'Robin Hood' WWII tank

[supertrack]

No picture of your tank ? Maurice ? :blush:

[Maurice]

It is not a tank yet , first have to get paperwork done before the 17pr gun can be imported, but there are pictures on this forum from the tank , taken about a year ago . Almost all electrics are done , I am just trying to figure out how the British emergency stop buttun was connected , and how the electrics are routed on the floor to the right hand side radio junction box (this is different then the VC firefly) but I can`t compare with any other IC over here . there are some in South Africa , but they are a bit out of the way for me.

Anybody got a Firefly manual by the way?

[tichenor]

Maurice

 

There should be a Ic at the Vissenaken Depot.

 

Michel

[montie]

It is not a tank yet , first have to get paperwork done before the 17pr gun can be imported, but there are pictures on this forum from the tank , taken about a year ago . Almost all electrics are done , I am just trying to figure out how the British emergency stop buttun was connected , and how the electrics are routed on the floor to the right hand side radio junction box (this is different then the VC firefly) but I can`t compare with any other IC over here . there are some in South Africa , but they are a bit out of the way for me.

Anybody got a Firefly manual by the way?

 

Some Sherman pics here and a few unidentified tanks on the previous page.

http://www.sa-transport.co.za/military/tanks_2.html

[steveo578]

The unknowns are Centurion Mk5 (what would be rebuilt into the Olipant) a Valentine Mk1 (wasn't aware Mk1s could have Vickers co-axial gun) Sherman MkIc firefly -similar to the shown at SANMMH on Page 2 and a Universal carrier

 

BTW thanks for the link -some great photos -possibly the Valentine has a mantlet off an A12 Matilda 2

Edited October 25, 2010 by steveo578
addition

[Maurice]

thanks Michel , never checked that one out . The VC firefly were I am working on gave me also some clues on how things should be fitted.

The VC from the Kapellen depot has again differences in layout than the one here.

Major part missing now for both Firefly`s is the gun ellevation mechanism.

The Pictures from the IC in the snake park in South africa must be from the same batch(Pullman ?) as mine . I got some pictures send to me from a collector who lives not too far away from it . it is in great shape inside.

The other IC hull in Holland is empty , it was once coverted to dozer by the Army.

[steveo578]

Maurice

The Pictures from the IC in the snake park in South africa must be from the same batch(Pullman ?) as mine .

 

How can you tell from which manufcacturer (one of three Pressed Steel Car Co-Baldwin locomotive Works and Pullman Standard Car Co.) or even batch that a Mk1 welded hull Sherman came?

 

Once, I found the remains of an M3 the only way I could ascertain its manufacturer was that the manufacturers plate was still inside.

 

Steve

[Maurice]

There are little giva aways on the Sherman`s . Like the Baldwin ones had the arial dome were the co driver sits made out of rolled plate , were the Pullman build ones had a cast piece like the M4A4`s have.

Further a lot of the pressed styeel ones have a riveted floor .

With the cast ones the Lima built Shermans had 2 eyes very close together at the level of the Homelite fuel tank cap to keep the tow cable on the hull . they also had the lima logo with the serial number stamped above the right fender . Pacific Car versions had the serial number stamped on the right hand side above the first suspension unit.

even the date is sometimes possible to determine by looking at several features , for example on the M4A4 Shermans there are lifting eyes with rectangular plates under them , that was done till the end of January 1943, later ones have just the eye. protective edge for the bolts on the final drive housing starts at the begining of 1943. early M4A4 have the rear plate made out of 2 pieces end of 1942 changed to one piece.

And then the direct vision slots etc. there even exist Shermans wich have the blanked off Pepperpot exhaust , but no direct vision slots , these must have been early hulls a la M3 still being at the plant were they assembled them .

[Maurice]

Another thing about Firefy`s is that they only used M4 Hulls wich didn`t have the dynamo on the floor behind the gear box . This is because otherwise they could not modify it to accomodate the big ammo bin behind the drivers seat. For this installiation they only had to chop the Battery box away till the relays and junction blocks , the battery`s went up above the tracks

M4A4`s have the dynamo on the rear of the fighting compartment , so no problem .

For the IC it therefore should have an engine mounted dynamo , or in the cast bracket at the rear of the gear box . This is one of the reasons they didn`t use M4A1`s 75 , because they almost all had floor mounted dynamo`s

[steveo578]

Sorry I mis understood your post no 31 that effectively only Pullman supplied Mk1s were converted to Ics -I'm pretty sure that an early hull Ic (remanufactured) with DVS and fabricated rolled plate aerial socket was recovered in the 1990s.

 

As far as I'm aware the rolled plate components were developed by and released for use by associated manufacturers by the Fisher tank arsenal, the rolled plate aerial socket was aparent on early production M4A2 (those with M3 bogies) but as Pullman Standard Car Co., Baldwin locomotive works and American locomotive Company- which I forgot to mention previously, were building M4A2 (Sherman 3) alongside M4 (Sherman 1) I would think that any of these manufacturers were capable of producing M4 or M4A2 75mm gun tanks with the rolled plate aerial socket and prevelance of this type would be conditional on the supply of hull sub assemblies. Whether only Fisher built tanks used the more radical all welded hull assemblies -I don't know.

[Einbeck Bowl]

 

Hello, this is a closeup of "Robin Hood" in 1945 during the final parade of the "Sherwood Rangers" in my hometown of Einbeck/Germany. I won this photo on ebay, but sadly the photo was lost during shipment!

 

There seems to be little known about the early post war occupation in my hometown. In April 1945 the town was taken without a fight by US forces, but a group of local Hitlerjugend kids died when they tried to stop the Americans in a nearby village. Strange to see so many children watching the parade, only two and half years later.

 

Does anybody know where I can find more information about the SRY in the postwar months?

 

Oliver

...........................

Edited 2014 : Now, two years later, it is clear that the picture was taken in 1945, not in 1947.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Einbeck Bowl