What exactly is the M-32 vehicle? What is it's purpose?

It's a tank recovery vehicle based on the Sherman chassis, essestially a predecessor to the M-88 (which is based on an M-48 chassis)
http://hjem.get2net.dk/t_anton/m32/m32.htm " TARGET="_blank"> http://hjem.get2net.dk/t_anton/m32/m32.htm

Some of the pictures on the link are very similar to shots in Verlinden's Israeli Sherman and variants book.

Italeri make a model of the M32 ARV. You can buy it quite cheaply. Its not 100% accurate but still makes a nice and unusual model. The "A" frame can be modelled up or down (workable/moveable) so could be great for dios. I have one of these under way at the moment and I am quite happy with it. Not painted yet though ........ so i might not be happy for long!

For fun, you could also transfer allthe appropriate pieces from the M4A1 M32 to a M4A3 M32, which I am told was far more common. I plan on doing it someday...(wistfull, far-off look...)

The M-32 was one of the tracked tank recovery vehicles used by the Allied forces to retrieve knocked out or broken down tanks. The T-2 or M31 which was based on the M-3 Lee, was the predecessor to the M-32 (which was based on the M4 series). Get the book "Death Traps" by Belton Cooper about tank recovery -- great stuff!!

They converted M4, M4A1 (early type) and M4A3 hulls.

The Italeri kit re-used their M4A1 (large hatch hull) in their boxing of the M-32. This is INACCURATE as it seems that only the small-hatched, early M4A1 cast hulls were used.

Hope this helps.

RC
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a friend of mine who is a HUGE sherman freak said there were a very few of the large hatch type M32's. no, I have no photo's to ref off hand but I believe him...maybe the hunnicut book says something on this?

If I have this correct (and with Shermans who truly knows half the time). The large hatch M4A1 was used but is a post war variant of the M32. There are quite a few pictures of them on the net.

Here's a great page of reference shots of the M32: http://www.kithobbyist.com/AFVInteriors/m32/m32a.html

Jacques -- I'd like to see the pics your friend claims to have. In fact, I'd like to see photos of any M32 variant that has a hull with large hatches. I have never seen it addressed (not even by Hunnicutt) but I suspect that it was easier to convert a dry stowage (i.e., small hatch) hull to the M32 configuration. Photos of late M32s in Hunnicutt's book -- vehicles with spaced-out (E9) VVSS and HVSS suspensions have a small-hatch M4A1 hull.

Hunnicutt discusses the rebuild of "large numbers of World War II M4A3s" into improved recovery vehicles capable of handling heavier tanks, such as the Pershing and Patton, and the end result was the M74. Jacques friend may have seen M74s and thought them to be M32s.

Another theory has to do with the fact that Shermans were exported to literally scores of countries in the 1950s and 60s. I suspect that M32-like vehicles may have been cobbled together out of parts and pieces from several tanks -- and photos of these "Franenstein" vehicles might end up on the Web and in books and mags from time to time.

Hoolowpoint...I never said that my friend had any special pics, only that in long talks with him over the years, we had brought up the M32 Recovery Vehicle. His comments basically revolved around how rare the kit version was vs. the M4A3 conversion. Since he is a WAAAYY Sherman freak, I trust his judgement more than mine, anyhow.

also, one of my now ex-neighbors (he is still in South Dakota) was a Recovery Specialist for the 1st AD in Italy in WWII. He ran around with a M32 and Diamond T, among other things. His story can be found here:

http://milveh.tripod.com/Pictures/wwiivets/rudy/index.htm

His specific comments on anything sherman was anything they could jury rig or otherwise was a go! IF they could have made a M32 out of a "wet" M4A1, and had the chassis to do it with, I am sure they did it, pics or no. Historical accuracy witha sherman tank, as I am finding out, is probably going to be a impossible thing, for as soon as anyone lays down a law about them ,there seems to be a picture that comes to the surface proving them wrong. So I am building my M32 OOB, without looking back.

I am also going to build a M32 on a M4A3 chassis too.

Oops, my bad about the photos -- I need to read a bit more carefully sometimes.

As to the existence of a large-hatch M32B1 -- I am still very dubious and would want to see photo evidence. Many dedicated Sherman researchers have sought this elusive (and probably mythical) beast for a long time and have not found a single frame of film showing it.

I have been studying and modeling variants of the Shemran for about 20 years now and don't claim to know all the answers. Indeed, some Sheman "myths" have recently been shattered -- including the existence of a non-Duplex Drive 75mm M4A1with late hull, and the use of early M4A3 75mm gun tanks in combat. It does seem to be "never-say-never" with Shermans...

However, it would not be quite as easy to "jury rig" an M32B1 as your post implies. The actual conversion of an M4A1 gun tank to an M32B1 would be a monumental task -- not just a simple swap of a few parts. Maintenance crews might cannibalize parts from one vehicle to fix another, but creating a tank recovery vehicle from a gun tank would involve major modifications of the hull, way beyond simply swapping out a few parts.

It would also be totally illogical. The Allies needed as many gun tanks as they could get their hands on and keep running. Why would they sacrifice a gun tank to create a recovery vehicle?

Build whatever makes you happy, Jacques, but I'll stick with what I know existed, not what I think might have been out there. But then again, I am an AMS-afflicted rivet-counter ...

Hi,

At TrackHead you have a page with photos of several versions of M32 Tank Recovery Vehicle.

HTH

Gitcha Hollowpoint, and I know how you feel....get me going on Modern Russian armor...

anyhow, I don't mind doing a logical "what-if". I never thought they would take M10 TD's and make them Artillery Tractors either, but M35's existed too.

And the way Rudy described it to me, by 1944, they were getting so many new tanks that stuff they recovered had to be in better shape thatn stuff they were scrounging before. I t sounded like things in Italy were REALLY tough until D-day, probably because of invasion stockpiling.

I don't know if this really offers any help for the existence of the Italeri kit's real-life sponsor, but I cannot exclude myself. That's just me I guess. However, I would be inclined to say that Italeri probably just made the kit based on their current M4A1 rather than tool a new kit...oh well.