Late Production M3 Grant usage

[Nick Balmer]

Hello Bob,

The South African 6th Armoured Division in Italy had at least one Grant fitted with Sherman type suspension. It was used as Major General Poole's command tank as late as 21st April 1945, by when it was photograghed in Bologna.

They also had another Grant with the conventional Grant suspension. This must have come to grief at some point, possibly running over a mine, because the left hand side centre bogie has been replaced by a Sherman type bogie, but with the return roller pointing forwards.

Interchanging the older and newer suspension bogies does not appear to have been difficult. In February 1945 a photo was taken of a New Zealand operated M31 recovery vehicle, with a Sherman bogie on the from righthand position, and two older pattern bogies behind it.

These photos all appeared in AFV News in 1995, Volume 30, No.1.

Regards

Nick Balmer