Hello everyone. I need help w/ the following. I have @ present 2 Tamiya M-3/mk 1 Lees, 1Tamiya M-3 Grant I, and 1Academy M-3 Grant I. I plan on getting Academy's M-3 Lee , M-12, and M-7. As you can tell the M-3's I interested in are A57 powered. I've been grave digging the net and find it's time to get w/ the experts! Keeping this focused on (in) the N. African, ETO, PTO theaters, I would like suspension, turret, hull, Unit (US army) user's info. I run to the gamut of three types of suspensions, 5 road wheels, some turret ( elec/ hydro) power and shapes. I 've browsed the after-market for resin choices. The hull ('s) will be scratch from 40 thou sheet, the reason of course is the 20 or so inches in additional hull length (no gun over hang). The point is I have some conficting spec's like the length being 238.5 "s like a M-4A4 or 242"s. How do the M-7( not M-7B-1), and M-12 factor in. Yes, I am aware that there is an additional 6"s in between the boggie spring towers. But, again that is questioned. Any help would great. Oh, I know the tamiya kits don't stand up well to the Academy kits, but for $10.00 less, I can do w/o the damaged parts and the spare parts fodder (my pref) but why complain, I can get almost seven vehicles from four Kits, and I know about the Academy Lee suspension problem w/ older issues. , Michael.

Let me be the first to say...
What??
Ah, what's the question exactly? Lot's of stuff there...

Jim

No kidding. Slow down and think out a question.

If the question is, did the US Army use Chrysler powered tanks, the answer is, no. The vast majority, other than a few used for stateside training, went to Lend Lease, most to UK units.
I'm not sure what the rest of this is trying to get to.

Seems to me that anyone with all of the information you ask for could simply write a book. Why respond to it in a forum (for free!) when a book that gathered all that information into one place would actually make money?

Of course, I may just misunderstand the question. Assuming there actually is one buried in there...

Yeah, ah, "stream of consciousness" writing doesn't translate well in posts...
I take it you want to build all of the M3/M4 variants powered by the Chrysler A57 multibank engine. You also want to include various wheel and bogie styles.
I suggest you locate a copy of "Sherman" by R.P. Hunnicutt (inter-library loan) and MMiR's "Modelers Guide To The Sherman" (eBay). All of your questions are covered in these two publications.

Well, Yes, there a a lot of questions out in the open and the general consenses, the expert is elsewhere, thanx anyway. The book was already written and again, thanx SSGtoms!

If you actually ask a question or two, as opposed to incoherent rambling, there are experts here who can answer them and provide great information. Not that I am one of them (on this subject), but there are many here.

Okay, I am confused. Are you trying to make every vehicle type powered by the Chrysler engine configuartion? If you are you are limited to the M3A4 medium, the M4A4 (Sherman V in British service), and the Sherman VC Firefly. The M12 and M7 HMC were powered by the Continental radial engine. Production of the M3A4 was limited to a two month run of 109 vehicles. I don't know of any that were converted to Grants, as they were obsolescent when placed in production.

I didn't have the patience to read the OP. However, some US units involved in the Dragoon landings got replacement Shermans from UK stocks of M4A4s. I have one built up and ready for April's AMPS show upcoming.

3rd Army evidently picked up some M4A4s during the tank shortage after the Bulge, and of course some Sherman VCs were produced for IIRC 9th Army (although apparently never issued.)

Let''s see if I can fine tune this. I only want to build one or two M-3A4s. What road wheel type is most common? Is there any big differents in the turret (size/shape)? Who used them in combat, you know, which theater, WHICH ally, etc. Oh, and I do think the rancor can be dropped in an Adult fashion if you would so kind! Individually, some of you have helped a great deal, Thanx.

II RC ? As in II(2) Recon Company, 9th army

Regarding the M-7s and the M-12s (any engine). Where some rebuilt as such from exess M-3s (@ ordenance depots) or where they new builds??

The M7 and M12s shared components with the M3 but no M3s were actually converted.

Hi Michael, IIRC stands for If I Remember Correctly.......Vince

The M3A4 has the M3 Bogies with Spoked roadwheels in the only photos I've seen of them which were all statestide training vehicles. AFAIK they were never supplied via lend lease. As for the M4A4 the US used them in a provincial Company in Burma later turning them over to the Chinese. These had the Spoked and pressed steel wheel types. As others have said a handful were used in Southern France during Dragoon and possibly some were supplied after the Bulge from British Stock although the only pic I have seen of these were the M4A2's also turned over.
The M4A4 track tended to be the Chrysler T62 metal chevron in the majority of cases. It is very rare to find one without and if you do it tends to be T48 Rubber Chevron and its usually on a UK Firefly.
Al

With respect, according to Hunnicut's M4 book, the M3A4s had early M4 style bogies. The pilot model had the M3 suspension, it was tested at Aberdeen.

Al: having looked at many Firefly VC pics, I find that T54E1 tracks weren't too uncommon.

As I said" in the photos I have seen". My references indicate that a lot of later features such as the deletion of the hull doors and the M4 Heavy duty suspension was fitted and I only have a factory shot of that. There is a well known photo of a line of M4 and M3 mediums including a few m4A3's in US stateside training that I do not have access to at the moment. These from memory had the M3 bogies also. I do have an official ordnance photo with the M4 bogies and it also has no side doors and the M3 gun.

Al

Get a lot of that here.

[quote][quote]


The M3A4 with the M3 bogies would have been, according to Hunnicut, the prototype. By the time production began, in I think April or May of 42, the M3A4 had all the late features of the M3riveted hull series, including deletion of the hull doors, M4 type "heavy duty" bogies, and the three ventilators on the hull top, as well as the M3 gun. In June, the factory making the M3A4s switched over to M4A4s. One wonders why the M3A4 was placed in production at all. I think that you are correct that all production was used for stateside training.

Gottcha

Thanx Al, exactly the the stuff I was looking for ( working@). Many thanx. It seems the things you mentioned compare well w/ the Acad M-36. Yaz, I know "another fish for the frying pan",ha,ha,ha.

Hey uncabret, Welcome. As for your post, it doesn't matter, but thanx for the reply, the thread is moving nicely, even if I'm being clued in on things already discuss. I wantta know!