“When I heard that a plane had been discovered in the area, I knew exactly whose plane it was.”-Horst Weber, Bitburg Area Historical Club
On 24FEB2010, the wreckage of a U.S. Army 9th Air Force, 353rd Fighter Squadron (FS)-354th Fighter Group (FG) Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, shot down on 14FEB1945, was found in Bitburg, Germany.
Photo dated January 1945. The official 9th Army Air Force info that came with the photo is insulting to armorers as is states “Capt. Kenneth Dahlberg….supervises the loading of the machine guns on his Republic P-47 Thunderbolt…”.
The P-47D was flown by a Captain Kenneth Harry Dahlberg. He was leading his squadron of eight P-47Ds back to their home base in France, from a bombing run on Pruem, Germany. Anti-aircraft gunners in the town of Metterich shot down Dahlberg, he survived the crash, which was his third and final crash because he became a Prisoner of War (PoW) 45 minutes later (Gathering of Eagles website says it was after “several days”).
In 2010, the town of Bitburg wanted to build some new residential units, but local law says before any construction can start an inspection of the ground must be done: “All spots in Bitburg are inspected for bombs and chemicals from World War Two prior to construction because Bitburg was heavily bombed….”-Rudolf Rinnen, Volksbank Bitburg
Investigators looked at books used by model kit builders, to identify the aircraft by the markings that were still visible. USAF photo by Senior Airman Nathanael Callon, 24MAR2010.
“We knew that in this area an American fighter ace was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire and we know through German documentation and reports that the aircraft had landed in this area.”-Horst Weber, Bitburg Area Historical Club
Horst Weber, of the Bitburg Area Historical Club, points out the markings on the engine cowling of Dahlberg’s P-47D. USAF photo by Senior Airman Nathanael Callon, 24MAR2010
The discovery of Dahlberg’s P-47D was not revealed until 24MAR2010.
Public revelation of P-47D discovery, USAF photo by Senior Airman Nathanael Callon, 24MAR2010.
This piece has red paint on it, I doubt if Dahlberg’s P-47D had red paint. USAF photo by Senior Airman Nathanael Callon, 24MAR2010.
A pallet of scrap, USAF photo by Senior Airman Nathanael Callon, 24MAR2010.
Wreckage of U.S. vehicles found in Germany are still property of the United States, however, U.S. officials gave the P-47D parts to the land owner; Volksbank Bitburg. It was hoped some of the parts could somehow be used in a local museum display.
Photo dated December 1944. Captain Dahlberg in the middle, during a 9th Air Force donation of 61,820 francs to the War Orphans Fund.
Ken Dahlberg also flew North American P-51 Mustangs.
Believe it or not, prior to The Wall being built by East Germany (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, D.D.R.) people could pass between the ‘communist’ and ‘capitalist’ zones of Berlin relatively easily (at least compared to what was coming), although periodic ‘Shadow Blockades’ (as the U.S. Department of Defense called them) of capitalist West Berlin were ongoing since the end of the Second World War.
A 1948 U.S. Army film, auf Deutsch, depicting the never ending problems in French, British, U.S. zones (sectors) of West Berlin with electrical power and food/water supplies caused by the economic blockades of the Soviet controlled D.D.R., resulting in the famous Berlin Airlift:
A second U.S. Army film, also auf Deutsch, showing that the success of the Berlin Airlift did not decrease border tensions, with both the U.S. and Soviets building up military forces in the eastern and western zones of Germany:
This 1951 U.S. Army film shows people, commercial trucks and even military trucks, crossing between ‘commie’ East Germany and ‘capitalist’ West Berlin, relatively freely (with the proper documents):
In 1952, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin proposed to unify Germany as a politically neutral country, the puppet leaders of capitalist occupied West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany, Bundes Republik Deutschland, B.R.D.) rejected the proposal.
