Rabidbvr Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 hello one and all... its a shame they failed have seen doc on TV Salvaging A Piece Of History Navy Divers Prepare To Lift A Sherman DD Tank From The Bottom Of The Med Navy divers will begin recovering a piece of history from the Mediterranean Sea today: a rare World War II tank that just might have participated in the invasion of Normandy. The rescue-and-salvage ship Grasp recently moved into position over the tank in the Gulf of Salerno about a mile offshore. The salvage will take place in the next few days, Sixth Fleet officials said. The Grasp also helped recover the wreckage of TWA Flight 800 and the airplane of John F. Kennedy, Jr. The Sherman Duplex Drive amphibious tank, which sank during a training accident in July 1944, was discovered last year when an underwater cameraman happened upon its wreckage. Regina Sansalone, an Ohio preschool teacher who was working for a documentary film company in Italy, sent footage to U.S. military authorities. Eventually, it was identified at the U.S. Army's Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Curator Charles Lemons checking in the records of the 753rd Tank Battalion of the 7th Army and verified that a Sherman DD tank had been lost while the battalion trained for the invasion of southern France. Only a few hundred of the "swimming tanks" were produced, and the salvaged DD will be one of only a few left above sea level. "They were conventional Sherman tanks fitted with propellers and inflatable, rubberized canvas screens that enabled the tanks to stay afloat," said Frank Jardim, formerly with the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C., and now director of the Harbor Defense Museum in Fort Hamilton, N.Y. "The idea was that tanks coming into shore on a landing craft could present a very big target," said Mr. Jardim. "But a single tank floating low in the water would be hard to see." Thus, the tanks could come ashore during assault landings and provide infantry troops some protection against fixed fortifications on a beach. "After the D-Day invasion, they were taken to Italy where the troops practiced their maneuvers. Then, they were used one more time: to cross the Rhine," Lemons said. Not many survived the war. Many sank when their delicate air bladders burst or took fire. "They were not particularly seaworthy, and the screens were very fragile," Jardim said. The Army had more use for them after the German surrender, so most were scrapped. If the tank winds up at the Patton Museum, it will be the only one in an American collection. But no one's sure yet how to pay for shipping the tank from Italy to Kentucky. Private donations may have to be solicited. Happy hunting 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabidbvr Posted March 15, 2004 Author Share Posted March 15, 2004 Hello one and all more of the ref site here http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=NLddtank2 happy hunting 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabidbvr Posted March 15, 2004 Author Share Posted March 15, 2004 Hello one and all if i recall the brits did the same with a valantine any ideas??? happy hunting 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveR Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Originally posted by Rabidbvr: Hello one and all if i recall the brits did the same with a valantine any ideas??? happy hunting The UK may have trialed a Valantine DD. But as far as I'm aware the Brits opted to use the US Sherman DD. My old regiment, the 13th/18th Royal Hussars was the first Brit Armoured regiment to hit the beaches on D-day and they used Sherman DD's. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siege Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 You are correct, the Brits actually built quite a few DD Valentines. I don't know how late into the planning that it was switched to a Shermans, but most of the pre-Normandy landing exercises that the British did were all conducted with DD Valentines. Same process, just applied to a different tank. -Hans 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabidbvr Posted March 16, 2004 Author Share Posted March 16, 2004 Hello one and all... found one well... Val that is pics and site http://www.d-daytanks.org.uk/regiments/royal-dragoon-guards.html not able to post pics for some reason ?? nice site to have a read happy hunting 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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