I have decided on a context for my Sherman M4a3 105mm dio. I saw an interesting color picture of some shermans on the web showing them covered in snow in the ardennes. Couple that with a picture I saw in one of the osprey books showing a Sherman 105mm giving fire support during the battle of the bulge. I have decided to show a scene of the tank in a fire support mission surrounded by snow and maybe some snow covered trees nearby.

The advice I am seeking pertains to the reaction of the snow on the tank after what I imagine would be firing dozens if not hundreds of rounds in a fire support role. I am sure the cannon would be hot, would it be red hot?

Also I imagine there would be many spent shells pushed out the shell ejection port and maybe some crates outside of the tank with some support crews helping to keep the tank "stocked" with ammo.

Any Ideas to help me out with this?

Thanks,
GG

Here is the snow picture I'm refering to. I have seen a better more detail pic but this is the best I could find on short notice.

http://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/us_army/shermans_during_the_ardennes_campaign

GG

That's not a sherman 105....it's a regular M4, I believe from the 7th AD near St. Vith.

I'd say check out some more references of 105 Shermans in action before you finalize your scene. Perhaps try one of Steve Zaloga's concord books on the Sherman (VOL 1 or 2), US Tank Battles in Germany, etc. They have many pics of such vehicles in static positions (not necessarily with snow around, though). They might help you with your setup.

Rob

The pic you have appears to be a 75MM gun tank. I have seen a B&W pic of a 105 tank (M4/ M4A3 ???) with the crew gathered around a small fire beside the tank. There were a number of rounds in their fibre containers stacked on the engine deck. Could not see any empty casings. The barrel would heat up but no where near "red" hot. Hope this helps a bit.

Doug

Guys....I realize those tanks in the picture are not sherman 105mm. The point of the pic was to give you an idea of the type of scene I want to recreate using a sherman 105mm. :-)

Seeing as I wasn't a tanker in the army I don't know how they move around when they fire from static firing positions(or even if they don't) I was hoping to get some advice on how the snowy terrain around the vehicle would look after performing a fire support mission. I.E spent shells on the ground, crewmen running to and fro to keep the tank suplied. How many of the crewmen would need to be inside the tank? I assume not the driver and or the assistant driver since it's a fire support, but am not sure.

In my example picture it appears that the shermans had remained in those positions for some time due to the build up of snow around the bottom of the tanks. I imagine in my dio of the sherman 150mm howitzer that there would be considerably less snow around the bottom and also less on the top due to the violent nature of the shelling. But not sure. I can imagine and use artistic license but was hoping for some informed information.

Thanks for the help,
GG

Gday Chris
This would make for an interesting scene mate.
I reckon you have a choice to show the 105 in action, or during a lull.
The latter would give you more options, in that you can show the crew interacting with their site such as a campfire, meals, etc.
Have a couple of photos showing this, which have whitewashed 105s from the 6AD near Houfallize Jan 1945.
Another option would be to have corduroy matting (unditiching logs) wired to the hullsides which was common, as was evergreen branches for camouflage strung around the hull and turret.
But if I were you, (unless you are a snow-realism expert) I'd go lightly with snow and go a muddier/dirtier angle? Have seen plenty of Shermans that have been crammed to the gunnels with snow, and the whole impact is lost... Especially if the scene has many details to show around the focal point.
Just my opinion though!
Cheers
Brad

Thanks for the input Bradley. I had the same concern as you, relating to the amount of snow actually placed "on" the tank, as the snow would effectively cover up a lot of detail.

I am pretty determined to show the sherman during a fire support mission, and it seems logical that your point about having a muddy snowmelty/icey area around the tank would fit nicely. And also help to capture some of the action due to people running around trying to keep the tank supplied.

Do you know how many tank crew members would be inside the tank if the tank was being asked to perform a fire support role?

I assume just the commander, loader and gunner would be required inside the tank.

If this is the case, it would allow me to model the driver and assistant driver helping to break open boxes of ammo. If not the case I would need to model some other member of the division doing this or maybe even both.

For example I could show a truck or jeep stopping by to drop off some crates of ammo.

More food for thought.

GG