_GOTOBOTTOM
Armor/AFV: Allied - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Allied forces during World War II.
Hosted by Darren Baker
Damsel in distress
flitzer
Visit this Community
England - North West, United Kingdom
Joined: November 13, 2003
KitMaker: 2,240 posts
Armorama: 808 posts
Posted: Monday, October 25, 2004 - 08:04 PM UTC
Hi..
Our very own Angela needs help from you AFV guys..

Angela asks...

Quoted Text

I'm planning to make an Ardennes dio. It is supposed to be a Sherman in the outskirts of Bastogne with a few soldiers shooting at something not depicted in the dio. Pretty simple.

But the hobby shop doesn't have the Sherman I wanted (either the 75mm or the Howitzer thingy). They do have a Tamiya Jumbo Sherman and a Dragon Firefly.

Now, my question is..were these versions of the Sherman used by the US units in holding off Bastogne?


I'm sure the answer will be here soon.

Thanks lads
Peter
:-)
andy007
Visit this Community
Wellington, New Zealand
Joined: May 01, 2002
KitMaker: 2,088 posts
Armorama: 1,257 posts
Posted: Monday, October 25, 2004 - 08:25 PM UTC
As luck may have it Angela, Jumbo shermans were in action in and around Bastonge. Though the Tamiya Jumbo is not completely accurate (Some of the Sherman pros will tell you the short comings they been brought up in threads before) I Thought it was a nice build.
Here is a pic of the first Sherman from the 4th AD to enter Bastonge

Its not the best photo but it gives you the idea.
HTH
Angela
Visit this Community
Visayas, Philippines
Joined: September 01, 2004
KitMaker: 853 posts
Armorama: 514 posts
Posted: Monday, October 25, 2004 - 08:43 PM UTC
Hi,

Thank you flitzer for posting my concern.

Actually, I'm planning to model a Sherman (or any other US vehicle with big guns) that was IN Bastogne at the time the town was siege, not as part of the relief force.

Any suggestion will be very cool.

Angela
jimbrae
Visit this Community
Provincia de Lugo, Spain / Espaņa
Joined: April 23, 2003
KitMaker: 12,927 posts
Armorama: 9,486 posts
Posted: Monday, October 25, 2004 - 09:24 PM UTC
You have a fair few options:

M4a3(76)W - The well Known Thunderbolt IV - 4th Armored Division

M4a3(76) with HVSS Suspension - 4th Armored Division

M4a3 (75mm) WET - 7th Armored Division

Two books which you will find useful are:

M4 Sherman at War (The European Theater) by Zaloga - Concord Publications (in print)

Modeller's Guide To The Sherman by Pete Harlem - Ampersand Publications (sadly it'sOut of print)

If I find anything else, I will let you know...Jim

p.s. There have been RUMOURS that Academy is going to bring out a M4a3(76)W (Thunderbolt IV) but so far a deadly silence has ensued....
War_Machine
Visit this Community
Washington, United States
Joined: February 11, 2003
KitMaker: 702 posts
Armorama: 385 posts
Posted: Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - 02:43 AM UTC
The main US armored units in the Bastogne area before and during the siege were Combat Command Reserve (CCR) of the 9th Armored Division and Combat Command B (CCB) of the 10th Armored. CCR was badly battered by the approaching Germans and was pushed back away from Bastogne. CCB was eventually pushed back into the city and trapped in Bastogne along with the 101st Airborne and several other supporting units, including a tank destroyer batallion equipped with M18s.
Since these were relatively newly arrived division, they would most likely have been equipped primarily with M4A3s with a mix of 75mm and 76mm guns. They would also probably have some jumbos as well.
The main problems with the Tamiya jumbo are that the transmission cover isn't uparmored as it should be and the turret is just all wrong in shape. There are some aftermarket kits to correct these issues, if you so desire.
 _GOTOTOP