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.
Meet the Sherman (Hybrid) Ic Firefly tank
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.
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.
Another interesting detail is that this Sherman is fitted with the late production T49 tracks.
After the war this Sherman was part of the Afsluitdijk defences and was dug in at Kornwederzand. Hence the stripped hull.
Markings
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.
