hi guys,
i inherited a load of photos from my family take by (and for) my great uncle, i was rifling throught them 2day and i found 2 pictures with a sherman , from diferent angles
on the sherman is "class iv" "263773" left hand side
right hand turret there is a square (coulour unknown)
on the back of the tank is a "53" on the right hand side and above that is a light box with some picture on it that i cant make out and on the left hand side is a rectangle with a light circle and something in the circle
it is the sherman with the curved body an a long barell with a black bag or somthing over the muzzle (i dont know what type!!) oh !!!!!
i have just discovered some othe text on the right hand side body reading "easy" wasnt the 101'st airbourne "easy" i dont know if that used shermans though anyway, can anybody identify this tank from the descriptions i have used,
i wish to use the photos to make a diorama of the picture, any idea what is the best kits to use and detailsets as this is a tribute really,
my grat uncle was in the raoc til '42 and the reme from then onwards
any help would be wonderful and all tips for the diorama welcome,
its a relaxed photo with my great uncle on the barrel of the tank and a freind leaning against the rear of the tank, the turret is facing the rear and the hatches are open (from what i can see)
iy is also on a road, not a muddy one the tarmac stuff.
well ,as above anything welcome!!
cheers
james

"edit" after closer inspection the rectangle seems to be that of the seventh armoured division
but from the "1943 " book i have A short history of the Sevebth armoured division october 1938-may 1943 they didnt serve in europe and the picturs are definatly not north africa!!

My guess is that the tank you are describing is a Sherman IC, an M4 Hybrid with a 17pdr turret.

This is the second tank pictured in this series:

http://www.tanxheaven.com/ljs/fireflyljs/fireflyljs.htm

Can you confirm? If so then DML is about to re-issue this kit this year. (it's been OOP and commands a high premium on eBay).

Alternatively, you can go with aftermarket hulls and turrets. Contact me if you want suggetions in this arena.

hi,
yeh it looks pretty similar, the only thing is that exra? armour on the front of the turret , also on the rear of the tank there are two boxes below the exahust
cheers, james

http://www.burntshare.com/users/lespauljames/sherman2
http://www.burntshare.com/users/lespauljames/sherman1
here are photos of the photos of the sherman

From my very limited knowledge of British markingsI would say the sherman belongs to the 7th armoured Div. The sign which can be seen on the right (as you look at it) of the transmission housing on the first Sherman
here


is a black jerboa in a black surround and the the square on the turret which can be seen on the 3rd sherman is I think in yellow

okay, thanks
im probably going to have to paint all the markings on
so every coulour reference helps,
would the tank be in the usual drab??
james

The basic colour would be SCC15 Olive Drab (not khaki drab). Use Tamiya OD and after lightening it a bit with yellow ochre (or Dunkel Gelb) add a touch of medium green to just slightly green the shade. This will give you a weathered UK OD. For a brand new UK OD, just use the Tamiya OD.

Paul

Hello James,

I am guessing at either 4th County London Yeomanry or 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards ( they didn't join 7th Armoured Division until 29/7/44 ).
Do you have anymore information or photos?
The Jerboa I would have thought would have been red.

Cheers
Kevin

Definitely a Sherman IC hybrid, the large hatch is visible at the front in the second pic. It also has applique armour and one of the standard stowage boxes designed for ICs. The two boxes either side of the exhaust are air filters

Is the emblem above the 53 the stag's head of 22nd Armoured Brigade?

http://www.btinternet.com/~ian.a.paterson/orgarmour.htm#AB22

i saw somthing in the documents or somthign about 22 armoured brigade, using a magnifying glass on the photos i can see a small triangle on a whithe background??, it may be the lower left hand corner of the stags head though!

also does anyone have any pics of the new dml kit??

Scroll right down to the bottom of this orbat and there a couple of mentions of 22nd Armoured Brigade Workshop REME

http://www.btinternet.com/~ian.a.paterson/org.htm

There's a slightly clearer stag's head on this 5RTR Sheman Firefly

http://www.desertrats.org.btinternet.co.uk/images/Pictures/5RTRFireflysGermany1945.jpg

and there is also a shot of 22nd Armoured Brigade Workshop handing over a Sherman, this time in Italy

http://www.desertrats.org.btinternet.co.uk/images/Pictures/workshopitaly.jpg

Might be worth going through the site to put a bit of structure into your history

http://www.btinternet.com/~ian.a.paterson/main.htm

yup!, thats the one,
now i have everything sorted in that area,
i should be moving on to the model section of this thing!!!