the M50/M51 are my all-time favorite Sherman variants: basically the ultimate of what you can do with the chassis and weapons system. Good on you guys for keeping this one rolling!
When drafted into the idf's tanck corp in mid-70's this was my dream tank, I'd have like to serve in, but instead did 20 yrs in a super centurion. Really loved it, but still wished to have driven m-50s.
The M-50s were obsulete in the mid 70's, and already phased out of the service, maybe you are thinking of the M-51s? The M-50 have proven, in the 1973 Yom Kipur War, to be competely out of their depth, and pretty much useless. They couldn't fire modern munitions, and the old munitions wouldn't penetrate the enemy tanks, T-54/55s and newer. Shortly after the war, they were rertired. The M-51s, on the other hand, had newer, better guns and were able to hit and destroy the enemu targets and acomplish their objectives, so they remained in the service - for the time being. Still, they were old, they were slow, they had lousy armor and shorter range, so their retirement was looming under the horizon. Therefore, it made no sense to take a new recruit and spend a lot of time and resources to train him on using a tank, then having to retrain him on a different tank in the future. So they trained you on the newer tank straight away. Not to mention, even before the 1973 war, the Super Shermans were relageted to reservist service, regular conscripts were using the newer tanks even back then. So unless you did a stint as infantry man, then converted to armor shortly beofre your discharge in preparation for your reservist service, then you would have to do years in the newer tank (Centurion or Patton), anyway, so it makes even less sense to train you on an older one (the Sherman) first...
Every part has a piece of history attached to it, even if it's just the development of that part. And yes this tank is one of our 3 main historical tanks we currently possess
I worked for the Collings Foundation and was hired on shortly before the Tanks started arriving at the museum, and it gutted me to learn the M50 and M51 didn't make it into the final list. Though I will say that for the M50 I breathed a massive sigh of relief when I learned BFV acquired it, I knew it was in good hands then!
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany I thought super Shermans were armed with 130 mil French main gun and manufacturing plate of the tank can be a source of its history use.
God bless everyone that has a hand in restoring this tank, she is beautiful. Such an awesome piece of history, man this tank has really been around the world and back again!
Thankyou for the kind words. We did a light restoration and some heavy repairs. We were mostly responsible for making it live fire once again. The credit to the big restoration goes to the team of guys at the now closed Littlefield Collection.
What I really would love to see is a view through the gunners primary sight and all other optics. Preverably while moving the gun. Thats something you hardly see anywhere.
The Sherman tank is the best example of modular design ever made. You can take any part from any version and put together a tank with your own specification. Also born with a short 75mm was later fitted with a lot of different guns up to 105mm, no other tank was able to sustain so many upgrades.
Wow. What a great look at the M-50 Upgrade to the Israeli Tank used up into the 1970's and beyond by the Christian Militia in Lebanon. Even had a M-51. Never knew the Sherman was kept so long. Could you imagine if the USA made these modifications before D Day? I'm Impressed. Thanks. Hopkinton, Mass.
Fantastic presentation lads. A few more tidbits: The M4A4 was a stretched version of the M4 to accommodate the Chrysler multibank engine. Many of these went to the British, who converted some to the famous "Firefly" sporting the large 17lber gun. The Israelis also used the Firefly early on, and I suspect the M50 was developed with a lot of cues from the Firefly.
The armour corps is black and green, this one is black and blue it is the crest of the air defence command. Probably displayed as monument in a air defence base, during is history probably after his service in the south Lebanon army.
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany The colors dont match.. Its Black and Blue and armor corps of IDF are Black and Green... back then the anti air unit of Israel was under IDF's artillery corps and today its under Air force. Maybe it was used as anti air unit security back then? just a guess...
The word above the bow machine gun is 'Zahal', which is the abbreviation for Zeva Haganah Le Israel - Israel Defense Forces. Nice specimen of a great tank! Very instructive video.
Well presented and researched with a lot off thought to details. Maybe the first presenter has a military background. Thank you for a sensible and informative history lesson and a great tank which many ,over the years have, been in .
Nice video, Eden Camp in North Yorkshire in England, are currently doing a ground up restoration of the Cummins powered M50, I have done a small amount of work on it, but due to covid and the lockdown, have been unable to attend for nearly 18months.
Being this tanks hull is an M4A4 multibank. These were mostly lend-lease and used by the British who really liked the Chrysler A57 engine pack. There is no such thing as an Easy-8 model tank. What there were throughout the war were improvement programs such as the Easy-6 program that introduced the 76mm hi-velocity gun with the T-24 prototype turret. The Easy-8 program was the introduction of the Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS) from the prototype M-6 heavy tank to the Sherman's, replacing their Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS).
The Chieftain will tell us that in good time. However, I can tell you as an Israeli, we always use the diameter of a matzah ball as our "yardstick" for the distance between the return roller and the inside of the track.
Thank you! Alot of time and effort went into this project so its best to understand its history just as well so that we can better showcase this machine in an accurate and appreciable way
Probably my favourite tank what amazed me is the speed they moved with when you see them in WW2 footage they just eat up the road racing through Germany towards the end of the war the footage seems to show the larger Sherman wider base bigger gun great tank!..
This type of tank is honestly pretty impressive in the sense that countries have managed to upgrade that tank so it isnt outdated and could work in the current times of that time
Really shows how good the Sherman actually was it has a not great rep and people said how the German tanks were better but the m4 Sherman was reliable had good engines pretty good crew pacing and layout and was easy to modify and put into mass production it was really one of the best tanks you could’ve mass produced at the time.
G'day! (Yay, Vegas Aussie) How much does it cost to drive/joyride such a vehicle? & I must ask is firing of the main gun possible? & if so, price per round? Thanx for uploading.
