Late Production M3 Grant usage

[Bob Potter]

In Hunnicutt, I found a photo of an M3 assembly line with tanks on the line with the M4 trailing arm suspension. I am looking for an excuse to buold one of my Academy Grants with this suspension. Did M3's with this suspension see action? My educated (such as that is ) guess says if anywhere in the Far East. This woulkd actually suit me fine as I have two really neat Burmese temple dragons that just cyr out for a diorama. And, "Quartered Safe Out Here" has given me a fine perspective on this "forgotten" theater.

Thanks for reading, ansd thanks in advance for the readership's accumulated knowledge.

Now, it's off to look for some Canadian Sherman info.

Bob

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 This must have come to grief at some point, possibly running over a mine, because the left hand side centre bogie has been replaced by a Sherman type bogie, but with the return roller pointing forwards.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

[Bob Potter]

I know about these, and will build the SA command vehicle eventually. At this point, I am more interested in vehicles that were not rebuild, repaired, or otherwised modifed in the field. They have to be out there somewhere.

Bob