U.S. M4A3 Sherman ; 3rd Armored Division 'Spearhead', 33rd or 34th Armored Regiment (Forces of Valor (Unimax), 1/32)

Back in June 1944, during the critical days of the Normandy breakthrough, this specific M4A3 Sherman, marked with hull number USA 30103756-S, hit the French coast with the 3rd Armored Division, the famous "Spearhead." Operating likely within the 33rd or 34th Armored Regiment, the tank rolled off the LSTs and straight into the hedgerow country, carrying a complement of infantry riders on its deck to support the push inland. It was a gritty time for the crew, who faced stiff resistance while trying to break out of the beachhead, relying on their machine to get them through the intense combat of the campaign.

Technically, this was an early-to-mid production M4A3 mounting the standard 75mm main gun, but the crew didn't leave it in factory condition. To counter the threat of German handheld anti-tank weapons like the Panzerfaust, they added extensive field-applied spaced armor in the form of molded sandbags across the glacis plate. The vehicle also sported a mounted M2HB machine gun for close defense and carried extra rear stowage, while its exterior showed the heavy weathering typical of a tank that had just slogged its way from the landing ships onto the dusty, war-torn roads of France.