Sherman 'Duck-bill' extended end connectors

[Tank Spotter]

Hi guys,

Picked up this pair recently, they are examples of the 5th Type 'Duck-bill' extended end connector. These were designed to increase the area of the track and thus reduce the ground pressure of the tank. The contracts for producing these were given to many local companies in France and Belgium in an effort to produce the numbers required in the winter of '44. This pair came out of Holland and have clearly suffered some damage.

[Composite]

wow!....a rarely seen tank piece...thanks for sharing.

...and great photos too - thank you again for taking the time to present stuff so well for us.

[HoundsTooth]

I always think of these grousers as being somewhat iconic to the Sherman tank (at least in tank terms anyway).

The other option, later in the war was to go with the wide track easy 8:



But they could never make enough.
Nick