The M4 Sherman Tank Epic Information Thread.. (work in progress)

[LoooSeR]

Hull down position?

[Jeeps_Guns_Tanks]

2 hours ago, LoooSeR said:

Hull down position?

 

 

 

Probably flooded out in a shell hole. Believe it or not, on Tarawa, probably where the pic was taken, they had not even come up with a way to waterproof the hull, so water up to the hull hatches meant dead tank for sure. I think if it got much higher than the hull machine gun, they were in trouble, and several tanks not lost, lost all turret power, since the slip ring for the electrical system was under the turret, and not waterproof. 

[Scolopax]

2 hours ago, Jeeps_Guns_Tanks said:

 

 

Probably flooded out in a shell hole. Believe it or not, on Tarawa, probably where the pic was taken, they had not even come up with a way to waterproof the hull, so water up to the hull hatches meant dead tank for sure. I think if it got much higher than the hull machine gun, they were in trouble, and several tanks not lost, lost all turret power, since the slip ring for the electrical system was under the turret, and not waterproof. 

I'm curious if LVTs just working well enough was the reason DDs didn't get used in the pacific at all.

[Jeeps_Guns_Tanks]

That would be a good question to run by  Estes or Gilbert, my impression on this subject was there was literally almost no official communication between the Marines and Army about tank use and tactics. As an example of this, the Army and Marines both came up with the Infantry phone on the rear of the tank, and at roughly the same time, but did not share info.  The Marines had so little experience with medium tanks when they used them the first few times, they learned all kinds of lessons the hard way and lost more tanks to drowning and mechanical problems than the Japanese if I recall right.

 

They did try the float based floating Shermans on Okinawa, but they were not very successful, the floats would ground out before the tracks got a good bite, stranding the tank, unless the beach was perfect.  

[Jeeps_Guns_Tanks]

New post on the site. 

 

Sherman Tank Site Post 74: A  Guide Through The Maintenance Maze

While I was poking through some old issues of Army Motors, I ran into this fascinating little guide to the Armies maintenance system. Most people who have not dealt with some kind of large motor pool have no idea the large maintenance tail a big number of tanks or even trucks has.  A hell of a lot of men and equipment are required behind the front to keep the 5 men and their Sherman running in combat.

I thought this would be a good place to link to the new paper put out by Arthur Gullachsen on the Canadian Military History site. The report is called No Shortage of Tanks!: THe Canadian Army’s SYstem for the Recovery Repair and Replacement of A and B Vehicles and Major Weapons Systems. 

This fascinating report gives a very nice overview of the Canadian version of the echelon Maintenance system. Between the Army motors article and Arthurs Report, it covers just about any questions I could have come up with on how the Allied maintenance systems were run.

Special thanks to Hanno Spoelstra of the Sherman Register for finding the report!

[Walter_Sobchak]

This thing would be really convenient in rush hour traffic.

 

[Jeeps_Guns_Tanks]

1 hour ago, Walter_Sobchak said:

This thing would be really convenient in rush hour traffic.

 

 

 

Cool, a BARV!  Is that a recent shot?

[EnsignExpendable]

Here's a Sherman... mostly.

 

 

Yuri Pasholok says that in addition to the fenders the tracks and engine are also from the BMP-1.

[Jeeps_Guns_Tanks]

Whacky that the tracks fit the original sprocket! 

 

 

[EnsignExpendable]

Anything is possible if you believe

[Walter_Sobchak]

Not sure if this has been posted before.  It's one of the tanks used in the filming of Kelly's Heroes.

 

[Jeeps_Guns_Tanks]

11 hours ago, Walter_Sobchak said:

Not sure if this has been posted before.  It's one of the tanks used in the filming of Kelly's Heroes.

 

 

That poor Sherman, what have the dirty, scummy, smelly, hippies done to it?

[DogDodger]

Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? That's a mother beautiful tank!

[DogDodger]

Jeeps, very sorry but I somehow missed this post. I hadn't mentioned it or posted pictures because I was making a joke about the car I had just gotten, although to be honest its name was probably upwards of 20% of the reason I was interested in it... Anyway, since we're on the subject and since you'd probably be among the handful of people who would have any chance of appreciating the license plate I ordered for this German M4, here's a picture. Apologies for the off-topic post, but didn't want you to think I had been ignoring you and rest assured if I did somehow manage to buy an actual tank I'd be posting everywhere about it! Now back to actual tanks.

[LoooSeR]

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't like those fenders/mudguards on this thing. Wasn't it easier to not attach them to make it look closer to what it was?

[EnsignExpendable]

It was also easier to not put a DShK on top and paint stupid highlights, and yet they did it anyway.

[LoooSeR]

2 hours ago, EnsignExpendable said:

It was also easier to not put a DShK on top and paint stupid highlights, and yet they did it anyway.

Yeah, a work that was not needed for this job, which make all this look strange. 

"Highly motivated, low-skilled people - they are everywhere ..."

[Walter_Sobchak]

Here is a news story about it with subtitles

 

 

[EnsignExpendable]

lol @ the M4A1 behind the news anchor. Was it so hard to get a photo of the proper tank? Also the clown sticking out from the turret is wearing the uniform from the wrong era.

[Jeeps_Guns_Tanks]

6 hours ago, Walter_Sobchak said:

Here is a news story about it with subtitles

 

 

 

 

 

There is something Fishy about the restoration. I thought you could save metal that had been in salt water for long periods without putting it through some kind of process... 

 

The color and fenders are terrible. 

 

Still, gotta love them saving the Shermans from the sea. 

