FOV M4 Sherman

[herman]

Is the FOV Sherman an M4 or an M4A3? I am new to the hobby and I have two FOV Sherman tanks and three Corgi M4A3 tanks so far. The FOV Sherman is listed as an M4A3, but the rear of the tank does not look like the Corgi M4A3 nor does it look like the M4A3 pictures I see on the net. The "slats" that are on the rear of the Corgi are not on the FOV Sherman. Thanks!

[Wieslaw]

Hello Herman,

the FoV 1/32 Sherman is really an M4A3. Your Corgi M4A3 can have a different front plate (the later version), but the rear (on the pictures I found in the internet - I don't have a Corgi model) looks the same in both ones. The FoV Sherman has a distinct "engine air inlet grill" behind the turret. Maybe your Sherman is not made by FoV or it is a FoV 1/72 M4A1 with completely different hull?

Best regards
Wieslaw

[Jagdplastic]

Shouldn't the Brit Sherman be a M4A2? By the way, can anyone tell me how to definitively tell when a Sherman is a M4A2 without looking into the engine compartment?

[Wieslaw]

Jagdplastic,

you are right, most British Shermans were M4A2 (= Mk. III) and M4A4 (= Mk. V).

It is not easily to differentiate between the M4A2 and M4A3. You have to look at the engine deck grill behind the turret. Both versions had the two-wings grill door, but their place and form were a little different. The grills of the M4A2 were longer but narrower and they had four "horizontal" ribs. They were situated closer to the turret. In the M4A3 the doors were broader but shorter (with three ribs) and farther from the turret. Some filler caps near the grill were located in different places. The whole M4A2 tank was a little shorter. Most British Shermans, namely M4A2s and M4A4s, had stowage boxes at the turrets, too. But the various angles of front plates, the differential and final drive housings, turrets etc. weren't specific to any version.

[herman]

What I called "slats", is really an exhaust deflector. The Corgi M4A3's I have are all late production and the FOV is a mid production M4A3. I just looked at some Sherman M4A2 tanks on the net and they did not have an engine access door on the rear of the hull. As for the British, I have seen photos on the net and in books of them using the M4A3 in combat.

[Wieslaw]

What I called "slats", is really an exhaust deflector. The Corgi M4A3's I have are all late production and the FOV is a mid production M4A3. I just looked at some Sherman M4A2 tanks on the net and they did not have an engine access door on the rear of the hull. As for the British, I have seen photos on the net and in books of them using the M4A3 in combat.

I'm sorry, Herman,

I thought you asked about the engine deck grill...

Wieslaw

[herman]

Thanks for the help. What really bugs me is that I can look at just the tail light lens of any car made in the last 50 years and tell you the make and model. But when I look at an M4 Sherman, it bugs the heck out of me that I can't tell what version it is. I have a couple of Steven J. Zaloga books about the M4 and they are really helpful. One thing I have noticed about studying the M4 is that you can have 5 books and they all say 5 different things. Too bad that all versions of the M4 are not as easy to identify as the M4A1. As a gearhead, it just kills me to see a picture of an M4 and not know for sure what version it is. But I guess I can always say, "Hey, they're all Shermans. HaHa."

[digger]

Herman, go here:

http://www.onwar.com/tanks/usa/index.htm

IMO one of the best reference sites on the web. Easy to use, great "blueprint" illustrations, and very few errors. Just scroll through the Sherman variants and come away a wiser man

[herman]

Digger,
Thanks, that is a great site.

[binder001]

It takes quite a while to get used to the different models of M4. Remember the first variation is the engine. Only the M4A1 was identified by its hull. The M4 had a welded hull and the M4A1 had a cast hull (rounded corners), both had a radial engine. M4A2 had two GMC diesels, the M4A3 had a big V8 from Ford, M4A4 had the 30-cylinder engine (created by arranging five Chrysler car engines together). M4A5 was a "paper" designation only (for the Canadian Ram Tank), and M4A6 had Caterpillar diesels. Then you can get into early versus late hull patterns, different turrets and guns, etc.

The British did NOT use the M4A3 in combat in WW2 - they just didn't get very many as the US held them for our own troops' use.

For a quick reference - the 21C tank is an M4 (air cooled radial engine) and the FoV is an M4A3 (water-cooled Ford V8). Notice the different engine decks. I don't collect the Gorgis, but I have several of the similar Collection Armour/Matchbox vehicles and they are all M4A3s - mostly with the later hull.

[Jagdplastic]

Thanks to all for the replies...sorry it took so long to get back with you.