- 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 M4A3E8(105)!
A Dutch M4A3E8(105)
Source: Foto's
History
Spoiler
A group of Dutch M4A3E8(105)'s
Source: Foto'sAs 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 M4A3E8(105)'s came from these dumps due to a lack of proper identification of tank types during these early days. However later in 1951 the Dutch army bought more Shermans of the US Army and a total of 18 of these were M4A3(105)'s. One annoying thing we run into now is that there had not been any distinctions made between the VVSS and HVSS suspensions on these 18 tanks. So the exact number of M4A3E8(105)'s and M4A3(105)'s the Dutch Army had are unknown. We only know the total number of 18.
But this is what we know of the M4A3E8(105)'s in the main Homeland of the Netherlands. Because there was another place where we see the Dutch use the M4A3E8(105). The Dutch East Indies.
A broken down Dutch M4A3E8(105) is getting towed away by another Dutch M4A3E8(105)
Source: Foto'sFirst we need to go back in time a little bit, to 1945 when Japan was defeated. The Netherlands had to take control of their East Indies again (Nowadays Indonesia). And the so called “Mariniersbrigade” would be used (These were a Marine Unit of the Dutch that fought against the Japanese during the war).
At the end of 1945 a ship carrying 2.000 Dutch troops arrived in the East Indies. And more men would join them later on. And many M4A3E8(105)'s would also arrive. Sadly my sources have no mention of these tanks in the East Indies (Very oddly), but we do have a ton of photos of them there. My best guess is that these are tanks left behind, or bought from the US. Exact numbers are unknown, but going from what we see on photos, there were a decend number of them there.
The conflicts and actions that were taken in the East Indies around this time are not something I’m going to talk about here. Simply because I don’t find it necessary for the topic of this suggestion, and also because it’s a blood stained part of Dutch and Indonesian history.
On the 7th of June 1949 the “Mariniersbrigade” would be disbanded and reorganized due to reduction in personel active in the East Indies.
Whatever became of the M4A3E8(105)'s present there is unknown to me. I would imagine some ended up in Indonesian hands.As for the tanks back in the Homeland of the Netherlands, some M4A3E8(105)'s remain to this day in Militairy Museums.
Colonel M.R. de Bruijne (The man with the binoculars), Commander of the “Mariniersbrigade”, next to a Dutch M4A3E8(105) during an militairy exercise
Source: Foto's
Specifications
Spoiler
Mass: 31.7 tons
Crew: 5Powerplant: Ford GAA engine
Engine horsepower: 500 hp
Max speed: 42 km/h
Suspension type: Horizontal Volute Suspension System (HVSS)
Track extensions available: NoneArmour:
Hull: (47°, Large Hatch, Late 1-Piece Differential Cover)
- Front: 63.5 mm at 47°
- Sides: 38.1 mm at 0°
- Rear: 38.1 mm at 22°
- Roof: 19.5 mm
Turret: (105mm D78541 turret)
- Mantlet: 88.9 mm
- Front: 76.2 mm
- Sides: 50.8 mm
- Rear: 50.8 mm
- Roof: 25.4 mm
Armament:
- 1 x 1 105 mm M4 howitzer
- Ammunition storage: 66 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 M4 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 29th 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. And their active duty in the East Indies is also something unique for 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.
A lineup of Dutch M4A3E8(105)'s
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:
- Pantser.net
- M4 Sherman-tank - Nationaal Militair Museum
- Mariniersbrigade in Nederlands-Indië - Wikipedia
Engine:
Photos: