Hi,
I've just joined, looks like an interesting site. (Insert shameless plug here)
Those of you who like "Phantoms" are welcome to subscribe to my new ONElist site
under Military Hardware, "F4sForever". (End shameless plug) I'm a plastic
aircraft modeller, but have always liked the Sherman and its permutations, a
very versatile tank. My late brother was in the Second Battalion of "The
Canadian Guards" in 1964-66, based at Petawawa, with 6 months in Cyprus, and
unfortunately I am old enough to remember him telling me about the Regiment
using turretless Shermans as APCs even then! Personally, I like the "Firefly",
btw. Cheers, Peter Montreuil. *When you're out of Phantoms, you're out of
fighters.

Below follows a typical e-mail I get every now and then (too frequent, to be
frank).
I could only suggest Richard Hunnicut's work, but maybe someone on the list
can suggest a somewhat abridged history on US WW 2 AFVs?
Please send any reactions to <pipesol@...> since Daniel is not a
mailing list member.


>From: "Daniel L. Edgar" <pipesol@...>
>To: <HL.Spoelstra@...>
>Subject: I request some help from you
>Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1999 00:44:26 -0700
>
>Hi,
>    My name is Aaron Edgar and I am a high school student that is doing a
final on American World War 2 AFV's.  I have been having some trouble trying
to locate some information for this project which is due in a week.  I would
greatly appreciate it if you could help me out with getting some
information.  I thank you for any and all help which you can give to me.

Go to

    http://www.panzernet.com/humor/leopard.htm


   Cheers!!

Ps: Mr. Rodrigo Hernández Cabos is the boss of "Euro Modelismo". He writes
usually the articles about the contests and tries to talk something about
the places in which they took place. The problem is that sometimes he talks
more about threes, rivers, butterflies, etc. than kits!! This is the meaning
of the joke!

Carl et al,

Carl, as per our earlier discourse, I'll be happy to use my server if you can
get scans to me, or even a set of prints I can scan myself... let me know.

--
Regards,

Geoff Winnington-Ball
MAPLE LEAF UP! ==>
Zephyr, Ontario, Canada
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maple Leaf Up - The Canadian Army Overseas in WW2
http://jump.to/mapleleafup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carl Brown wrote:

> From: "Carl Brown" <Ccmilitaryservices@...>
>
> Hi
>
> will try them thanks. I will try to sort out a way of posting some pictures
> for everyone.
>
> All the best
>
> Carl

Hi

will try them thanks. I will try to sort out a way of posting some pictures
for everyone.

All the best

Carl

----------
> From: Joseph DeMarco <snick@...>
> To: G104@onelist.com
> Subject: Re: [G104] M4A4 Restoration
> Date: 02 June 1999 20:21
>
> From: "Joseph DeMarco" <snick@...>
>
> Mr.Brown:
> Maybe one of the links on this site could help you
> locate that turret ring assembly:
> http://www.mvpc.com/dealers.htm
>
> Any chance of your posting some pictures of the restoration?
> Good Luck
> Joe DeMarco
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> With more than 18 million e-mails exchanged daily...
> http://www.onelist.com
> ...ONElist is THE place where the world talks!
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
> SHERMAN REGISTER
>
> Web site: http://www.inter.nl.net/users/spoelstra/g104
>
> Mailing list: G104@onelist.com
> (subscribe at http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/G104)
> *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Mr.Brown:
Maybe one of the links on this site could help you
locate that turret ring assembly:
http://www.mvpc.com/dealers.htm

Any chance of your posting some pictures of the restoration?
Good Luck
Joe DeMarco

The USMC Air-Ground  Museum at Quantico, Virginia has an LVT prototype
(Roebling Alligator),
  a cutaway LVT 3 you can walk in,and an  LVT 1.You might try contacting the
curator there.
Joe DeMarco

Greetings from San Francisco,
I am looking for information on LVT's in Europe. Especially LVT's used prior
to June 1944, say in Torch, Husky, Anvil, and later in Dragoon.
Thanks,
Rich

Hello everyone. New to this list, although have been e-mailing Hanno Spoelstra
for some time now. As Hanno knows, I am a military/World War II history 'nut'
and also a publisher of much material on same, especially WWII.