Yep, our Aussie is one of the few people in the US qualified to restore live fire weapons so you guys can definitely be proud of that. For pricing and more options for rentals please check out Battlefield Vegas' official website for the latest pricing. www.battlefieldvegas.com/outdoor-adventures-biggun-flamethower-mortar/
Check out our OnlyFans page for the money shots, JK but we appreciate hearing from you guys and are glad to hear you enjoyed the video. Also feel free to stop by Battlefield Vegas and check out the only known surviving Iwo Jima Sherman that is fully operational. The museum is free.
I cant say for sure but id be certain its all Arc welded by the look of it. Unsure of the IDF mods but the original US welds are some kind of high Nickle content, they don't rust and a torch will not cut them, we needed a plasma cutter.
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany Okay, so that probably means they used the SMAW process which is commonly called Stick welding. Back in the day, Stick welding was colloquially refered to generically as Arc welding. Now bc of all the different processes available, ppl have to be more specific when they refer to a process. Because nickel is hard, it makes sense that they would use a nickel alloyed steel as the filler metal. Which processes are you equipped with in your restoration shop?
If you do get the chance our museum is completely free, and if you want a more exciting experience we have everything for rent from automatic glocks to a 155mm Howitzer
For those who are interested, the three Hebrew letters on the small black banner are צ.ה.ל Or Tz. H. L. Abbreviation for Tzava = Army, Hagana = Defence, Le'Israel = For Israel. English equivalent of I.D.F Painted on the turret is a slightly stylized word נוצריה Which translates to Christian (adjective, femenin) The big unit identification in white with back borders reads א2 Alef is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, so it's tank platon 2A Quite emotional seeing a veteran war machine, battle scars and all, receive so much care and respect in returning it to it's full glory. ( Regards from Israel )
Thank you for posting the translations for our viewers. Yes it is quite a respectable war veteran. Do note that we also have a Syrian T-62 that your country captured, and like 15 Israeli 113s.
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany I own a couple of classic cars, and I have to say your restoration looks tip top for such an oldie and in very good taste. I'll have to look up the vide of that T-62, hope it's in as good a condition. Thanks mate :-)
More like: thanks to the French and they know how to keep it updated with 1950s and even 1960s standards. And thanks to the Israelis because they knew how to utilize these machines effectively and maintained it handsomely.
We are located in Las Vegas in the US. Check out Battlefield Vegas if you are interested in our museum. The museum is completely free and we have options available to fire tanks, artillery and machine guns.
The amazing thing is that the allies overwhelmed the Axis armour, with sheer numerical superiority. The German Tigers, and Panthers knew they could defeat the Shermans even frontally, but they just kept coming, and coming. I don't recall the exact number, but German tank ace Michael Wittman achieved many kills against Shermans. With regards to armour, and firepower, the Shermans were not up to one-on-one combat against the German "heavy" tanks. During their development process General Creighton Abrams said that he wanted the M1 to be everything that the Sherman was not.
Lol I am the guy that was wiggling in there and there is a reason I am always the one crawling around in these things. That being said we have bigger guys get into it, it just requires more wiggling
If I recall correctly...??? The French 75mm High velocity cannon fitted to the M50 and M51, is actually a copy/modification of the German 75 cannon (as fitted to the Panther). Some-one else may know more about this.
That is a myth but those people that say that have never had to restore a live fire one. Now I am not saying it wasn't designed off of one but it sure as hell is not a direct copy
The striped black and blue tag is the insignia of Israeli aerial defense command (which is odd, since to my knowledge they never used Shermans). The writing in hebrew says "Christian" (female infliction). By the time the first Lebanon war ended no Shermans were in use/conservation in the IDF. Most likely this tank was stationed on display at the air defense base near Kiryat Shmona (they have plenty of other old gear on display there)
They kept breaking down, although the French army had a regiment equipped with various marks of Panther until the early 1950s. An example of which still exists at the French tank museum in Samur.
@@gunner678 Yes they did, the French have more experience with operating Panthers than the Germans did lol. I found the final assessment summed up with the fact that when they had to send their Army to Indo-China... they sent Chaffees, Shermans and Jacksons.
that Uzi laying on its front as well as the Leo1 reminds me at my army time back in the late 80´s ! Uzi was small and nice for selfdefence but very inaccurate above 30m.
If the markings are correct and not made up by Littlefield, then the two stripes on the barrel indicate the battalion: the number of stripes is the ordinal number of the battalion in the brigade. It might've been the 82nd battalion, which was the second battalion of the 8th brigade, but a number of other battalions also had the Super Shermans. The forward facing chevron indicates 2nd company. The 2א indicates this was probably the 2nd platoon commander's tank (the א means its the first tank in the platoon, and the commander might've used that marking). The word on the barrel / front end, transliterated as "Notsriyah", means "Christian" (female form), which is just odd. Either way, the crest, as others have mentioned, is the Armoured Corps crest.
@@DmitryKandiner as far as i know it isn't a definite rule, and you sometimes come across CO tanks which are marked with the aleph. But yeah, might be as you said.
Good question!! This particular 50 has a quick change barrel so no you don't need to. However, Battlefield Vegas does have other 50s that need headspace and timing.
Not really it just had a few cop,fort features added better radios and the new 75 I think it would be about the same maybe a little bit shorter but tanks didn’t really face other tanks a lot during the war on the western front it happened quite a bit but not a lot and the 75 Sherman was perfectly fine at killing panzer 3s 4s ect and only would really struggle with heavy tanks and late war german tds.
Absolutely beautiful Sherman . Well done Israel 🇮🇱 for turning an out dated but good tank into something that competed and mostly beat way newer designs with better everything except the crew. See the crew is one if not the most important part of the tank the people who crew it.
I would definitely agree with you that the crew is the most important aspect about a tanks effectiveness. I think this particularly shows between US and Russian armor comparisons because now having worked on both systems I can see the pros and cons of both sides. Ultimately it would boil down the the crew which system is better
This was classified as small hatch (drivers hatches) and had the extra armor in front if driver and hull mg added by US factory or field mod in ww2. Standard mod on small hatch, cast hull sherms.
