Achtung Panzer - Soesterberg's Shermans [part II]

After visiting the first Sherman in Soesterberg (see part I) I continued my journey to the Nationaal Militair Museum (National Military Museum) hoping that I could photograph another Sherman. 

GFX 100S II, 45-100mm, Provia film simulation

Now this Sherman has been with the museum since it opened in 2014 and was proudly on display in the main museum building. However, with new management it was decided that this 'somewhat damaged' tank had to go. 

A shot from 2022 when it was still displayed in the main building. 

Canon RT, EF 24-105 lens, Fomapan 200 black & white film.

Well, it's not exactly gone, but removed from the main building and transported to the museum arena as a 'prop' for want of a better word. The arena is not always open, but I was lucky and able to shoot (yes, pun intended) this particular Sherman.

Lots of hits on this Sherman.

GFX 100S II, 45-100mm, Provia film simulation

As can be seen this particular Sherman was a range target, let's see what else we can discover. From what I understand this Sherman was a range target at the Artillerie Schietkamp (Artillery Range Camp) near the barracks at 't Harde before it was removed and transported to the museum. 

This Sherman was banished to the museum arena.

GFX 100S II, 45-100mm, Provia film simulation

The cast hull means that this is an M4A1, the only Sherman version with the cast hull. This is a late production machine fitted with the 76mm gun. 

US Army serial number 30125829.

GFX 100S II, 45-100mm, Provia film simulation

Turret number 2100.

GFX 100S II, 45-100mm, Provia film simulation

The manufacturer serial number seems to be filed off but US Army registration 30125829 is still visible, making this an M4A1(76)W built by Pressed Steel Car. The turret serial number is 2100.

White target stripes?

GFX 100S II, 45-100mm, Provia film simulation

I haven't been able to find out what the white stripes on the upper fuselage and turret mean so if you know, let me know in the comments!

Click on images to enlarge

At the fence: Lelystad Airport [F-16's]

A couple of interesting aircraft emerged from the Satys paint shop at Lelystad Airport last week. Two Koninklijke Luchtmacht (Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force) F-16 Fighting Falcons.

F-16A's J-241 and J-245 outside of Satys's painting facility

The RNLASF decommissioned its last F-16's in September 2024 so these F-16's are clearly enjoying a second life as monuments. Let's explore their histories.

J-241

J-241 was built by Fokker under licence and was delivered to the Koninklijke Luchtmacht on the 23rd of May, 1981. It served with 322 Squadron at Leeuwarden Air Base until March 1994 when it was transferred to 315 Squadron at Twenthe Air Base. There it remained until December 1995. Volkel was its next base, now with 311 Squadron. They flew J-241 until July 2000 when 312 Squadron also at Volkel took over this Falcon. There it remained until September 2001. 

J-241 at Lelystad

J-241 was not slated for modification to the F-16AM model and was retired from flying, entering a period of storage at Soesterberg Air Base. There it remained until January 2004 when it was transferred to the technical school in Tilburg in full 315 Squadron markings and sporting the false registration number 'J-315'. It was transferred to Eindhoven Air Base in March 2019 as an instructional airframe until it showed up at Lelystad for a fresh coat of paint. Now looking great in 315 Squadron markings J-241 is set to go on display at the Deltion College in Zwolle.

J-245

Like J-241 J-245 was built by Fokker and was delivered to 323 Squadron at Leeuwarden Air Base on September 1st, 1981. It served with 323 Squadron until January 1990 when it was ferried to Tucson in the United States as part of the 148th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron in full US Air Force markings. The Koninklijke Luchtmacht had transferred pilot training on the F-16 to the US and sent a number of F-16's to Tucson. 

J-245 at Lelystad

After service in the US it returned to Leeuwarden. J-245 was not selected for modification to the F-16AM and remained at Leeuwarden as an instructional aircraft. In December 2006 it was moved to Ramstein Air Base in Germany for display. After 20-odd years out in the open it was in need of a fresh coat of paint as well and will return to Ramstein after Satys is done with it. 

