Ronsons

The_Chieftain:   If that were the case, then Sherman crews wouldn't have the lowest casualty rate per knocked-out tank, right?    

The_Chieftain:   Put a few rounds into anything and they'll burn. However, the Germans understood that the American recovery effort was very, very good, and a knocked out tank could still be repaired only to have to be fought again in a while. As a result, situation permitting, German gunners would fire repeatedly into US vehicles, even if they were already known to be knocked out, until the tank caught fire. A burned tank is scrap metal and cannot be effectively repaired. This, however, also meant that a very high percentage of M4s recovered were burned, higher than may otherwise have been expected. Impressions at the receiving end are everything.    

The_Chieftain:   Yes.   There is no reason for either the Ordnance Branch or Armored Force to take a test which says "Guys, find out what is causing the tank to catch fire" and falsify the result to say "It's the ammunition"    

The_Chieftain:   I admit, I haven't read the rationale of as to why the AR-15 was initially rejected by the Army before being properly tested, but in this case, one cannot say that the M4 was not being properly tested.