We used to have an M60 driver working for us and was one of Scotts favorite people. It is sad they did away with their armor units and also a shame because we would love to do up one of their old tanks so it could still have a life and career for people who want to experience it first hand
Interesting tank. Interesting times. I’m thinking this and the Centurions is what the IDF had to use against the Arab states M-4/AMX-13 “bastard” tanks, T-34s, and maybe even early versions of the Soviet T-54/55.
@@CommanderKoslov From what I saw about the T-62 and it’s 115 mm smooth bore gun (which I saw on Forgotten Weapons), that M-50 probably wouldn’t have survived a hit from that main gun. But then again, if the M-50 was armed with the 105 L7, the T-62 wouldn’t stand a chance either. Thanks. Former M-1 armor officer here: PL, BMO Company XO, S1, S3.
@@ces4399 Barbarossa, Pearl Harbor? They sold Israelis Sherman and to Syrians - German tanks from WWII - 60 Panzer IV, also refurbished in Fance! Check your facts!
The chilean m60 supersherman is like the older brother of all shermans that outperformed them all but nobody remembers. Had laser telemeters, stabilizers, and automatic 60mm cannon capable of shooting apfsds rounds and thermal sights, yet seems to be forgoten even tho it was the last sherman in service until 2006.
The Chilean Sherman's came from Israel. They were just an M50 with extra steps. There are some good videos online about them. None have come into the US or UK privately to my knowledge which is why they are not yet in the spotlight.
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany well m50s are m4a2s and m4a3e8s with extra steps it doesnt make it less cool. Anyways i just left my comment for anyone interested in knowing a bit more about the sherman's history, its not really about the video (wich i enjoyed btw).
Later , they got rid of the bow gunner . Reason was , with that position , it took five men to crew a tank . Bt getting rid of it , for every four tanks , you gain another full crew for another tank . Another way the IDF found , to make the most of what they had .
Great information, we have discussed this one on some of our other videos. The US were actually one of the last ones to issue a tank from factory with no bow gunner. Thanks for watching.
The symbol on the right looks a little like the Israeli Armor Corps shoulder tag, but not quite. That tag has 4 black diagonal stripes, not 3 like in this one, and 3 green stripes, not blue ones. Blue stripes usually belong to the Israeli Air Force's anti-aircraft corps, not the Armor Crops, but maybe the color has faded over time? Also, the different number of stripes might possibly indicate a specialized mission unit - reconnaissance, search & destroy, or even that it belongs to a training battalion, not a line one. Or not, I don't know. I'd expect more stripes, not less. The symbol on the left is also an unfamiliar one to me, doesn't look like any brigade markings I've ever seen.\, or could find in an internet search of present and past IDF armored brigades. Also, while I've seen brigade markings on the left. or sometimes the center, of the tank's front, I've never seen the shoulder tag symbols painted on the tank. It's very weird. Also, there is some writing, both on the tank and on the gun. I can't quite make sense out of it - the font is really weird, but it could maybe say "Christian"? I don't know, it's bizarre. Are you sure these are all original markings? The Sherman tanks have all been retired from reserve service with the IDF by 1980, before this one was handed to the SLA, so it couldn't possibly have gone back to Israeli reserves when it was returned to Israel (probably being replaced by an Israeli-upgraded Centurion tank instead).
How has Israel acquired its first Sherman tanks? In the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Israel was facing regular armies with their own tank forces. Also, Israel is a tiny country, but a long and narrow one, with long borders - and complex one, back then even more so than today. Israel also had a tiny population, and while 10% of the population was mobilized for the war effort, those kind of numbers were unsustainable in the long run. Tanks, however, could do - with a small crew - the same amount of border protection work as a much larger force of infantry troops. Or, at least, that was the theory. So Israel needed tanks. Badly. Israel ha managed to acquire a handful of tanks from various types but those couldn't be turned into a coherent force. also, they weren't particularly good tanks, not really. So Israel needed a larger and standardized supply of relatively good tanks. Well, the solution was simple: Europe - and also the US, and Canada as well - were flooded with WWII surplus, including tanks. And the most produced and most available tank was the M-4 Sherman. But there were a couple of problems with that: On the one hand, Israel had very little money, and couldn't afford to buy even WWII surplus tanks, whic were on the market for cheap in large numbers. On the other hand, there was an arms embargo that prevented Israel from buying any weapons at all - including tanks, which are so large, they're kind of hard to hide... What to do? The Israelis decided to have one problem solve the other. Instead of buying tanks they couldn't afford and couldn't deliver anyway, they'd buy tanks that have been relegated to scrap. The scrapyards of Europe were full with those, also. And they were much cheaper than the service-worthy alternative. Of course, that was because they weren't service worthy themselves, having been rendered inoperative by their previous operators. So the Israeli armor core logistics, repair, munitions officer, who had served with the British Army in Italy, remembered that the Americans got rid of their tanks there, before selling them to the scrapyard, they would first drill holes in the canons, then blowi the tanks up. Only they blew them on the outside, destroying the track-and-wheel system, but the tank's armor shielded the tanks internal systems - crucially the propulsion unit - from the blast. At the same time, the British Israel got rid of their own Sherman tanks by also blowing their canons and turrets, and also blowing the tanks up, from the inside. So everything inside the tank was destroyed, but the track-and-wheel systems actually remained intact, shielded as they were by the tanks armor. Then the Brits threw the tank carcasses away in some dry river valley in northern Israel. So the tank logistics officer suggested to buy the scrape tanks from Italy as metal scrape, which would enable the Italians to openly sell them, leaving only the problem of smuggling them past the British navy and harbor inspectors, and into Israel. Then send some people at night to sneak to the valley where all the discarded British tanks were tossed, remove the track-and-wheel systems and carry them back to the logistics and repair center, and put them on the chassis of the American-Italian tanks. Which would only leave the problem of the canons, but he was sure they could improvise a solution somehow, once they had to deal with that problem. He was able to convince the authorities to allocate the funds to purchase 30 scrape tanks and send them home to Israel, and that's exactly what he did. And, indeed, every single one of them was matched with the track systems from the British tanks and fixed up back to serviceability. The only problem that remained, was the holes in the canons. The Israelis came up with several solutions to try and fix those, but none of them really worked. Therefore, there was no choice but to buy new canons, for these tanks, and for all the others Israel bought after its war for independence was won, wherever and however they were found. Which is how, eventually, the M-50 program began.
the M50/M51 are my all-time favorite Sherman variants: basically the ultimate of what you can do with the chassis and weapons system. Good on you guys for keeping this one rolling!
