Nice one Chad,do you know if the tow hooks were added some time after building or were the easy 8's built like that?
Hopefully here's the pic




Pete

Here is a pic of the rear uper hull over hang and exhaust plate on an M4A1E8 pic I took a few years back What that grate is supposed to be I have no idea I have seen it on the M4A1 76mm with the V.V.S.S as well I don't know if all those types had them or not If pic does not show it is in my gallery I tried posting pic before and just the link came up

Pete,I see you beat me to it As far as I know those tow hooks are a post war thing Usually the wartime Shermans had the "u" shaped towing clevises on the rear

Chad.
Could the grate/grille be some sort of diffuser for the exhaust gases similar to those fitted on the rear of M4a3's? mean't to lessen the chances of being picked up by heat seeking devices?
Pete

That's an exhaust deflector. It was introduced sometime late in WWII on M4/M4A1-based vehicles, and it is seriously doubtful than anyone was thinking about a countermeasure to heat-seeking weapons or heat signature detection. I think it was more meant to difuse the cloud of exhaust coming out the back and offer a bit of protection to the exhaust system.

Also, those tow hooks also appeared late in the war, first on M24 Chaffees and T26E3 Pershings, and on Shermans built about the same time.

BTW, I also have an M4A1E8 partially built. I'm using a DML M4A3(76)W HVSS as the basis, with an Italeri hull. It's not a high priority to finish, but I might get back to it this summer when it gets too hot to do stuff outside.

I hope you both realize that this tank was never used in combat by the United States in WWII or Korea. Some were used for training in the U.S., and many were shipped overseas France, who subsequently sent some to Israel, who sent some to Uganda .... and other countries got them from the U.S. or another intermediary.

Where did the pic come from? I notice it is erroneously marked "M4A3E8" :-)

Never say never. Zaloga points to the fact that the M4A1E8's were supposed to have made it over to the ETO. However, no photographic evidence had surfaced. However, an allied modellling buddy sent me a pic that seems to conclusively show one. It's scanned from George Forty's book, p. 75, lower left corner.

Caption claims it as a 6AD vehicle at the River Mulda crossing.

Yeah, Roy, you are right. With Shermans, "never say never!" What I meant to say was that I have never seen photographic evidence -- until you referred to the pic in that George Forty book ("M4 Sherman" by George Forty, Blandford Press, copyright 1987).

It certainly is an M4A1E8 -- and it has certainly seen some time out in the dirt! Loads of stowage, too, so I think that rules out a post-war photo. Too bad it's such a small pic (the tank doesn't fill a 1-inch by 1-inch square -- where's my stereo microscope??).

Thanks for your post, Roy. I'm going to build this puppy (it's moving toward to top of the stack) and make sure I bring along the book and pic to the contests!

The M4A1E8 may have appeared in combat just days before the end of the war. The photo that Roy (ericadeane) and I are referring to above shows the tank crossing the River Mulda at Rochlitz -- both the river and the town can be seen on this mapof the maximum of the "Super Sixth's" advance into Germany:


If that image doesn't link, here's the page: http://www.super6th.org/hist6th/map27.gif

Alas, no pic of the tank in question on line that I have found yet. And my scanner is broken, too.

The grill on the back of the of the vehicle was to divert exhaust gases to the rear instead of straight down. When the gases went straight down it created a dust plume behind ther vehicle, making the vehicle visible over greater distances. It is hinged at the top and can be swung down to allow access to the engine comprtment.

I saw a photo of and M4A1 with the grate handing straight with infantry follwoign close behind. The caption did not say if the grate had just come loose, if the crew forgot to secure it, or it was handing down so the exhaust gases did not blow in the faces of the following infantry.

Bob,I took that pic a few years ago at the Heartland Military Vehicle Museum in Lexington Nebraska I am going to do an M4A1E8 as well However I am going to be using the DML M51 Sherman That way I don't have to add the casting marks to the hull Guess I am lazy :-)

BTW did ya'll notice how different the rear hull over hang is a little different from the M4A1 regular hull? For those with the Italeri kit go and check the differences

There are a few differences, most notably you have to fill the indented rear end on the Italeri hull to make it go straight across.

Besides the obvious fittings that need to be added, notice the small tube coming out over the inside of the left track. It's sort of a squashed oval shape -- it's the exhaust for the internal auxiliary generator. Many modelers miss this, but you'll see it on the rear of most 76mm tanks if you look closely. .