Does anyone know the specifics of the variant of Sherman used by the US in N. Africa? I did a google search and it tends to pop up British armor.

Did the US use M4, M4A1 or both?

What type of running gear: M3 type or off set return roller?

And what type of turret: with or without loader's hatch; wide or narrow mantlet?

I have seen a photo of an M4A1 called "Major Jim" and it appears to have the early turret and later suspension. The vehicle is overall OD with a bunch of tan swipes of a paint brush for camouflage.

Also was the white star in use or was the yellow star still being used?

From what I have seen they seem to have had more M4A1s than anything else ...both with M3 and M4 stye bogies and early and mid configuration of the hull (some had the direct vision ports)...the have the low bustle turret without the extra hatch. Mantlet well m34 would be the safest bet from the few pics I've seen.

Rick

the variants thebear mentions were the varients most used by british units as well,

to be honest ive never seen any pictures of US shermans in north africa, lots of stuarts though!

cheers

joe

Concord has a book on the Sherman that shows a lot of M4A1's in US service, as far as I can remember the majority of the pics are from 1st Armored Division units, and there are a few shots of Maj. Jim in it as well. Direct vision is correct for this time period, as are the M3 type bogie trucks, and the thin mantlet. The low bustle single hatch turret is also the right one. Didn't Dragon put out a kit of Maj. Jim (well, with that tank as one of the variants)?

Hunnicutt's "SHERMAN" has a nice little section on U.S. Shermans in North Africa, pages 178-182. Concord's "The M4 Sherman at War" also has a few photos of U.S. Shermans in North Africa, including a color plate of Major Jum and an M4 with the 1st Armored Division (it has the yellow star and stripe on the turret -- can't see any markings on Major Jim through all the camo).

All of the U.S. tanks shown in Hunnicutt are M4A1s -- there are also two pics of M4A2s supplied to French forces. The text implies that the 2nd Armored Division had M4s, but there are no photos. Also, keep in mind that the Sherms used in the invasion of Sicily mostly came from North Africa, so photos of them should give a good indication of what the U.S. had in North Africa -- at least at the very end of the campaign.

The M4A1s are all 75mm gun tanks with small-hatch dry hulls. Some still have direct vision ports (but most of the very early M4A1s went to the British). Both M3-style bogies and early trailing horizontal arm bogies are shown. All the Sherms have three-piece final drive housings. Turrets are low-bustle without a loader's hatch. the mantlets that can be seen all have the early, narrow gun shield, the M34 (this is also apparent in Sicily photos). Only the late-arriving French M4A2s have the wider M34A1 mantle and shield.

Just to point out that the M34 shield is the small shield and the M34A1 is the wider shield for the gun mount...

Rick

You are correct, sir. My bad. I've editted my post to make it correct.