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Armor/AFV: Allied - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Allied forces during World War II.
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"Wet" ammo stowage question
Knuckles
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Oregon, United States
Joined: March 09, 2017
KitMaker: 525 posts
Armorama: 266 posts
Posted: Wednesday, May 03, 2017 - 02:35 AM UTC
I'm building an M4A3 Sherman and I understand that it stows the rounds in a bath of antifreeze. My question is: Is the munition itself stowed submerged in the fluid, or are they kept inside tubes that are in turn submerged in the solution...or is it all completely different?

Thank you for your vast knowledge my friends.
barkingdigger
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ARMORAMA
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England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: June 20, 2008
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Armorama: 3,403 posts
Posted: Wednesday, May 03, 2017 - 02:55 AM UTC
The wet stowage bins under the floor had a series of rectangular glycol containers with a handful of tubes in each - kinda like cylinders in an engine block. The rounds stayed dry unless the bin was punctured, at which point the leaking glycol hopefully kept the rounds from burning.

Apparently the wet stowage wasn't actually all that effective against direct hits, but putting all the ammo under the floor moved it away from the sponsons (where dry-stowage tanks kept theirs), so the better survival was really because the ammo was kept away from the most likely impact areas.
m4sherman
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Arizona, United States
Joined: January 18, 2006
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Posted: Wednesday, May 03, 2017 - 03:03 AM UTC
Tom beat me to the punch. Goggle M4A3 wet stowage bins and there are some great reference pictures showing the bins.
Knuckles
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Oregon, United States
Joined: March 09, 2017
KitMaker: 525 posts
Armorama: 266 posts
Posted: Wednesday, May 03, 2017 - 03:08 AM UTC
Thanks guys!!!
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