Com-Central.net

Hello All -

We’ve added a gallery of photos of the M4E9 Sherman Composite on display at the TNANG Armory in Trenton, TN. It has SN44266 on rear tow lug.

www.vgbimages.com/AFV-...320_3dx8DM



Enjoy!
The VBs

thanks for these pictures of a rare Sherman variant. I think that we know only 2 existing M4 Composite with small hatches.

P-O

Are the E9 modifications part of a post WWII program? I don't recall seeing any photos of E9's in action photos of WWI era - or am I just not seeing them?

Great photos - thanks for sharing.

Chriis Neel

Hi Chris! Hi Folks!

- jcneel

Are the E9 modifications part of a post WWII program? I don't recall seeing any photos of E9's in action photos of WWI era - or am I just not seeing them?

Chriis Neel

I don't think it's a post war system. I also don't recall seeing any war time photos of it in use either.

Interesting question.

Sgt, Scouts out!

here is what is known about the E9 system :

There are very few official documents that figure out the places and dates of E9 upgrade and the exact dates of delivery of the tanks that got the upgrade. What is know today is mostly the result of examining the surviving vehicles and period photos. According to Joe DeMarco, some of the remanufacturing programs consisting in adding the E9 suspension took place before VJ Day (2 September 1945), and some did take place after the end of the war. 1000 E9 kits were procured for the various remanufacturing programs. It is thought that the kits didn't start to trickle out until the beginning of 1945. Chrysler-Evansville probably did the most, followed by International-Harvester. Montreal Loco did some M4A3s & probably some M36s. ALCO did M36B2s. Some retrievers done by Federal & Baldwin can be seen with E9, & some Federal M7s. At least 2 M4A1(76)s also do have the E9 suspension.

Some of the E9 tanks that can be seen in the USA have had readable Chrysler-Evansville Remanufacture dataplates. The remanufacturing serial numbers on a couple of them with E9 suspension including Extended End Connectors (EECs) indicate they were done in April, 1945. Some Sherman tanks were delivered with the E9 suspension but without Extended End Connectors, probably because the spacers were available from production before the EECs.
Another 1000 E9 kits were to be procured for overseas field mods. A Modification Working Order was spread to the units in March, 1945. Considering the amount of time it would have taken to ship & distribute this stuff, it is thought that any of those kits ever left the USA. The period documents mention that if the kits were not needed, the order could be cancelled or the kits could be sent to the remanufacturers, which is probably what became of them.

P-O