- Yes.
- No.
- In a future Dutch/BeNeLux techtree.
- In the French BeNeLux sub-tree
- Other (Please explain in the comments).
- I said “No” in the first question.
Hello everyone, I’m on a mission to suggest every single M4 Sherman tank used by the Netherlands!
This is the Dutch M4A1!
Two Dutch M4A1’s in a field
Source: Foto's
History
Spoiler
As soon as the second world war had ended, the Netherlands was in a bad shape. Years under German occupation had left it broken and without any kind of Army. Getting the Army up and running again was a top priority for the Netherland leadership.
Luckily when all the allied forces were moving out of Europe they didn’t take everything with them. Many large militairy dumps could be found in various locations. In the Netherlands there were two large onces, one at the Deelen Airbase, and one near Enschede. The Deelen dump was filled with ex-Canadian equipment, and the Enschede dump with both British and Canadian equipment.
The total list of different gun and vehicle types present in those dump is far to much to list here. But during 1946 many of these vehicles were purchased for a cheap price. Everything bought from these dumps were given a class designation R1, R2, D or S.
- R1 stood for simple repair (Within 50 work hours)
- R2 stood for thorough repair
- D stood for disassembly for spare parts
- S stood for demolition.
Any of the vehicles with the R1 or R2 class would end up getting repaired and put in service.
Later it was determined that a total of 7373 vehicles were present in these militairy dumps.
The Bureau of Spoils of War would end up buying 1168 of these for a total of 1 Million Guilders. 253 of these were of the R1 class, 731 were R2 and 184 were of class D or S.That now starts to bring us to the topic of this suggestion. The dump in Enschede was mostly filled with tanks, and most of those were Shermans of various types. The Dutch would, at atleast some point, have every single main Sherman variant in service. From the M4 to the M4A4.
As for the Dutch M4A1’s it’s unclear just how many there were in these dumps. It’s likely that there were not a lot. But still there were loads of spare parts to be found here. Later in 1951 the Dutch army wanted to get American M46 Patton tanks, but due to the Korean War this was not possible. As an alternative the US offered the Dutch Army the M4A1 with 75mm guns. This offer was accepted, and in the end a total of 88 M4A1’s were delivered. 50 of them were M4A1E9’s, and 38 were M4A1’s.
A large number of the Dutch Shermans were used for training schools. And, from what I can find, the same was done with these M4A1’s. But around this time the Dutch Genie squadron (Military engineering squadron) was very lacking in Dozer Tanks. They had four M4A4 Dozer tanks, but these were not in a very good condition.
So when the Centurion tank was starting to come into Dutch service, another 26-dozerblade kits were also obtained. These were fitted to the M4A1’s. This explains why I only found the single photo used at the start of this suggestion of a Dutch M4A1. The rest of the photos I found of Dutch M4A1’s had Dozer blades fitted. (I’m suggesting the M4A1 with the Dozer in a seperate post, which is why I’m not using the photos of the M4A1 Dozer in this suggestion)
That marks the end for specifically the Dutch M4A1. Very short lived in it’s main Tank form, but it carried on for years as a Dozer tank.
Sadly there are no special features that would set this M4A1 apart from the standard US model.
Specifications
Spoiler
Mass: 30.6 tons
Crew: 5Powerplant: Continental R-975 C1 radial engine
Engine horsepower: 400 hp
Max speed: 39 km/h
Suspension type: Vertical Volute Spring System (VVSS)
Track extensions available: “Duckbill” end connectors on the outside of the tracksArmour:
Hull: (Small Hatch, Late 1-Piece Differential Cover)
- Front: ~50.8 mm at ~56° + 25.4 mm Applique Armor in front of the hull crews (Not fitted to all Dutch M4A1’s)
- Sides: ~38.1 mm at ~0°
- Rear: 38.1 mm at 9°
- Roof: 19.5 mm
Turret: (Late D50878 turret, M34A1 gun mount)
- Mantlet: 50.8 mm
- Front: 76.2 mm
- Sides: 50.8 mm
- Rear: 50.8 mm
- Roof: 25.4 mm
Armament:
- 1 x 1 75 mm M3 cannon
- Ammunition storage: 90 rounds
- 1 x 1 12.7 mm M2HB machine gun
- Ammunition storage: 600 rounds
- 2 x 1 7.62 mm M1919 machine guns (One coaxial, one in the front hull)
- Ammunition storage: 3000 rounds
Ingame
Spoiler
I know what you might say, it’s just another M4 Sherman. And you’d be right! Normally the vehicles I suggest are unique vehicles I’d want to see ingame. But in this case it’s just a M4A1 Sherman.
The reason I’m suggesting this, and all other Dutch operated Sherman tanks, is because I feel that they are still a necessary part of a potential independent BeNeLux techtree (Not the sad sub-tree we have now). ← Written on the 24th of Januari 2025The Sherman tank was the backbone of the Dutch Army just after the second world war, so they do have some historical value to the Dutch.
Ofcourse the BeNeLux has been added to France, so this is now the only option where Dutch vehicles will go to. But it must be said that the Netherlands and France have nothing in common, and do not make sense to combine together ingame.
That would be all for today, see you next time!
Sources
Spoiler
Main source:
- “Wiel en Rups, Voertuigen van de landmacht 1945-2015” book by Sander Ruys
Extra sources:
Engine:
Photos: