Sherman and other US towing shackles?

[OnTrack]

Hey guys,

Someone asked if I could make some 1:16 Sherman tank towing shackles/clevis hooks for a custom M3 they were working on. I was surprised that Heng Long and others don't include them out of the box? Even if they did come with the tank, given most of you RC, I'm guessing the factory ones are at risk of coming off while driving around and that some spares may be useful? Anyway, here is what I came up with for him and I was wondering if these, or a variant of these would help anyone else?

https://www.shapeways.com/product/RZGLM996K

Would the style above work or would a different style be more appropriate?

I did the horse-shoe version above which I am calling "Style I".


Style I - Horseshoe (left) vs Style II - Straight Loop (right)


Style III - T-Style


There were also a few different ways to attach the hooks.

A> Bolt and Nut (as modeled)
B> Bolt and Cotter Pin
C> Screw



Would options for each of these be useful, or am I going to far into rivet counting land?

[Rad_Schuhart]

I installed this on my tamiya sherman. A bit big for my taste but its ok
https://m.es.aliexpress.com/s/item/3273 ... 4.8.ZBhv8F

[RobW]

Nice. Have you got dimensions as I was looking at using the Tiger ones and they're a little big.

[HERMAN BIX]

in the period picture you have by todays description a Bow Shackle(left) and a D Shackle(right)
Normally, D's are normally a single type 'bolt' where a Bow has a three piece with the bolt, nut, and lock pin.(the D in the pic seems to have a lock pin & no nut)

Bow's allow more room in the eye than the gap the bolt runs through allows, but they are more secure than D types.

Usually the Bow stays put and another device is attached to them, where a D-type is frequently taken apart to secure anything to it owing to its larger spread gap in the open ends.
This can lead to it loosening and dropping off.

[OnTrack]

Great information Herman, thank you!

Rob, here are the dimensions of the bow shackles above in 1:16 as they stand today.

[RobW]

Thanks, I'll measure up the resin transmission cover to see how they compare. Cutting the plastic bolt down will be much easier than the metal ones!