M3 Lee/Grant and M4 Sherman Family of Vehicles

[Mig Eater]

As Wombat said it was for both, it needed to be lightened to fit the M10 hull & the TD board love their open topped tanks anyway...

Interest in the design didn't last that long & it was canceled in favor of the M18 Hellcat.

[ysi_maniac]

To install this french 105mm gun in some other WWII turrets could be a good Idea IMO.

[ysi_maniac]

May be too tall, but, why not?

[Story]

Diorama potential

[GTX_Admin]

 

[Story]

Carcas of a Sherman used to move sand at the mine near Oranjemund, Namibia. Owned by Namdeb, vehicles can enter the mine property but never ever leave. 

An ingenious idea followed the second World War, with the introduction of ex-military surplus
Sherman tanks to be used as tractors. The Sherman's eventually replaced the mules and soon
after were converted into platforms for stackers which were used in conjunction with small
bucket excavators. Dumping into mined-out areas became a successful methodology following
the use of this system.
https://www.saimm.co.za/Conferences/DiamondsSourceToUse2003/007-Badenhorst.pdf

Rambling Grandpa Simpson style reminiscence about these things

refitting the tanks consisted of installing a 60 horse squirrel cage motor and switchgear, and a small solenoid operated hydraulic brake system that acted on the drive shaft. All driven from a single external wheel system mounted on one side of the tank plus emergency stops on both sides. the wheel accessed single and double track drive as required so that the tank could be steered. The very effective braking unit operated on the dead man system i.e if the operator's hand was removed from the control wheel the tank stopped. It was virtually idiot-proof and I never recall even the most raw recruit ever making a mistake with that system. While all that was going on the fitters mounted a swivelling conveyor belt stacking system on top. The whole was designed in-house, creating a very economical way of equipping the mines in the postwar years when imported machinery was impossible to access. No idea who the brain was behind it but he certainly deserved kudos. Most things were done on that basis in those days. I recall resurrecting ancient Siemens Schucker AC motors with brush rings and lead bearings and putting them into service when all else failed. I think most sparkies today would look askance if asked to pour a lead bearing, scrape it to tolerance and refit it to a motor that dated back to the days of Augustus Stauch. There must be dozens of them still lying around in the desert, particularly in G area. These tanks were still in use as stackers when I left in '67 so they must have been scrapped later than that. 

 

[Story]

Phoney Baloney Neubaufahrzeug built on a Lee tank for training purposes, as seen in this film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taHFUKKKmJM





Oddly enough, all of the filming only captures the tank's right side. Here's a left side, in case your imagination needs it.


He'll tell you all about 'em - he's a tanker, he should know.

[Story]

Look at the Sherman turrets, left and right of frame.



A Surrendered Schwimmwagen Kfz1 Type 166 (WH 1641890) and a BMW 75 Motor bike & side car with other vehicles of the 278. Infanterie Division (Wehrmacht) at the Brenner Pass, on the Italian - Austrian Border. May 1945.

(The 278 I.Division emblem was a black figure of a Pomeranian Grenadier holding a musket bordered by a shield)

The 278.ID were manning defence fortifications near the Brenner Pass. It surrendered to the 5th and 7th US Armies in May 1945.
It was originally assigned to LXXVI Panzer Corps defending the Gothic Line,and after heavy losses the 278th was formed into a Volksgrenadier Division in early 1945.

It was later transferred to 1.Fallschirmjäger, defending the Brenner Pass where most of the Division was encircled, the remainder later surrendered on the May 2, 1945

(Colourised by Richard James Molloy from the UK)

[GTX_Admin]

Look at the Sherman turrets, left and right of frame.

What about them?

[Story]

Look at the Sherman turrets, left and right of frame.

What about them?

Welded bustle racks that resemble those on the later M48s, filled with soft armor (like sandbags)

[Story]

Went searching for a bigger resolution of the Sherman T6 as found on pg.1 of this thread.

[ChernayaAkula]

"Sherman 'Eyal' Observation Tank - the turret was removed and a hydraulic system was installed that is capable of raising an observation platform to a height of 27 meters/90 feet. It was commissioned by the IDF as a mobile observation along the Suez Canal during the War of Attrition until the Yom Kippur War"


SOURCE on reddit
  Breezy, but big NOPE energy!

Distance to horizon calculator says 5km at eye level, about 6.8km standing on a tank and a whopping 21km from the platform. Neat!

[GTX_Admin]

 

[raafif]

IDF

[Story]

Diorama potential, particularly with forced perspective (1/72nd AIRFIX Bailey Bridge in background?)