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Armor/AFV: Modern - USA
Modern Armor, AFVs, and Support vehicles.
Hosted by Darren Baker
MDAP Sherman M4A1 76 (retrofit)
DaveCox
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: January 11, 2003
KitMaker: 4,307 posts
Armorama: 2,130 posts
Posted: Sunday, February 06, 2005 - 04:01 AM UTC
This vehicle was inspired by my finding references on the excellent 'Sherman Register' website (http://web.inter.nl.net/users/spoelstra/g104/) to 75mm armed Shermans upgunned using the original turret and mantlet, and issued to friendly nations under the Mutual Defense Aid Programme.
These tanks were passd from owner to owner and now form a large number of those in museums and collections today. The model represents a vehicle that has passed through a few owners before ending up in a scrap yard waiting for it's new owners to collect it.

I don't know why it's ended up looking a bit glossy - but I'll be ordering myself a new bottle of matt varnish pretty quickly!!






More pics in my gallery
generalzod
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United States
Joined: December 01, 2001
KitMaker: 3,172 posts
Armorama: 2,495 posts
Posted: Sunday, February 06, 2005 - 04:22 AM UTC
Dave
That is an interesting looking Sherman Any idea what country used the one you built?
DaveCox
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: January 11, 2003
KitMaker: 4,307 posts
Armorama: 2,130 posts
Posted: Sunday, February 06, 2005 - 06:56 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Dave
That is an interesting looking Sherman Any idea what country used the one you built?



These vehicles were given/sold to India, Pakistan, Denmark and a few others. They were then passed on to other users in Africa, South America etc - take your pic! Thisparticular version with the 3 track links on the turret and two gun crutches was built/rebuilt in the US, others were refitted in Tokyo at the time of the Korean War and known as Tokyo Shermans (mostly M4A3).
Martinnnn
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Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Joined: April 26, 2004
KitMaker: 5,435 posts
Armorama: 2,762 posts
Posted: Sunday, February 06, 2005 - 07:31 AM UTC
Very cool. It could just be a Dutch vehicle. They bought these: (also from the sherman register):


Quoted Text



After WW2, the Koninklijke Landmacht (Royal Netherlands Army, RNlA) acquired about 200-250 Sherman tanks and related AFVs from the Commonwealth vehicle dumps in the Netherlands. These stock included:

Sherman Hybrid I and Sherman Hybrid IC: 46 in 1951.
Sherman II: possibly some from the Commonwealth dumps, the majority came in through MDAP (see below).
Sherman III: numbers range from 16 in 1947 to 20 in 1951.
Sherman V and VC: numbers range from 70 in 1947 to 68 in 1951. The last 11 Sherman VCs in stock in 1956 were probably tank-pillboxes.
Sherman V Crab: a small number was used by the Royal Dutch Army. (Note: at least one Sherman V CIRD - though without the rollers - ended up in the Dutch Army inventory.)
Ram I and II : in 1947 44 "new" Rams were delivered. Four were Command/O.P. tanks, the rest were Ram IIs retrofitted with the British 75mm gun. Numbers ranged from 73 (incl. 2 Ram Is) in 1947 to 50 in 1951.

These war-weary AFVs were later replaced by freshly overhauled ones received through the MDAP. Several dozens of these worn-out Sherman and Ram tanks were then converted into tank-pillboxes as part of the defences for the IJssellinie. Fireflies retained their 17-pdr gun, but the 75mm Shermans and Rams had their gun removed and a 0.30" MG installed. Noteworthy is that not only the turrets, but also the tank hulls were used in the construction of these tank-pillboxes. Contrary to other pillboxes which use tank turrets, these pillboxes are not turrets on a concrete bunker, but actually turrets on stripped hulls set in concrete 30 to 60 cm thick.

From 1951 onwards various types of Shermans were received from the US through MDAP, about 250 in total:

M4A1: 38 received in 1952.
M4A1 Dozer: 30 of the M4A1s mentioned above were later fitted with dozer kits (although there were only 26 blades) and used by the Genie (engineers) and Technische Dienst (technical service) munitions companies. These were in use as late as January 1961.
M4A1E9: 50 received in 1951.
M4A1(76)W: 10 received in 1951.
M4A1(76)W HVSS: 40 received in 1951.
M4(105): 30.
M4A3E9(105) and M4A3(105) HVSS: 18 M4A3(105)s (both with spaced-out VVSS and HVSS) were received.
The MARBRIG (Marines Brigade) of the RNlMC used 18 M4A3(105) HVSS Shermans on East Java (Indonesia) during 1946-1949. Five of these were taken back to the Netherlands and transferred to the RNlA in 1954 or 1955.
In January 1961 45 howitzer-armed Shermans were still in use with the Cavalry's reconnaissance units.
M32 TRV: 4.
M32B1 TRV: 6.
M32B1E9 TRV: 10 (w/spaced out VVSS), these were registered as M31A1B1.



I'm going to build an M4A1E8 in Dutch service, also a MDAP vehicle:



I really like yours. Good job!
DaveCox
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: January 11, 2003
KitMaker: 4,307 posts
Armorama: 2,130 posts
Posted: Sunday, February 06, 2005 - 11:03 AM UTC
At least your's has the later T23 turret Martin, the Italeri kit with HVSS added. I was going to buy the AFV Club HVSS for my IIIAY, but bought an M51 on ebay for less than the AFV Club parts!, hence this conversion! I used the M51 upper hull with the wide mudguard cut away.
Martinnnn
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Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Joined: April 26, 2004
KitMaker: 5,435 posts
Armorama: 2,762 posts
Posted: Sunday, February 06, 2005 - 09:47 PM UTC
I'll use the Academy M51 with parts from my italeri M4A1 and the late T23 turret from the dragon M4A3E8 (and the M4A3E8 hull will be used in combination with the italeri M32B1 to make a M32A1B3).

Greetings!
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