Recently I started a web site, naturally mainly for my book publishing/selling,
but have also included a section called Military Photo Archives. Some years back
(more than I care to remember!) I had started selling glossy reprints of WWII
photos, and later acquired the old Photo File collection (mainly copy negs shot
from a lot of old German WWII mags and books, including much of the Signal color
stuff--quality of the photos varies somewhat, but if the original magazine image
was half-way decent, the print made from the copy neg was usually of very high
quality--I've seen others who have copied Signal color material and then
published it, and in many cases the quality of the stuff I have is far better).
The MPA name was used for several years before I finally had to drop selling of
such prints as it was just too time-consuming for so little return (at the time
we were selling small prints, 3-1/2 x 5 inches, for 25 cents each!).

Now, however, with color scanners and the web, I have started moving this
material to computer and, eventually, to the MPA web site. There isn't too much
there at the moment, as it's barely several weeks old and I do have other things
to attend to (like earning money to fund the creation of the site--although the
Xoom site is free, there is still a lot of time and work involved in this!).

I did, however, just recently add some of the Sherman pics I have to the site.
By no means is the Sherman section all the pics available to me, and I'm sure
you Sherman 'buffs' will find errors in the captions, so would appreciate any
assistance in corrections and additions if you would like to help (credit
given).

Check it out at:

http://members.xoom.com/merriampress

You'll find the MPA link near the bottom of the list of links on the left hand
side of the home page. f course, feel free to wander all around the site, even
though the Merriam Press portion is the commercial part of the site and includes
descriptions, cover shots and excerpts from my books. Nothing specifically about
Shermans (yet, anyway), but you still might find something of interest. But do
check out the MPA site at least.

Also, there is one title I have reprinted that might interest any Sherman lover:
It was a late war (March '45) report prepared by the 2nd Armd Div for Eisenhower
with the comments of over a hundred of the men and officers of the division
about the quality of the American and German weapons, equipment and so forth,
but especially the vehicles and in particular the tanks, including the Sherman.
The comments are extremely enlightening. I have seen this report referenced in
other books but do not believe it has ever been reprinted before. Basically, the
men hated the Sherman and while I've have read and heard about the standard
complaints you hear about the Sherman, these guys pulled no punches. Apparently
the only good thing about the Sherman in these guys' eyes was that they could
simply overwhelm the German tanks with their numbers. These guys didn't like too
much else in the U.S. arsenal, either; they even felt the Germans were better
dressed for winter warfare. Info on this title isn't on the web site just yet,
but should be in a few days, including an excerpt from the report. The printed
version includes some photos (none were in the original report; I only had a
poor photocopy to work from supplied by a retired (but still working) U.S.
weapons designer/developer.

Thanks, Hanno, for your work on this list and the Sherman Register.

Hi List

just got round to joining the list.

Some of you may know that I am restoring an M4A4 to fully operational
condition and as always am looking for parts.

If anyone has any or knows of any parts for this vehicle then I would
welcome any leads.

One item that I am currently looking for is a good un-damaged turret ring
assembly ????

The aim is to complete the restoration in time for the Beltring 2000 show
in England.

At present the engine ( chrysler Multi bank ) is now being re built and the
hull is back on its wheels and tracks, and all steel work is being repaired
where necessary. ( the vehicle was a range target for many years in the UK
and was in very poor condition )

Any help greatly received

Carl

Hanno Spoelstra wrote:
>> Coming soon: a photo of Grizzly Kangaroo DND 62-475, somewhere on a training
>> area with a Lynx Scout Car, Universal Carrier, two M4A2(76)W HVSS Shermans
>> and an M5A1 Stuart in the background. To me it seems this photo was taken in
>> Canada shortly after WW2. Who knows more about that elusive Grizzly
>> Kangaroo? (See the Sherman APCs page.)

Geoff Winnington-Ball wrote:
>Is it my imagination, or does there seem to be a disproportionate number of
>Grizzlys surviving the Great Postwar Military Vehicle Holocaust? If so, why?


I don't know much about the Great Postwar Military Vehicle Holocaust, but
since the Grizzlies remained in Canada for training could not have been left
behind in the huge vehicle dumps in Europe. They were probably also the best
Shermans in inventory, the ones used in Europe were really worn out. I guess
Canada did want to retain some tanks?

