There are tons of sources out there for the panzers and their outfits, both color schemes and markings (insignia, id numbers,etc.), and I have a decent number of them. But I am amazed to see how little I have on the M4 Sherman tank. Anyone have any suggestions on a good one volume book that follows the mighty Sherman through its WWII life in the service of the USA? I know there is an exhaustive volume on the Sherman out there, don’t remember the name, but I am looking for more of a color guide than a development or combat history.
I know there’s one on D-Day to Berlin put out by Squadron, but I’d like a more comprehensive one, because I will be modeling a North Africa Sherman. Tanks in advance! [:p]
I’ve got a small volume from “Arms and Armour Press” called “Patton’s Tanks”. It’s edited/captioned by Steve Zaloga. Not much for color, but very informative about Shermans and other early war U.S. armor. I’ve found with Shermans you’ve got to shop around quite a bit to get clear info.
The exhaustive volume that you speak of Larry is “M4 Sherman: The History of the American Medium Tank” by Richard Hunnicut and you’re right, it is more of a technical manual and history of the Sherman as a whole rather than a colour guide. I can’t think of one book that ties the Sherman all together with tons of colour slides, it really is a pity. The book that Steve suggests is a good one, I would also suggest “The Sherman at War Volumes 1 & 2” also by Steven Zaloga though Volume one is OOP. The “M4 Sherman Walk Around” from Squadron is a pretty decent book but doesn’t have any marking references. And of course Osprey publishing has a few books that deal with the Sherman.
Mostly just bits and pieces from all over the place.
Hope this helps a bit.
If you’re looking for North African color schemes, AND if memory serves, the US at that time was still olive drab overall… then, the crews would smear on mud and such to help camo the tank at times. The few color photos I’ve seen of tanks in NA (Time / Life series on WWII covering the NA campaign has some) show OD tanks, white markings.
There were all those invasion marks such as big white stars for Stuarts (70th Tank Bn.) and US flags on the sides of Stuarts and Lees… but I don’t recall seeing anything unusual for Shermans… perhaps they weren’t used in the initial assault.
I think another reason we don’t see a lot of references on US armor coloring from WWII is just that there wasn’t a lot of variation! For the Army, OD was the color, blue drab was used for USA numbers (why do kit manufacuturers insist on making them white???) and white for stars… before they were painted out by the crews… If you want a camo pattern, I think the only place you’d have seen anything was in the Italian campaign??
Perhaps… brings to mind hours and hours and hours spent in the archives looking for photos… color photos.
Could be fun for one of those research hounds! We certainly a need for a volume[:)]! I have hundreds of contemorary photos of restored vehicles, but those aren’t worth anything as actual historical references!
Ron.
As an aside, I got a box of slides (color) from a WWII tanker. Did he take any tank photos? Not a one. Plenty of scenery from North Africa, but not a single tank!
Anyone here have the Zaloga New Vanguard book on the Sherman 75s? It was the third one published, then he later did another one on the sherman 76s. (Inevitably, the first one published was on the way overexposed King Tiger.)
Hey Ron,
The foot does tend to gravitate in that direction all too often and I have the whip marks on my chin from the laces to prove it. The regulations on the markings are pretty vague, and I claim to be no expert on the in any which way. It seems that they were changed more often than the Shermans got their oil changed.
My personnal tastes lean away from the Osprey series.
If you can, try to pick up the Concorde publications by Zaloga, I find them to be a little more comprehensive for the dollar spent.
the Concord books are good on the sherman theres a couple of photos in them of M4s in North Africa and ive got one about Captured US and British Tanks (also some good photos of shermans in North Africa and if you can get the Wheels and Tracks Magazine they had a few features about shermans in different theaters one on the African
I was fortunate to find an atricle this morning by David Doyle in the October 2003 issue of Military Vehicles (published by Krause and those wonderful folks in Iola Wisconsin…) Anyhoo, it outlines United States ARMY colors for markings (this is just Army and may be different for Marines and certainly different for British / Commonwealth vehicles)… so! And remember, this is for the USA or registration number only, not unit markings.
This is what the reg says: Prior to late 1940, white was indeed the color. After late 1940, the color was ‘blue drab’ lusterless (originally Quartermaster Corps ES-810… But is now listed as FS-34158… a green!) and this continued through Feb 1945 when it was changed back to flat white (AFTER existing stocks of “blue drab” were exhausted) .
Lettering was the sans serif (No little footie thingies) except from April to Aug. of 1942 (when was that tank’s production date exactly!!?… yeah. hmm.[;)])
NOW for the best part! I have a friend who is a veteran of the 70th Tank Battalion. I’ve several excellent photos of his M3 half track in the ETO (from Normandy through the Bulge and into Germany… lots of COOL photos!). What is the color of the USA numbers??
… white…[^]
So, go figure… pre late ‘40 production and never painted out before battle? Who knows. Just goes to show y’ … if it ain’t one thing, it’s another!
Interesting stuff. Thanks. So I guess in Tunisia, most Shermans had blue drab (or white) USA and registration numbers, the big American flag marking, yellow stars, and other markings (other than those mentioned) yellow too? Yellow does seem to have been the color for most if not all of the Tunisian campaign. Hmmm …