In 1953, construction workers in East Berlin went on strike over the ‘Sovietization’ of the D.D.R. The strike spread to an uprising across East Germany. It should be noted that the capitalist West did nothing to support the uprising, possibly because remnants of the World War Two era National-Sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter Partei (NSDAP) were involved with the anti-commie uprising. The uprising was squashed when the Soviets deployed military units equipped with T-34-85s.
Silent film of 1953 Uprising, and beginning of mass-exodus:
By 1961, West Berlin was the easiest route for an East German to gain freedom from communism. City leaders of the eastern commie zone decided the only way they could stop Ost-Berliners (and I don’t mean jelly donuts) from fleeing to the West-side, and declaring refugee status, was to build a wall around the capitalist controlled West Berlin.
Photo via United Press International.
On 04JUL1961, U.S. Army ‘Berlin Brigade’ M48A1s took part in an Independence Day parade, which culminated in the M48A1s firing a 50-gun-salute less than two miles from the East German border. In the photo notice that the 90mm main-guns of the tanks have had their bore-evacuators and muzzle-brakes removed, probably to enhance the noise and smoke from the blank-ammo used in the 50-gun-salute.
According to USA (United States Army) claims, in July 1961 an estimated 30-thousand East Germans fled to the West, followed by more than 20-thousand in the first two weeks of August 1961!
U.S. President John F Kennedy, apparently not wanting to repeat the failure of the previous Administration in not supporting fleeing East Germans in 1953, announces military support for West Berlin:
Photo via U.S. Information Agency.
13AUG1961, the D.D.R. government orders the Nationale Volks Armee (NVA, National Folk’s [People’s] Army) to deploy their World War Two era Soviet T-34-85s onto Warschauer Bridge, in an attempt to stop the flood of Ost-Deutsche-Volk fleeing to West Berlin.
The construction of The Wall begins, as does new anti-commie protest:
The U.S. Army (USA) responded to the deployment of D.D.R. NVA T-34-85s with their latest and greatest tank, the M48A1:
Germans are natural-born Panzerman, and West Berliners just had to get a look at the latest Amerikanische Panzer.
A USA M59 Armored Personnel Carrier, behind an M48A1, face-off with a crude looking D.D.R. Volks Polizei (VoPo, Folk’s [People’s] Police) armored car.
Meanwhile, the D.D.R. NVA deployed their crude armored police trucks (converted water tankers), and Soviet made BTRs, to the Brandenburg Gate, 18AUG1961.
The Brandenburg Gate had been the location of a lot of protests and riots:
More heavily armed D.D.R. NVA soldiers arrive in Soviet open topped BTR-40 armored car.
Photo via Wolfgang Albrecht.
23AUG1961, notice the massive looking way the searchlight is mounted to the mantlet of this M48A1.
Silent film recorded on 25AUG1961, by last name Harper, showing a crude East German armored car, hot food delivered to M48A1 crew, then more M48s arrive and are positioned, then U.S. Army ‘tour’ busses arrive:
25AUG1961. Photo via U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence.
28AUG1961, more D.D.R. NVA T-34-85s are staged at the Bahnhof Friedrichstraße (Friedrich Street Train Station).
25OCT1961, a U.S. M48A1 ‘blade tank’ (notice the bulldozer blade on the front, and the box on the right rear fender which holds a telephone so that infantry can talk directly to the crew) blocks the Friedrichstraße crossing point (aka Checkpoint Charlie) after two USA busses, carrying personnel for an official sightseeing tour, were blocked from entering East Berlin. What’s important is that under a previous agreement made at the end of World War Two, the U.S. military claimed the ‘Right of Entry’ at any time to any part of Berlin. In other words, all of Berlin was supposed to be a ‘free travel zone’, despite being divided into four zones of occupation by the French, Soviets, United Kingdom and United States.
Photo via Deutsche Presse Agentur.
Photo via Deutsche Presse Agentur.
In response to the U.S. deployment of M48A1s, the Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics/Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, USSR/CCCP, the CCCP was not a country but an organization of individual Soviet Republics) deployed its latest tank; the T-54/55. Also notice the beginnings of The Wall in the form of barricades.