In 1946 Canada acquired 294 M4A2(76)W HVSS Shermans for training, and
apparently several dozens Grizzlies were then converted into Kangaroos (but
I would like to see this confirmed). In 1954 Canada supplied a number of
Grizzly tanks and some 40 Grizzly Kangaroos to Portugal.
When Centurions replaced the M4A2(76)W HVSS Shermans, they were used in the
APC role as well. The Canadians were apparently - and rightly so - quite
fond of their improvised APC. Sad thing the Bobcat did not materialize, it
could have been a worthy successor of the Ram, Grizzly and Sherman Kangaroos.


Hanno

Hello Hanno,

Is it my imagination, or does there seem to be a disproportionate number of
Grizzlys surviving the Great Postwar Military Vehicle Holocaust? If so, why?

Geoff

Hanno Spoelstra wrote:

> Coming soon: a photo of Grizzly Kangaroo DND 62-475, somewhere on a training
> area with a Lynx Scout Car, Universal Carrier, two M4A2(76)W HVSS Shermans
> and an M5A1 Stuart in the background. To me it seems this photo was taken in
> Canada shortly after WW2. Who knows more about that elusive Grizzly
> Kangaroo? (See the Sherman APCs page.)

--
Regards,

Geoff Winnington-Ball
MAPLE LEAF UP! ==>
Zephyr, Ontario, Canada
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maple Leaf Up - The Canadian Army Overseas in WW2
http://jump.to/mapleleafup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi all,


I've added two new countries to the Sherman encyclopedia: Iran and Uganda.
The pages on Chile and Yugoslavia were updated as well, thanks to scans and
info provided by my Chilean friends Gonzalo Godoy, Roberto Paredes and
Fernando Wilson L. and Tom Gannon respectively.

Coming soon: a photo of Grizzly Kangaroo DND 62-475, somewhere on a training
area with a Lynx Scout Car, Universal Carrier, two M4A2(76)W HVSS Shermans
and an M5A1 Stuart in the background. To me it seems this photo was taken in
Canada shortly after WW2. Who knows more about that elusive Grizzly
Kangaroo? (See the Sherman APCs page.)


Best regards,
Hanno Spoelstra

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
SHERMAN REGISTER

Web site: http://www.inter.nl.net/users/spoelstra/g104

Mailing list: G104@onelist.com
(subscribe at http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/G104)
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Hanno,
Not seen this one, but the same author's book on Tiger is described in one
review -
"... rehashes the already well-known story ... and contains many
inaccuracies and typographical errors, while most of the photographs are
also well-known from previous publications."
This may give some idea of what the Sherman one is like.
Peter

I noted a book titled 'The Sherman Tank' by Roger Ford in The Scholar's
Bookshelf's catalog. According to them this book is:
" A complete account of the M4 tank and its many variants over a production
run of nearly 50,000 vehicles. Includes specifications, production details,
and comparisons to other thanks on both sides. 10 color and 70 black and
white illustrations. 96 pages, 8 1/2"x 11 1/4". Price: $17.95 "
It was published by MBI (Motor Books International?) in 1999.

Did anyone have the opportunity to thumb through this book? I wonder if it
is another rehash of known material or some abridged version of Hunnicut's
epitome. Or has Mr Ford been able to come up with new and exciting material?
In other words, run for it or pick it up at the second hand bookshop in a
few years time?

Regards,
Hanno Spoelstra

Good call -- the data blocks painted on them for D-Day and shipping indicate
between 67,000 and 69,000 pounds on average.

Cookie Sewell

At 10:36 26-05-1999 -0500, you wrote:
>Do you know weight specifications of an average Sherman WWII tank (in
>tons or pounds)?

I would say about 30 tons combat weight.

