Because they were part of a Seven Nation Army!
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Dad joke
Q: When does a bad joke turn into a dad joke?
A: When it is full groan
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Did anyone actually answer the man’s question?
Allied air recognition stripes. “Friend or Foe” designations.
This was something we sprang on the Germans at D-Day Normandy to cut down on “friendly fire” incidents.
Rumor has it this used up all the white paint in Britain.
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because they were all out of pink!
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Apparently there was enough left over to piant white stripes on their cows.
I had to look it up… completely unaware of that band & song… 
I know this, but the joke is still funny. I modified it from a comment on a youtube short (from one of those robot voice history channels that usually doesn’t even get to the point and half of the time spreads false information)
Did some one mention me ?
Generally we are not striped, more random blobs or areas of white …
Hi there … we are more striped in appearance, so it may of been us you meant that had white stripes added to confuse everyone
… All Zebras are naturally black all over, we add the stripes just after birth 
Getting back to the original question …vehicles with white stripes? As replied above, Allied aircraft had B/W stripes for air recognition, but I don’t recall tanks, or vehicles with B/W stripes (other than a recognition white star). It would sort of be self-defeating from a camoflage standpoint. The large white star, itself, became a convenient aiming-point for German A/T.
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The frontal weak spot on the Shermans was the hull MG port, so the start didn’t do too much, maybe make the front more obvious? But Soviet invasion forces had white stripes/crosses on the turret sides/roof. Many photos of IS-2 tanks can be found with such stripes, although T-34s aren’t seen much like this. I take it that a similar reason for the stripes was used.
I don’t recall white stripes in WWII for US vehilcles, but it doesn’t men it didn’t happen. The Italians used a large white circle. (disc) The Israelis have used. Obviously the Russians used white striped in Berlin during WWII and during later “liberation” operations. Israelis used blue and white crosses early on, and then white stripes. The Brits and French displayed large white H’s during the Suez crisis. In '67 Syrians used white “donut” circles.
So I’d say it’s feasible.
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The white stripes were on the planes beginning at D-Day. (with black as well)
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Ummm…I believe the PAK 88 could pretty well take out a Sherman from any angle from a kilometer. The PAK 75 could use the hull-side star as aiming point for a flank shot.
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Your remark about the 88 and the Sherman is most certainly correct. The Sherman was a block of cheese to the 88.
Broad white and black stripes where for aircraft recognition and not usually (if ever) for ground vehicles.
Stars on Allied vehicles were most definitely used by the Germans as “aiming points.”
About the only way for a Sherman to survive a “hit” from an 88 was if that “hit” were actually a “miss.” (Or a glancing blow.) Which did not happen all that often thanks to the great German optics.
I believe it was Willi Fey who encountered a problematic Sherman in Normandy. His first two shots were glancing blows off the turrets’ curved sides. Luckily for him, a Sherman couldn’t take out a Tiger from any range (with exceptions!), and his third shot was better aimed.
Not frontally, at least. The long 76 sermans probably could do something, though.
Those 76 mm guns were actually quite useless, at least against Panther’s, and Tigers. Both Patton, and Eisenhower were totally pissed at the performance of the gun. The only Sherman tank-mounted gun capable of doing any damage to those tanks was the British 17 lb’er. That having being said, there’s always the odd instance of a lucky, or accidental, shot disabling a tank from relatively close range.
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