Last edition:
M38 A1s, National Museum of Military Vehicles.
Labels: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 4x4, Artillery, Automobiles, Korean War, Military, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Radio, Trucks, Wyoming (Dubois)
Showing posts with label Armor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Armor. Show all posts
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
M32 Tank Retriever, National Museum of Military Vehicles.
This is a M32 tank retriever, which is obviously based on the M4 Sherman chassis. These were used by the U.S. Army starting in World War Two, although a tank retriever based on the Lee/Grant chassis was also used.
These remained in use during the Korean War and into the 1960s when it was replaced by the M88.
Last edition:
M24 Chaffee, National Museum of Military Vehicles.Labels: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, Armor, Army, Army of the Republic of Vietnam, Korean War, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Vietnam War, Weapons, World War Two, Wyoming (Dubois)
Monday, March 24, 2025
M24 Chaffee, National Museum of Military Vehicles.
Like the M26 Pershing, the M24 Chaffee shows the speed of armor evolution during World War Two. A much more modern light tank than the M3, it remained in service until 1953 with the U.S. Army, and various other armies long after that. The tank was heavily, if not terribly successfully, used by the ARVN during the Vietnam War.
Sunday, March 23, 2025
M113A1 Fire Support Vehicle. National Museum of Military Vehicles.
This is an armored M113 personnel carrier of a type modified for the Vietnam War, in this case by Australia, where the M113 first saw combat service. In Vietnam, they were often up armored to take into account their vulnerability. The addition of the turret and cannon provides such an example with a Saladin armored car turret and 75mm gun.
Saturday, March 22, 2025
M88 Recovery Vehicle. National Museum of Military Vehicles.
Still in use, the M88 Recovery Vehicle is a tank retriever based on the M48 chassis.
Very heavily armored, it's outlasted the phasing out of the M48 and M60, and continues on in service.
Last edition:
Labels: 1950s, 1959, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2020s, Armor, National Museum of Military Vehicles, The Cold War, Wyoming (Dubois)
Friday, March 21, 2025
M60. National Museum of Military Vehicles.
The M60 was the great U.S. tank of the Cold War, and continues to be a great tank to this day.
Effectively an improved variant of the M48, so much so that in some armies it would be regarded as a variant of the prior tank, the M60 took all of the improvements to the M26 line of tanks over the decades and more or less perfected them. Indeed, some of the improvements, such as the 105mm gun, were retrofitted to the prior M48.
M60s remain in use around the world in upgraded versions.
Thursday, March 20, 2025
M48 Patton. National Museum of Military Vehicles.
The fourth tank to descend from the M26 Pershing, including the Pershing, the M48 was a long serving and very successful U.S. tank. It entered service in the mid 1952 in the U.S. Army, and it is still in service with various nations, including South Korea and Taiwan.
The M48 was the second of the US Cold War tanks to actually see action in a Cold War war, the M46 being the first in Korea, with the M48 seeing extensive use by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps in Vietnam. The tank was already a second class tank in the US military by that time, the M60 having come on, but it was a perfectly modern tank and more than able to take on anything in theater. The tank was later upgraded to near M60 capabilities with the change from a 90mm gun to a 105.
The M48 entered US service in 1952, and was last used in the National Guard in 1987.
Related Threads:
Last edition:
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
M47 Tank. National Museum of Military Vehicles.
The tank in the photograph above is a M47 "Patton" tank, the successor to the M26 Pershing. The tank had a limited production run, entering service in 1951 during the Korean War, and being declared a limited standard in 1955. Production ceased in 1953, and the tank was deployed to Korea in small numbers for testing.
The tank was the third tank to be based on the M26, including the M26. The second was the M46 "Patton", which was an upgraded M26 which was used during the Korean War.
A M5 Stuart light tank is in the background.
Related threads:
The M26 and its children
Last edition:
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
M8 Buford. National Museum of Military Vehicles.
The M8 was a light tank that was adopted to replace the M551 Sheridan, but which never went into production and was phased out before it was even introduced.
Last edition:
Monday, March 10, 2025
Saturday, March 1, 2025
March 1, 1945. Iran declares war on Japan.
9th Armored Division, 1 March 1945, Germany
Signal Corps Photo. This appears to be a M26 with its turret pointing to the rear for travel. The M26 was just coming into service at this time.
Iran declared war on Japan.
Franklin Roosevelt reported on the Yalta Conference. He was unable to stand.
The Wehrmacht launched an offensive around Lauban.
The Ninth Army took Mönchengladbach.
"Infantrymen of the U.S. Third Army move through war-torn city of Prum, Germany, of which little is left but blasted buildings and debris-littered streets. 1 March, 1945. 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division."
