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Armor/AFV: Allied - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Allied forces during World War II.
Hosted by Darren Baker
Seeking info on M4 “Cannonball”
UM83CANES
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Virginia, United States
Joined: May 01, 2007
KitMaker: 275 posts
Armorama: 242 posts
Posted: Friday, April 23, 2010 - 08:41 AM UTC
From what I understand, Cannonball was an M4 assigned to the 70th tank battalion which was disabled due to a shell crater shortly after landing on Utah Beach. However, I believe Cannonball was recovered and pressed back into service. Can anyone tell me if that was in fact the case? Also, I’ve seen the picture of her half sunken on Utah beach many times but are there any other pictures of her in France once she was recovered? Finally, can anyone tell me the reason for the thick black band that appears to be painted around the base of Cannonball’s turret?

Thanks in advance for any info you guys can share,
Noah


GeraldOwens
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Florida, United States
Joined: March 30, 2006
KitMaker: 3,736 posts
Armorama: 3,697 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 24, 2010 - 01:53 PM UTC

Quoted Text

From what I understand, Cannonball was an M4 assigned to the 70th tank battalion which was disabled due to a shell crater shortly after landing on Utah Beach. However, I believe Cannonball was recovered and pressed back into service. Can anyone tell me if that was in fact the case? Also, I’ve seen the picture of her half sunken on Utah beach many times but are there any other pictures of her in France once she was recovered? Finally, can anyone tell me the reason for the thick black band that appears to be painted around the base of Cannonball’s turret?

Thanks in advance for any info you guys can share,
Noah

Offhand, I don't know Cannonball's history, as I'd have to rummage through an awful lot of photo books. The Sherman mavens on the Missing-Lynx Allied discussion board may have more details for you.
The dark band at the base of the turret is almost certainly the Bostik sealant applied to keep seawater out of the turret ring during beach landings. It was usually applied pretty lavishly around all the joints and used to attach canvas seals to the mantlet and hull MG mount on most vehicles used for beach landings.
Ellevenbravo
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Massachusetts, United States
Joined: April 08, 2007
KitMaker: 269 posts
Armorama: 261 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 25, 2010 - 12:55 AM UTC
Just not that if you happen to be building the Dragon M4 using the Cannonball decals, they are not complete. You will need to obtain the front and rear vehicle codes because for whatever reason, dragon decided not to include them for any of the decal options in this kit.

Regards,

John
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