British Towing Attachment for Sherman Firefly Mk Ic

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Chris Preston
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Location: Victoria, BC, Canada,

British Towing Attachment for Sherman Firefly Mk Ic

Post by Chris Preston »

'Evening All,

Work is progressing on my conversion of Tamiya's 16th scale M4A3E8 105mm Sherman into a Sherman Firefly Mk Ic. Right now I'm finishing off the lower hull details at the rear of the the vehicle. Once Done, I'll try and post some photos of the work to date.

In the meantime, I have question regarding the British Towing Attachment fitted to British and Canadian Shermans in NW Europe. I have the Shapeways 16th scale British Sherman Details designed by Niall (and they're excellent). This set includes the mounting brackets for the Towing Attachment, with the builder having to fabricate the actual set of leaf springs and towing pintle. My problem is that I can't figure out how the mounting brackets were actually mounted to the hull - in what orientation, etc. Can anyone supply me with a good photo or a schematic drawing of how it went together?

Cheers,

Chris Preston,
Victoria, BC,
Canada
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Harry Serpent
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Re: British Towing Attachment for Sherman Firefly Mk Ic

Post by Harry Serpent »

Harry Serpent Profesional Coffin Dodger.
Chris Preston
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Location: Victoria, BC, Canada,

Re: British Towing Attachment for Sherman Firefly Mk Ic

Post by Chris Preston »

Many Thanks Harry - that photo is a good start.

Cheers,

Chris
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X82d Pathfinder
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Re: British Towing Attachment for Sherman Firefly Mk Ic

Post by X82d Pathfinder »

Step by step is in my build here.

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=7885
A Commander has to make vital decision on incomplete information in a matter of seconds, and afterwards the experts can sit down at leisure, with all the facts before them, and argue about what he might, could or should have done.- Sir William Slim
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Son of a gun-ner
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Re: British Towing Attachment for Sherman Firefly Mk Ic

Post by Son of a gun-ner »

Found something interesting on this site page.

M4 Shermans Composites (Hybrid) with small and large hatches
http://the.shadock.free.fr/sherman_minu ... osite.html

"Trailer towing pintles were standard on the Sherman series by the time Chrysler began M4 production, but they don't appear to have been factory installed on any of their Composites. Chrysler was directed to install the pintels on M4A4s starting in April 1943, but it was found that they bent up, making it impossible to open the engine access doors. Consequently, "It was immediately burnt off as many new tanks M4A4 as possible," and further installation was suspended. At the change over to M4 production, it is likely that Chrysler had trouble finding a supplier for the pintels, so that the Government gave them a temporary "pass." In any case, in period photos showing only the rear, an M4 without a towing pintle is likely to be a Chrysler built Composite. Right side photo of M4 at RAAC Museum, Puckapunyal, Australia, courtesy of Leife Hulbert."
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X82d Pathfinder
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Re: British Towing Attachment for Sherman Firefly Mk Ic

Post by X82d Pathfinder »

This is mine from my Firefly build.
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Rear Tow Bar Mounted not completed.jpg
Rear Tow Bar Mounted not completed.jpg (53.1 KiB) Viewed 1274 times
A Commander has to make vital decision on incomplete information in a matter of seconds, and afterwards the experts can sit down at leisure, with all the facts before them, and argue about what he might, could or should have done.- Sir William Slim
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