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Can M4 HST wheels be modified to work on a Sherman?

Andrew your attention to detail us fantastic, you inspire me to be more careful and meticulous in my own work John

Probably Wheatcrofts yesterday...

Do you see the pile of panzer drive sprockets stacked up in the background? Oh wait that is Kevin's yard...of course makes sense...more German tank parts than MAN and Henschel in 1944...

I believe Goldcrest Technologies in the UK already makes new Panther torsion bars, notably for Kevin Wheatcrofts Panzer division.

In fairness they did a great job, why they cant just be proud of what they accomplished without all the B.S. is any ones guess...and yes I am a little miffed about what they did to the monument tank they were entrusted with...Working with the military in Canada can be quite challenging as it is these days especially when it comes to getting any support for historic military vehicles...this kind of crap just makes the Canadian Forces even more wary of getting involved with us...we all get painted with the same brush to some extent...nowadays it is safer for them to scrap everything.

Hi Matt, no it is not based on an M3 lee chassis at all. Despite the owners claims they found the hull in a barn and the turret in a scapyard, and they performed a miracle restoration, that is patently false. There is not one M10 part on the whole repli-tank. The 3 piece differential, tracks and 6 bogeys were taken from a scrapped forestry yarder in Kamloops BC. Hard to see from the video but the bogey wheels have no rubber tires, they are wrapped in steel which is what happens in the forestry business when the rubber wears out. The lower hull is fabricated out of scrap plate and does not have the correct 1.5 inch sideplates or floor. The upper hull was completely fabricated from 3/4" steel plate that was cut and welded together to form a patchwork upper hull. When you are up close to it you can see that the hull is made of several pieces of mild steel not four large armor plates. The turret as well was completely made from scratch, as was the mantlet and gun. The gun barrel was machined at a shop in Langley BC and is smooth inside, not rifled. It is supposed to be an Achiles replica but they didn't have the any dimensions for the gun, muzzle brake or counterweight and the results are way off. The barrel is way to thick compared to a seventeen pdr. The turret sits on a genuine Sherman turret ring and inside the replica it has Sherman tank seats and tillers. The drivetrain consists of a single 6046 Detroit diesel that is connected to a truck transmission which has been placed in reverse. When it was built it was discovered that with the direction of the engines rotation, it had 5 reverse gears and one forward gear. Instead of reversing the rotation of the engine which is simply a matter of moving the timing gears around, they installed an extra transmission and placed it in reverse so that it would have 5 speeds forward. It is a true Rube Goldberg setup with huge potential for disaster as you saw in the video. As it was the repli-tank was being moved to load it on a truck and take it to a museum for a public parade function. Can you imagine if what happened on the video happened in public? The repli-tank running away into a crowd of people? Would not have done our hobby much good in Canada. As it was they had no emergency shut-off for the engine and the brakes had never been looked at, adjusted or tested. The ultimate in irresponsible behavior. As it was nobody was seriously hurt and great lengths were taken to cover the whole thing up. Fortunately it has come to light and serves as a reminder these vehicles, fake or not, are not to be fooled with by untrained and irresponsible people. As for the comments seen below the video, this same group of guys when entrusted with the care of a Canadian Forces M4A2 Sherman at their museum, stripped every part off the tank they could, inside and out, including the gun and mantlet, installing replica parts in their place and taking the parts for themselves to use on another replica they are constructing of a M4 Sherman. Somehow the theft of 76mm tank cannon seems to have gone unnoticed by the Commander of the base where it was stolen from...probably not the type of thing you want to bring to light if your hoping for promotion...

Honestly they all hold a fascination for me, the Sherman is my main focus and I have 4 here now in various states of restoration, but British armor is a whole different ball game... I have always tried to keep the vehicles I own down to a size I can transport myself on my own equipment, that has held pretty good until this year with a Chinese Type 69 joining the stable...but the Cromwell, the Comet, Valentine, Churchill...all very intriguing and after watching many of you on the forum with your projects my interest has piqued...and of course with our economy and dollar on rather aggressive slide...now is the time that makes the least sense, but with some projects heading south in trade for US greenbacks I am looking to investigate the possibility of a British tank...sure would be a unique cornerstone to a collection in Canada

Thanks Rick, PM sent

Andrew you guys sure do nice work! Very inspirational! John

As the above says, am sitting here in Canada and wondering about vehicles we rarely or never see here...Cromwell's, Comets, Churchills etc. Are there still projects like that around the UK or has it become like Sherman's in North America where almost everything is spoken for, beyond repair (and that seems to be a constantly changing definition) or priced into the stratosphere? Was looking for some words of wisdom from the tracked types in the UK and in the know. Regards John

Could you imagine if this had been at a public event with crowds of people around? Very frightening prospect...

