user1000 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Found This Guy Sitting In Bastogne On Google Street View, Sherman Jumbo? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockinHarry Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Clearly not a Jumbo. It´s an M4A3, with bits of armor welded to the front, ice spikes, or what these track attachements are called and some additional ventilation from the side. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user1000 Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 (edited) Yeah, looks like a panzerfaust shot at the flank. Edited December 15, 2015 by user1000 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 If we're on a virtual tour of the Ardennes, here's a little something in a park in the middle of Houffalize.  0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnarly Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Graffiti and all! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinrich505 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Nice one MikeyD. No chin mantlet on that baby.Heinrich505 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user1000 Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 cool find 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnW Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 That hole in the Sherman is too big for a shaped charge weapon. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnarly Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) That hole in the Sherman is too big for a shaped charge weapon.http://tank-photographs.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/bastogne-m4a3-sherman-tank-belgium.htmlNotice the shell hole in the side of the chassis of the M4A3(75)W Sherman Tank in Bastogne Belgium caused by a German 75mm gun. This Surviving M4A3(75)W Sherman Tank in Bastogne took part in the 1944 WW2 Battle of the Bulge in the Belgium Ardennes. It has been restored and can be seen in the main town square in Bastogne at the junction of the Rue de Neufchateau with the Rue Joseph-Renquin.Snow covered M4A3 Sherman Tank armed with a short barralled 75mm gun in Bastogne BelgiumThe Sherman tank named BarracudaThe tank was named Barracuda by its crew. It has the serial number S48935 USA 3081532 and was built at Fisher. It served with B Company 41st Tank Battalion, 11th Armored Division. On 30th December 1944 the tank crew were ordered to attack the south flank of the 'Bulge' from a northerly position. What they did not realise was that they were attacking into a simultaneous German counter attack that was intended to. close the narrow corridor that had been opened into the Bastogne perimeter from the south.The nearby villages of Lavasalle and Houmont were successfully liberated by Combat Command B of the 11th Armoured Division but they suffered significant casualties. Early in the action the Sherman tank 'Barracuda', commanded by Staff Sergeant Wallace Alexander, and another Sherman commanded by Captain Robert L.Ameno, had become separated from the rest of their unit. They decided to move north to try and find them and headed towards the village of Renuamont, not realising that this was German held territory.M4A3(75)W Sherman Tank in Bastogne, Belgium. Notice the track extensions fitted to help the tank negotiate muddy and snow covered ground.This village was held by the Fuhrerbegleitbrigade (Fuhrer escort brigade) a German armoured brigade that was part of the Fifth Panzer Army's XLVII. Panzerkorps commanded by Col. Otto Ernst Remer. When the two tanks were discovered they came under concentrated fire. As 'Barracuda' tried to turn and escape through a field it became stuck in a snow covered spring fed pond. The tank and crew were now an easy static target.A German Panzer IV tank opened fire with its 75mm gun as well as a infantry man armed with a Panzerfaust. The tank crew bailed out but Tank Commander Staff Sgt. Wallace Alexander was mortally wounded. He died several days later in captivity. Gunner Corporal Cecil Peterman and Loader Private First Class Dage Herbert were wounded and captured. Driver Andrew Urda and Bow machine Gunner Private First Class Ivan Goldstein were uninjured, but captured.Notice the shell hole in the side of the chassis of the M4A3(75)W Sherman Tank in Bastogne Belgium caused by a German 75mm gun.Gunner Peterman and Laoder Herbert received medical treatment for their wounds. They survived and were sent to Stalag XIIA near Limburg, Germany as POWs. Driver Urda and Hull Machine Gunner Goldstein were also sent to Stalag XIIA, but they were not given the full rights of a prisoners of war. Goldstein had been identified as a Jew by his dog tags, and a letter in his pocket from his mother, reminding him to observe the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah. Andrew Urda was also identified as a Jew because of his dog tags.Goldstein and Urda narrowly escaped execution. The were treated as slave laborours, brutally overworked and starved. When they were liberated near the end of the war, the two severely emaciated captives spent many months recovering in US Army Hospitals. Andrew Urda never fully recovered from his mistreatment in captivity. He died in 1979. Ivan Goldstein’s health was eventually restored. He moved to Jerusalem.Captain Ameno’s tank was also destroyed, killing him and four members of his crew. The fifth crewman was wounded, but died in captivity a short time later. His tank was not saved from the scrap metal merchants blow torch.Notice the shell hole in the rear of the Bastogne Sherman caused by a German infantry hand held Panzerfaust anti-tank weapon.What happened to Baracuda after