Even Ost-Berliners wanted to check-out the new Sowjet Panzer.
Photo by Joachim G. Jung.
Then, on 27OCT1961, for some unknown reason a U.S. silly-vilian (civilian) attempted to cross into East Germany without a passport, escalating tensions even more.
Photo by Joachim G. Jung.
27OCT1961, CCCP T-54/55s hold their ground.
Silent film of USA M48A1s rushing to face Soviet T-54/55s at the Friedrich Street Checkpoint Charlie:
Photo via U.S. Information Agency.
28OCT1961, Soviet T-54/55s withdraw, followed by the withdrawal of U.S. M48A1s. However, this did not ease tensions as more ‘Game of Chicken’ standoffs would occur into 1962.
Photo via Associated Press.
In this photo of a M48A1 trying to get back to its Berlin Brigade home-base, a French Armée de Terre staff car inadvertently blocks the path.
This is from a U.S. Berlin Brigade Operation Plan (BB-OpPlan), dated 05NOV1961 and approved by Brigadier General Frederick O. Hartel, showing that war was expected. It is only the second page of the 399 page BB-OpPlan!
20NOV1961, an NVA soldier looks over a newly finished section of the 28 miles long Wall. The Game of Chicken between M48A1s and T-54/55s was not the end of periodic standoffs.
Video report, explaining that beginning in February 1962, training for U.S. Army Reserve units radically changed due to the Berlin Crisis:
Photo via Associated Press.
Towards the end of August 1962, the U.S. Berlin Brigade seemingly engaged in a tit-for-tat by harassing CCCP military units as they were traveling to the Tiergarten Soviet War Memorial, located in the U.K. zone of West Berlin, to conduct the routine changing-of-the-guard. Again, at the end of World War Two the French, CCCP (Soviets), U.K. and U.S. victors agreed to allow free passage anywhere in Berlin.
Photo via Associated Press.
The official reason Checkpoint Charlie blocked the CCCP visit was due to a spat of anti-commie rock throwing attacks on the CCCP units, which forced the Soviets to switch from driving busses to using armored cars with armed soldiers.
Photo via Associated Press.
Despite CCCP units now using fully enclosed BTR-40 armored vehicles and fully armed guards, both U.S. and U.K. forces demanded the Soviets be escorted to the Tiergarten War Memorial. The incident ended on 23AUG1962 after a four hours standoff between CCCP forces, and U.S. and U.K. Military Police.
U.S. film, by somebody with the last name of Volkert, dated 26AUG1962:
CCCP armored cars on their way to another changing-of-the-guard at the Tiergarten Soviet War Memorial, 02SEP1962.
03OCT1962, D.D.R. VoPo discovered a tunnel under a part of the new Wall. They destroyed the tunnel, but notice one of the cops is wearing a gasmask.
The standoff between the latest and greatest of U.S. and Soviet tanks was just the small final part of the Berlin Crisis of 1958-61, but it resulted in a new phase; the near isolation of West Berlin for almost three decades!
Boring U.S. Army National Guard Bureau video (‘class-room’ lecture) on how the Berlin Crisis changed National Guard deployments. Part One:
In U.S. political science U.S. denotes United States. U.S.A. denotes United States of America. USA denotes United States Army. Abbreviations of countries and proper names are punctuated, organizations (even if a government organization), businesses, clubs, etc, are not.
This is a Leo C2 sans MEXAS during a wargame called Maple Guardian, on the U.S. Army’s Fort Irwin in California, January 2010.
Apparently some C2s operate without the MEXAS, and some C1s operate with MEXAS, to confuse things more the C1 and C2 Leopards look almost identical with or without the MEXAS.
Canadian Forces photo by Corporal Simon Duchesne.
25OCT2007, Zharey, Afghanistan.
Canadian Forces photo by Master Corporal Kevin Paul.