"After the town of Disternich, Germany, fell to units of the 9th Armored Division, civilians are gathered to be interrogated by military authorities. 1 March, 1945. Company A, 27th Armored Infantry Battalion, 9th Armored Division." This is an interesting photograph for a variety of reasons, one of which simply is to note what's occurring, the interrogation of civilians in the Westphalian town of Disternich. Note the peasant like appearance of the German civilians. Peasantry is probably exactly what they are. Note also the medic. This was for an interrogation, but there must have been a concern that the civilians would be sick or injured. The soldier on the right with the M1 Garand provides us with a really good example of Maine Hunting Shoes in use by the U.S. Army. Note also his armored division shoulder patch.
"Children of parents left destitute in wake of German retreat from Manheim, Germany, receive milk after civilians were able to round up food for themselves. Scene in sector held by 3rd Armored Division of 1st U.S. Army. 1 March, 1945. Photographer: W. B. Allen, 165th Signal Photo Co." Note that the boy in the foreground is wearing a classic German mutze with some sort of cap device.
Michael Strank, one of the Marines photographed raising the flag on Iwo Jima, lost his life in the battle.
Last edition:
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Tuesday, February 27, 1945. Hard fighting on Iwo Jima.
"In the background, behind the U.S. soldier and tank destroyer, the town of Irsch, Germany, burns. 27 February, 1945. 10th Armored Division." Photographer: T/5 D. R. Ornitz.
Civil administration of the Philippines was handed over to President Sergio Osmeña.
Lebanon declared war on the Axis.
The U-327 and U-1018 were sunk by the Royal Navy.
Sgt. Ross F. Gray won a posthumous Medal of Honor on Iwo Jima. His citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Acting Platoon Sergeant serving with Company A, First Battalion, Twenty-Fifth Marines, Fourth Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, February 21, 1945. Shrewdly gauging the tactical situation when his platoon was held up by a sudden barrage of hostile grenades while advancing toward the high ground northeast of Airfield Number One, Sergeant Gray promptly organized the withdrawal of his men from enemy grenade range, quickly moved forward alone to reconnoiter and discovered a heavily mined area extending along the front of a strong network of emplacements joined by covered communication trenches. Although assailed by furious gunfire, he cleared a path leading through the mine field to one of the fortifications then returned to the platoon position and, informing his leader of the serious situation, volunteered to initiate an attack while being covered by three fellow Marines. Alone and unarmed but carrying a twenty-four pound satchel charge, he crept up the Japanese emplacement, boldly hurled the short-fused explosive and sealed the entrance. Instantly taken under machine-gun fire from a second entrance to the same position, he unhesitatingly braved the increasingly vicious fusillades to crawl back for another charge, returned to his objective and blasted the second opening, thereby demolishing the position. Repeatedly covering the ground between the savagely defended enemy fortifications and his platoon area, he systematically approached, attacked and withdrew under blanketing fire to destroy a total of six Japanese positions, more than twenty-five of the enemy and a quantity of vital ordnance gear and ammunition. Stouthearted and indomitable, Sergeant Gray had single-handedly overcome a strong enemy garrison and had completely disarmed a large mine field before finally rejoining his unit and, by his great personal valor, daring tactics and tenacious perseverance in the face of extreme peril, had contributed materially to the fulfillment of his company's mission. His gallant conduct throughout enhanced and sustained the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Gunnery Sergeant William G. Walsh likewise won a Medal of Honor:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Leader of an Assault Platoon, serving with Company G, Third Battalion, Twenty-seventh Marines, Fifth Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, on 27 February 1945. With the advance of his company toward Hill 362 disrupted by vicious machine-gun fire from a forward position which guarded the approaches to this key enemy stronghold, Gunnery Sergeant Walsh fearlessly charged at the head of his platoon against the Japanese entrenched on the ridge above him, utterly oblivious to the unrelenting fury of hostile automatic weapons and hand grenades employed with fanatic desperation to smash his daring assault. Thrown back by the enemy's savage resistance, he once again led his men in a seemingly impossible attack up the steep, rocky slope, boldly defiant of the annihilating streams of bullets which saturated the area, and despite his own casualty losses and the overwhelming advantage held by the Japanese in superior numbers and dominate position, gained the ridge's top only to be subjected to an intense barrage of hand grenades thrown by the remaining Japanese staging a suicidal last stand on the reverse slope. When one of the grenades fell in the midst of his surviving men, huddled together in a small trench, Gunnery Sergeant Walsh in a final valiant act of complete self-sacrifice, instantly threw himself upon the deadly bomb, absorbing with his own body the full and terrific force of the explosion. Through his extraordinary initiative and inspiring valor in the face of almost certain death, he saved his comrades from injury and possible loss of life and enabled his company to seize and hold this vital enemy position. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
The British 21st Army Group took Udem and Calcar.
The Red Army entered Pomerania.
Last edition:
Monday, February 26, 1945. Syria declares war. US coal curfew.
Labels: 1940s, 1945, Artillery, Axis Powers, Burma, Christianity, Coal, Corregidor, Judaism, Pacific, religion, Syria, U.S. Air Force
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