Adrian Barrell

These are my Sherman family range pictures. Starting at the beginning, the M3 that I'm sure many of you know, this is when it was still on Pirbrite.

Not me then mate, out of interest, what were the extinguishers, the tall ones you need for the trailer?

You can't trust those from over the border.....Need to erect a crossing control.:stop:

That's fighting talk......

Why I oughta....:box:

Strictly speaking the final drive housing bolts onto the transmission housing not the hull. It uses 22 per side.....:help: Anyway, I will upload all my range pics tomorrow!

I understood perfectly the point you were making Alastair and you were right! Things like wheels and tracks are service items and anything could be and was fitted. The point I was making was that larger assemblies like front ends seemed to have stayed with the vehicle. There is a good reason for this as the hull number is usually stamped on the towing eyes and allthough any front would fit any hull, there is quite a bit of difference between types and this has an effect on drivers controls too. Of course if it meant the difference between getting a vehicle back in action or it sitting for the want of a part then anything goes but things like turrets and transmission assemblies are jobs for workshops rather than crew or LAD. As to total interchangeability, that seems to have been an American thing as much as Sherman! Production line manufacture as opposed to British hand finished.....

Alastair, you are of course correct but there was some effort in keeping the main units as they should be at least during the war. Since then it has been anything goes. For example, every M4A4 was built with a 3 piece front and I have never seen a wartime picture of one with a single piece. Of course, the lack of a 3 piece might suggest it was not an M4A4 and throw you of the scent but.... Another favourite point of ID for Chrysler built Shermans is the small plate welded to the rear of the splash ring around the turret. It is a Chrysler only fitment but was not fitted to early tanks. It's presence on a tank is proof it is Chrysler built but it's absence does not prove it's not!

I seemed to be out of the loop somewhat, I wasn't aware there was a forum meet up.... So to be put on latrine duty in my absence! I bought nothing! Not much I needed and prices quite high..... Good to see some of you though. NOS, I was on Jaap stand briefly, was that you asking about parts for a US6?

It's harder than it at first seems!

I think I can see a hole in the radiator......

I have been asked to do more but to be honest, film crews just see it as another prop and are none to careful how they treat it. The money is good but the hours are long and it's sometimes not worth it. I have done a lot with other peoples tanks though.

Grizzly is a Canadian built M4A1 so it has a cast hull and is usually on the Canadian Dry Pin track with the 17 tooth sprocket. However, some Grizzlies have been put onto standard US track, the Grizzlyfly being an example. The other giveaway is they are all fitted with a three piece front yet have a full width M34A1 mantlet. Even this isn't a guarantee as the front can be changed to a single piece. The Belgium army museums M4A1(76) has a three piece front which is 'wrong' but shows that with shermans, almost anything is possible. Grizzly hulls also have a general steel foundry symbol on the glacis plate, a G in a shield but contrary to what some have written, this does not stand for Grizzly and indeed appears on other tanks and even M26 pershing turrets. The only way to be sure is to inspect the vehicle as the internal and pioneer tool stowage is different on a Grizzly.

Joris, the only thing my Sherman has been in is a short series about living history called Revival. I was contracted to supply my tank, teach the presenter to drive it, which he did very well and do a short piece to camera. This was only shown in the Meridian TV area in the UK south coast a few years ago. One episode was about tanks and Ken Tout joined us for the filming. I do have it on DVD and it's actually quite good!

They look like linking machines, probably for .50 cal.

Correct and the other, one of two actually, was a Charioteer with a Centaur turret sat on it. Coincidentely, I was looking at photos of it this morning!

I noticed that the other day and suddenly it all made sense. Now you're saying you're not 61? :undecided:

The horizontal tanks are longer in the M4A4 but the M4, M4A1 and M4A3 have vertical tanks in the front corners of the engine bay as well. M4A2 has extra tanks in the lower engine bay so the overall result is a similar capacity in all models.

Any good pyrotechnic man can make you an electrically fired smoke pot. No license required to own or use. I have the drawing for the bracket Maurice if you mean the one on the turret, I also have some repro. bomb throwers like mine.

Maurice, the smoke generators were 4" diameter and about 3-3 1/2" long with two wires coming out to ignite them. The earlier model was fired and ignited by a blank cartridge as I have fitted to my turret. I have never seen an original or even a picture but I'm sure there are some somewhere!

Absolutely! Looking great Maurice and it will never look as good again!:cry:

Are the girls going to dance around the pole? :yay: Or is it a poll.....

Ah, my boot print....revenge is sweet!:-D

Not trying to speak for Hanno, but that is impossible to answer! How many under the sea? How many buried? Do you count things like Madill Yarders? You should run a competition Jack! Closest guess to Hannos estimate wins a haircut or something.:-D

Sean Devlin by any chance? That name rings a bell.... I remember the pictures, there were two Fireflies and a few Charioteers.