Com-Central.net

Someone asked for this before, and its become a fairly frequent topic on the board... So I thought I'd try to put this all together in a single posting - obviously the idea would be to "sticky" it and update over time as info comes available. As people respond or new info is posted I can update the first post accordingly...

I need good pics for the location of SNs on M3 and M5 Stuarts and M4/M4A1/M4A2 Shermans, tank destroyers,

Neil

M1 Abrams

Abrams SNs often start with a "D" for the Detroit Tank Arsenal, or "L" for the Lima Army Tank Plant. Others do not have these letters.

Full-Scale Engineering Development (FSED) Pilot Vehicles (PV) may not have the SNs in these locations.

SN is usually most easily found on the skirts.

(Dontos) (Joe%20D) (Jeff%20Button) Rear%20hull,%20beside%20the%20right%20tail-light%20-%20SN%20above,%20Registration%20Number%20(RN)%20below. (Jeff%20Button)%20 (Joe%20D) Rear%20Engine%20deck (Jeff%20Button) Turret%20numbers%20can%20also%20be%20found (Jeff%20Button) M2%20Medium%20Tank Front%20&%20rear%20lugs. (Joe%20DeMarco) M2%20and%20M3%20Bradley Near%20the%20frontmost%20left-side%20lifting%20point.%20M2%20SNs%20should%20start%20with%202AA,%20M3%20SNs%20should%20start%20with%203AA. (Jeff%20Button) M3%20Lee%20/%20Grant Front%20&%20rear%20tow%20lugs (Joe%20DeMarco) (Jeff%20Button) M3%20Stuart Front%20right%20differential%20bulge M4%20Sherman From%20the%20Sherman%20register: web.inter.nl.net/users...serial.htm M4%20and%20M4A1 The%20tank%20serial%20number%20is%20only%20stamped%20on%20a%20plate%20attached%20to%20the%20lower%20left%20hull%20plate.%20 Canadian%20M4A1%20Grizzlies%20have%20the%20serial%20or%20shop%20number%20stamped%20just%20below%20the%20hull%20caster's%20logo%20on%20the%20front%20of%20the%20hull.%20Look%20for%20a%20number%20between%201%20and%20188.%20 (Joe%20DeMarco) M4A2 The%20tank%20serial%20number%20is%20stamped%20on%20the%20two%20rear%20tow%20points.%20 M4A3 On%20Ford-built%20M4A3s,%20the%20Ordnance%20serial%20number%20&%20Ford%20are%20stamped%20on%20the%20four%20corners%20of%20the%20upper%20hull%20-%20front%20and%20rear.%20The%20smaller%20of%20the%20two%20numbers%20is%20the%20Ordnance%20s/n,%20the%20larger%20is%20the%20Ford%20s/n.%20 (Joe%20DeMarco) (Joe%20DeMarco) On%20Fisher-built%20M4A3s,%20the%20SN%20can%20be%20found%20on%20the%20differential%20housing%20(as%20highlighted%20by%20the%20black%20circles%20in%20the%20first%20picture) (Joe%20DeMarco) On%20the%20ultimate%20generation%20M4A3s%20built%20by%20Grand%20Blanc%20Tank%20Arsenal,%20the%20serial%20number%20is%20stamped%20on%20the%20two%20rear%20tow%20points.%20The%20Detroit%20Tank%20Arsenal%20tanks%20are%20rather%20problematic.%20Some%20of%20their%20vehicles%20have%20the%20serial%20number%20stamped%20on%20the%20two%20rear%20tow%20points,%20while%20others%20lack%20any%20serial%20number%20markings%20other%20than%20on%20the%20data%20plate.%20 (Jeff%20Button) The%20registration%20number%20(RN)%20can%20often%20be%20found%20on%20the%20right%20front%20of%20front%20hull%20-%20near%20the%20MG%20mount,%20it%20is%20the%20larger%20of%20the%20two%20numbers%20on%20the%20bottom. (Jeff%20Button) M4A4 The%20vehicle%20serial%20is%20stamped%20on%20each%20boss%20to%20which%20the%20towing%20shackle%20is%20attached. (Sherman%20Register) M5%20Stuart Right%20front%20hull M10%20Wolverine Rear%20tow%20lugs M26%20Pershing Rear%20tow%20lug (Jeff%20Button) M36%20Jackson On%20M36B1s,%20the%20SN%20can%20be%20found%20on%20the%20rear%20tow%20lugs%20as%20on%20other%20Sherman%20hulls. (Jeff%20Button) M47%20Patton Right%20front%20tow%20lug (Jeff%20Button) Many%20M47s,%20even%20ones%20now%20in%20the%20United%20States,%20will%20have%20rebuild%20plates%20from%20Italy (Jeff%20Button) M48%20Patton Stamped%20into%20the%20front%20right%20area%20on%20the%20hull,%20just%20under%20the%20headlight (Jeff%20Button) M50%20Ontos (Dontos) M60 (Joe%20D) Left%20front%20tow-lug (Neil%20Baumgardner) (Jeff%20Button) Rear%20upper%20deck (Jeff%20Button) M60s%20often%20have%20two%20sets%20of%20SNs%20stamped%20on%20the%20rear%20engine%20deck.%20The%20originals%20crossed%20out,%20and%20the%20rebuild%20SN%20added.%20If%20the%20SN%20ends%20with%20an%20\"A\"%20it%20was%20rebuilt%20at%20Anniston%20Army%20Depot,%20if%20it%20ends%20with%20an%20\"M\"%20it%20was%20an%20Mainz%20Army%20Depot%20rebuild. (Jeff%20Button) (Joe%20D) M113 Registration%20numbers%20can%20be%20found%20on%20the%20front%20hull%20under%20the%20headlight%20 (Jeff%20Button) above%20the%20ramp%20 (Jeff%20Button) and%20on%20the%20side%20ramp%20door (Jeff%20Button) M114 Left%20rear%20side%20below%20the%20upper%20lifting%20eyelet. (Dontos) Registration%20number%20can%20be%20found%20stamped%20into%20the%20hull,%20below%20the%20front%20left%20headlight (Jeff%20Button) M728%20 Rear%20deck,%20like%20on%20M60s
(Jeff Button)