Another angle on J-245

Click on images to enlarge

Achtung Panzer - Soesterberg's Shermans [part I]

I recently learned of a surviving Sherman tank in Soesterberg. Not at the Nationaal Militair Museum (National Military Museum) as you would expect, but at the nearby Historische Collectie Regiment Bevoorrading & Transport (Historical Collection Regiment Supply & Transport). This is quite a fascinating Sherman, one of the British Firefly conversions with the long-barrel Quick Firing (QF) 17 Pounder (76.2mm anti-tank gun instead of the usual 75mm gun.

For this photo shoot I brought my Fuji GFX 100S II and two lenses, the Fujinon 45-100mm and the Pentax 645 75mm with a Pentax 645-Fuji GFX adapter. I've used two colour settings, the standard Provia film simulation and the Acros monochrome with red filter film simulation. All colours are straight from the camera.

Fujifilm GFX 100S II, SMC Pentax-A 645 75mm f/2.8, Provia film simulation

Meet the Sherman (Hybrid) Ic Firefly tank

GFX, Pentax 75mm, Provia film simulation

GFX, 45-105mm, Acros film simulation

So what can we learn from this tank? First, its manufacturer serial number (MSN) is 40438. This makes it an ALCO built M4. It was delivered to Britain via lend-lease and was called the Sherman I in British service. 

GFX, 45-105mm, Acros film simulation

This M4 however was a so-called hybrid or composite hull with cast forward armour and welded armour on the sides and back of the hull. That would give it the designation Sherman Hybrid I. 40438 was selected for conversion and received the QF 17 Pounder anti-tank gun, changing the designation to Sherman Ic (the letter 'c' meaning a 17 Pounder conversion). 17 Pounder conversions became known as Fireflies later.

GFX, 45-105mm, Acros film simulation

Another interesting detail is that this Sherman is fitted with the late production T49 tracks.

GFX, 45-105mm, Acros film simulation

After the war this Sherman was part of the Afsluitdijk defences and was dug in at Kornwederzand. Hence the stripped hull.

Markings

GFX, 45-105mm, Provia film simulation

This Sherman Firefly is preserved in the markings of the Canadian 'Three Rivers Regiment', part of the First Canadian Armoured Brigade and carries DW number T341213.

GFX, Pentax 75mm, Acros film simulation

GFX, Pentax 75mm, Acros film simulation

GFX, Pentax 75mm, Acros film simulation

Click on images to enlarge.

Achtung Panzer - Oosterbeek's guardian

Preserved at the Airborne Museum Hartenstein in Oosterbeek is a single M4A4 Sherman tank. 

Market Garden

The Airborne Museum Hartenstein tells the history of the Battle of Arnhem, part of operation Market Garden in 1944. Market was the airborne operation with British and US paratroopers capturing certain bridges all the way up to Arnhem. Garden was the ground offensive by XXX Corps that was tasked with relieving the paratroopers and create a corridor to invade Germany's Ruhr area, bypassing the Siegfried line. Whilst the bridges at Grave and Nijmegen were captured and secured the bridge at Arnhem could not be captured. Stiff German opposition prevented both the taking of the bridge by the paratroopers - the Battle of Arnhem - and XXX Corps reaching Arnhem in time to relieve the paratroopers. So while Shermans were deployed by XXX Corps no Shermans fought in the Battle of Arnhem. That would change in 1945 when Canadian armoured units using Shermans fought to liberate the Veluwe area.

Sherman V

This Sherman tank was built by Chrysler as an M4A4 model fitted with a 75mm cannon. Through Lend-Lease Shermans were delivered to British, Canadian and other Commonwealth forces. In British and Commonwealth service the M4A4 was known as the Sherman Mark V, Sherman V for short.

The Mark V differed from other Shermans in that is was a tid bit longer. Chrysler fitted all their M4A4 Shermans with their A57 multibank petrol engine and this engine needed more space than was available in a standard Sherman chassis. 

This also meant that the tracks were longer than usual for a Sherman, 83 'shoes' instead of 79. Attached to the shoes are extended end connectors, commonly known as duck bills. The extended end connectors were usually (retro)fitted to Shermans with the E9 suspension modification. There are still traces on the hull that show that the E9 suspension was fitted, however, it has been removed during restoration. British and Commonwealth forces did receive the duck bills though and used them on their regular Shermans.