Regards,
Hanno Spoelstra

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
SHERMAN REGISTER

Web site: http://www.inter.nl.net/users/spoelstra/g104

Mailing list: G104@onelist.com
(subscribe at http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/G104)
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

At 16:56 25-05-1999 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi
>There's a photo of a M4A3 with German cross
>in www.achtungpanzer.com/ctpic.htm
>
>Do you have any info on these vehicles?
>I'm planning to build a Sherman in German service
>and looking for any pictures and text.
>
>Thanks


Hi Deasung,


The book 'BEUTEPANZER UNTERM BALKENKREUZ: AMERIKANISCHE UND ENGLISCHE
KAMPFPANZER' by Werner Regenberg shows a number of Lees/Grants and Shermans
in German service. (Waffen-Arsenal volume 137, German language edition.
Friedberg: Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, 1992,  ISBN 3-7909-0448-1. An English
language edition was published also if I remember correctly.)

The Germans designated the Lee/Grant as "PzKpfw M3 747 (a)" and the Sherman
as "PzKpfw M4 748 (a)". While the Germans used large quantities of Allied
AFVs captured earlier during the war, these US Mediums were not used on a
regular basis by the Germans. Apart from the odd one used there and then by
the unit which captured it, most seem to have been sent to Germany for
evaluation.
Jean-Paul Pallud in 'BATTLE OF THE BULGE: Then and Now' (London: Battle Of
Britain Prints, 1984-1989) noted that the Germans could not get enough
Shermans and other AFVs for their 'Rabenhuegel' program. Because the use of
US equipment was an important facet of the German campaign in the Ardennes,
Panther tanks were disguised as M10 tank destroyers.


Best regards,
Hanno Spoelstra



*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
SHERMAN REGISTER

Web site: http://www.inter.nl.net/users/spoelstra/g104

Mailing list: G104@onelist.com
(subscribe at http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/G104)
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I believe someone on one of the newsgroups stated that a Sherman cost about
$45,000.00 during WWII.According to The American Institute of Economic Research
calculator,that would be equivalent to $421,875.00 today.
Joe DeMarco

The e-mail below was sent in by a non-mailing list member. When replying,
please cc <G104@onelist.com>.


>Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 22:23:12 -0400
>From: Shawn Rorah <rile69@...>
>To: HL.Spoelstra@...
>Subject: M32 TRV
>
>Hello Hanno,
>
>I am interested in finding pics of the M32 in action and close-ups.
>Where can I find any of these pics?  I noticed that you had a shot of a
>Canadian vehicle in use-- where can I find more pics of that nature?
>
>I want to model my M32 in action and want to have all the rigging set
>appropriately so any help would be appreciated.
>
>Sincerely,
>Shawn Rorah
>IPMS Warren

The e-mail below was sent in by a non-mailing list member. When replying,
please cc <G104@onelist.com>.


>From: <MikeTKDFB@...>
>Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 22:07:13 EDT
>Subject: Can you help me please
>To: HL.Spoelstra@...
>
>Can you tell me how much a Sherman Tank cost in WW2 please

The e-mail below was sent in by a non-mailing list member. When replying,
please cc <G104@onelist.com>.


>From: <RMagee5809@...>
>Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 11:44:56 EDT
>Subject: Need conformation
>To: HL.Spoelstra@...
>
>Dear Sir
>
>My father was in the 11th Armored division, 42th tank Bn.  Can you tell me
>what kind of tank he would have been in.  He was under Patton in the march
>through Belgium and Germany(1944-45).  Could he have been in a Pershing,
>Chaffee or a Sherman?
>Also how many men were inside a tank?
>
>Thanks
>
>Rick Magee       e-mail      rmagee5809@...

At 11:14 22-05-1999 CDT, you wrote:
>From: "John Bell" <jab56@...>
>
>what is crocodile equip.?

The Churchill Crocodile was equipped with flame thrower equipment. So
'Crocodile equipment' was flame thrower equipment.

what is crocodile equip.?




                                         JAB :-)


_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com

At 20:48 21-05-1999 EDT, Cookie Sewell <AMPSOne@...> wrote:

>Oh -- on that pesky comb gizmo -- I saw a couple of good photos of it which
>show that it is used as a quick tieoff for a tarp which fits over the
>complete bow gun mount when the gun is installed. The ends simply hook onto
>the comb, and since ropes stretch, there are several notches. There is a
>similar one on the front left side of the M40 for a larger tarp.

