the_shadock Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 hello, a French association restored and is restoring a number of Sherman tanks to runnning condition, putting new modern truck engines in them. Here's one of their latest restorations. I don't think that it looked like that during WW2. There were some turretless Shermans used by the Brits, but I don't think that they had T5E3 mine excavators.. http://balmoralgreen.com/les-blind-s/sherman-m4a4.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11th Armoured Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Strange mix of markings, too - British census number AND US registration number... Looks a bit like it fell into a parts bin & quite a few stuck! Tidy looking, though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rnixartillery Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 At least they are being preserved while they can be ,a mammoth task so Good luck to them. Rob.....................rnixartillery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajmac Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Strange mix of markings, too - British census number AND US registration number... Looks a bit like it fell into a parts bin & quite a few stuck! Tidy looking, though I thought all Shermans left the US with US numbers and these were simply painted over when the WD number was added once they arrived in the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 That is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_shadock Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Rob, of course, it's very nice to see that they are able to preserve one more Sherman hull, whatever accessories they put on it.. P-O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidewinder Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Lovely looking restoration. Just thinking out loud, but I've always wondered just how all the running gear on these 'specials' actually coped in service. Was there a high failure rate? I'm from a quarrying background and the strain put on undercarriages when trying to push an kind of implement through the ground is huge - I've seen all kinds of damage even on things like bulldozers which were designed from the beginning with that job in mind. I know they had to make do with what they had available and that was definitely better than nothing, but it does seem like it's pushing a standard undercarriage close to its limits.. My old 432 once threw both tracks and twisted both rear idler arms when towing another 432 through loose ground, now maybe they were already damaged but from that and looking at the construction of most tank undercarriages compared to construction machinery, I wouldn't like to go hanging a blade like that off the front of most AFV's.. But I suppose the luxury of time and money to develop new vehicles from scratch rarely exists. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfire Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I don't know about any historical accuracy, but it sure as hell looks tough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11th Armoured Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I thought all Shermans left the US with US numbers and these were simply painted over when the WD number was added once they arrived in the UK? The operative phrase being "painted over", of course, whereas on this one they're both visible AND it's marked up as belonging to the US 2nd Armored Division, so the British number seems a little superfluous. None of which takes anything away from the standard of physical restoration, which as I said looks very good, but in terms of historical accuracy, I'd suggest there are a few 'issues'. I don't actually know whether this particular configuration was used by the French army (presumably it was), but if that's its provenance, it's a bit of a shame it isn't presented as a French vehicle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 There are many photos of different projects on their website, takes quite a while to look through it all. We will see if they join us and explain what they get up to. No shortage of big kit that they use R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 There were instances of British Shermans taken over by US units, notably Crab mine flails. I wonder if the original USA numbers were repainted or if the T numbers were left on. I suspect the latter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11th Armoured Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 There are many photos of different projects on their website, takes quite a while to look through it all.R Apart from everything else, that's a very impressive group of Sherman tanks they have there The restoration page gives a bit more info on this one with the mine plough: basically it was a British Sherman V (T-147194) that was apparently knocked-out by an 88mm shot through the right hand side below the sponson; the hull was subsequently stripped & then stuck on a range, where it was well & truly battered (including two hits courtesy of the article author in 1966 ). Where the plough originally came from isn't mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_shadock Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 Where the plough originally came from isn't mentioned. I suspect that it is was either fabricated from new, or it may come from a former French army vehicle, don't know which exactly. P-O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_shadock Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 We will see if they join us and explain what they get up to. No shortage of big kit that they use I will visit the collection in late February and I will ask what the tank is made from, where the demining device comes from. Anyway, if you have a turretless Sherman and you are not able to find a turret, a solution is to transform it into an engineer vehicle.. I think that it's the reason why it looks like this now. If I had a turretless M4A4 hull, I would transform it into a towing vehicle or a turretless ARV. The British army used some. P-O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcspool Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 If I had a turretless M4A4 hull, I would transform it into a towing vehicle or a turretless ARV. The British army used some. Totally agree. It's great they save Shermans from the torch, but spending all that effort on a fictional machine is a bit of a waste, IMHO. It's their money, though. Here's a suggestion for their next turretless Sherman hull: a Sherman ARV (Armoured Recovery Vehicle) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcspool Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 PO, Is this the Sherman that was knocked out in the foret d'Ecouves? http://balmoralgreen.com/les-blind-s/sherman-m4a2-2.html How did they manage to get hold of that monument tank?!?! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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