28JUN2007, Forward Operating Base (FOB) Ma’Sum Ghar (MSG), Afghanistan. C2 MEXAS is equipped with heat shield blankets, in an attempt to keep the crew compartments cooler.
Canadian Forces photo by Lieutenant Commander Kent Penney.
Canadian Forces photo by Sergeant Craig Fiander.
C2 (Leopard Mark 1 C2) MEXAS crossing a stream somewhere in Afghanistan, during the 2nd Operation Athena (2005-2011), 09JUN2007.
28DEC2006, mine plow C2 MEXAS patrolling the areas of Panjwai, Pashmul, and Zhari during Operation BAAZ TSUKA.
Canadian Forces photo by Sergeant Dennis Power.
Patrolling the areas of Panjwai, Pashmul, and Zhari during Operation BAAZ TSUKA, 28DEC2006.
Canadian Forces photo by Sergeant Dennis Power.
Canadian Forces photo by Captain Edward Stewart.
Leopard C2 ‘blade tank’, FOB MSG in Afghanistan, 17DEC2006.
Canada Forces photo by Master Corporal Yves Gemus.
A pride of Canadian Leopard C2 tanks on FOB MSG near the town of Bazaar-e-Panjwayi, Afghanistan, 10DEC2006.
Canadian Forces photo by Sergeant Roxanne Clowe.
C2 MEXAS, Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, 06NOV2006.
Canadian Forces photo by Sergeant Lou Penny.
German built, Canadian modified, Leopard C2 MEXAS tank from Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), Afghanistan, 24OCT2006.
Canadian Forces photo by Sergeant Lou Penny.
U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Mitch Gettle.
Canadian C2 MEXAS being loaded onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 on Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, for deployment to Afghanistan, 07OCT2006.
Canadian Forces photo by Corporal David Cribb.
The beginning of the end for the Leo Mark-1 C2 MEXAS as ‘loaned’ German 2A6 Leos, newly modified to Canada’s ‘M’ standard, began arriving in 2008. Canadian Forces were in the middle of their 2nd Operation Athena deployment (2005-2011) to Afghanistan. It should be noted that the ‘loaned’ German 2A6s were ‘at no cost’, and were eventually returned to Germany with their M upgrades (some reports say Canada kept the German 2A6Ms and returned to Germany 2A6s purchased second-hand from Netherlands).
After only a couple of years of operations in Afghanistan, the C2 was deemed to be not only inadequate in dealing with the type of low-intensity ambush style of warfare, but also hot/dry climates. In 2007, Canadian Forces decided to replace their C2 MEXAS with Leopard 2A4 and 2A6 modified to M standards (‘M’ primarily for ‘mine resistant’, but many other modifications were made, Canadian Army does not use the CAN designation as seen on model kits or non-Canadian sources of information, it’s simply 2A4M or 2A6M).
Canadian Forces photo by Corporal James Nightingale.
Leo 2A6M, Zharey District, Afghanistan, November 2008. The SAAB designed camo netting is primarily a thermal blanket, and the Leo 2A6M has air conditioning (not initially, but reports say that finally air conditioners were installed).
Canada also purchased second hand Leo 2A4s and 2A6s from Netherlands and Switzerland, to be modified to M standards or converted to recovery vehicles.
Lockheed’s fast transport C-141 was designed according to Cold War requirements in 1960, and first flew in 1963. It was the world’s first turbofan powered military transport aircraft: “The C-141 has a noble record of achievement in its support of the U.S. military. Participating in every military operation from Vietnam to Iraqi Freedom, StarLifter crews have also performed humanitarian relief flights to nearly 70 countries on six continents. Most recently, the StarLifter served those affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The aircraft has served NASA, conducted Antarctic resupply flights for nearly three decades and has been a key asset for flight research serving science for two decades.”-Ross Reynolds, Lockheed Martin vice president of Air Mobility
USAF photo from July 1966, Military Air Transport Service (MATS) C-141A (short) on Tan Son Nhut Airbase, Viet Nam.
