Foreword
One of the Sherman Technical Manuals refers to a "Speed Caution Plate" affixed to the hull wall to the left of the driver's seat. We prefer to use the informal term "dataplate." Not many surviving Shermans still have them. Most that do, have replacement plates, added during rebuild programs. Original Sherman dataplates include the name of the company that manufactured the tank (in the area highlighted in green). The Ordnance Serial Number was stamped in the box in the upper right hand corner (highlighted in red). In most cases, the year of acceptance was stamped inside the box on the lower left (highlighted in blue). In general, the initials of the Chief of the relevant Ordnance District were stamped inside the box on the lower right (highlighted in yellow). All of the M4 series dataplates we have encountered to date appear to have been made of embossed metal. Before the advent of the Sherman, US built tanks, including the Lee/Grant series, are seen with dataplates made of cast brass. It is thought that the use of brass was discontinued for reasons of conservation. Unfortunately, the “pot metal” that replaced the brass has not held up well, and many surviving Sherman dataplates are rusted unreadable. Indeed, a Product Correction Report from the Ordnance Officer at Ft. Knox regarding Ford M4A3 Serial Number 2681 stated that “The serial number plate was rusting badly; evidently made of steel with a thin plating of nickel or cadmium.” The rapid deterioration is evidenced by the fact that Serial Number 2681 would have been accepted in September, 1942 and the PCR is dated November 9, 1942. In any case, we don’t find that a more durable material was subsequently used for the plates as recommended, so should any readers be in the position to photograph examples of readable dataplates, we would be happy to see them, and hope we might be permitted to use such photos to enhance this piece.
Original WW2 plates
Lima Locomotive Works, Inc. - M4A1 75mm Sherman - Serial number 29680 - built in March, 1943
This dataplate reflects the appearance of those seen on Shermans produced from the beginning of production to the end of 1943. The year, 1943, can be seen stamped into the box at the lower left. We would observe that the vast majority of Sherman/variant dataplates examined provide only the year of production. Note that “H M R” can be seen stamped into the box at the lower right. Marco Hogenkamp has done a study of the Chiefs of the various Ordnance Districts in the US during WW II. These Officers were responsible for seeing to it that the vehicles accepted by the US Government were built and tested to the prescribed standards. Marco’s notes have it that Col. Harold M. Reedall was Chief of the Cleveland Ordnance District from 6 July 1940 until 16 May 1944. Lima, Ohio was within the Cleveland Ordnance District, and, by having his initials stamped into the dataplate, Col. Reedall gave Serial number 29680 his “seal of approval” at acceptance. For those wishing to make reproduction dataplates, we would mention that the additional stamping of the Serial Number outlined in yellow, is not seen on other examples, and is believed to have been done long after this plate was first installed inside of this Sherman. Photo courtesy of Chris Till.
Chrysler Corporation - M4 105mm VVSS Sherman - Serial number 57568 - built in August, 1944
At the
beginning of 1944, 76mm and 105mm guns were introduced in the Sherman series. Consequently,
the gun type was included in parenthesis on the top line of the dataplates. The
revised plates also began to include information about available Technical
Manuals and Parts Lists. A secondary plate containing size and weight
measurements was also introduced, and placed below the main dataplate, as shown
here. Our
colleague Marco found that Brig. Gen. Alfred Bixby Quinton Jr. served
as Chief of the Detroit Ordnance District from June 1942 and continuing
into 1946. The Detroit O.D. typified “the Arsenal of Democracy,” as it
was home to “The Big Three” auto makers, and encompassed the Chrysler,
General Motors’ Fisher Body and Ford factories. The initials “A
B Q” are seen stamped on the dataplates of many Chrysler and Fisher
Shermans, along with Fisher produced Tank Destroyers. We would assume
Gen. Quinton’s initials were stamped on the dataplates of Ford built
M4A3s and M10A1 TDs, but we have not as yet come across any original
dataplates for these models. Most surviving Ford M4A3s were
remanufactured (in some cases more than once), at which time the
original Ford plate would have been replaced. Most surviving Ford M10A1s
were converted to M36s, and again the original plates would have been
replaced with M36 plates. Photo courtesy of Museum of Military History, Johannesburg via Frank Louw.
Chrysler
Tank Arsenal - M4A4 75mm Sherman (converted to Firefly) - Serial number 16733 -
built in December, 1942
Above
shows the dataplate from the Sherman V Firefly on display at the
Pansarmuseet in Axvall, Sweden. The Serial Number 16733 is stamped in
the upper right hand corner, indicating that this M4A4 was accepted in
December, 1942. Serial Number 16733 shows obvious signs of having been
one of the 1610 M4A4s remanufactured by Chrysler for British Lend Lease.
