General Steel Castings Corporation Tank Designs (circa 1941)

[Pelzig]

Filed in 1941 and approved for patent in 1945, the first tank was designed by Harry M. Pflager for GSCC seems based on the M4 though the application was filed after the U.S. Army had already selected the M4 design. Was this one of the competing designs which lost out?

The second, designed by William M. Sheehan and Samuel T. Wharton, Jr., was also a GSCC design which again looks much like the M4. Like Pflager's design, was this another of the designs the Army passed over?

 

[shaba]

The second design definately looks like the canadian ram tank.

 

[Pelzig]

Upon further checking, General Steel Castings Corp. did make castings for tank armor. So, makes sense there would be designs featuring their casting ideas.

 

[Apophenia]

It does make sense. US-produced components for Ram tanks included: Cast Hull Tops, Cast Turrets, Power Units (Engines, etc), Transmissions, Browning Machine Guns. BTW, the first 120 turrets for CPR-assembled Valentine tanks were also made by General Steel Casting.

The Canadian Ram tank wasn't considered by the US Army but it was intended for production in the US by the American Locomotive Company. The pilot model Ram had been sent to Aberdeen Proving Grounds for trials. The US decided to supply Rams under Lend-Lease.

The US ordered 1,351 Rams but cancelled in early 1943 (ending plans for American Locomotive Company production). Instead Montreal production of Rams was wound down in favour of the Grizzly (Cruiser) Tank (the originally-proposed Canadian Army name for the M4A1 being "Buffalo").

REPORT NO. 38, HISTORICAL SECTION (G.S.), ARMY HEADQUARTERS, 27 Jul 50
Tank Production in Canada, Col CP Stacey, Director Historical Section, NDHQ