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Post by Elwood on May 30, 2023 16:19:12 GMT
On December 19th 1944, Donald Nichols engaged a Tiger at 600 yards with his 105mm Sherman There were Shermans with 105 guns? I know later models had 90’s but . . .
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Post by quincannon on May 30, 2023 17:41:30 GMT
Elwood: There was an M4A3 model Sherman fitted with a 105mm howitzer assigned generally to the assault gun platoon of each tank battalion. A 105 How can blow the living crap out of any tank firing an HE round. I have a model of that 105mm Howitzer Sherman.
Don't believe there were any 90mm Shermans then. The Israeli Army took some surplus Shermans and fitted them with a 90mm and some other mods and fielded it in the mid 1950's as the M-1 Super Sherman, and it was their mainstay until they go a hold on some Centurions. Then they modified those Shermans again with new suspensions, a rearranged back deck and one long sucker of a 105mm main gun, and it was called the M50/M51 Super Sherman or more popularly the ISHERMAN. I have models of the M-1 Super Sherman and M51 ISHERMAN too. Last I heard Chile is still using the M51's they bought from Israel, when the Merkava replaced the M51's and Centurions in the 1980's
To my everlasting shame (for a dyed in the wool Infantryman) I commanded a 105mm howitzer battalion for 18 months. How that happened is a story not worth telling, but that is what makes me so adamant in my above statement. At least once a year we would conduct a live direct fire shoot at tank targets. I once observed a hit with a 105 artillery HE round that blew the turret of the target tank at least 50 feet in the air at about a thousand meters.
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Post by yanmacca on May 30, 2023 18:50:47 GMT
On December 19th 1944, Donald Nichols engaged a Tiger at 600 yards with his 105mm Sherman There were Shermans with 105 guns? I know later models had 90’s but . . . Well Elwood, look no further than my website for all the M4 variants link
Ian
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Post by yanmacca on May 30, 2023 19:12:33 GMT
QC, I was surprised at the low number of times the US Army scrapped with Tigers, if some of these were in fact Pz IVs and not Tigers, then the total would be even lower. The British/Canadians and Polish would have classed swords with Tigers a lot more, probably because they faced both the I & II SS Panzer Korps which had Tiger battalions.
Ian
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Post by Elwood on May 30, 2023 19:13:33 GMT
Ah, 105 howitzer. Makes sense. I guess I was thinking tank destroyer as I believed some were armed with the 90mm. Thanks for the correction.
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Post by Elwood on May 30, 2023 19:15:00 GMT
Well Elwood, look no further than my website for all the M4 variants link
Ian
[/quote] Thanks, great site!
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Post by yanmacca on May 30, 2023 19:38:50 GMT
Talking about US Tank Destroyers, I have just sent away for the Armourfast M10, it has two AFVs in the box for just £10 including postage, here is a review of the said kit linkThey are very basic models, but like in the link, I can add stuff from my spares box to bring them to life.
Ian
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Post by quincannon on May 30, 2023 23:17:42 GMT
Ian: I do not think it is strange that U S troops continually saw a Tiger behind every tree and down every country lane. First off them things whatever they be are shooting at you, and there is little time for you to go through proper armor identification drill under those circumstances. Second the box shape of those Panzer IV's with side skirts look a lot like a Tiger. I do think you are correct though that British, Canadien and Polish forces had a lot more dealing with that particular breed of cat. The Panthers we faced were bad enough.
Know it is not your scale but the Tamiya M10 in 1/35 and in 1/48 are really nice kits if you only want an M10 to display.
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Post by yanmacca on May 31, 2023 15:54:32 GMT
Too large yet QC, I am thinking of upping scale when I am through the 1/72 AFVs, Tamiya are more my like, I saw some nice kits by them on show. I think that the British saw a fair number of Panthers too, just see how many German Panzer Divisions they faced near the end of June 44.
