Canadian Sherman Firefly Mk Ic (Hybrid) questions......

[tankbarrell]

This has good pictures of the spring drawbar mounts on a Firefly. The addition of the tail smoke meant the bar itself had to be removed but that would have post dated the fitting of the springs and by then, the need for tanks to tow guns had presumably diminished.

Tanks fitted with the offset hinged drawbar could retain them as that was fitted to the left of centre.

http://www.primeportal.net/tanks/rob...rman_vc_17pdr/

[Chris Preston]

Many Thanks Adrian,

These are exactly what I needed. Would you happen to know if the leaf springs and towing pintle were kept on the vehicle or usually removed by the crew, in service?

Cheers,

Chris Preston,
Victoria, BC

[tankbarrell]

It's not unknown to see the spring and hook laying on the front of the tank but how widespread that was, I wouldn't like to say.
I suspect they were retained early on but likely discarded later on.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Chris Preston

These are exactly what I needed. Would you happen to know if the leaf springs and towing pintle were kept on the vehicle or usually removed by the crew, in service?

I suspect the crews would not have carried useless weight. The tanks had a short life expectancy, but the recovery and refit units were close behind the lines. There has been discussion of just how effective the Canadians were at getting their broken or damaged tanks back to the line units.

The other factor I suspect is the staff recognized the Fireflies were hunters, not draft animals. Therefore, why put a tow fitting on a tank that needed to move quickly to get its gun into position? There were plenty of other tanks in the units that could be used for towing.