Ok, I plan on building the M4 Sherman tank from the 1980's movie Tank, about a Sgt. that rescues his son from a corrupt Sheriff. I want to know, what model is the Sherman if anyone knows, and what is the white ring around the turret? I have seen that type of ring on Soviet Tanks, but never allied ones. I am looking for something like the megaphone that was on the front as well.

Hey Jacob
It appears to be a Ford M4A3 75mm dry stowage tank. These were for the most part kept stateside for training purposes although a few did make it to the ETO later in the war.

here

Maybe ,you mean the classic movie Kellys Heroes,the Sherman is a M4A3 armed with 76mm ,
if you want look ,here linkname

Wasnt that the flick starring James Garner as the Army Sgt with his own private M-4???
milvehfan

The movie you are talking about was Tank. The tank is a M4-A3-75.

That Sherman tank is owned by Fred Ropkey, http://ropkeyarmormuseum.com/

Best part of that movie:

Yes, he was a command sergeant major. I think his son was played by C. Thomas Howell. The hooker was a hottie. She replaced Suzanne Sommers on Three's Company.

Thats the movie. Thanks guys, I am gonna look it up a bit more. It inspired me and my mom to build a M4 Sherman, that M4 Sherman. I also wanna build the one from Kelly Heroes.

Another quick question, what is the difference between Dry and Wet storage. I looked it up but found big storage tanks in Ohio to keep things in like water

Wet storage refers to the glycerin filled ammo bins that would flood the bins if ruptured thus preventing internal explosions due to stowed ammunition blowing up.

The original dry storage hulls are often shown with additional armor plates ('applique') welded to the sides of the hull and turret to minimize penetration by enemy rounds. Generally speaking, a wet hulled vehicle will not have the applique armor welded on the sides.

Last time I watched it, I got the feeling they used more then one M4.

Fun movie and the Jenilee Harrison was the very hot hooker.

Fun 80s movie.

Yes I know when I talked to Fred a few years ago about it there were at least 2 used. "liberty" is they very nice one used for all the close ups. One of his others runners was used for the building demo and other things. THey guy that got to drive the tank thru the building was Fred. I grew up close to his place and got to climb thru his collection many many times before it became hands off.

The Driver and Hull Gunners Applique isnt the typically seen. It is 3 sided and had a glass viewing block in the front.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHjCY4Z6b44

I hate to be ao but what is aplique armor? Can someone show me a comparison of the two so I can see the difference, and wet and dry stowage?

http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en

I'm not sure here but this might help, i remember watching that film as a kid and i thought it may be this?
hopefully this may be some help or i may just be sending you completley off track.

[http://www.formationsmodels.com/1871900.html]

F100 "Oddball" Sherman Conversion -$70

An extensive Conversion to create the famous tank from a 1970's movie. Includes all the unique details to create "Oddball's" M4A3. Including 76mm gun, loud speaker, spare track links, air cooled .50 cal MG barrel, front and rear fenders, exhaust deflector, and mixed wheel set. The kit also includes a full compliment of Formation's Sherman details to build as accurate a representation as possible, such as our tools, hatches, complete turret assembly, track skids, headlights, and lenses. Shown on and scled to Tamiya's M4A3 kits, but can be built with Italeri or Dragon M4A3s as a donor.


[http://www.formationsmodels.com/files/34872598.jpg]

[http://www.formationsmodels.com/files/32518941.jpg]

sorry i dont know how to turn these into proper links

Sorry, but u don't think i tried this, it looks quite the same to me as another Sherman. I want to find Historical pics, not models.

Here are my Walkaround pics of the Parola Museum Sherman It has applique armor on the sides and on the front hatches.

Heres a view of the driver hood and the style of applique armor
http://dallasashe.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/lctank2.jpg
Note the side plate by Garners head, basically the uparmor was 3 sided and had a vision block in the front

Thanx guys. REALLY helpful at understanding this. I am not used to Allied armor

In the Sherman photo above, you will see a square piece of metal welded to the side of the tank's hull (just below the name Liberty). That is the applique.

The problem as I see it is getting a "dry" stowage M4A3 hull. Its more than the applique armor. Most M4A3s were "wet" stowage hulls. These hulls had a redesigned front. Those projections that you see on the front are called "drivers hoods". It was realized that they were a weak point in the armor, and the front of the tank was redesigned to eliminate them. This involved setting the glacis plate at a different angle. It also allowed for larger hatches for the drivers (sometimes these hulls are called "big hatch" hulls. I don't know of anyone who currently makes a dry stowage M4A3 hull. You can find the following Shermans with dry stowage hulls:

M4
M4A2
M4A1

The M4A1 had a cast hull, and it won't work for you, as the M4A3 was a welded hull. The M4A2 had a diesel engine, and the engine grills and set of the rear hull plate, as well as the exhaust system are different. The M4 also had a different engine, and the rear hull top as well as exhaust system is again different.

My guess would be that converting an M4A2 would probably be easiest, someone here who knows a lot more than I do about these things can probably guide you better.

Fred is a friend of mine - and yes, there were two tanks used in the filming of 'Tank". The one shown above was the "star" and a second - not as nice - tank was used in some of the scenes.

I've got some photos around somewhere taken during the filming.

Fred's museum is open - and not too far from this years AMPS nationals.

Regards,
David Doyle