燕子窝

The details variation of an M4A3(76)w Sherman:

Although as discussed in previous section, Sherman is not tough, but Sherman is charming, it has lots of variation in parts, representing the American auto culture.

Think of a Sherman tank like a car. You can paint it a different color, buy new rims, add a sunroof, or even buy the upgraded model with a bigger engine, but they are all the same car. Owners mix and match all these features and more, but all of the resulting cars are still the same model.

Since I am going to build a M4A3(76)w VVSS (as opposed to HVSS), the following will focus on that.

The upper hull, engine deck, exhaust system, and engine deck door props are specific to the M4A3--other variants differ in these features. (Also that the upper hull of a late model M4A2 is the same as the one in your kit accept for the angle of the tail plate.)

The wheels on a VVSS Sherman are interchangeable from the earliest to latest models, like the rims on a car, and vary from tank to tank. For such a late model tank, the pressed, 6 spoke wheels (they are solid with six spokes; no holes) are the most common. One’s best bet is to consult a picture and use whatever that vehicle has. In some cases, you will see a mixture of types.

The bogie housings on a VVSS Sherman are interchangeable from earliest to latest models, and vary from tank to tank. There are three major variations--a truck with the return roller directly above, a truck with a flat arm on one side holding the roller, and a truck with a raised arm on one side holding the roller. The trucks are interchangeable from side to side on the real tank. The arm assemblies with the rollers bolt to either side of the truck, as appropriate. Normally, the return roller assembly bolts to the back of the truck facing the back of the tank, but occasionally you see one oriented in the other direction. On a late model Sherman, the truck with the raised arm and roller at the back is typical. Again, one’s best bet is to consult a picture and use whatever that vehicle has. In some cases, you will even see a mixture of types.

The skids on top of VVSS bogie housing are interchangeable from earliest to latest models and vary from tank to tank. There are three types: symmetrical with a bump in the middle, offset with a bump to one side, and overhanging one side. The latter is the latest variation and by far the most common. Skids never appear on bogie trucks with the return roller directly above. All three skid types will fit any variation of the later trucks (side mounted return roller on straight or upswept arm).

 
Sherman transmission covers (the nose of the tank) are interchangeable from earliest to latest models and vary from tank to tank. Technically, each transmission cover goes with a particular transmission, but this is not an externally visible feature. On a late model tank the 'pointed', single piece transmission is the most typical by far.

Any version of the M4A3 as described above can use any Sherman turret--75mm, 76mm, or 105mm. However, the internal arrangement of the tank varies with the turret; one cannot arbitrarily switch turrets in the field.

Sherman with the 75mm turret comes in two major variants: wet and dry. This refers to the method by which the ammunition is stored and WHERE it is stored. On a dry stowage tank, the ammunition largely resides in three racks in the sponsons. It was discovered that penetrating shots often hit these racks, setting off the ammunition. The quick fix for this problem was to weld three patches on the sponson sides over the racks. After the first year of use most dry stowage Shermans exhibit this feature as a field modification OR factory applied fitting. Later, wet stowage tanks were introduced. In these tanks, the ammo was moved to bins on hull floor surrounded by a liquid bath (for fire suppression). Wet stowage tanks do not have ammo rack armor patches.

I will not discuss further variations on the 75mm turret since they do not apply to my modelling situation.

Shermans with the 76mm turret are always of the wet variety--no ammo rack hull patches. The 76mm turret comes in two major variants--one with a ovular, single piece loader's hatch and one with a round, two piece (split) loader's hatch. Both variants are common through Korea and beyond.

The commander's station features a copula that comes in two interchangeable types: a flat, rotating ring with a two piece (split) hatch, and a tall, fixed ring with vision ports all around and a single hatch (vision copula). The vision copula was introduced later and is common to almost all late model Shermans. The vision copula is normally mounted with the hatch opening to the right rear (with barrel to North, SE position) but some crews changed this, usually so that the hatch opening to the right (East position).

The 76mm gun comes in 4 interchangeable types: a smooth barrel all the way to the muzzle, a barrel with the muzzle machined to accept a muzzle break, a barrel with the muzzle machined to accept a muzzle break and sealed with a protective ring, and a barrel with a muzzle break installed. All types are common on late model M4A3 tanks.
There are many other small points of variation on Shermans--tool stowage, siren, front track guards, light plugs, antenna configuration, commander's machine gun mount and position, and so on. Again, your best bet is to work from a picture.

If you want a generic, M4A3(76)s VVSS use these features: pressed, 6-spoke wheels, bogie with raised roller arm to rear, overhanging skid, pointed, single piece transmission cover, vision copula. Oval or split loader's hatch is fine. Any barrel is fine--in my opinion the muzzle break makes the tank look more ominous.

A short history:

The M4 Sherman serious medium tank was the most common and important tank in allied forces during WWII. Over 50000 were built and serviced on Europe, Africa and Pacific theater. Compared to his German competitor, the SD.kfz171 Panther and SD.kfz161 panzer IV, there are not significant technical advantage within designing and production. This happened due to American’s guideline of using tanks on battlefield. They were fairly used to support infantry to conquer strong points such as machine gun nests and well trenched positions, rather than taking care of enemy’s tank and heavy armors. The M4’s 75mm low velocity gun has effective fire power when firing HE shells against targets without armor, but find itself less effective against Panthers and even heavier SD.kfz181 Tiger. When first deployed in Tunis, Africa, the opening terrain gives Sherman good chance for maneuvering, which is very good for its light weight hence a higher mobility. Although there were Tigers been also deployed on Africa battlefield, the small quantity and mechanical defect within early stage of their production made them less useful and fruitful. The main components of Sherman in these years are mainly Panzer III and Panzer IV, which are also good design but out of date.

With time passed by, Allied started to suffer high tank casualty after landed in Italy and later France in 1944. After the cruel battle in eastern front, German tanks were upgrade with high velocity 75mm gun on Panzer IV, refined the Tigers and take out their new design of the Panther, which is the best tank during WWII. Sherman are no longer proper for these new component. In France, the narrow roads and tree lines make it difficult for Sherman to maneuver therefore had to challenge his German colleague face to face. Within this kind of situation, armor and fire power are superior to mobility, hence make Sherman out of date. A 76mm high velocity gun program was then on the table. After years working, a new turret was designed with higher capacity to contain the larger M1A1C/A2 76mm gun. The new turret was decided to mount on M4A1 and M4A3 hull for US use, and supplied in small quantity from mid 1944.

Although from then, the US tanks had ability to beat Panther and Tigers, still the superior of German armor make allied suffer huge lost of their vehicles. A statistic indicates that to take out a Panther, 5 Sherman is needed. A proper tactical deployment is also needed: at least one of these five Sherman is assigned to flank Panther for his venerable rears while other Sherman drawing Panther’s attention. Many Sherman were lost within this kind of warfare.

TO BE CONTINUED.