- 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 M4A1E9!
A Dutch M4A1E9 in the Nationaal Militair Museum in Soesterberg
Source: I took this photo myself, K.K. Janssen
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.
It’s unclear if any M4A1E9’s came from these dumps due to a lack of proper identification of tank types during these early days. 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.
These 50 M4A1E9’s ended up in training schools, just like many other Sherman types used by the Dutch at this time. An interesting bit of detail is that 46 of them had the R-975 C1 engine, and 4 had the R-975 C4 engine, which was a little bit more powerfull.
At this point you might wonder, what does the E9 bit stand for? Well these are Sherman tanks with spaced out VVSS suspension. Allow me to show you what this actually means:
A photo of a Chilean M4A1E9
Source: Armorama :: Armor of the American Civil WarThe photo above is taken at a nice angle that properly shows how the suspension is moved more to the outside, and you have these gaps between the hull and tracks. The reason this was done was to allow for the installation of track extensions to both sides of the tracks. Normally crews can only put extensions on the outside of the tracks. But on the E9 it can be done on the inside too, as seen on the photo below:
A photo of a M4A1E9 with the “Duckbill” end connectors on both sides of the tracks
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/TankPorn/comments/k8gc8c/an_m4a1e9_tank_with_extended_end_connectors_for/
These extensions made the tracks much wider then what was normally possible on Sherman tanks with VVSS suspension, and so it greatly improved their cross terrain performance. Now I do believe the E9 modified Sherman tanks are not able to mount any Dozer blades due to the extra width of the suspension, which would explain why almost all Dutch M4A1’s were modified to Dozertanks, and the M4A1E9’s were simply kept as they were.
At the end the M4A1E9’s were simply used as training tanks. Thankfully some still remain to this day as Musum tanks.
Sadly there are no special features that would set this M4A1E9 apart from the standard US model.
Two Dutch M4A1E9’s driving over a improvised bridge
Source: Foto's
Specifications
Spoiler
Mass: 30.6 tons
Crew: 5Powerplant: Continental R-975 C1 radial engine (Four of the Dutch M4A1E9’s had the R-975 C4 engine)
Engine horsepower: 400 hp
Max speed: 39 km/h
Suspension type: Spaced out Vertical Volute Spring System (VVSS)
Track extensions available: “Duckbill” end connectors on both sides of the tracksArmour:
Hull: (Small Hatch, Early 1-Piece Differential Cover)
- Front: ~50.8 mm at ~56°
- Sides: ~38.1 mm at ~0° + 25.4 mm Applique Armor plates at specific spots
- 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 + 25.4 mm Applique Armor plate on the right cheek (Not present on all Dutch M4A1E9’s)
- 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. Although in this case it’s a slightly modified Sherman with wider suspension.
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 25th of Januari 2025I think this could be a slightly more unique M4A1 Sherman to add to the game WHEN given access to the “Duckbill” end connectors on the tracks. It would visually look very cool!
Also the 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.
Another photo of a Dutch M4A1E9 driving over a improvised bridge
Source: Foto's
That would be all for today, see you next time!
Extra Photos
Sources
Spoiler
Main source:
- “Wiel en Rups, Voertuigen van de landmacht 1945-2015” book by Sander Ruys
Extra sources:
Engine:
Photos: