Source:http://ftr.wot-news.com/2014/08/14/is-the-star-on-the-firefly-correct/
来源↗

Author: David “Listy” Lister
原作者：↗

With the recent WOT trailer for Gamescom, the sharp eyed amongst you have spotted the long awaited Sherman Firefly.
最近在Gamescom上放出了新的WOT宣传片，眼尖的群众一定发现了万众期待的谢尔曼萤火虫。

Now, I’ve noticed an outburst of people getting wound up by that photo. Claiming a British tank had “US Stars” on it. This is not the case, and WG haven’t dropped a clanger. It is historical… sort of.
我注意到很多人由于这张图片而变得很兴奋。他们表示为什么一辆英国车上会有个“美国的星星”。这其实不是什么大事，也不是WG犯了个什么错误。这个其实是史实的……某种程度上是的。 

First a disclaimer: Whenever discussing British tank markings, be aware that its very random. British units had guidelines for their markings – however, individual units interrupted those, as they saw fit. Some stuck to the letter of the guidelines, while others ignored it and did their own thing. Many fell between the two extremes, so keep that in mind while reading the following.
首先是个声明：当讨论英国坦克的标记的时候，请记住，这些东西其实是很乱的。英国的部队有关于他们所使用的标记的指导方针—然而部分单位无视了这些玩意，看上去合适就行了。部分单位遵守着条条框框，而其他的就开始自由发挥了。许多标记都落在这两个极端之间，所以请记住这一条。

Those US stars were a common identification marking used by all armies in Europe and to an extent, in Italy. The reason, why you don’t often see them is because they’re normally carried on the upper surfaces of the tanks, so that aircraft pilots can see them.
这些美国的星星在欧洲是很常见的辨识标记，而在意大利也有使用。大家一般看不见这些星星的原因是因为他们一般都是被画在坦克的顶上的，这样飞机的驾驶员就能看见它们了。 

Originally the symbol was this:
这个图标的原型是这样的：

译注：图上文字为“虚线圈带白色的星星”

And was found all over the tanks and vehicles. However, it was quickly found to make a brilliant bullseye for German gunners. So was quickly switched to a low visibility scheme, or simply removed from the hull sides.
这个图标在所有的坦克以及车辆上都有。然而后来他们发现这个图标对于德国坦克手来说是个很好的靶子。所以他们后来很快就换了一个可见度比较低的式样，或者干脆直接从车身侧面抹掉。 

Equally the single star was often applied:
同样，一般他们就只画一个星星：

However some units carried on using a White star or similar. As can be seen here:
然而部分单位依然在使用白色的星星，或者差不多的玩意。如图：

But again the markings are on the areas of the tank least likely to be seen. So while the Gamescom trailer is technically correct, it was rather rare to see a tank with the star mounted on the side. But it did happen:
当然了，这些星星还是被画在了坦克上最不容易看见的位置。所以Gamesocom的宣传片从学术上讲是对的，然而在生活中还是很少能看到坦克侧面有个星星的。但这的确有可能，如图：

As all Allied vehicles carried the star this annoyed the Canadians, whom resented having to carry a marking that appeared to be from the US. Here again the flexible nature of the regulations came into play. The Canadians started painting their stars on their sides. As can be seen here:
虽然所有的盟军车辆都有这么个星星，但是加拿大人却表示很反感，因为他们很不喜欢在自己的车上出现一个源自于美国的标记。规章制度的灵活本性就开始发挥作用了。加拿大人开始在自己的车侧面画星星。如图：