Com-Central.net

Hello All,

We have posted a gallery of photos of the AFVs and Artillery on display at Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, WA. The gallery will be under construction for a while and photos of the awesome aircraft collection will be forthcoming. Might be awhile……

Sherman experts - I couldn’t see any numbers in the usual spots but did find 852 stamped into the right front “shoulder” area - see photo below.

www.vgbimages.com/AirM...256_kPSkKr

Very nice pictures, Paul, many thanks to you and Loren for the presentation.
As a sidenote, the T-34-85 has many Czechoslovak postwar features (headlight guard, Notek-type night driving light, horn), but lacks the infantry signaling button behind and below the rear left fuel drum. It also has extended exhausts, which I've seen mostly on Egyptian examples. It also has the postwar tow cable holders.

A bit of search found an explanation for the discrepancies:
www.flyingheritage.com...ntentId=36

Thanks for the pictures Paul.
Just a note, it's not an Hetzer, it's a G-13. Hope the owner doesn't feel offended this time

Massimo

Hello everyone,

that's a very nice set of pictures.

The small hatch M4A1 was manufactured by Pressed Steel Car (as indicated on the museum's sign). The welded lower hull (as opposed to the earlier riveted lower hull) indicates that the tank was manufactured after April, 1943. The serial number can't be 852.

It can't be a "sequence number" (factory number, indicating how many tanks were built before this one), because PSC built 877 tanks from the start of production to February, 1943, and they were still producing riveted lower hull at that time.

One clue that could help to date the tank are the "bumps" on the drivers' hatches, which are thought to be a late addition to the hull casting (circled in red in the picture below). The 400 last small hatch M4A1(75)s are known to have had "cast in applique" on the hull sides, which is not the case on that example. So I'd say that the tank was manufactured between August and October, 1943. Thus, the differential housing is probably not original to the tank, because it would have had received the late "sharp nose" diff. housing (which appeared in July, 1943). The "all round" vision cupola on the turret also replaced the "split hatch" cupola during an upgrade. The siren was originally located on the front glacis, not on the fender, so that's probably a mistake done during the restoration. However, the applique armor was probably applied at the factory.

On M4A1s, the manufacturers didn't indicate the SN on the outside of the tanks (towing lugs, diffferential housing), as opposed to most of the welded hull tanks. One thing that could help to know the date of manufacture would be to know the "sequence number", which is usually found there :


Pierre-Olivier

Thanks Gents for the support and education - as usual!

Costas - Thanks for the link to the FHC info on the T-34/85. The 2 88mm guns on display are also of Czech origin - maybe they got a nice package deal. According to the docent I spoke with, FHC has a third 88 in storage, as well.

Massimo - It's interesting that the "Hetzer" is actually a G-13 as the aircraft in Mr Allen's collection are highly respected for the level of accuracy and authenticity in their restoration.

P-O - I took photos of the area of the M4A1 where the build number/sequence number ought to be, but couldn't make anything out.

That is a Hetzer. Not a G 13. It might have seen post war service but that does not make it a G 13.

It has a StuK 40 gun. That makes it a G-13.
More details here:
www.com-central.net/in...ic&t=16354

Massimo

For what's worth, that tank is listed as G-13 also by Martin Haudenschild, who since many years maintains a list of preserved Swiss tanks across the globe.

Now, I understand you may never heard about Martin, but he is considered a reputable source in Switzerland. He had been in a unique position since he served for a very long time in Thun and now works for the The Historical Swiss Army Material Foundation (HSAM).

Massimo

Thanks for sharing these nice photos
I do like the searchlight and the generator

Walter

Hello,

I've found some pictures of the M4A1 on Flickr and the "sequence number" is 2492, which makes it an M4A1 built in August, 1943.

P-O