Quick silent film, by somebody with last name of Anderson, of iconic comedian Bob Hope arriving in Korea, via a C-141A, for one of his famous USO Christmas shows, 27DEC1970:
C-141As loaded with former prisoners of war (PoW), leaving Viet Nam for the United States, March 1973.
Silent U.S. Army film, by somebody with the last name of Fraser, showing soldiers with The Big Red One (1st Infantry Division) boarding C-141As outbound for wargame ReForGer (Return of Forces to Germany) in West Germany, October 1973 (with some film of USAF cargo ops tacked on at the end, obviously filmed during warmer months):
Silent U.S. Navy film, by Todd Thompson, showing the arrival of a C-141A on U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point, Philippines, to pick-up refugees from Viet Nam and fly them to the United States, 29APR1975:
It was quickly realized that the C-141A had enough power to transport far more than what could be crammed into its slim cargo hold. It was decided to stretch the fuselage by 23 feet, creating the YC-141B.
Comparison of C-141A to YC-141B. The ‘B’ version also got inflight refueling apparatus.
Photo via author’s collection.
From the Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) Photo Shop, YC-141B aerial refueling test over the Mojave Desert, California, Spring 1977.
The stretching of 270 C-141As took place from 1977 to 1982, first deliveries began in 1979.
Photo via author’s collection.
In this photo you can see the unpainted fuselage ‘plug’ used to extend the C-141As into C-141Bs, as well as the aerial refueling sections.
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Robert C. Marshall, July 1980.
C-141A still in use, Norton AFB, California, July 1980.
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Bob Fehringer, 31OCT1980.
Fans of the movie The Thing, yes there is a McMurdo Station, and C-141As went there, in 1980, as part of Operation Deep Freeze.
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Rose Reynolds.
Sometime in the early to mid 1980s, a C-141B leaves Travis AFB, California.
Unknown photographer, 26OCT1983.
During the U.S. invasion of Grenada (aka Operation Urgent Fury) in October 1983, C-141s not only brought in ground troops, but took out U.S. citizens who were taking college courses on the island.
Photo by Robert C. Keffer, 25OCT1983.
Also in October 1983, the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, was blown-up by a suicide bomber driving a truck full of explosives. C-141s also acted as flying hospitals, flying wounded Marines back to Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany.
Whatever happened to the N(for NASA)C-141A #12777 ‘The Gambler’, a test aircraft for experimental ECM equipment destined for the B-1B and B-2 bombers? (click here and find out the ugly truth)
In 1986, climate problems caused a hay shortage for farmers in the Southeastern U.S. C-141s were used to transport 170 tons of hay from the Mid-Western states, in just one day of Operation Haylift. This video shows President Ronald Reagan kicking-off the first day of Op Haylift, 24JUL1986:
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Theodore J. Koniares, May/June 1987.
Oops, a C-141B ran off the runway on Marine Corp Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, sometime in Summer(?) 1987.
February 1991, Operation Desert Storm. U.S. military personnel pass by a Military Airlift Command (MAC) C-141B (C-5 Galaxy in the background) somewhere (“undisclosed location”) on the Arabian Peninsula. According to McChord Air Museum, Washington, during Operations Desert Shield-Desert Storm USAF C-141s were landing every 10 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 7 months in Saudi Arabia.
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Theodore J. Koniares, 22JUN1994.
Two M113 Personnel Carriers are loaded into a C-141B, on Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, for deployment to Uganda for United Nations ‘peacekeeping’ duty, 22JUN1994.
USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Val Gempis, 03AUG1994.
C-141B delivers humanitarian aid to Rwanda refugees in Zaire, August 1994.
In 1996, NC-141A #12776, based on Edwards AFB, became the ‘Electric Starlifter’ with fly-by-wire controls. In the 1990s, 63 C-141Bs were upgraded to C-141Cs with the latest in digital equipment.
