Swedish Sherman tanks

[maple_leaf_eh]

Hanno, thanks for bringing this article up on MLU. I read the Sherman email list link and the 2nd page the other day. Very interesting perspective on how neutral Sweden considered the Sherman as a family.

One comment in the archives document caught my attention (http://tanks.mod16.org/2016/09/30/sw...f-the-sherman/), that being reversing a short length of track so the guide horns were facing out not in to improve slippery snow handling. I didn't quite understand how the sections of track could be laid on the ground as a bed and be recovered. The exercise after all was a combat advance with accompanying infantry. But Swedes are anything but practical chaps.

"...The Sherman V also had problems climbing many steep slopes because of the tracks slipping. By using extra track links (TN: possibly for a different tank? the document is quite unclear here and has a few hard-to-read handwritten corrections), these slopes could be climbed, but this took considerable amounts of time. These extra track links, in sets of 3-5, were placed under the tracks with the guide horns facing down, and this provided extra grip."

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

One comment in the archives document caught my attention (http://tanks.mod16.org/2016/09/30/sw...f-the-sherman/), that being reversing a short length of track so the guide horns were facing out not in to improve slippery snow handling. I didn't quite understand how the sections of track could be laid on the ground as a bed and be recovered. The exercise after all was a combat advance with accompanying infantry. But Swedes are anything but practical chaps.

"...The Sherman V also had problems climbing many steep slopes because of the tracks slipping. By using extra track links (TN: possibly for a different tank? the document is quite unclear here and has a few hard-to-read handwritten corrections), these slopes could be climbed, but this took considerable amounts of time. These extra track links, in sets of 3-5, were placed under the tracks with the guide horns facing down, and this provided extra grip."

Interesting quote indeed. At first I though some things were lost in translations and that they must have referred to the use of grousers (see attached photo).

But as it is described, they clearly used spare track link sections to increase grip. Ingenious!

t51.jpg
Source: https://www.mapleleafup.nl/g104/track_vvss.htm