The FReeper Foxhole's TreadHead Tuesday - M4 Sherman Medium Tank - Feb 24th, 2004

www.sproe.com ^

[Light Speed]

Hi Sam

Great turnout and layouts on todays thread : )

Remembering the high price of Freedom

[SAMWolf]

HI Light Speed. Thanks.

Too many Shermans ended up like the one in your picture, but they got the job done.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[Darksheare]

What flamethrower?
*frantically searches for flamethrower*

[Iris7]

"Ironically, the hedgehog obstacles that littered the beaches would later be used to help Allied tanks break through the numerous hedgerows that crisscrossed the Normandy countryside. Cut up and welded to the front of tanks, these chunks of metal allowed armor to rapidly slice through the hedgerows and quicken the Allied attack inland."

Max Hastings writes about this. In the early stages of the battle neither the German nor Allied armor could penetrate the Normandy hedgerows, restricting armor movement to the roads. A single Panther could make advance by road impossible.

When a tank tried to cross a hedgerow the trees and brush, building up underneath the tank, would lift up hard enough so that the tank would loose traction and be stuck (and a sitting duck). Clearing an opening in the hedgerow by hand was impossible because of MG42 fire, natch.

Guys in the field came up with the fix. Steel beams were welded to the front of M4s, pointing forward, about 30" long. These beams had two more beams welded to the front of the first beam, sweeping back, in a Vee shape with an included angle of about 60 degrees. These things looked just like the little arrowheads one draws on one's notes for emphasis, or to find your way around your notes later.

The tank so equipped would push into the hedgerow, get the trees and bushes all snagged onto the apparatus welded on front, and then back out, pulling the hedgerow trees with it. If the opening was still blocked, another similar machine would pull out the rest of the obstacle.

Now the Shermans could get around to the back of the Panthers and destroy them. The Germans never copied this American improvisation, for whatever reasons, probably cultural.

The Germans are no smarter than anyone else. Ask any Pole or Russian, and you will get a strong opinion in this matter!

[SAMWolf]

The hedgerow cutters are an example of good old American ingenuity and "field expediency".

I've seen film of a Sherman going through a hedgerow using the cutters. Pretty cool.

[Iris7]

"Wet ammunition stowage was incorporated into the M4A1(76)W, hence the "W" suffix in the designation. This involved storing the ammunition in double-walled boxes. The space between the walls of the boxes were filled with water; ethylene glycol to prevent freezing; and Ammudamp, a rust inhibitor. When these boxes were penetrated, the water would snuff out the resulting ammunition fire. Wet ammunition stowage, and the stowage of most of the ammunition under the turret rather than in the sponsons, drastically reduced the Sherman's propensity to burn; the "W" tanks were no longer "Ronsons." In 76mm gun tanks there was a 6-round ready rack in the turret surrounded by 2.1 gallons (7.9L) of water and a box on either side of the drive shaft, one holding 30 rounds and the other 35, with a total of 34.5 gallons (131L) of water."

I believe the British developed this. The 1960s era Chieftain used wet storage, for instance, for its separate loading bag charges. The water jackets are pressurized (at least in the Chieftain), so a piece of hot metal penetrating the jackets is followed by a stream of cooling water. It seems that there is a second or two window for this process to work. British sources say that wet storage works better on bag charge propellant than on metal cased rounds, but I think the principle is the same.

[Professional Engineer]

Post #216

8000 BB's and two 20oz CO2 cannisters. OH MY

[Darksheare]

The bb minigun?
I love it, where can I get one?