Markings

Let's take a look at the markings on this Sherman. This particular Sherman V is displayed in Canadian markings. These markings show that this tank was part of the Fifth Canadian Armoured Division.

This triangle shows that this tank was attached to A Squadron. The colour and number indicate that it served with the 4th Troop of the Reconnaissance unit of A Squadron.

This tank is named Argyle. That this name starts with an A is no coincidence, all tanks of A Squadron had names beginning with an A. Visible in the photo above are connector point (left and right of the name) used for the E9 upgrade.

The number 51 indicates the Unit Serial, the red square indicates that this is an armoured unit.

The number 5964 is the manufacturer serial number or construction number. This unique number identifies this single tank. Its corresponding US Army serial number is 3057774. 

When a tank was shipped to the Canadians it would have received a War Department number, starting with a T. This the tank no longer carries. However in pre-2011 photos the WD number T-288627 is visible. Somewhere between 2008 and 2011 this tank received a new coat of paint. During this repainting the WD number seems to be forgotten. 

So are the markings on this Sherman accurate? I don't think so. The giveaway is the removed E9 suspension upgrade. During the Second World War only the Americans and the Free French used the E9 suspension. After the war allied nations like the Netherlands received Shermans fitted with the E9 suspension. It is my guess that Sherman 5964 is an M4A4E9 that came from Royal Dutch Army stocks and was painted up in Canadian markings to commemorate the Canadian contribution to liberating the Netherlands.

Click on images to enlarge

At the fence: Leeuwarden Air Base [Weapons Instructor Course part II]

In phase two of the Weapons Instructor Course the Royal Norwegian Air Force provided five extra F-35A's for the exercise. The participating pilots also faced air to air opposition provided by Top Aces. Top Aces brought two A-4N Skyhawks and two Alpha Jet A's to make thing a bit more, well, interesting for our participants. 

EOS-1D Mark IV, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/8

Today I brought my Canon EOS-1D Mark IV with me. Although the weather was a bit more challenging I am quite happy with these photos.

EOS-1D Mark IV, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/8

EOS-1D Mark IV, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1

EOS-1D Mark IV, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/9

EOS-1D Mark IV, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/8

EOS-1D Mark IV, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/8

EOS-1D Mark IV, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1

EOS-1D Mark IV, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/8

EOS-1D Mark IV, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/8

EOS-1D Mark IV, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/8

EOS-1D Mark IV, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/9

EOS-1D Mark IV, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1

Click on images to enlarge.

At the fence: Leeuwarden Air Base [Weapons Instructor Course]

At the moment the Weapons Instructor Course is taking place at Leeuwarden Air Base. Pilots from Denmark, Norway and The Netherlands train to become weapons experts in their F-35 Lightning II jets. 

EOS 5DsR, EF 100-400mm f/3.5-5.6L II USM, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1

I was able to make it to the first phase of the exercise. Denmark deployed five F-35's to Leeuwarden. F-35's from Volkel and based F-35's from Leeuwarden also participated, as did a single MQ-9. On this day, the MQ-9 was the first to take off, followed by the Danish and Dutch F-35's.

EOS 5DsR, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1000 sec, f/8

EOS 5DsR, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1

EOS 5DsR, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3

EOS 5DsR, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6

EOS 5DsR, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3

EOS 5DsR, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3

I brought my GFX 100S II and EOS 5DsR to Leeuwarden. It was a sunny day and the flying was good, what more do you want?

EOS 5DsR, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3

EOS 5DsR, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3

EOS 5DsR, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1

EOS 5DsR, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3

EOS 5DsR, 100-400, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3

GFX 100S II, 500mm, ISO 200, 1/640 sec, f/6.4

GFX 100S II, 500mm, ISO 200, 1/640 sec, f/9

GFX 100S II, 500mm, ISO 200, 1/640 sec, f/9

GFX 100S II, 500mm, ISO 200, 1/1000 sec, f/8

GFX 100S II, 500mm, ISO 200, 1/640 sec, f/5.6

GFX 100S II, 500mm, ISO 200, 1/640 sec, f/6.4

Click on images to enlarge.