[Alex van de Wetering]

Hi Guys,

I just wanted to move this thread on top again, hoping someone has found new pictures or movie stills that confirms the assumptions we made about 4 years ago.

Recently I studied the pictures of firefly "Carole" again, they seem to only show two cables, the ones from the rear wading stack, which end behind the turret on the engine deck. This seems to suggest that the release mechanism is also positioned on the deck, in stead of the turret roof. That is also what made it possible to turn the turret while onboard the LCT (which can be seen in pictures). A picture of “Carole” from the back on board LCT 212 also shows that the bracket on the turret roof, normally used for attaching the cable release mechanism, is un-used.

I think the inlet grill was covered with a sheet metal cover and the release machanism would have been fitted on top of this. Another option would be that the “standard” lower section of the M4A4 inlet gear was fitted, but covered with canvas and cordtex. In that case you would be left with the release mechanism. If you study the position where the cable reaches the engine deck on the picture, you will also see that this has to be on top of the inlet grille and not behind it. That’s why I recon it would have been a combination of both canvas and sheet metal; sheet metal for a solid base and canvas and cordtex to remove the stuff after landing.

I have scrolled through a lot of pictures and movies last weekend, but still haven't found a clear shot of what the wading equipment on the inlet grille looked like. Can anyone help out here? Maybe a picture which shows infantry riding on the back of a Frefly, which shows remains of the wading equipment????

Alex