West-Front Posted February 7, 2009 Share #1 Posted February 7, 2009 The Libyan Capital of Tripolis is undergoing massive civil construction works at that time. During excavations for a new residence quarter at the seashore at the western limits of the city, a WW2 tank has been unearthed.Since Tripolis was not defended by the Axis forces in January 1943 and since the damage on the tank is too various, it seems to me that this particular vehicle was used for target practicing and then left abandoned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Meatcan Posted February 7, 2009 Share #2 Posted February 7, 2009 wow! nice discovery. All I ever find when I'm digging are rocks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FightenIrish35 Posted February 7, 2009 Share #3 Posted February 7, 2009 yeah that is definitly most cool!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A/517 Posted February 8, 2009 Share #4 Posted February 8, 2009 Always find them in the oddest of places! BEz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamski Posted February 8, 2009 Share #5 Posted February 8, 2009 Man, that is one shot-up tank! Somebody was using it for target practice! -Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gecko NZ Posted February 19, 2009 Share #6 Posted February 19, 2009 i would love to see a picture of the inside, looks pretty well preserved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ashooter Posted February 20, 2009 Share #7 Posted February 20, 2009 Can anyone ID the model? It looks like a M4A2 body but I can't ID the turret. None of my books show a M4 turret with a cast box on the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamoDeafie Posted February 27, 2009 Share #8 Posted February 27, 2009 i dont think the turret is US...it reminds me more of a Firefly/17 pounder cept the barrel is shorter than that of the firefly.... i'll look up the US 76mm SHerman.. hmm upon further research, the box look to have been on M4A1(mid war) to M4A4s...looks most like the M4A4 late war production.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A/517 Posted February 27, 2009 Share #9 Posted February 27, 2009 i dont think the turret is US...it reminds me more of a Firefly/17 pounder cept the barrel is shorter than that of the firefly.... i'll look up the US 76mm SHerman.. hmm upon further research, the box look to have been on M4A1(mid war) to M4A4s...looks most like the M4A4 late war production.... Yeah, its not neseccerily a Firefly turrett, it's just the basic early - mid war turrett. Us Brits didnt build out own turretts, only modified them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamoDeafie Posted February 27, 2009 Share #10 Posted February 27, 2009 awesome! I wasnt sure if they were modified or made in UK.. question, related to the post war Shermans...specifically the bigger ones with new suspensions (E8 series?) I am aware that IDF and France made use of M50 Super Shermans fitted with a clone of the german L70 75mm PaK (Panther main cannon), my question is, were those US made chassis and turrets, and who made the huge 75mm cannons for use in those beasts? I know IDF made extensive use of the Sherman chassis......and I'm aware of their limited usage in early Korea war, but not sure if they were new-built or modified wartime examples? EDIT: looks like they were converted from wartime chassis...and not used as US tanks... O_o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roro Posted March 20, 2009 Share #11 Posted March 20, 2009 Can anyone ID the model? It looks like a M4A2 body but I can't ID the turret. None of my books show a M4 turret with a cast box on the back. Looks like an M-4A4 since the holes for the grouser compartment scoops are there, on the M-4A2 these are welded shut or blanked off. The turret is a 75mm low bustle, don't see any kind of box added to the turret, looks like it has a narrow M-34 gunshield. Cheers Ronald Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roro Posted March 21, 2009 Share #12 Posted March 21, 2009 Looks like an M-4A4 since the holes for the grouser compartment scoops are there, on the M-4A2 these are welded shut or blanked off.The turret is a 75mm low bustle, don't see any kind of box added to the turret, looks like it has a narrow M-34 gunshield. Cheers Ronald After going through my books i'm still with the M-4A4, although the blanking off plates where fitted with a central bolt on the M-4A2, and you would still see the oval shaped openings for the grouser compartments once these are removed, the engine compartment roof arrangement isn't right for M-4A2, one thing that puzzles me though is the use of a one piece cast final drive housing, although it will fit to an M-4A4, it was never fitted to the M-4A4 in the factory, one thing i'm sure of is that it neither is an M-4 or M-4A3. Another thing that throws me in the M-4A4 direction is the rear hull plate, the M-4A2 had 6 boltheads across the top and 4 centrally down the middle don't see any, furthermore the remains of what could well be the rear hull toolbox fittings are still there, a toolbox unique to the M-4A4. One of the real give aways for an M-4A4 are the small plates near the end of the bullet splash ring that cover a small hole, which are also unique to the M-4A4. Any comments are welcome, i'm still learning new things about the Sherman, just wanted to share what i do know. Cheers Ronald Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wearp Posted March 28, 2009 Share #13 Posted March 28, 2009 All I have is a gnome in my yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpguy80/08 Posted April 4, 2009 Share #14 Posted April 4, 2009 Anyone look at maybe an early production M4A3? The early production A3s had the 56 degree sloped glacis plate, and small hatches of the Early production M4, but had the extended rear plate common to most A3s... The only way to tell for sure is not visible in this picture and that is the rear engine decking. I agree this tank has the early narrow M34 rotor cover, which if you look closely is canted to the right in relation to where it should be (looking from the commanders position forward). The tank is equipped with the D47528A Bogie trucks with the stamped six spoke road wheels and the one piece transmission housing. There were 1,690 M4A3 (Dry) shermans built on earlier model hulls with the smaller driver and co driver hatches and 56 degree glacis. Some earlier versions were fitted with the narrower rotor cover (Mantlet), the wider covers being installed or retrofitted as the A3 design progressed. For my money, I'd say it was an early M4A3 75mm (Dry). Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gecko NZ Posted April 4, 2009 Share #15 Posted April 4, 2009 if this was an election id vote for wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teutonen Posted April 21, 2009 Share #16 Posted April 21, 2009 I don't think the hull and turret are in total bad shop. I remember those guys in the UK cutting in half and re-welding two sherman hulls to make one good one. The hull looks pretty good overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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