I have always thought that the Sherman just couldn't 'hack it' against any of the German tanks from Panzer IV onwards - too little armour, too high a profile, too feebly armed.
Was this something to do with an American concept of 'cavalry' action - fast-moving with tanks in a 'point'/recon role ? I'd be interested to see others' views on this.
Anyhow, as we all know it got there with sheer weight of numbers but I can understand the 'Tiger-phobia' in Normandy . Very daunting for the crews and a nasty way to die.
I'd like to research more about the Sherman 'Firefly' - the British-modified version with the 17-
pr anti-tank gun.( One of these, I think, accounted for Wittmann ).