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Post by quincannon on May 31, 2023 17:22:59 GMT
The Tamiya 1/48 scale kits are generally quite nice. Their Panther D is probably the best of that first generation of that scale with the dye cast chassis, but of the newer ones the Challenger 2 is about as good as it gets. That kit almost falls together by itself.
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Post by yanmacca on Jun 5, 2023 19:21:27 GMT
A discussion for those who are interested link
Ian
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Post by herosrest on Jun 6, 2023 8:19:15 GMT
Watering 4th Cavalry. THE ARRIVAL OF THE CAVALRY GROUPS, D-DAY TO THE WEST WALL - During the war in Europe, the 4th Cavalry [Reconnaissance Squadron] was repeatedly committed in every type of role except one—we were not dropped by parachute or glider. —Lieutenant Colonel John R. Rhoades, Commander 4th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron In the inky darkness of the morning of 6 June 1944 a group of four men slipped over the side of a boat armed only with knives. Against the black backdrop periodically punctuated with flashes and claps of artillery, they made their way to the small islands of Iles St. Marcouf, some six thousand yards off the coast of Normandy near what the world would come to know as Utah Beach. In their wake followed a small task force composed of men from Troops A of the 4th and 24th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Edward C. Dunn, the cavalry troopers seized the small mine-infested islands at 0430, 06 June 1944, two hours in advance of the assaulting divisions at Omaha and Utah beaches. In doing so, the cavalrymen joined the paratroopers in leading the way for the ground forces bent on invading France and conquering Hitler’s Third Reich.
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The rest is history. An 18 year old assaulting those beaches, will today be 98 years of age if still drawing air. Attention!
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Post by herosrest on Jun 6, 2023 8:22:01 GMT
The strike at Manche Like previous missions in which commanders committed mechanized reconnaissance units in piecemeal fashion, the same disastrous results awaited the untested cavalrymen. Captain William Larned’s Troop B, 4th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron found itself attached to the 82d Airborne Division from 6 June-3 July 1944. As if taken from the script of a Hollywood Western, Larned’s mission was to link-up with the lightly armed and supplied paratroopers and in doing so, provide them the additional firepower required to repulse the expected hostile onslaught, in this case Nazis, not native Americans. Second Lieutenant Gerald H. Penley led his platoon across Utah beach at 0930 on D-Day and proceeded to fight his way through to elements of the 82nd Airborne Division at Ste Mere Eglise. Joined a few days later by the remainder of Troop B, the 82d Airborne Division assigned the cavalry troop combat patrols in the hedgerow country and enjoyed the additional firepower the troop brought with it in the form of 37 mm cannons and machine guns. It was on one of these platoon-sized patrols that the troop lost an entire platoon of men and vehicles, less one jeep and two scouts who managed to escape. Lacking the support of the troop’s other platoons, and beyond the support of the other assets found in every mechanized reconnaissance squadron, the lightly armed platoon faired poorly. Early fighting in Normandy provided one fascinating example of the value of stealth, one of the salient features of the interwar debate on the desired characteristics of a mechanized reconnaissance unit. In helping to take Auderville, in support of the 9th Infantry Division, Troop B, 4th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, proved under combat conditions the value of wheeled vehicles for mechanized reconnaissance. Confronted with a continuous line of German defenders, the cavalrymen found a hill behind friendly lines that allowed them to gain enough speed on the descent into enemy lines to gain the speed and momentum to coast undetected into and beyond the German positions. Completely surprised, the Germans retreated under pressure from attacking American infantrymen as the cavalrymen dashed on to Auderville where they surprised the garrison and took control of the village by daylight. This was not characteristic of most of the fighting in Normandy. Odd images What in Jupiter's largest crater, is an Sd.Kfz. 250 (late) ?
Aaaach, so............ link
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Post by herosrest on Jun 6, 2023 10:19:00 GMT
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Post by Elwood on Jun 6, 2023 13:42:35 GMT
The rest is history. An 18 year old assaulting those beaches, will today be 98 years of age if still drawing air. Attention!
Indeed, few of these men still with us.
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