I’m building Academy’s 1:35 M51 Isherman for the IDF II GB, this will be my first Sherman ever, and while I’m not trying to be a superdetailer on this I would like to be as accurate as possible. The kit builds without many challenges but the instructions are a little vague here and there. There is no alignment pin for the commander’s cupola, meaning it can be fixed in any position, and while the instructions and box photos show a slew-off from fore-and-aft in the hinge points of the hatch, they are inspecific enough for me to have no idea exactly where to fix it. Does one of the periscopes face precisely forward?
The loader’s hatch has a couple of prominent spring details on the outside, but there are again no positive alignment devices, nor even any way to tell which way round they go. My Sherman literature is sparse, and after checking through many photos on the web I’m none the wiser – only the rare photograph shows the top aspect, and none I found were of this variant with the later-style cupola.
Here is a build review by one of the more renowned IDF Sherman modelers, Tom Gannon. I found it by typing “build review academy m51” in Google. There were quite a few other hits.
An article from AFV Modeller magazine is available for download @ their website (for just £ 1.00, it is called “Issue 18” , I think), in case you want to build a latest batch M51. IMO, the first thing you have to modify is the main gun’s muzzle break, it is oversized. best regards.
The commanders cupola rotated in its mounting, just like the split ring hatch it replaced. Most photos show the hatch opened towards around a 3 o’clock orientation, although some show it oriented to open toward 6 o’clock. In any case, the orientation of the periscopes is not critical.
You may want to rephrase that. The commander’s vision cupola needed to be unbolted in order to be rotated. However, a portion of the hatch could be rotated by the commander, allowing the hatch mounted periscope to be rotated.
You can see the ball race on the hatch in the above photo.
Are you certain on that? I know that the commanders periscope rotates 360* in the hatch itself. But those screws on the rim of the cupola look to be for securing the armored glass vision blocks. The only interior photo I have in a book does not show conclusively one way or another. And considering that it replaced the split ring hatch on 75mm Shermans, which did rotate in the turret opening, it would make sense for it to mount in the same manner.
Absolutely certain of it! One of the main reasons for having the split ring hatch rotate was because the .50cal anti-aircraft gun was mounted on it. Below is a photo I shot of the interior of a M4A3E2 Assault Tank:
The openings around the ring are for the securing bolts to be installed.
Excellent photo there! So the cupola is positionable, notrotatable. PTO Shermans on IwoJima and Okinawa show quite a varierty in positioning. Thanks for the clarification.
That had a lot to do with commanders preference regarding safety. Not knowing when and where a suicidal enemy was coming from, and what weapon would be employed, as well as a sniper, commanders gambled on using that hatch as protection.
G, I understand the reasoning behind the orientation. We used to do the same thing on M113s I was on. The cupola on those does rotate with a lever inside locking it in whatever position preferred by the TC. It is interesting to see that Marine tanks on Iwo and Okinawa often had the hatch opening towards 6 o’clock while Army tanks on Okinawa were more often (but not always) to the 3 o’clock
Guys – thankyou so much for the advice, discussion and pics – Easymike and Toadman, thanks for the links (TM, shoulda thought of your site right off!)! You sure found a lot more than Idid with an image search, maybe my parameters were off.
I’'ve studied heaps of pics now from other builds and historical/museum shots, and so far I’ve found the commander’s hatch hinging at many different positions, 3 o’clock and 6 o’clock being common, but 4.30 shows up too, and there’s even a 7.30! 4.30 will be my choice as it makes best use of available coverage, by angling the periscopes to each side of the fixed periscope ahead of the hatch (the gunner’s sight?)
I also spotted the answer to the question of those springs on the loader’s hatch, so I can press on now. Sorry it took a while for me to get back to you, RL and all that.
