Gurth

On 7/16/2018 at 5:57 AM, Jeeps_Guns_Tanks said:

The biggest problem with written direction really is when it does not get read.

Comparing US Army TMs from the 1940s–60s to those of the 1980s and beyond shows this very clearly: the former have walls of text with airbrushed photographs showing the main things to do (and the older the manual, the fewer the photos), the latter mainly have line drawings that illustrate every little step in the procedure, with relatively short bits of explanatory text to go with them.

The question arose because I’m building a model of a specific British tank, and in most of the photos I have of it, it looks like the armour plates are darker than the rest of it. However, I’m now beginning to think that the tank is in American OD and wasn’t overpainted entirely by the British, since on close inspection, most or all the British additions (like the track stowage racks on the hull front) are darker than the rest of the tank, as is a patch of paint on the hull side which — if this theory is correct — could be a touch-up job with SCC 15.

Does this sound plausible or am I barking up the wrong tree completely?

Hoping someone here knows: were British Sherman Vs delivered with or without appliqué armour on the hull sides? That is to say, would that have been applied in Britain, but with plates pre-painted in American olive drab that appears darker in b&w photos than the British SCC 15 olive drab that the rest of the tank would have been painted in?

Question: Would mid- to late-production M4A4s (with no direct vision blocks) have had the mesh shields around the turret basket as on early-production M4A4s, or not?

13 hours ago, EnsignExpendable said:

What is a mine snake hatch and a red bird lamp? I assume that the first is a hatch to drop mine-clearing detonation cord of some kind

Snake was a mine-clearing device that consisted of lengths of explosive-filled pipe (basically Bangalore torpedo) pushed across the minefield by the tank, and then detonated. I suspect the hatch is intended for easier access to that through the belly of the tank, so as not to expose the crewman to enemy fire. Not sure why they couldn’t use the escape hatch, but maybe this modification involved a hatch that wouldn’t drop to the ground and had to be lifted back into place?

13 hours ago, EnsignExpendable said:

 

but what's the second? A red tinted lamp that doesn't spoil your night vision maybe?

No idea, sorry.

Here are some more pics of the same tanks, but now after the war.

This is Cock o’the North, but before its spare track links etc. were removed; it’s in the same place as the photo @EnsignExpendable posted, with the wooden wall behind it. Interestingly, it rides on T48 tracks and has those on its hull front, but for some reason there seems to be a length of T49 track on the turret. Unfortunately I’ve not found any other photos that show this side of the tank during or shortly after the war so I can’t tell if it was there during the war too. You can tell it’s a command tank, though, by the antenna mount on the right hull front, and the photo also shows there’s a bracket for probably an extra antenna on the right rear of the turret (the other Sherman V, let’s call it “Bramble”, has that too).

Talking of which:

This one I particularly like because it looks like someone cleaned a paintbrush on the side of the tank.

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Looks like "Cherry"

That’s actually the codename of the LCT it was carried in  The number 6 also refers to that — both were on all the Shermans Vs and Crabs carried in that particular landing craft.

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has all sots of improvised stowage on the glacis.  Just judging by the location and the other stuff, it may have been for an unditching beam or small fascine.

 

It’s just a generic stowage rack, going by photos of the tanks in use in early November 1944:

“Cock o’the North” is on the right, behind the crowd, in both photos. The other one, “Bramble” (actually another LCT codename) is the tank that’s on the right in the first photos I posted, and also the one shown firing on German positions in the YouTube film I linked to above. All these photos appear to be stills from (the uncut version of) that film, as the picture below shows if you’ve watched the film:

And a few more, of the tanks supporting Commandos:

11 hours ago, Jeeps_Guns_Tanks said:

 

Please post more pic

Will moving pictures of Shermans (these, plus Crabs) coming ashore under fire do? How about of Shermans firing on Germans (hey, that rhymes)? Plus the odd AVRE, more LVTs and M29Cs than you can shake a stick at, and as a bonus, Hawker Typhoons making attack runs?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIber1VFkn4

Edit: why doesn’t it embed the video? Or doesn’t this forum support that?

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I love the M4A4, since it has the most interesting motor. 

You’re not going to say that anymore after you’ve tried fitting the 1/35th scale one by Resicast into a model.

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Welcome to the forum!

Thanks

Thanks

Here are some more photos of the same tank:

It’s the one on the left in both. The tank in the background of the first photo is a Churchill AVRE.

Does anybody know what the rectangular things on the front fenders are? They look like some kind of jerrycan holders, but don’t seem to be the right size for that.

And in this one, I’ve been wondering what the round thing is that’s leaning against the turret. It might not be from a Sherman at all, of course, but I can’t figure it out.

On 4/28/2018 at 9:57 PM, EnsignExpendable said:

Hehe, cock

 

Funny/interesting: I came across this thread (and forum) when looking for information on the M4A4 to build a model of exactly this tank a while ago, and by now have managed to read it to the end and find … the tank that started me reading here in the first place.

It’s indeed a Sherman V, fitted with (the lower section of) the deep-wading trunks at the back of the hull. I could post more pics of this tank, if there’s interest, and of the other four (one Sherman V and three Crabs) that were close to it, and remained there for several years after the war.