WW2?After the war the farmer Mousier Denis refused to allow the tank to be cut up by the scrap metal merchants. He feared that the work would pollute the nearby fresh water spring that he relied upon for his own household water and water for his farm animals and crops. Finally he allowed the Belgium army to tow the tank off his land rather than letting the scrap metal merchants cutting it up in situ as was normal practice. By this time it was one of the few tanks left in tact. The Bastogne Commissioner of Tourism saw its value as a memorial and arranged for its purchase and restoration. It was placed in McAuliffe Square in Bastogne, in 1946 and enshrined in 1948.This M4A3 Sherman Tank symbolically represents the relief of the besieged city of Bastogne by the US 3rd Army under the command of General Patton in December 1944. The city of Bastogne was encircled by advancing German tanks and troops as they made a mad dash for the port of Antwerp during the winter Ardennes Offensive that was later to be known as the Battle of the Bulge.This tank has lots of battle scars. On its left side there a hole that was caused by a hit from a German armour piercing 75mm shell. In the rear is another more jagged hole caused by a German infantry hand held Panzerfaust anti-tank weapon that would have destroyed the tank's engine. Edited December 16, 2015 by gnarly 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user1000 Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) I never knew how pretty Europe was until ...... Google street view.. Sherman in wiltz Edited December 16, 2015 by user1000 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 Europe is gorgeous. Try La Roche-en-Ardenne, another US tank there along the river I stumbled upon while travelling; there is a King Tiger in La Gleize. It's unfortunate the more exotic stuff is only seen in a museum. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 Roche-en-Ardenne  0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 La Gleize 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) Wow, who knew Heart were WW2 grogs. I always thought the song Barracuda was some stupid social relations jingle. Â Edited December 16, 2015 by sburke 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletpoint Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) Wow, what a story about the Barracuda tank and its crew. I wonder why their dog tags had information about their religion, to make sure they were buried with the right religious mumbo jumbo rituals maybe?Also, I had no idea a panzerfaust would make such a big hole (the hole in the rear of the tank is bigger than the 75mm hole in the side) Edited December 16, 2015 by Bulletpoint 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user1000 Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 No way a Tiger II!? And it's outside in the elements... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobetco Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 "Driver Urda and Hull Machine Gunner Goldstein were also sent to Stalag XIIA, but they were not given the full rights of a prisoners of war. Goldstein had been identified as a Jew by his dog tags, and a letter in his pocket from his mother, reminding him to observe the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah. Andrew Urda was also identified as a Jew because of his dog tags.Goldstein and Urda narrowly escaped execution. The were treated as slave laborours, brutally overworked and starved. When they were liberated near the end of the war, the two severely emaciated captives spent many months recovering in US Army Hospitals. Andrew Urda never fully recovered from his mistreatment in captivity. He died in 1979. Ivan Goldstein’s health was eventually restored. He moved to Jerusalem."Jeez, sometimes i forget this stuff happened, and its now going to haunt me every time i take prisoners while playing an SS scenario. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFF Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 to make sure they were buried with the right religious mumbo jumbo rituals maybe?Next time, just keep comments like that to yourself. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletpoint Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Next time, just keep comments like that to yourself.Yes, you're right. I apologise to anyone who felt insulted. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warts 'n' all Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Just think before you post in future. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vergeltungswaffe Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Also, I had no idea a panzerfaust would make such a big hole (the hole in the rear of the tank is bigger than the 75mm hole in the side)That PF was fired at a steep angle. They typically don't leave a particularly large hole. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) I found this fella in Vimoutiers.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimoutiers_Tiger_tankEurope is heavily littered with old iron.Edit: two observations about the Tiger - it's in pretty bad shape, which isn't surprising, and it was a lot smaller than I expected. Edited December 17, 2015 by JonS 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 ice spikes, or what these track attachments are called "grousers"? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kohlenklau Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 That's what she said! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 ba dum, tish! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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