Libya / WW2 Tank unearthed at construction site

The Libyan Capital of Tripolis is undergoing massive civil construction works at that time.
During excavations for a new residence quarter at the seashore at the western limits of the city, a WW2 tank has been unearthed.
Obviously its is one of US origin, a SHERMAN.
Personally I am not that familiar with such products, would anybody be able to tell me more about the particular type and its details? Maybe also something about its service during the desert campaign of WW2?

 

Wow! That is quite something. Any kit inside it?

 

Thanks for the images Kuno. I expect Adam, a tankee, will be along soon to sort things out.

 

All removed / destroyed inside. Guess that the tank was used for target practizing after the war....

 

Cheers Kuno....This could turn into a interesting thread with some great pictures. Has anyone said what they intend doing with it?

Cheers
Andy

 

No clue what is planned with that wreck....

 

This story kind of reminds me of a AVRE found in Normandy under a road (It was left there after getting stuck and used as ballast under the roads re surface) It was dug up by some Royal Engineers in the 70's or 80's and returned to its former glory and is now a monument near one of the Normandy beaches. I wonder what fate has instore for the Sherman?

Cheers
Andy

 

If you need more pics or a detail please let me know...

 

Kuno -
as I understand it - after the fall of Tobruq in June '42 - Rooseveldt stripped George S Patton's division of their 300 newly arrived early Sherman's and shipped them to the Middle east - unfortunately the 300 engines were sent on another ship which was sunk - and so another 300 engines were sent off which arrived safely -many modifications were needed to make them desert worthy - which annoyed Churchill as he felt they should be in action straight off the ships...and they were all finally ready for the main battle at El Alamein in the October of '42.

They were - apparently - shared out with the regiments of 22nd Armoured Bde which was in 7th Armoured division.....I am sure that someone will have more details though

Cheers

 

That is fantastic Kuno, great pictures as well, this
is the second one dug up in so many months I read
somewhere yesterday that they found a Sherman
tank with a bulldozer front burried in the States.
I think it was donated to a hospital and was used to
move the coal around that fueled the boilers, then the
method of fuel changed and the sherman was no
longer needed so they burried it! I'll try and find the
link.

Found link 1942 M4A3E8 Sherman Tank with the M2 plow

 

There cannot be manyfinds like this left to unearth.
A great story and hopefully a happy end for the tank, first being unearthed and perhaps later being restored.

A great story Kuno.

Regards
Tom

 

Colleagues; would it make sense if I would provide some measurements to help to clearly identify the tank?

You would have to tell me what is of interest. Maybe post a sketch here and mark where I shall put the measure-tape.

 

Sorry chaps, I completely missed this thread. Cheers Adam for flagging it up.

First off it is definitely not an M4. The rear armour plate is the wrong shape and it is missing those little air intake things near the grouser boxes. I can't see the double, large, engine access doors either.

Second thought was an early to mid production M4A2 (Sherman III) the diesel powered version usually associated with the British. These are the only Shermans I think I have seen with towing hitches?
Again the rear shot of the tank is unclear. The whole of the top engine deck is missing so we have no clues there either. However I think that the rear armour plate is at the wrong angle to the vertical. The M4A2 rear plate was near vertical, this tank has a pronounced slope to the armour.

This all leads to the tank being an M4A3, virtually all production was used by the US army. The rear armour looks to be the right shape, but there should be a small engine access hatch on the rear lower hull, above the rear tow hitch, which I cannot make out.

I reckon it's a late production dry stowage M4A3. The turret looks slightly earlier in date but could be the original.

Here is the lower rear hull of an M4 (in model form)


an M4A2


and the same for an M4A3

 

All -
as I tried to explain in my mesage # 10 - I do think this is one of the models gifted to Churchill by Rooseveldt in the Oval Office when Marshall handed him a note to inform him of the fall of Tobruk in the June of '42 when Churchill - Alanbrooke et al were visiting the USA.

Churchill of course was shocked and Rooseveldlt denuded George S Patton's division of their newly aquired Shermans and sent them to the middle east - where no doubt this tank was destroyed in the push from Homs to Tripoli.....

Cheers

 

All -
as I tried to explain in my mesage # 10 - I do think this is one of the models gifted to Churchill by Rooseveldt in the Oval Office when Marshall handed him a note to inform him of the fall of Tobruk in the June of '42 when Churchill - Alanbrooke et al were visiting the USA.

Churchill of course was shocked and Rooseveldlt denuded George S Patton's division of their newly aquired Shermans and sent them to the middle east - where no doubt this tank was destroyed in the push from Homs to Tripoli.....

Cheers

I'm afraid not Tom. Those 318 tanks were on the whole M4A1's (with some M4A2's). The M4A1 is the rounder, cast hull variety not the style of Kuno's tank at all.

Bod

 

Bodston -


I willl therefore bow to your expert knowledge - not being an expert on Sherman's - or anything else for that matter...
Cheers

 

My brother-in-law was in the Middlesex Regiment during the early '60's and he shocked me once by telling me how they would target anything during anti-tank exercises in Libya, including donkeys!! As young as I was, I still thought that wouldn't make you very popular with the locals.

 

Will go there again these days and take some details.