We suspect that, during remanufacture, Chrysler replaced the original
dataplate, which would have had “1942,” stamped inside the box on the
lower left, with this one stamped with “1944.” Note that the initials of
Brig. Gen. Alfred Bixby Quinton Jr. can be seen stamped inside the box
on the lower right. It may be of interest that this M4A4 dataplate
refers to “Chrysler Tank Arsenal,” while the plate from the M4(105)
cited in the previous caption was “M’F’D By Chrysler Corporation.”
Pacific Car and Foundry - M4A1 75mm Sherman - Serial number 3049 - built in September, 1942
Remanufactured in November 1944 by Chrysler Evansville Ordnance Plant.
At present, we have only come across one surviving example of a Pacific Car & Foundry dataplate. It is a somewhat different from the other Sherman plates, in that it has the actual day of acceptance (Sept. 11, 1942) stamped into the box at the lower left. Also, the initials seen are “D. Ball,” and not those of Col. K. B. Harmon, who, according to the list Marco Hogenkamp found in “The Industry-Ordnance Team” was Chief of the San Francisco Ordnance District. The SFOD oversaw the facilities on the West Coast, including the PCF plant in Renton, Washington. The third image shows the front page of the Inspection Report for PCF M4A1 SN 3251, and it can be seen that Maj. Delbert Ball “Inspected” the tank, while Col. Harmon “Accepted” it. In any case, we only have this one dataplate for reference, but it seems possible that PCF stamped them a little differently from the other manufacturers. A second ID plate was found in this tank indicating that “THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN RECONDITIONED BY CHRYSLER EVANSVILLE ORDNANCE PLANT.” Chrysler-Evansville remanufactured 446 M4s and 1216 M4A1 Shermans from September, 1944 through May, 1945. This unit was assigned E.O.P. Serial Number 469, and the job was accepted in “11-44” (November, 1944). Many such reconditioned Shermans were shipped overseas as Military Assistance in the early 1950s. This is the only example we have encountered so far where both the original dataplate and Evansville plate have been found together inside the tank. International Harvester remanufactured 1026 M4 and M4A1 Shermans, but to date, we have not come across any surviving tanks with their ID plates. Photos courtesy of Alain Galland, Balmoral Green association.
Pressed Steel Car - M4 75mm Sherman - Serial number 8xx - built in November, 1942
Pullman Standard Car Mfg. Co. - M4A2 75mm Sherman - Serial number unknown - built in 1942
Currently displayed at the El Alamein military museum, Egypt. Photo courtesy of David Levy
The Baldwin Locomotive Works - M4 75mm Sherman - Serial number 1940 - built in February, 1943
Federal Machine and Welder - M4A2 75mm Sherman - Serial number unknown
The number currently on the plate corresponds with an M4A2 built by Pullman Standard
Montreal Locomotive Works, Ltd - M4A1 75mm Sherman Grizzly - Serial number 163973
American Locomotive Company - M4 75mm Sherman Composite (converted to Firefly Hybrid Ic) - Serial number 40319 - built in October, 1943
The American
Locomotive Company or ALCO plant was located in Schenectady, New York,
and was part of the Rochester Ordnance District. For most of WW II, Col.
Frank J. Atwood was Chief of the Rochester O.D., and his initials can
be seen stamped into the box at the lower right of the plate. Photo courtesy of Museum of Military History, Johannesburg.
Chrysler Corporation - M4 105mm VVSS Sherman - Serial number 57123 - built in April, 1944
Pressed Steel Car Co. Inc. - M4A1 76mm (wet) Sherman - Serial number 38537 - built in May, 1944
Chrysler Corporation - M4A3 76mm HVSS Sherman - Serial number 45460 - built in August, 1944
Fisher Body - M4A3E2 "Jumbo" Assault tank - Size / Weight plate
Photo courtesy of Chris Hughes
Fisher Body Div. General Motors Corp. - M4A2 76mm HVSS - Serial number 65029 - built in March, 1945
Photo courtesy of Waymarking website
Chrysler Corporation - M4A3 105mm HVSS - Serial number 74587 - built in May, 1945
Photo courtesy of Hanno Spoelstra.
