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Armor/AFV: Allied - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Allied forces during World War II.
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did US tanks and tank destroyers keep stowage
youpey
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Posted: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 - 04:09 PM UTC
did US tanks and tank destroyers keep stowage on during battle or was that only during traveling?

I am working on an M18 hellcat for a small dio and i am curious how much stowage it would have on it during a battle

also, the same question goes for a sherman
please ignore my ignorance, this will be my first dio

thanks
TonyDz
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Posted: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 - 04:48 PM UTC
Think about it. Do you really think they had time to pull over and unload everything, go in to battle, then come back and load the vehicle back up?
SSGToms
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Posted: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 - 05:21 PM UTC
The shovels and tools,tow cables - the TC has to sign for those and pay for them if lost. A lot of the rest is the crews personal gear - food, sleeping bag and dry socks most important - and you take it everywhere you go.
Frenchy
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Posted: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 - 09:40 PM UTC
M18 stowage examples :
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/138926#1159921

HTH

Frenchy
TankSGT
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Posted: Thursday, April 28, 2011 - 04:37 AM UTC
If you look carefully most stowage is placed so that it doesn't cover sights or periscopes and the turret isn't obstructed. On those 30 mile or better a day advances there was no where to drop gear. American armor in both Iraq wars is a great example of the continuing tradition of loading your track with as much gear as you can carry. Matt I believe you can write off battle damaged or destroyed equipment as a combat loss. Can you imagine getting the bill for a knocked out Sherman on $50 a month.

Tom
Easy_Co
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Posted: Thursday, April 28, 2011 - 07:40 AM UTC
strange but i was going to ask the same question but for a Stug111 in stalingrad I guess the same answers apply.my concern was the amount of petrol cans they carried on the back wouldnt take much to turn it into a bonfire
TankSGT
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Posted: Thursday, April 28, 2011 - 09:34 AM UTC
Well 2 things come to mind about that, all cans don't hold gas. They can be used for water and engine oil and transmission oil.The other thing is resupply on the Russian front was spotty at best so they took the risk to carry extra gas. Better to risk a fire then running out of gas in the middle of a battle.

Tom
ModelBuildingTanks
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Posted: Thursday, April 28, 2011 - 07:45 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Think about it. Do you really think they had time to pull over and unload everything, go in to battle, then come back and load the vehicle back up?

During WWII and the allied invasion of Europe, everybody kept moving forward, they didn't go back and forth to resupply. So stowage was commonly stored on vehicles, especially essentials of a tank crew such as clothing, shovels, and such.
BTW, hellcats tended to store bags on the sides of the turret. Sherman's, and M10's would store them on the rear atop the engine to keep them toasty!
TankSGT
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Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 - 05:05 AM UTC
The M4 had a solid engine deck so it had room for storage. The Hellcats cooling vents were on the back deck if you block them your engine overheats. Thats why M4A3s, M26s and Modern US tanks have minimal stowage on the back deck. Not to mention tactics that require 360 traverse at any time. Last tank in the colum always has the gun over the back deck.

Tom
ModelBuildingTanks
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Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 - 11:30 AM UTC

Quoted Text

The M4 had a solid engine deck so it had room for storage. The Hellcats cooling vents were on the back deck if you block them your engine overheats. Thats why M4A3s, M26s and Modern US tanks have minimal stowage on the back deck. Not to mention tactics that require 360 traverse at any time. Last tank in the colum always has the gun over the back deck.


The M4A1 and M4A2 used the same ventilation design as the M3 lee didn't they?

Alex
youpey
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Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 - 11:31 AM UTC
here is a stupid question, i am thinking of putting a german helmet on my m18 hellcat, like a souvenir but i dont know where they might put something like that.

i was thinking on the headlight guards but it doesnt quite fit, and realistically it would fall off after the first bump. any ideas??
barkingdigger
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Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 - 12:25 PM UTC
Mike,

They'd probably hang it on any handy projection by its chin-strap. Could be slipped over the headlight guards, but also look on the turret sides for space. We're talking "non standard" stowage so anything goes!

Tom
youpey
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Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 - 12:31 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Mike,

They'd probably hang it on any handy projection by its chin-strap. Could be slipped over the headlight guards, but also look on the turret sides for space. We're talking "non standard" stowage so anything goes!

Tom


thats a great idea. i just have to see if i have a chin strap
TankSGT
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Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 - 04:36 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

The M4 had a solid engine deck so it had room for storage. The Hellcats cooling vents were on the back deck if you block them your engine overheats. Thats why M4A3s, M26s and Modern US tanks have minimal stowage on the back deck. Not to mention tactics that require 360 traverse at any time. Last tank in the colum always has the gun over the back deck.


The M4A1 and M4A2 used the same ventilation design as the M3 lee didn't they?

Alex
The M4A1 had the same deck but the M4A2 had a grill although it was smaller then the A3. The Lees and Shermans that shared engines had similar back decks.

Tom
Silantra
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Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 - 05:14 PM UTC
got one stupid question also..

what is the color of US ww2 jerry cans??

OD or dark green??

tq
ModelBuildingTanks
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Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 - 05:33 PM UTC

Quoted Text

got one stupid question also..

what is the color of US ww2 jerry cans??

OD or dark green??

tq


Olive drab I think. It was the color of the US army during WWII. Only later did the US switch to dark green as a camo. It was figured to keep tanks more concealed because of the darker tint compared to OD.
ModelBuildingTanks
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Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 - 05:34 PM UTC
[/quote] thats a great idea. i just have to see if i have a chin strap [/quote]

Make one! It would only take a little leather string! This is in the beloved 1/35 scale right?
ModelBuildingTanks
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Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 - 05:36 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Well 2 things come to mind about that, all cans don't hold gas. They can be used for water and engine oil and transmission oil.The other thing is resupply on the Russian front was spotty at best so they took the risk to carry extra gas. Better to risk a fire then running out of gas in the middle of a battle.

Tom


Have to add to this. The Germans (and maybe the americans) painted white crosses on their cans to signify it held water.
Easy_Co
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Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 - 11:16 PM UTC
many thanksfor the input chaps.
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