I intend to set the record straight concerning the
PERSHING tank.
The most famous PERSHING tank of the war was
#26 that fought in the Battle of
Paderborn Railyard in Cologne Germany March 1945.
I know about the crew that served it the German crew they fought in that
PANTHER.
The book followed 2 American crews of the
3rd Armored Div, /32nd Regiment from when the
PATTONS 3rd Army when they landed at
D-DAY +3 weeks. It also followed an attached Infantry Unit and the
German PANZER IV/PANTHER G crew until the meeting in Cologne.
From this a
friendship w/reunions continued well after it ended.
The book is "
SPEARHEAD" by Adam Makos he speaks of the battle the tanks and more importantly the crews firsthand.
His references are "
impeachable" but if by God I need to list them, I'll not hesitate to do so. This is what happens when you're feeling "
under the weather" dealing with a "
myth".
I will refer you to
one of our most honored armor paintings of WWII. "
SPEARHEAD" as painted by Garreth Hector.
22 FEB 1945 Near Stolberg, Germany live fire test of
#26 for the Commanding Officer 3rd Armored Division
Gen. Maurice Rose, Staff and Regiments. He wanted to see what its
capabilities were and to see how it would fit into his plans on the drive to Cologne.
26 FEB 1945 for 32nd Reg. Easy (With
#26) and Able Companies advance on Blatzheim (Near Golszheim "jump off") about 30 miles from Cologne (Bravo and Charlie Companies in reserve.)
The rest of the
32nd Regiment was equipped with STUARTS and SHERMANS.
The plant that built the
PERSHING M26E3 tank was the
Fisher Grand Blanc Tank Arsenal in Detroit, MI. the first
40 tanks built were split between
Ft. Knox, TN. 1-21 with
22-41 split between 3rd and 9th Armored Divisions. The
last PERSHING built by Fisher Grand Blanc was in
OCT 1945.
The ref below documents their
combat service in Europe.
12 PERSHING tanks would be sent to
Okinawa in May 1945. But I've not found anything about any combat use, but not saying there wasn't any.
EDIT: They arrived too late to see combat as the island was soon secured.
This was a very good tank, but the myth was it was "
everywhere" well that was in another "
war" and even there wasn't enough there as we had the Soviets to worry about elsewhere, so the
SHERMAN kept on serving.
http://www.usautoindustryworldwartwo...grandblanc.htm
(Below "LAST BUILT" picture you'll see #26 fighting in Cologne.)
WASHOUT/WASHOUT/WASHOUT
Another source from Canadian Museum
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/us/m26_pershing.php
("After the war, M26s were grouped into the 1st Infantry Division, stationed in Europe as a reserve, following the events of the summer of 1947. The “Big Red One” counted 123 M26s in three regimental and one divisional tank battalions. In the summer of 1951, with the NATO reinforcement program, three more infantry divisions were stationed in West Germany, and accepted mostly battle-proven M26s retired from Korea.")
This is where they went in WWII and why.
3rd Armored (Cologne on the Rhine.) had 10 total between the 32nd and 33rd Regiments.
9th Armored (Remagen Ladendorf Railway Bridge.) had 11 total between the 14th and 19th Battalions.
Highly recommend the book and his others "
A Higher Call" and "
Devotion" that inspired the current movie. This is called CYA!
I POSTED THE FOLLOWING FOR THE PAINTING BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY I WOULD DIRECT YOU TO THE "
SIGNERS" TAB. PICTURES ARE OF THE CREW ETC.
https://www.valorstudios.com/product...-gareth-hector
(I DO NOT OWN ANY PRODUCTS FROM ABOVE WITH EXCEPTION OF THE BOOKS FROM ELSEWHERE.)
I have other work to try pick up on-again!?!
Regards,
Pat
