Libya / WW2 Tank unearthed at construction site

Discussion in 'North Africa & the Med' started by Kuno, Feb 6, 2009.

  1. Kuno

    Kuno Very Senior Member

    After I found - after getting a good hint - the production number of the tank, the situation became a little bit more clear about what it actually is:

    A) Sherman M4A4
    D) Chrysler manufactured
    B) Production date: March 1943
    E) Due to late production date the tank did not reach North Africa during the Desert Campaign. First use was only in Italy

    Post WW2:
    C) Converted to GM Twin Diesel Engines as the Model M4A2
    F) Such type is known to be converted by the French (and possibly Egyptians) and to be used by Egypt
    G) It was obviously used for target practising before it was abandoned in Tripoli
     
    Smudger Jnr likes this.
  2. Paul Reed

    Paul Reed Ubique

    Thanks for that update - interesting, nevertheless!
     
  3. topcat4200

    topcat4200 Junior Member

    I just happen to be very close to it, have taken some pictures but cannot upload until I return to Britain. It has a number on the front which I think is D8 2417LO 256 does that mean anything to anyone?
     
  4. makdeann

    makdeann Junior Member

    HELLO, where can i see them in tripoli, i mean , i need the place where they put them right know.
    regards
     
  5. Kuno

    Kuno Very Senior Member

    Colleagues, I was the one who made the number visible... send me a PM if you are around in Tripoli...
     
  6. Kuno

    Kuno Very Senior Member

    @ topcat. the casted number you see on the front has nothing to do with the production number!
     
  7. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    After I found - after getting a good hint - the production number of the tank, the situation became a little bit more clear about what it actually is:

    A) Sherman M4A4
    D) Chrysler manufactured
    B) Production date: March 1943
    E) Due to late production date the tank did not reach North Africa during the Desert Campaign. First use was only in Italy

    Post WW2:
    C) Converted to GM Twin Diesel Engines as the Model M4A2
    F) Such type is known to be converted by the French (and possibly Egyptians) and to be used by Egypt
    G) It was obviously used for target practising before it was abandoned in Tripoli

    Kuno,
    A great piece of Detective work in finding out so much information and sharing it with all on the forum.

    Regards
    Tom
     
  8. Gerard

    Gerard Seelow/Prora

    Indeed, Kudos to Kuno et al for their informed findings. I'm always in awe of our "Tankophiles" on this forum who can, at will , come up with id's for various tanks based sometimes only on sketchy photos and drawings. Well done lads!
     
  9. Kuno

    Kuno Very Senior Member

    Colleagues, the honour does not belong to me but to people in another forum who have the actual knowledge in regard of Shermans!
     
  10. davemitchell808

    davemitchell808 New Member

    Hello, I'm delighted to hear of this find. Although I can't claim to necessarily know more about this particular tank, I can talk on two Shermans that I remember examining when I was a kid in Libya in the 1970's. My dad was a a keen scuba diver and each weekend he and his friends would head to the rocky coast to the west of tripoli. If there was a beach I would either swim, or in the winter explore the coast line. Anyway, my renewed interest is because much to my surprise whilst clearing out my parents garage a few weeks ago we uncovered one of the few things that I could salvage as a trophy from one of the tanks, one of the fuel filler caps! I had completely forgotten about this. The cap (photo enclosed) was from a complete wreck (definitely not the tank in the article). it had been hit many times, obviously as target practice. The turret was 30 feet away and there was a gap in the side large enough for me to walk into. There was too much debris for me to play in any part of it. The particular bay that this tank was located was dubbed Tank Bay as it dominated and I believe is the bay in the middle right of the photo I enclose. The Palm City residence post dates my visits, but, the buildings to the south were probably in existence from memory.

    The second tank was some distance down the coast to the west, short walk. It too had been used as target practice and was near a cliff edge, but was in much better condition. There was a wrecked 25 pounder ammunition trailer nearby too, although this was of little interest to me. One day the better tank had disappeared from the top of the cliff and it turned out that it had been pushed off the top of the cliff and was now half way down in a slide of land clearance debris from a building site. The foot of the cliff was onto a flat area and not the sea, but it was far too dangerous to climb up to the tank. I believe this location to be either under the Name Palm City, or the very small, rectangular bay to the west before the blue roofed buildings. Is this the tank from the article?

    Notice there is a small amount of desert paint left on the cap and it is very heavy.
     

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