It is most certainly not real, cobbled together from scrap steel and Sherman parts salvaged from a forestry yarder, there are no M10's in Canada in private hands and certainly no Achilles.

Should have replicated some drivers manuals or better brakes!

I will get some detailed pictures of the jumbo sponsons next time I get it uncovered Shermania

Carl Brown provided a couple pictures of the tank after it had been removed from Colchester Garrison to make way for a DC3 in WW2 turnout, probably a more fitting monument for an airborne regiment. Here is the tank after its return from the 16AAB then sandblasted and primed Then in it's final turnout Hopefully this will stir someones memory and they can share a picture of the tank taken as a gate guard at Colchester Garrison. It is our intent to repaint and mark the tank as it would have been in Iraqi livery before it was captured...so far we have really nothing but speculation as to what that may have been...we will reach out to 16 Air Assault Brigade to see what we can glean from them...

Hello Does anyone have any pictures of the Type 69 tank that used to sit as a gate guard at Colchester Garrison? I was hoping somebody over the years had snapped a picture in situ they could share. As I have been informed, this tank was captured by the 16 Air Assault Brigade near Basra Iraq at the end of March or early April 2003 and returned by the brigade to the UK as a trophy following their return home. This tank now resides in our collection in Canada and we are trying to track down as many pictures and as much of it's history as possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Regards John

Pierre does your friend have a contact in English? I would love to ask him about some of the cool things he does to get these vehicles back moving again. I see he substituted some type of smaller turret bearing for the M10 one, and the Duetz turbo diesels intrigue me...he sure is a get-her-done kind of guy...must drive the "rivet counters" nuts! John

PM's sent! Thank you all John

Looking for the usual unobtanium....armored searchlight housing, gun travel crutch, commanders turret bin, commander periscopes, gun thermal sleeve, bazooka plates, etc etc....oh it's a MK2 if that helps at all

Hello guys, as the title says, looking for good sources for Chieftain spares, in the UK or worldwide. Looking for all manner of parts, any help in the right direction is appreciated as always John

Ron you have a whole contingent of British Army mechanics straight up I-15 in sunny southern Alberta. I wouldn't think it would be hard to convince a few qualified guys to trade some expertise for a little R&R in Vegas. Contact BATUS or failing that, the Museum of the Regiments in Calgary, they will help you get in touch with the boys from Suffield. Word of warning, Vegas May not be ready for the type of excitement a few of these chaps on leave can cause! John

Thank you!

Hey Adrian are M4A4 fuel tanks longer than M4A3 or M4A2? John

It does seem whenever you are out hunting for tank parts you invariably come across tanks! Which you should, no, must take home with you. We have been making some progress, the M4A2 is in the re-assembly stage, engines have finally gone off to the shop for complete rebuild, rads are back and all four fuel tanks acid dipped and lined...so maybe this summer she might fire up...this is the one I have been after for years so I am in no rush. The M4A3 on the other hand was a complete disaster, thrown in for parts on the jumbo deal, I could not in good conscience scrap her, but had to take a crack at fixing her up of course! We have replaced a few sections of hull that were completely destroyed in her time on the range as well as all of her suspension. Being in the Pacific Northwest, VVSS is readily available in the form of former forestry machines built on Sherman chassis post-war. I have been very fortunate as well to come up with a pair of 75mm guns, both uncut, one for the A3 and one for the Jumbo. Currently have been working hard on the Stuart as well, want to have the tracks on by months end. The M50 turret is all set, came from a chap who decided to go back to WW2 turnout, the hull is a mismatch that was cut down and used as a crane by a local company who bought tons of Sherman stuff from Israel. Not a M4A4 hull, I suspect possibly M4A3 105mm. As for the jumbo, she is going to be a full on nut and bolt restoration that would make any rivet counter proud. My hope is that once we begin that tank it will be the only ongoing project, with my attention deficit disorder, that is the only chance we have got to getting it done in this century. Pictures of all to follow soon.