NASA photo by Tom Tschida, 20DEC1997.
In December 1997 a C-141A was used by NASA to tow a QF-106 to high altitude before release, to test the feasibility of similar launching of future space vehicles. It was called Project Eclipse. C-141A #12775 is now at the Air Mobility Command Museum.
NC-141A #12779 with ‘universal radar nose’, wasting away on the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum’s South Base flightline, in California.
USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Lance Cheung, 22SEP2000.
Upgraded ‘glass cockpit’ of a C-141C, September 2000, during a ‘Project Trans-Am’ mission.
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Ken Bergmann, 12OCT2001.
A Tennessee Air National Guard C-141 gets loaded with war gear on U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella, in NATO Italy, for the start of the undeclared War on Terror (Operation Enduring Freedom), October 2001.
USAF photo by Master Sergeant Lance Cheung, 22SEP2005.
Hurricane Rita final hours of an air evacuation from the Southeast Texas Regional Airport, onboard a Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Starlifter.
USAF photo by Master Sergeant Lance Cheung, 22SEP2005.
Video report by Airman First Class Kahdija Slaughter, January 2015. Preserving the Starlifter Gate Guard at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina:
USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Bryan Hull, 06AUG2016.
Kelsey Schmidt, Miss Washington 2016, rechristens ‘gate guard’ Tacoma Starlifter, (#65-0277) on Heritage Hill, Joint Base Lewis-McChord (click here to see Sandra Marth, Miss Washington 1966, christen Tacoma Starlifter the first time). Tacoma Starlifter first arrived on Lewis-McChord in August 1966 and took part in 1973’s Operation Homecoming, bringing Prisoners of War (PoW) back home to the U.S. from Viet Nam. The last C-141 stationed on Lewis-McChord was retired in April 2002.
USAF photo by Airman First Class Zachary Martyn, 07APR2017.
Airman conduct weekly inspections of ‘gate guards’, like The Garden State Starlifter, on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.
Video report by Staff Sergeant John Ayre, April 2015, 50th anniversary of Golden Bear:
USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Liliana Moreno, 30MAR2018.
‘War on Terror’ veteran Brandon Jones and his service dog, Apache, pose in front of Golden Bear on Travis Air Force Base, California.
Video report by Kenneth Wright, October 2018. History of the C-141 from the viewpoint of the personnel of the 349th Air Mobility Wing (formerly Military Airlift Wing), U.S. Air Force Reserve on Travis AFB, California:
“The normal infrastructure was completely down and therefore our team came in to do our quick assessment. The Bundeswehr came out and they’re getting assessed on what they do on their medical side.”-Specialist Christopher Wise, U.S. Army Europe
On 14SEP2019 Wackernheim, Germany, was rocked by a 6.2 earthquake. U.S. and German Soldiers hoisted casualties from the debris, evacuated them to a medical treatment area and rendered first aid.
For some reason Civil Air Patrol cadets went nuts, creating a chaotic environment by running through the streets and harassing the emergency responders!
Just kidding! It was part of NATO war game Cobra Strike 19. Here’s the boring official video explainer:
Here’s a slightly better video explainer:
Earthquakes are rare in Germany, but every now and then they have a big one. Seismicity in Germany
The Tiger-1 in these pics is not a real Tiger-1 tank (Panzerkampfwagen-6E), it’s a 1:1 scale model weighing 2.7 metric tons.
It was built by Tarnen and Täuschen for the Munster Tank Museum. The museum was losing the real Tiger tank that had been on temporary loan since 2013, but proved to be such an attraction that museum officials knew they had to have a Tiger on permanent display.
A computer was used to create 800-thousand ‘symbols’ to help create the giant model kit’s instructions for construction.
Main-gun barrel attached to steel frame-work of tank body.
Apparently there are only six real Tiger-1s left in the world. The 1:1 scale model is made from steel, wood, resin, fiberglass, and of course plastic. Tarnen and Täuschen’s regular job is making life size models of weapons for use in training of German military personnel.
