On the bottom of page 26 from John Myszka's "Israeli Military Vehicles: the first 50 years 1948-1998", there is a photo of a late short welded hull M50 with HVSS and Cummins diesel engine.

Do you think this was originally a M4 (105) howitzer tank?

Tony

Hey Tony,
Yeah, like Gary said, it's really difficult to tell what the original configuration was.
Initially, the Israelis bought any Shermans they could find, including shot up wrecks they found in junk yards , from all over Europe.
Many of Israel's early Shermans had to have the gun tubes repaired or replaced since many had been "de-militarized" by having holes drilled or cut into them.
Engines and suspensions were changed from gasoline and VVSS to the Cummins diesels and HVSS over a period of time.
I've seen pictures of Israeli units operating a mixed bag of Shermans with a variety of different features.
The Israeli Army couldn't be too picky early on, they needed all the tanks they could get.
Cheers

jjumbo

A close look at the steep upper rear hull angle indicates that it is unlikely to be a M4A3. However, that doesn't guarantee the M4 either. The IDF used M4A2(W) hulls as well. There is an uncovered M50 Bunker vehicle on the beach below the Lebanon border at Rosh Hanikra that is just such a vehicle. It clearly shows weld marks on the glacis for the 76mm gun travel lock only. On the other hand, the Latrun M50 is definitely based on a M4 howitzer hull. You can still see the weld marks for the 105mm travel lock on the glacis. You will see M50s converted on every type of hull, except the M4A6.

Tom

Hi Tom

I see. The bunker you refer to is the photos from Page 116-117 from your book.

But the Latrun M50 you mention, are the photos from page 74 and 75 from your book?

What about the photo at bottom of page 87?
That is a neat photo since the engine deck is built from scratch.
Tony

The photos on pages 74-75 are of the Latrun M4. In the original photos, you can see the welds from the 105mm travel lock. You can also see the welds on the sides, where the old grab handles were cut off.

The vehicle on page 87 is, indeed, very interesting, in that it has a completely fabricated deck AND the extended upper rear hull for the expanded air flow. This gives it a distant impression of being a M4A3, although it is a M4A2 with welded hoods.

Tom