Hi Tim,
From what I understand a mounting plate was welded on the side of the turret in early Sherman models but from what I can gather from my sources, this was likely discontinued by the time the M4A4 rolled around. I think by that time it was realized that the wiring diagram was of minor significance to the tank crews (purely my hypothesis/speculation) and was either not installed in the tank or the plate was mounted on the top of the Transceiver. I did check my 19 set this morning and the holes line up perfectly and I can confirm the wiring plate only fits in the pictured configuration. To answer Davids question, I do believe the diagram can be easily read in a tank and furthermore, could be read even if a canvas cover was installed over it. Canvas covers were commonly installed over the radios in the tanks since the tanks engines drew in their fresh air through the tank interior, causing a lot of dust to be drawn into the interior through the hatches. Especially true from veterans who described their experiences in Italy to me.
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