What tanks are these?

[david moore]

A wartime photo I have of Diamond T's struggling to get up the steep hill out of Marlborough, Wilts on the way south to either Salisbury Plain - or on to Southampton docks. I lived there and used to watch these although only 3 at the time!
But what sort of tank version are these - with the rather unwieldy upperworks?
Also include a Marlborough road sign of the period.

Postern_Hill_Convoy1.jpg

Tank sign Mbro.jpeg

[David Herbert]

They are M10 GMCs but with an added superstructure that was certainly not a recognized modification. There were standardized deep water fording kits available so I doubt if there would have been any point developing another version. Although an M10 is lighter than a Sherman I doubt that that box would have increased the displacement enough to make it float (like a DD) and the only other thought that I have is some sort of BARV, but the lighter weight would count against that as it would reduce the traction in the water. I will be fascinated to read any other ideas.

David

[Grant Bowker]

Camouflage? A row of them in a field would present the appearance of a long box or a building instead of being obvious tanks... Just a guess.

[david moore]

But where's the gun barrel?

[tankbarrell]

I suspect they are a box cover fitted before shipping across the Atlantic. The turret, being open topped, is more difficult to seal than a gun tank. The dark lines around the edges and the front hole looks like sealant. I assume the hole is to allow access without having to remove the entire box. The turret stows gun to the rear on the M10.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by tankbarrell

I suspect they are a box cover fitted before shipping across the Atlantic. The turret, being open topped, is more difficult to seal than a gun tank. The dark lines around the edges and the front hole looks like sealant. I assume the hole is to allow access without having to remove the entire box. The turret stows gun to the rear on the M10.

Agree, that's what I think too.

[Jakko Westerbeke]

Originally Posted by tankbarrell

The dark lines around the edges and the front hole looks like sealant.

Almost certainly. Once you know how vehicles were waterproofed for shipping overseas, that black par-al-ketone sprayed along any seam that might leak is very obvious.