Neil,
I swear to the big man above, I was thinking this very thing today and thought about asking to make it a "sticky" as well! Great job of putting this all together. I will let you decide what to add and where from the pictures I post. I even have serial number location info and pictures on halftracks, M37's, M3A1's, WC27's, M113's, M109A2, M551's, M74's and M26's. I'll just have to find the pictures. I'll concentrate on armor and leave the wheeled items for requests.

Bob,
I kinda agree with Jim but understand why you can't, is there a way to link it to a gallery for each vehicle so the the sticky links it to them??? Would be a lot easier to access. I got a feeling this could be a pretty big collection of vehicles in time. That way additional pictures could be used to ID the variations of each vehicle and how to note the differences.

Below is a guide I believe I posted a while back, Thought it might clean things up a little bit.



Just a suggestion.

Joe

Doug and I had a short Email conversation earlier today which he has expanded on in another thread.

My vision is that eventually we will get a guide put together that contains pictures like in your last post for each popular vehicle. Then we will have it in a 'document' in the download section (That I am told is under utilized right now)

I'm sure the M4 section will be large, M1 and M60 look pretty well covered.
we've started on M114s (but I have some reservations)

Guides that I can think of that we need are Stuarts (M3 & M5); M113, and then there are the Foreign vehicles T54/55, Centurian, Chieftan, All the German stuff (I know I was shown a build number stamped in one of the Marders at Aberdeen by Mr Jentz once) and ther are others I'm not thinking about right now.

I'll check the three Stuarts at the 4th ID museum tomorrow and see what I come up with. I believe there are two more at the 1st CAV museum as well. As for the M113's, I'll hit them up as well tomorrow.

Not to be considered a complete listing without the following:



Don

Any possibility to know where to find a SN on a Chaffee?

Pierre-Olivier

T-54AM constructionnumber. Location of this tank is the Deutsches Panzer museum in Munster.

T-54AM

T-55A in the Deutsches Panzer Museum

T-55A

C/n MHVA36DMA

MHV = ???? (maybe name of the factory)
A = indicating it is a T-55A
36 = Number produced (in this month / year???)
D = month of production
MA = indicating year of production (1971 in this case)

T-62 Deutsches Panzermuseum

Soviet built T-62 constructionnumber

In cyrillic H06BT5351, in latin N06VT5351

The first letter ''H'' is indicating the year of production. ''VT'' is maybe a factory, this letter combination is coming back in Soviet produced T-72s

German M48
The plate was located ''around'' the corner. It was a welded plate of metal with these numbers on it. On the other locations I could not find a number.

Actual plate with numbers