up of such crews, both veterans from the desert campaigns and raw recruits. This was especially true of the Sherman, the tank that features in Fury – to such an extent that there are stories about Germans calling them “ronsons” after the Ronson lighter – the joke was that they lit up first time. Cut off from the world at war around you, hunkered in an armoured vehicle, yet when you were hit, all you had was a small hatchway between you and incineration. Limited views and limited space was what all of those whose served in them had. But the veteran said that he would not be able to recognise any of the places as all he ever saw of the terrain was a letterbox sized slit view, always looking straight ahead. As a treat, his son planned to drive him around all the old sites of his war service in Normandy, Holland and Germany. I was once told a story by a World War II veteran who served as a radio operator in one of the British Army tank regiments.

In Fury, starring Brad Pitt and Shia leBeouf, we follow the story of five American soldiers, a crew serving in one tank in Germany, 1945. The latest corner of World War II to be dramatised for the big screen is small.

American tank crew modern