The old girl looks right at home in the desert with that paint scheme
She definitely blends right in here in the Mojave Dessert
When drafted into the idf's tanck corp in mid-70's this was my dream tank, I'd have like to serve in, but instead did 20 yrs in a super centurion. Really loved it, but still wished to have driven m-50s.
The ones with the 105mm's?
Probably my favorite tank
Very interesting! This is definitely a beast and I can see why you would have liked it as such
🦉
The M-50s were obsulete in the mid 70's, and already phased out of the service, maybe you are thinking of the M-51s?
The M-50 have proven, in the 1973 Yom Kipur War, to be competely out of their depth, and pretty much useless. They couldn't fire modern munitions, and the old munitions wouldn't penetrate the enemy tanks, T-54/55s and newer. Shortly after the war, they were rertired.
The M-51s, on the other hand, had newer, better guns and were able to hit and destroy the enemu targets and acomplish their objectives, so they remained in the service - for the time being.
Still, they were old, they were slow, they had lousy armor and shorter range, so their retirement was looming under the horizon. Therefore, it made no sense to take a new recruit and spend a lot of time and resources to train him on using a tank, then having to retrain him on a different tank in the future. So they trained you on the newer tank straight away.
Not to mention, even before the 1973 war, the Super Shermans were relageted to reservist service, regular conscripts were using the newer tanks even back then. So unless you did a stint as infantry man, then converted to armor shortly beofre your discharge in preparation for your reservist service, then you would have to do years in the newer tank (Centurion or Patton), anyway, so it makes even less sense to train you on an older one (the Sherman) first...
It's truly amazing how much you can learn just from carefully looking over every part of the tank. Such an incredible service history!
Every part has a piece of history attached to it, even if it's just the development of that part.
And yes this tank is one of our 3 main historical tanks we currently possess
I worked for the Collings Foundation and was hired on shortly before the Tanks started arriving at the museum, and it gutted me to learn the M50 and M51 didn't make it into the final list. Though I will say that for the M50 I breathed a massive sigh of relief when I learned BFV acquired it, I knew it was in good hands then!
Glad to know we had a reputation with you guys over there! She is in good hands now and restored to her full glory
Man I cant imagine the action this thing has seen over its lifetime. Very cool
Its a shame we can't confirm anything from WWII otherwise it would probably be our most experience combat tank here
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany I thought super Shermans were armed with 130 mil French main gun and manufacturing plate of the tank can be a source of its history use.
God bless everyone that has a hand in restoring this tank, she is beautiful. Such an awesome piece of history, man this tank has really been around the world and back again!
Thankyou for the kind words. We did a light restoration and some heavy repairs. We were mostly responsible for making it live fire once again. The credit to the big restoration goes to the team of guys at the now closed Littlefield Collection.
What I really would love to see is a view through the gunners primary sight and all other optics. Preverably while moving the gun. Thats something you hardly see anywhere.
We will definitely keep that in mind for future videos. Thanks for the suggestion
Glad I got to see it on an M-1.
The presentation is top notch! 👌
Thank you for that!
These are GREAT videos for modelers in that the focus is constantly on the tank
Good to hear! We hope to make more like them!
Outstanding!
Thank you kindly!
The Sherman tank is the best example of modular design ever made. You can take any part from any version and put together a tank with your own specification. Also born with a short 75mm was later fitted with a lot of different guns up to 105mm, no other tank was able to sustain so many upgrades.
Love this tank! My brother lives in Vegas. I’m definitely going to see this on my next trip.
Please do! Museum is free to check out and of course you can shoot anything from an automatic glock all the way up to a 155mm howitzer
What an awesome and interesting video!!!! I learned a lot today. Greetings from Germany.
Thankyou for watching. Glad you enjoyed it.
Wow. What a great look at the M-50 Upgrade to the Israeli Tank used up into the 1970's and beyond by the Christian Militia in Lebanon. Even had a M-51. Never knew the Sherman was kept so long. Could you imagine if the USA made these modifications before D Day? I'm Impressed. Thanks. Hopkinton, Mass.
Thankyou for the kind words. Some M50s went beyond IDF and Lebanon to Chile.
Its amazing to see these things again in the new era that is still working.thanks for the restoration sir you keep doing it.🥰👏
Thanks, will do! And feel free to check out some of our latest content and restorations!
Fantastic presentation lads. A few more tidbits: The M4A4 was a stretched version of the M4 to accommodate the Chrysler multibank engine. Many of these went to the British, who converted some to the famous "Firefly" sporting the large 17lber gun. The Israelis also used the Firefly early on, and I suspect the M50 was developed with a lot of cues from the Firefly.
10:52
This is the IDF armored corps crest. Black and green stripes.
Thank You, we are all ways in need of valid information!
The armour corps is black and green, this one is black and blue it is the crest of the air defence command.
Probably displayed as monument in a air defence base, during is history probably after his service in the south Lebanon army.
@@michelr8817
Well, my guess is that it was black and gotten more blueish by the years.. but of course you might be right...
@@omrikad
יכל להיות שמי שהחזיר מצבעי צד״ל לצבאים של צהל לא ממש ידע את האבדל, כנירא לא נעשה בארץ אילה בחול
או פשוט ניגמר לו הצבע הירוק.
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany The colors dont match.. Its Black and Blue and armor corps of IDF are Black and Green... back then the anti air unit of Israel was under IDF's artillery corps and today its under Air force. Maybe it was used as anti air unit security back then? just a guess...