Tank destroyers, self-propelled artillery on M4 Sherman chassis
Original WW2 plates
Fisher Body Div. General Motors Corp. - M10 Tank Destroyer - Serial number 629
Fisher Body Div. General Motors Corp. - M36 (T71) Tank Destroyer - Serial number 227
Massey Harris Co., Inc. - M36 Tank Destroyer - Serial number 534
American Locomotive Co. - M36 Tank Destroyer - Serial number 1147
American Locomotive Co. - M7 105mm Howitzer Motor Carriage (M7 Priest) - Serial number 2588
Pressed Steel Car Co. - M7B1 105mm Howitzer Motor Carriage (M7B1 Priest) - Serial number unknown
Pressed Steel Car Co., Inc. - M40 155mm Howitzer Motor Carriage - Serial number 5
Pressed Steel Car Co., Inc. - M32B1 Tank Recovery Vehicle - Serial number 793
Federal Machine & Welder Co.. - M32B1 Tank Recovery Vehicle - Serial number 1530
Sherman-related armored vehicles
Original WW2 plates
ALCO - M3 Lee - Serial Number 1938 - built in January, 1942
Sent to Soviet Lend-Lease
Chrysler Corporation - M3 Lee - Serial Number 4207 (British T-25751) - built in June, 1942
Photo courtesy of Rod Bellars
Baldwin Locomotive Works - M3A5 Grant - Serial Number T-23876 (373th Grant built by Baldwin LW) - built in May, 1942
Photo courtesy of Leife Hulbert
Pullman Standard - M3 Grant - Serial Number T-24676 - built in July, 1942
Montreal Locomotive Works Ltd. - Ram II tank - Serial number CT 40683 - 1942
Montreal Locomotive Works Ltd. - Ram II tank - Serial number CT 160162 - 1943
Post-war / remanufacture plates
Ford - M4A3 75mm Sherman - Serial number 12084
Photo courtesy of Mike Haines
Ford - M4A3 75mm Sherman - Serial number 12560
Remanufactured on 14th March 1952 by Brown & Root, Inc.
Photo courtesy of Kurt Laughlin
Chrysler - M4A3 76mm wet (HVSS) Sherman - Serial number 44969
Remanufactured on 19th January 1950 - this tank has been built as VVSS
Photo courtesy of Don Moriarty
Pressed Steel Car - M4A1 76mm wet (HVSS) Sherman - Serial number 68148
Overhauled in 1950 at Watertown Arsenal
Photo courtesy of Paul Hannah
Pressed Steel Car - M4A1 76mm wet (HVSS) Sherman - Serial number 73836
Remanufactured for Mutual Assistance Defense Program in the 1950s
Fisher - M4A3E4 76mm VVSS Sherman - Serial number 48876
Remanufactured in August 1953 by Rock Island Arsenal (R.I.A.) - this tank has been built as an M4A3(75) W
Photos courtesy of Hanno Spoelstra
Chrysler - M4A3E4 76mm VVSS Sherman - Serial number 56797
Remanufactured by Bowen McLaughlin York, PA (BMY) - this tank has been built as an M4A3(105)
Photos courtesy of Claus Bonnesen
Fisher - M4A3 75mm wet (VVSS) Sherman - Serial number 49855
Photo courtesy of Don Moriarty - this is probably a remanufacture dataplate
Chrysler - M4A3 76mm wet (HVSS) Sherman - Serial number 45310
Courtesy First Division Museum, Wheaton - this is probably a remanufacture dataplate
Fisher - M4A3E2 75mm "Jumbo" Sherman - Serial number 50489
Remanufactured by Bowen & Mc Laughlin
Photo courtesy of Don Moriarty
Fisher Body Div. General Motors Corp. - M36 Tank Destroyer - Serial number 300
Remanufactured for Mutual Assistance Defense Program in the 1950s
Photo courtesy of the owner, via Joe DeMarco
M36 Tank Destroyer - Serial number unknown
Remanufactured by Commerce International Co., Inc., part of 581 M36s rebuilt from Jan 1951 through Sept 1952.
Top photo courtesy of Giuseppe Franzoni
M7B2 Priest SPG - Serial number 4463
Remanufactured by Pressed Steel Car Co. Inc.
Photo courtesy of Michael Lembo
M32B3 Tank Recovery Vehicle (HVSS) - Serial number 273
Remanufactured by Rock Island Arsenal
Photo courtesy of Kurt Laughlin
M74 Tank Recovery Vehicle - Serial number 466
Manufactured in March 1954 by Bowen & Mc Laughlin-York, Inc.
Photo courtesy of Michael Lembo
Reproductions
