I knew better than to say never when it comes to Shermans but fell into the trap anyway. Don't think I've ever ran across a pic of a Jumbo with a 76 yet though.....I would love to see it if you have one. Was that a field modification?

If you have the old Squadron/Signal Sherman in Action book (#2016), check out the next to last page (49). There's a clear picture of a 76mm Jumbo. I've seen other photos of the same tank but I can't remember where just now. And yes, it was an authorized modification carried out in the field.

I just submitted a zip file of about a dozen pictures of a Jumbo I photographed in Germany. It's the first time I've submitted something for posting in the Gallery section. I have no idea how long it will take to post them but stay tuned.

Dave C.

Rob--I just got the incredible Blast Models conversion in the mail yesterday. I am getting together with Tankshack (Tim) on Saturday and we are going to take some pictures to compare it to the Verlinden and Tank Workshop conversions which he has. The comparison is going to be posted on his website ( http://www.tankshack.com/). I will post here to let you know when it goes up if you are curious to see the differences.

The main reason you will not see many 76mm on the jumbo is because with the main rounds fired through them there was no difference between the 75 and the 76, plus the germans gave a 2nd look when they seen something with a bigger barrel AKA fire fly's

Eeek! Are you sure?
The standard A.P.C. shell (M61) fired through the 75mm gun had a muzzle velocity of 2024 f/s and could penetrate about 3.1 inches of face-hardened armor plate at 1000 yards.
The standard A.P.C. shell (M62 - 3 inch) fired through the 76mm gun had a muzzle velocity of 2600 f/s and could penetrate 4 inches of face-hardened armor plate at 1000 yards.

First, here is my webpage with pics of the Jumbo at Camp Ripley, MN. This is one of the five last ones left. The page explains the story.

M4A3E2 Jumbo

Also, Ihave the TW conversion, hull, tranny cover, wheels, and turret. I traded the 75mm barrel for a76mm barrel. I added all this to a tamiya M4A3 kit. I also have the Aber and Eduard PE sets fro the M4A3, so I can pick and choose my details. I wanted this thing to shine!

I am overwhelmed. Too....much.....detail! Seriously, it is taking a long time to dig into all this, not because of the TW conversion, but because of the PE. The TW has two specific problems I noticed while walking around on the real deal:

1. No weld line in the middle of the side of the hull. The extra hull armor apparently came in two pieces. See photo's in link above

2. Missing weld line on top of turret that runs left to right . Look at the pics and you will see it.

I do not know what the Blast Models kit looks like in detail, so i cannot comment on it. The TW kit is more accurate than the Verlinden set OR the Tamiya specific kit outright.

I have more photo's to add to the site above, not sure whenI will get them up.

Most of them were fitted with the M3 gun, and the 76 mm had no advantage in shooting the HE rounds, remember the Jumbo was an assault tank, so it went in first, and the Gremans needed to use there APCR (in Panzer IV) solid shot at almost point blank range,and the Panther had no major effect it taking a front shot.

If I remember correctly, (and wouldn't THAT be a first), the 1st ID in Italy had some of there Jumbo's upgunned to the 76mm range.

I believe the main reason behind the upgunning is that the tank was finally somewhat survivable and stood a chance to take shots at enemy armor, not just try to run and get out from under fire.

I am just going but what I was told a number of years back by two W.W.2 tank vets that were on Jumbos, one of them had there early tank knocked out and wanted a 76, but no go. They stated to me that 8 out of 10 rounds they fired were HE rounds, and that they were more worried about field guns hiding in ruins, and they said if they could not hit the gun they sure could blow the hell out of there hiding place.
Now this is just 2 people and I am sure that many many things were different than what we read and see in pictures. And I am sure that if I was in one of these, and we took a front hit I sure would wet my pants and feel around to make sure I was still all together.

Here is a link to the side-by-side comparison of the Verlinden, TW, & Blast Jumbo conversions:
http://www.tankshack.com/testing/reviews/details/jumboshermans.html

Any which way I look at it, the Blast Models conversion is far and away better. It is more accurate, has some of the petitest details I've ever seen, and you get TONS of great stuff. In my humble opinion, it is well worth the extra money if you plan on making an accurate, highly detailed Jumbo.