Yes, this is one of the reported uses. Most certainly possible when it is in
its most common location - in front of the hull MG on the final drive housing.
But since it can be found in other locations (in front of the driver's hatch
on a Sherman TRV, for example) and other vehicles as well, I am sure this is
a typical example of the difference between the intended use and the actual
use of this fitting.

My guess is that it was INTENDED as an antenna tie-down.

At 20:48 21-05-1999 EDT, Cookie Sewell <AMPSOne@...> wrote:

>Got subscribed as you asked, but now the site is listed as not found. Is it
>down at the moment?

I noticed this also this morning. Try
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/spoelstra/g104

At 21:46 21-05-1999 CDT, you wrote:
>From: "John Bell" <jab56@...>

>i saw in a magazine once with a sherman outfitted with 2 metal rods comeing
>out the front about the width of the sherman. in the middle of these two
>rods was what looked to be an oildrum with chains on it.

All I can think of is that this was some sort of dummy Crab?

>now on the back of
>the same sherman was a trailer witch it said was a"crocodile fuel trailer"
>you ever heard of this?

According to Chamberlain & Ellis in "British and American tanks of WW II"
the British converted four Shermans with British Crocodile equipment for US
in NW Europe in late 1944. They were used by the US 2nd Armored Division.

At 21:13 21-05-1999 -0400, you wrote:
>From: Geoff Winnington-Ball <whiskey@...>

>Hanno, you realize you're well on the way to becoming the world's expert
>on Shermans? I'm sure you do. :-)

Geoff, the cunning Canadian - first he thinks the world of you, then he
gives you a punch below the belt to see if you're for real:

>Now I have a question for you... were the M4A4s supplied to the British
>and Canadians outfitted specifically for us at the factory, or were they
>'generic' stowage configurations? I refer to the bracketry inside - I
>hasten to admit I've never been in an A4 - but it occurs to me that the
>radio, intercom and other such amenities were unique. Were these added
>by the receiving parties, or did the factories tailor these vehicles by
>lot?

Although there were considerable differences between the Lee and the Grant,
as far as I know the Commonwealth stowage for Shermans did not differ hugely
from US stowage. Indeed I think stowage changes were largely done at the
receiving depots, sometimes even by the receiving units. This is nicely
endorsed by George Varley, veteran of the 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards:
"Due to some difficulties with the North Atlantic convoys the new [M4A1] DD
Shermans were extremely late in arriving, and therefore were routed straight
to the user regiments instead of being prepared at the large Army Ordnance
Depot near Liverpool. We worked night and day to get the new Shermans ready,
and finished only a few hours to spare before we had to embark. One of the
tasks we faced was to rip out the American tank radio installation
(beautiful SCR-508 transceivers) and throw them away in order to install our
own British '19' tank radio sets. It broke my heart to see the SCR-508s
being hurled unceremoniously into the nearby ditch."

After being used for training American troops in the US, some 1,600 Sherman
Vs were specifically rebuilt at Chrysler for the British. Macleod Ross in
"The Business of tanks 1933 to 1945" (Ilfracombe: Arthur H. Stockwell Ltd.,
1976) mentions some of the modifications carried out on British demand, but
I do not have that book available anymore. Maybe someone else can fill this in?


Best regards,
Hanno

i saw in a magazine once with a sherman outfitted with 2 metal rods comeing
out the front about the width of the sherman. in the middle of these two
rods was what looked to be an oildrum with chains on it. now on the back of
the same sherman was a trailer witch it said was a"crocodile fuel trailer"
you ever heard of this?




                                         JAB :-)


_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com

I guess I'll start.

Hanno, you realize you're well on the way to becoming the world's expert
on Shermans? I'm sure you do. :-)

Now I have a question for you... were the M4A4s supplied to the British
and Canadians outfitted specifically for us at the factory, or were they
'generic' stowage configurations? I refer to the bracketry inside - I
hasten to admit I've never been in an A4 - but it occurs to me that the
radio, intercom and other such amenities were unique. Were these added
by the receiving parties, or did the factories tailor these vehicles by
lot?

--
Regards,

Geoff Winnington-Ball
MAPLE LEAF UP! ==>
Zephyr, Ontario, Canada
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maple Leaf Up - The Canadian Army Overseas in WW2
http://jump.to/mapleleafup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~