Question on casting numbers on US tanks

First batch sent Peter ..... check your e-mail and let me know when you're ready for another .

Hey again Peter .... I'll get some pics ready to roll a little later today that show some of these markings. Hotmail boxes are quite limited in size, so I'll send them to you a couple at a time. Just send me an all-clear reply once you have removed them.

I have the Academy Achilles ..... but I have a couple of other projects that need to clear the desk before I have chance to work on it.

Thanks Robert

The link is great, and yes I would love some pics (who wouldn't?) My email is petbat1961@hotmail.com. At the moment it is clean, so fire away!

I only advertise my hotmail address, due to the spam I used to get on my mainstream email address. (Besides which, the wife gets hers sent there as well and she has been known to be a bit quick on the delete button.

By the way, I notice your web page says an Achilles is coming soon. Which kit did you/are you going to do?

Happy Modelling

Peter

Hey again Peter,

The numbers on the turret and the tranny housing were not always the same for the very reason you have stated. Many of the different components were indeed manufactured at different locations.

When doing your search for this, remember to include the M10 seeing as they have the same mantlet.

I've included a link below that goes into the subject of some of these foundry / casting numbers.
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/spoelstra/g104/foundry.htm

Also if you would like, I could e-mail you some pics of these markings. E-mail me to confirm please.

Thanks Robert, I appreciate the insight. (Sorry for the delayed response, I hope you didn't think me rude. The kids have assignments due for High school and I had to give up my PC so they both could research and type their homework at the same time.

Upside is at least I got a bit more of the kit done

I tried a lot of sites, but I could not seem to find one where they showed the turret and hull casting numbers for the Achilles. I wasn't sure if any numbers coincided (were the same on the hull component and turrets of the vehicle, or were used to signify several vehicles in a production run). I was fairly sure that the turrets would be cast by different manufacturers to the hull components, and maybe M10 turrets were made by companies separate to regular Sherman turrets.

I was also not sure if any of the numbers related to a type of vehicle, like where you used E 6475 in both of the first 2 M10 examples, but the third (apart from the usual "E") ain't even close. I guess I'll need to make sure the kids have finished their research for their homework so I can get back to doing mine.

It would be nice if back in the forties, the vehicle manufacturers did things with us modellers in mind (tongue firmly in cheek here). But then again, Acadamy could have even given us a brief run down in the kit's instructions pages, seeing as they were kind enough to supply separate casting letters and numbers in the first place.

Cheers!

Peter

Hey Peter ..... asking a question like this could drive a Sherman purist crazy you know. Good thing I'm not one of them !!!!

I'll start with the mantlet. You can have them upside down in the top left hand corner (when standing in front, looking at the Achilles), you can have them right side up in the top left hand corner, you can have them above the barrel of the gun, or you can leave them off. Everything was dependent upon who did the casting of that part.

This one is off of an M10:

upside down - top left

E 6475 *
613

Also off of an M10

right side up - above barrel

381 V
E 6475

The tranny cover also follows the same line .... top left, upside down, center, right side up, or none at all.

Also from an M10

E 4186 W
1324 BU

Best thing to do is search the net and look at some pics.