[Walter_Sobchak]

 

[Jeeps_Guns_Tanks]

New posts!

Sherman Tank Site News Post 17:  Summer is here, I have all kinds of content for updates, but less time than I would like. 

I am always tweaking the site and doing minor edits, but in the past few weeks, I've had time for some more major projects. There have been a few minor projects worth noting as well.

The Editor over at  Tank and AFV News sent me some very interesting reports that give a very interesting look into the Army's search for a suitable tank Motor.

THE NEW REPORTS! (They are new to the site, not new)

Ordnance Development of the Wright-Continental R-975 Radial Engine: This report is very interesting. It shows how long, and just how far the Army and Continental went to try and improve the life of the R-975 tank motor. By the time they were done, it was almost a new motor, but still not a great tank motor. Good enough for sure, but no Ford GAA, or as reliable as even the A-57!

Ordnance Development of the Chrysler a-57 Multibank Tank Engine:  This report is just like the one on the R-975, but all about my favorite tank motor, the Mighty A-57! This motor became shockingly reliable for how complicated it was. What made it great was the complication only came in mating the five motors, the banks themselves were solid, wells designed, motors.

Ordnance Development of the Ford Tank Engines: The same report, this time for the Ford GAA, GAN etc. Very interesting, the GAA had a lot of developmental bugs. Aircraft motors, even Vs do not always make the best tank motors.

Ordnance Report on all Army Diesel Engines, June 43:   This report is not exactly like the three above, but close enough. It is a very interesting look into the GM diesel program and the other oddball diesel.

Memorandum on Tank motors: This report is more of a summary of the Tank motors as of mid-June of 1942.

These reports will give you a very good look into why the US Army chose the motors they did and the story behind getting each one to work as a tank motor. They are interesting stories in their own right.

Also new,

Sherman Tank Site Post 75, From the Army Motors Archive: Your M4 Tank Steering Brakes Should Work Gentle’n Easy

So you want to know how to fix that hard to steer Sherman, now you can find all the info you would ever need right here.

Sherman Tank Site Post 74: From the Army Motors Archive! The Maintenance Maze

You ever wonder how something like the US Army with the hundreds of thousands of vehicles it had, kept them running? Well, this post will help clear it up a little.

Tank and AFV News new Video channel has some new videos

Tank and AFV News is doing a Video History of Tanks, check it out, it's good stuff, and he will get to the Sherman at some point!\

Episode one!

https://youtu.be/gvH3Glbc1ng

Episode Two!

https://youtu.be/iQbhtINly1E

Episode Three!

https://youtu.be/ccANscv0sQg

Episode Four!

https://youtu.be/Sw5J37XXtpk

 

I also updated a few pages with some minor changes and tweaks.

The only one with changes with linking too is this one.

• #20 How The Sherman Compared To Its Contemporaries:  Well, it did very well!

That's all for now!

 

 

 

 

Your M4 Tank Steering Brakes Should Work Gentle’n Easy. If not – Here’s what to do and how to do it. A Brand-new procedure – Easier, clearer, and completer than anything in your TM or Anyplace else. 

This Army Motors article is from May of 44s, issue of Army Motors, and outlines an easier and better way to adjust the Sherman or any other vehicle based on the M4 Chassis steering system. Don’t miss the complete section of Sherman Manual TM9-7018 Medium Tank M4A3,from September of 1954, posted below the Army Motors Story.

 

Read the pages of TM9-7018 Yourself, and compare:  Medium Tank M4A3, 1953 has this to say about the steering system and how to tune it.

This is the section of the last Army Manual on the Sherman, this should be the final authority on how to maintain the steering system on the Sherman.  It seems to match well with Army motors article. That’s no surprise, by 1944 the Sherman powertrain was very mature, and I’m sure they had the vast majority of the problems worked out by then.

The main difference is the Army motos article presents a specific chunk of the info found in this section of the manual and breaks it down with more pictures and simple instructions. This was a good thing, people have trouble with written directions, and pictures really help.  The biggest problem with written direction really is when it does not get read.

If I had to do the job, I’d want both and anything else I could get my hands on.  The common theme though, from the Army Motors Mags is, the vast majority of problems with army equipment, that caused tanks, trucks, or anything else mechanical to break down, was either lack of proper maintenance, or improper use. The biggest culprit being bad drivers, who actually drove bad, or neglected their duty to keep the vehicle properly maintained, or both.

One other interesting thing made clear by the Army Motors Article, is that the new double anchor braking system could be retrofitted into the older three-part differential cover. I didn’t want to assume anything, but the is instructions for adjusting the controls for the double anchor setup on the three part differential housing, so I think that settles. it.

 

Here are some other images of the steering brake system, from the technical and Ord manuals.

Well, I hope that leaves few if any questions about adjusting and maintaining the Shermans brakes. I’m sure there are still some real-world tricks the men still working on the still running Shermans of the world could add too, but that will have to wait until I figure out how to find those people and interview them somehow.

My greatest hope would be one of the men out there restoring one of those beasts might even get the littlest bit of help from this post, because that would be awesome.

Thanks for reading people!

[Wiedzmin]

 

read some british report about M4A4, it syas that bow machine gun have bronze(on second photo shield is painted yelow, but ball look like bronze?) parts C and BB, does all shermans have same ? and is there any good blueprint or measures of B(shield) part(1-2 inch thick?) ? 

 

 

[LoooSeR]

Northen Fleet Sherman:

Some footage in the begining, Historical restoration unit and and vehicles that were restored from 4:50. Sherman - from 12:29. Restpration took 1.5 months.

[EnsignExpendable]

Beats the hell out of BMP fenders.