Great looking tank thanks for showing it
Glad you like it
14:09 This is the marking of the platoon sergeant's tank from the 2nd platoon.
Good information thank you!
The word above the bow machine gun is 'Zahal', which is the abbreviation for Zeva Haganah Le Israel - Israel Defense Forces. Nice specimen of a great tank! Very instructive video.
I would translate to english as tzava. Also on the driver side and on the barrel it says notzria, which i would translate as female christian
@@Alche987Actually, the Hebrew letter "tsadee" is "ts" in English but it always gets written as "z". I guess people are just lazy that way....
Great to c a fellow countryman, GO AUSSIE
Your fellow countryman is now one of the few qualified people in the United States to restore fully functional live fire tanks and artillery.
Well presented and researched with a lot off thought to details.
Maybe the first presenter has a military background.
Thank you for a sensible and informative history lesson and a great tank which many ,over the years have, been in .
Thank You, yes, Scott does have a military background, but he all so does allot of research, Sherman tanks are his specialty.
Fantastic. What a piece of history!
Indeed. One of our war veteran tanks so we definitely appreciate it more
Looks amazing! Way to go guys! 🤩
Thank you!! 😁 Glad to hear from the community!
Good to see Scotty is in his element. He was a jet on the M113 in Darwin.
Did you serve with Scott?
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany yep, in 5 RAR.
Excellent presentation.
Thank you, we appreciate it!
Nice video, Eden Camp in North Yorkshire in England, are currently doing a ground up restoration of the Cummins powered M50, I have done a small amount of work on it, but due to covid and the lockdown, have been unable to attend for nearly 18months.
BARRY MERCHANT THE LEGEND !! CHEERS M8 AND OLD FRIEND FROM ACF DAYS HOPE YOURE WELL
@@russellmay7347 not to bad thank you
Ok been a long time !! CHEERS
Very interesting and that is a shame. Hopefully they will be able to get back at it soon
Being this tanks hull is an M4A4 multibank. These were mostly lend-lease and used by the British who really liked the Chrysler A57 engine pack. There is no such thing as an Easy-8 model tank. What there were throughout the war were improvement programs such as the Easy-6 program that introduced the 76mm hi-velocity gun with the T-24 prototype turret. The Easy-8 program was the introduction of the Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS) from the prototype M-6 heavy tank to the Sherman's, replacing their Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS).
I had the pleasure of meeting Jacques Littlefield while attending Armor School at Fort Knox in 1993.
Wow how was the experience?
But how do you tension the track? Inquiring minds want to know
The Chieftain will tell us that in good time. However, I can tell you as an Israeli, we always use the diameter of a matzah ball as our "yardstick" for the distance between the return roller and the inside of the track.
Hydraulics
Adjusting rear idler.
Yes please refer to the chieftains channel for that in depth information, and I do mean in depth.
GREAT VIDEO--You really nail this presentation with your details and information THANKS
Thank you! Alot of time and effort went into this project so its best to understand its history just as well so that we can better showcase this machine in an accurate and appreciable way
Thanks for the video. That is an interesting history.
Probably my favourite tank what amazed me is the speed they moved with when you see them in WW2 footage they just eat up the road racing through Germany towards the end of the war the footage seems to show the larger Sherman wider base bigger gun great tank!..
This type of tank is honestly pretty impressive in the sense that countries have managed to upgrade that tank so it isnt outdated and could work in the current times of that time
Really shows how good the Sherman actually was it has a not great rep and people said how the German tanks were better but the m4 Sherman was reliable had good engines pretty good crew pacing and layout and was easy to modify and put into mass production it was really one of the best tanks you could’ve mass produced at the time.
It is beautiful. The color matches..
thank you!
G'day!
(Yay, Vegas Aussie)
How much does it cost to drive/joyride such a vehicle? & I must ask is firing of the main gun possible? & if so, price per round?
Thanx for uploading.
Yep, our Aussie is one of the few people in the US qualified to restore live fire weapons so you guys can definitely be proud of that.
For pricing and more options for rentals please check out Battlefield Vegas' official website for the latest pricing.
www.battlefieldvegas.com/outdoor-adventures-biggun-flamethower-mortar/
Awww no money shot! Great vid though guys, I love the history of this beautiful tank.
Check out our OnlyFans page for the money shots, JK but we appreciate hearing from you guys and are glad to hear you enjoyed the video. Also feel free to stop by Battlefield Vegas and check out the only known surviving Iwo Jima Sherman that is fully operational. The museum is free.
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany ehh, yikes did not realize what I said lol 😅😅😅😅, meant the cannon fire, but I found it on your channel! Awkward!!!
This was fast and interesting 28 minutes, many thanks for posting this video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent video, thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for watching and commenting
My favorite Sherman variant
I am curious, typically speaking, which welding process(es) were used for the (heavy) exterior modifications?
I cant say for sure but id be certain its all Arc welded by the look of it. Unsure of the IDF mods but the original US welds are some kind of high Nickle content, they don't rust and a torch will not cut them, we needed a plasma cutter.
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany Okay, so that probably means they used the SMAW process which is commonly called Stick welding. Back in the day, Stick welding was colloquially refered to generically as Arc welding. Now bc of all the different processes available, ppl have to be more specific when they refer to a process. Because nickel is hard, it makes sense that they would use a nickel alloyed steel as the filler metal. Which processes are you equipped with in your restoration shop?
Well done. I'm driving through NV, so may stop by.
You don't need money to visit Battlefield Vegas Museum. You definitely need money if you plan to shoot or drive anything.
If you do get the chance our museum is completely free, and if you want a more exciting experience we have everything for rent from automatic glocks to a 155mm Howitzer
Has Isreal ever met a weapon they can't turn into a super weapon? Love those guys
They definitely use what they can, and use it effectively
This tank with the M51 are my favourite Sherman's not forgetting the Firefly.
Any Sherman is a favorite!
Good choice in favorite tanks!
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany You guys just need a Israeli Halftrack to go along with it.
