Below is a Sherman which raises questions. This Sherman, Battling Annie, can be found at the River Maas, near Hermeton-sur-Meuse, a couple of kilometers south of Dinant, Belgium, on the D8051. This Sherman was not the first on this spot to be a monument. This tank was swapped with an M4A3E2 Jumbo which is now in the possession of the tank museum in Brussels.

At first sight, it seems to be a standard M4 with its 75mm gun. Even de doors for excess to the Continental engine at the rear, has all the right clues for the M4. But it’s all a deception. The welled left side shows a penetration (filled up) of a large grenade. The collateral damage of shrapnel spreads around the whole side, but not on the turret. Even if you look closely, the turret is ‘clean’. I think, the blast of the hit, blew the whole of the turret out of the hull. The tanks has been restored and another turret is put atop of the hull.

The original turret is swapped for another one, but one which has some British features. At the rear are some small hooks, so a box could be hung here. On the rear deck is a travel lock for a gun to be found. This is a give away to the origin of this Sherman. The barrel of the 75mm is far to short to rest in the travel lock,…

The space between the wheels of the bogies, are wider then at the M4 standard. Everything suggest that this is an M4A4. But the rear deck is now covered with a steel plate, so the bulge that was necessary for the Chrysler A57 multibank is gone.

Another clue is the small plate welded against the gully at the bottom of the turret. Other types of the Sherman lack this plate, only the M4A4 has this feature. This little adjustment was to prevent that a shell could hit the small water hole, and the grenade would ricochet into the turret.

At the front we find all the clues of this Sherman. Most eye catching is the covered hole for the .30 machine gun. The only type that saw this feature was the British Sherman Firefly.

Other features of the Firefly are eviden, such as the racks at the front. These were used to have spare track parts in them, and to give some extra protection. Below is a same type M4A4 Sherman Vc Firefly during the Second World War shown.

The welded hull (part number 52403, MIL-C-24707 code 4208) was manufactured by the Continental Foundry & Machine Company, East Chicago, Indiana. The transmission armor was manufactured at the American Steel Foundries Granite City (Illinois) Works. This Sherman, built in the United States, never saw service a Firefly in American service. But the restores have done their best to make it look like one, by adding some US lettering and symbols. And so it seems that this tanks was used by the 3rd Armored Division, 33 Battalion, tank 7, Company B., but that is fake, just as the registration number, USA 3027798, on the side of the Sherman.

Next to the Sherman stands a monument. It remembers the two day battle in September 1944, between the 9th Infantry Division en de 2d SS Panzerdivision (see below).

Finally, I like to point out one of the best tank museums in the World, beside the one in Bovington, UK, and that's the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France. Many of their tanks are restored to drive, among them, many German vehicles. They have a couple of Shermans in their inventory, but not all of them are on show. They restore not just for the museum, but also for monuments, such as the one at Utah Beach, at the Leclerc Monument.

Next to the museum is the workshop with a parking lot full of tanks and vehicles, and parts of tanks, such as turrets and gun barrels. Among the vehicles are some Shermans, such as an unique DD (Duplex Drive) tank. It has the wrong turret (a 76mm one), but it seems the tank was delivered at the museum lacking the turret. Beside the ‘standard’ Sherman, there are a couple of Medium Tank Recovery Vehicles, such as the M47, built on the chassis of an M4A3.