Very cool Excellent history lesson .Thank you. I got to tinker with a M4 A3-E8 a few years ago . Has the Ford GA engine.
Not to many hands on people we get to hear from! Thank you for your comment and hopefully we can produce more content like it that you might enjoy!
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany Ya . there are a few of us around still.
For those who are interested, the three Hebrew letters on the small black banner are
צ.ה.ל
Or Tz. H. L. Abbreviation for Tzava = Army, Hagana = Defence, Le'Israel = For Israel.
English equivalent of I.D.F
Painted on the turret is a slightly stylized word
נוצריה
Which translates to Christian (adjective, femenin)
The big unit identification in white with back borders reads
א2
Alef is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, so it's tank platon 2A
Quite emotional seeing a veteran war machine, battle scars and all, receive so much care and respect in returning it to it's full glory.
( Regards from Israel )
Thank you for posting the translations for our viewers. Yes it is quite a respectable war veteran. Do note that we also have a Syrian T-62 that your country captured, and like 15 Israeli 113s.
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany I own a couple of classic cars, and I have to say your restoration looks tip top for such an oldie and in very good taste. I'll have to look up the vide of that T-62, hope it's in as good a condition.
Thanks mate :-)
Fascinating video
Thank you!
This Super Sherman looks super. The Israelis know their tanks and how to use them.
Its amazing how the Israelis kept old technology relevant by upgrading it to modern specs
More like: thanks to the French and they know how to keep it updated with 1950s and even 1960s standards. And thanks to the Israelis because they knew how to utilize these machines effectively and maintained it handsomely.
Superb tank great video!
Thank you! 👍
10:22 The "צ-816016" is basically the licence plate for a military vehicle.
Um, yes, he mentioned that in detail. Spasebo in any case.
@@s.marcus3669 I've missed that, probably.
No worries, our guy Scott did mention that but it doesn't hurt to put it in the comments for other people you might have missed it as well.
All you need now is a Egyptian T-34/85 or T-54 to make 6 day war re-enactment
They have a fully functioning t62 i believe
We have a T-34 maybe on its way. Not Egyptian but perhaps one day! And Joshua Chen is correct. We have a functional Syrian T-62
Super , the painting at Front green black stripes are " IDF armor coprps" sign , wher are you located ?
We are located in Las Vegas in the US. Check out Battlefield Vegas if you are interested in our museum. The museum is completely free and we have options available to fire tanks, artillery and machine guns.
Super interesting well done
Glad to hear and thank you!
Very intresting and informative! Thanks for sharing. Greets, T.
Thank you for commenting and watching!
The Chieftain is right. The more you look at the Sherman the more you realize just how amazing this platform was.
It is quite an incredible platform and even more amazing how some countries managed to improve it to keep up with the times
Wouldn't say amazing. Decent but not amazing. The Centurion was a better platform by 1945. Its just that there were lots of Shermans left over.
It really is amazing.
The amazing thing is that the allies overwhelmed the Axis armour, with sheer numerical superiority. The German Tigers, and Panthers knew they could defeat the Shermans even frontally, but they just kept coming, and coming. I don't recall the exact number, but German tank ace Michael Wittman achieved many kills against Shermans. With regards to armour, and firepower, the Shermans were not up to one-on-one combat against the German "heavy" tanks. During their development process General Creighton Abrams said that he wanted the M1 to be everything that the Sherman was not.
awesome machine , great video
Thank you for coming and enjoying our content!
love that battle scar
Not just one battle scar either but many!
An early 'small hatch' Sherman. The driver wiggling in at 25:07 was a bit chilling, especially for a fairly big guy like me.
Mostly wirery ” 19yr Olds , good luck finding them now
@@leefithian3704 Yep, and the hatches were made larger later on.
Lol I am the guy that was wiggling in there and there is a reason I am always the one crawling around in these things. That being said we have bigger guys get into it, it just requires more wiggling
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany 😄
If I recall correctly...???
The French 75mm High velocity cannon fitted to the M50 and M51, is actually a copy/modification of the German 75 cannon (as fitted to the Panther).
Some-one else may know more about this.
your correct
That is a myth but those people that say that have never had to restore a live fire one. Now I am not saying it wasn't designed off of one but it sure as hell is not a direct copy
The Cummins is by far the best power plant ever put in a Sherman. The Ford GA had a 100 hr service interval .Valve covers came off and so forth.
Cummins is the best power plant for ANYTHING..
I would much rather care for and feed the twin 6-71 detroits, and they could easily be brought up to a reliable 7-800 hp.
@@davidedwards8358 meh. No one has ever made a good four cycle v8 diesel.
@@randymagnum143 Ya ! old school Detroits great as well.
Definitely appreciate this engine for sure
The striped black and blue tag is the insignia of Israeli aerial defense command (which is odd, since to my knowledge they never used Shermans). The writing in hebrew says "Christian" (female infliction). By the time the first Lebanon war ended no Shermans were in use/conservation in the IDF. Most likely this tank was stationed on display at the air defense base near Kiryat Shmona (they have plenty of other old gear on display there)
The sexiest of all the shermans
She is a beaut!
If it was an M4A4 it probably went to the British in WWII. The British really liked the multi bank engined Shermans.
Excellent video!!
Glad you liked it!
Well done.nice to see it. Regards from Israel.
We have and are going to have plenty more vehicles with IDF service history, so stay tuned for more on them.
Goes to show how great of a tank the Sherman was. Imagine if a panther or tiger were used as much as this one tank.
th-cam.com/video/BXzQdP8hhxY/w-d-xo.html
They kept breaking down, although the French army had a regiment equipped with various marks of Panther until the early 1950s. An example of which still exists at the French tank museum in Samur.
@@OliveMule Getting stuck and breaking down on a nearly daily basis are two different things. Availability of the AVERAGE Panther was under 50%.
@@gunner678 Yes they did, the French have more experience with operating Panthers than the Germans did lol. I found the final assessment summed up with the fact that when they had to send their Army to Indo-China... they sent Chaffees, Shermans and Jacksons.
@@michaelthebarbarian3380 What tank was the Jackson? I am not familiar with it.
Very nice video- well done. I would add that it was made by Chrysler in Detroit, Michigan- "The Arsenal of Democracy"
that Uzi laying on its front as well as the Leo1 reminds me at my army time back in the late 80´s ! Uzi was small and nice for selfdefence but very inaccurate above 30m.
If the markings are correct and not made up by Littlefield, then the two stripes on the barrel indicate the battalion: the number of stripes is the ordinal number of the battalion in the brigade. It might've been the 82nd battalion, which was the second battalion of the 8th brigade, but a number of other battalions also had the Super Shermans.
The forward facing chevron indicates 2nd company.
The 2א indicates this was probably the 2nd platoon commander's tank (the א means its the first tank in the platoon, and the commander might've used that marking).
The word on the barrel / front end, transliterated as "Notsriyah", means "Christian" (female form), which is just odd.
Either way, the crest, as others have mentioned, is the Armoured Corps crest.
2nd platoon commander's tank would have been marked with just 2, without any additional letters. This one is platoon sergeant's tank.
@@DmitryKandiner as far as i know it isn't a definite rule, and you sometimes come across CO tanks which are marked with the aleph. But yeah, might be as you said.
On that 50 cal do you have to set headspace and timing?
Good question!! This particular 50 has a quick change barrel so no you don't need to. However, Battlefield Vegas does have other 50s that need headspace and timing.
So AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SUPER SHERMANs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Certainly is a beast of a tank!
Have you guys tried to contact Yad Lashiryon tank museum in Israel? maybe they have some information about this tank.
Thanks for the lead! We are definitely going to reach out to them and see if we can dig up any further information
*informative video!!!, thanks for sharing!!!*
Thanks for watching and for the comment. Helps us know the community is interested in these kinds of videos!
There is one half an hour drive from my home sitting on a hill. Go there all the time.
Where do you happen to live if you don't mind us asking?
Super video, great tank!
Many thanks! We appreciate your view and comment!
do you install jerrycan at side/front?
I believe that came to us with all of the jerry cans like that.
Its noice that even if its so old its still being used for some reasons
The Israelis were particularly good at using and modifying old equipment to be effective on the modern battlefield
If they had these M50s after D-Day, it might have shortened the war by quite a bit.
Not really it just had a few cop,fort features added better radios and the new 75 I think it would be about the same maybe a little bit shorter but tanks didn’t really face other tanks a lot during the war on the western front it happened quite a bit but not a lot and the 75 Sherman was perfectly fine at killing panzer 3s 4s ect and only would really struggle with heavy tanks and late war german tds.
iv never seen a world war 2 tank look so old and modern at the same time XD its like a M1 abram had a baby with a sherman.
It is a good looking tank isnt it? Especially for being developed in the early 1900s
Absolutely beautiful Sherman . Well done Israel 🇮🇱 for turning an out dated but good tank into something that competed and mostly beat way newer designs with better everything except the crew. See the crew is one if not the most important part of the tank the people who crew it.
I would definitely agree with you that the crew is the most important aspect about a tanks effectiveness. I think this particularly shows between US and Russian armor comparisons because now having worked on both systems I can see the pros and cons of both sides. Ultimately it would boil down the the crew which system is better
No mention of the extra armor plate added to the front of driver and bow gunner hatches. Looks like a field modification but by whom?
I'm assuming it was fitted while in possession of the US it was a common add on during ww2 for shermans
This was classified as small hatch (drivers hatches) and had the extra armor in front if driver and hull mg added by US factory or field mod in ww2. Standard mod on small hatch, cast hull sherms.
Good thing makes me think of the centurion with all the mods
I like the Uzi on the front glais plate
Adding a fun fact: The gun is a French copy of the same gun found on the German Panther
There is an interesting debate on that subject
Beautiful.
Thank you! Cheers!
Ready for the Golan.
It is now and it definitely was then!
Do you sell your tanks? I’m a ww2 enthusiast and was wondering the price
No we are in a growth phase, we typically don't sell. We are open to trade for the right items.
I don’t really have a tank or anything like that that I thing could be a good trade, are you guys offering job options?
I drove an M60 in the Marine Corps. Sadly the Corps no longer has Armor units
We used to have an M60 driver working for us and was one of Scotts favorite people. It is sad they did away with their armor units and also a shame because we would love to do up one of their old tanks so it could still have a life and career for people who want to experience it first hand
I need one....... You know, for shopping and such...
Its perfectly legal to own a demilled tank here in the US to uh go...shopping
Interesting tank. Interesting times. I’m thinking this and the Centurions is what the IDF had to use against the Arab states M-4/AMX-13 “bastard” tanks, T-34s, and maybe even early versions of the Soviet T-54/55.
They even fought against 62s towards the end. Battlefield Vegas actually has a 62 that very well could have seen this M-50 on the Battlefield
@@CommanderKoslov From what I saw about the T-62 and it’s 115 mm smooth bore gun (which I saw on Forgotten Weapons), that M-50 probably wouldn’t have survived a hit from that main gun. But then again, if the M-50 was armed with the 105 L7, the T-62 wouldn’t stand a chance either. Thanks.
Former M-1 armor officer here: PL, BMO Company XO, S1, S3.
They invented those wars just to get rid of the junk.
@@ShamanKish ImThere’s nothing factual about what you said. You’re a nut job.
@@ces4399 Barbarossa, Pearl Harbor?
They sold Israelis Sherman and to Syrians - German tanks from WWII - 60 Panzer IV, also refurbished in Fance! Check your facts!
The chilean m60 supersherman is like the older brother of all shermans that outperformed them all but nobody remembers. Had laser telemeters, stabilizers, and automatic 60mm cannon capable of shooting apfsds rounds and thermal sights, yet seems to be forgoten even tho it was the last sherman in service until 2006.
The Chilean Sherman's came from Israel. They were just an M50 with extra steps. There are some good videos online about them. None have come into the US or UK privately to my knowledge which is why they are not yet in the spotlight.
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany well m50s are m4a2s and m4a3e8s with extra steps it doesnt make it less cool. Anyways i just left my comment for anyone interested in knowing a bit more about the sherman's history, its not really about the video (wich i enjoyed btw).
Yes the M50s and M60s have quite the evolutionary story to tell. We always appreciate our viewers supporting the channel. Thanks for watching.
Later , they got rid of the bow gunner . Reason was , with that position , it took five men to crew a tank . Bt getting rid of it , for every four tanks , you gain another full crew for another tank . Another way the IDF found , to make the most of what they had .
Great information, we have discussed this one on some of our other videos. The US were actually one of the last ones to issue a tank from factory with no bow gunner. Thanks for watching.
I always thought those were racing stripes. ;D lol
Lol it does look good doesnt it
The symbol on the right looks a little like the Israeli Armor Corps shoulder tag, but not quite. That tag has 4 black diagonal stripes, not 3 like in this one, and 3 green stripes, not blue ones. Blue stripes usually belong to the Israeli Air Force's anti-aircraft corps, not the Armor Crops, but maybe the color has faded over time? Also, the different number of stripes might possibly indicate a specialized mission unit - reconnaissance, search & destroy, or even that it belongs to a training battalion, not a line one. Or not, I don't know. I'd expect more stripes, not less.
The symbol on the left is also an unfamiliar one to me, doesn't look like any brigade markings I've ever seen.\, or could find in an internet search of present and past IDF armored brigades.
Also, while I've seen brigade markings on the left. or sometimes the center, of the tank's front, I've never seen the shoulder tag symbols painted on the tank. It's very weird.
Also, there is some writing, both on the tank and on the gun. I can't quite make sense out of it - the font is really weird, but it could maybe say "Christian"? I don't know, it's bizarre. Are you sure these are all original markings?
The Sherman tanks have all been retired from reserve service with the IDF by 1980, before this one was handed to the SLA, so it couldn't possibly have gone back to Israeli reserves when it was returned to Israel (probably being replaced by an Israeli-upgraded Centurion tank instead).
The three piece diff covers are cast too... Just in three pieces.
They still use Shermans?
Not to this day but they used longer than most countries have
How has Israel acquired its first Sherman tanks?
In the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Israel was facing regular armies with their own tank forces. Also, Israel is a tiny country, but a long and narrow one, with long borders - and complex one, back then even more so than today.
Israel also had a tiny population, and while 10% of the population was mobilized for the war effort, those kind of numbers were unsustainable in the long run. Tanks, however, could do - with a small crew - the same amount of border protection work as a much larger force of infantry troops. Or, at least, that was the theory.
So Israel needed tanks. Badly.
Israel ha managed to acquire a handful of tanks from various types but those couldn't be turned into a coherent force. also, they weren't particularly good tanks, not really. So Israel needed a larger and standardized supply of relatively good tanks.
Well, the solution was simple: Europe - and also the US, and Canada as well - were flooded with WWII surplus, including tanks. And the most produced and most available tank was the M-4 Sherman.
But there were a couple of problems with that:
On the one hand, Israel had very little money, and couldn't afford to buy even WWII surplus tanks, whic were on the market for cheap in large numbers.
On the other hand, there was an arms embargo that prevented Israel from buying any weapons at all - including tanks, which are so large, they're kind of hard to hide...
What to do?
The Israelis decided to have one problem solve the other. Instead of buying tanks they couldn't afford and couldn't deliver anyway, they'd buy tanks that have been relegated to scrap. The scrapyards of Europe were full with those, also. And they were much cheaper than the service-worthy alternative.
Of course, that was because they weren't service worthy themselves, having been rendered inoperative by their previous operators.
So the Israeli armor core logistics, repair, munitions officer, who had served with the British Army in Italy, remembered that the Americans got rid of their tanks there, before selling them to the scrapyard, they would first drill holes in the canons, then blowi the tanks up. Only they blew them on the outside, destroying the track-and-wheel system, but the tank's armor shielded the tanks internal systems - crucially the propulsion unit - from the blast.
At the same time, the British Israel got rid of their own Sherman tanks by also blowing their canons and turrets, and also blowing the tanks up, from the inside. So everything inside the tank was destroyed, but the track-and-wheel systems actually remained intact, shielded as they were by the tanks armor. Then the Brits threw the tank carcasses away in some dry river valley in northern Israel.
So the tank logistics officer suggested to buy the scrape tanks from Italy as metal scrape, which would enable the Italians to openly sell them, leaving only the problem of smuggling them past the British navy and harbor inspectors, and into Israel. Then send some people at night to sneak to the valley where all the discarded British tanks were tossed, remove the track-and-wheel systems and carry them back to the logistics and repair center, and put them on the chassis of the American-Italian tanks. Which would only leave the problem of the canons, but he was sure they could improvise a solution somehow, once they had to deal with that problem.
He was able to convince the authorities to allocate the funds to purchase 30 scrape tanks and send them home to Israel, and that's exactly what he did. And, indeed, every single one of them was matched with the track systems from the British tanks and fixed up back to serviceability.
The only problem that remained, was the holes in the canons. The Israelis came up with several solutions to try and fix those, but none of them really worked. Therefore, there was no choice but to buy new canons, for these tanks, and for all the others Israel bought after its war for independence was won, wherever and however they were found.
Which is how, eventually, the M-50 program began.
no matter where i stand, i stand with Isreal. praise God.
America First!
Standover is the word you were looking for. What the Nazis did was terrible, but that is no excuse to do whats been done.
Shes a beauty!
Thank you! I appreciate the comment!
Drove one in 1970.
Service related or you just happened to have an opportunity to drive one?
@@MilitaryArmamentsCompany was I in the Israeli military? No.
@@bobkohl6779 just military in general. Regardless of country