Mario Gurek prepares the fiberglass mold for the main-gun’s muzzle brake.
Transporting the nearly complete tank to its new home.
It’s pronounced Cav-all-ry, not calvary (calvary is the name of the hill where supposedly somebody named Jesus of Nazareth was executed), and today’s German army still trains up old fashioned horse riders.
Video with soothing music in which male and female German mountain-soldiers (Gebirgsjäger) profess that their blond-haired horses are their comrades:
Video with more upbeat music showing Mountain troops having fun riding their horses (Pferde) through Alpine villages:
March 1981, my father W. L. Hutchins checking out the Sherman in front of the Ely, Nevada, VFW Post.
The M4 Sherman is the iconic U.S. tank from World War 2. It was also used after WW2 by many countries across the world. There are many variants, and to make things more difficult for kit bashers there were many field modifications.
1-116th Cav, 1-148th FA, Pocatello, Idaho. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.
Video report 03NOV2021, Museum Support Center–Anniston Army Depot is about to attempt to restore a recovered sunken ‘DD’ Sherman from Operation Overlord June 1944:
U.S. Army Central, Sumter, South Carolina, welcomes the arrival of a M4A3(76)W HVSS Sherman tank, 15JUL2021. U.S. Army photo by Michael Clauss.
It was originally on display on Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. U.S. Army photo by Specialist Amber Cobena.
In December 2020, the U.S. Army’s Army Maneuver Center of Excellence used examples of WW2 Sherman tanks to demonstrate the ingenuity/inventiveness of U.S. military personnel.
October 2020 promotional video, the National Army Museum’s Cobra King Sherman:
July 2020, volunteers with the Selfridge Military Air Museum take a restored Sherman for a spin, before parking it for its new ‘gate guard’ duty. Michigan Air National Guard photo By Munnaf H. Joarder.
Harrodsburg, Kentucky, 07MAY2020. The tank memorializes the Harrodsburg Tankers, which were captured by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War Two. Kentucky Army National Guard photo by First Lieutenant Cody Stagner.
Reenactment of Battle of the Bulge, 14DEC2019, Belgium. U.S. Army photo by Corporal Kevin Payne.
Pennsylvania ‘gate guard’, 05NOV2019. Pennsylvania Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Bryan Hoover.
Texas Military Forces Museum Sherman takes part in a reenactment, 13APR2019. Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Tom Lamb.
Chièvres Air Base, Belgium, 11SEP2018. U.S. Army photo by Pierre-Etienne Courtejoie.
Video of ‘IN THE MOOD’ gate guard being moved from Belgium to Germany for restoration, 09JUL2019:
D-Day reenactors June 2019, Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Ryan Rayno.
U.S. military video by Staff Sergeant Draeke Layman, Sherman Tanks in Mons, Belgium, 2019:
M4A1 Battle of the Bulge commemorations in Belgium, December 2018. U.S. Army photo by Pierre-Etienne Courtejoie.
Sainte Mere Eglise, 04JUN2017. USA photo by First Lieutenant Victoria Goldfedib.
This tank looks ‘crody’ because it was salvaged from the sea off United Kingdom, in 1984. It’s now part of commemorations for Operation Tiger. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Timothy R. Smithers.
Pennsylvania National Guard ‘living’ memorial, February 2016. Pennsylvania Army National Guard photo by Private First Class Hannah Baker.
December 2015, the town of Clervaux, Luxembourg, dedicates a Sherman tank memorial to a little known part of the Battle of the Bulge:
New York National Guard personnel spent 22 months renovating this Sherman. Put on display in Saratoga Springs, September 2015. New York Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Major Corine Lombardo.
Restored Sherman taking part in D-Day celebrations in France, June 2015. USA photo by Sergeant Austin Berner.
Sherman loaded for transport to the Fort Polk Museum, Louisiana, 12SEP2012.
This April 2011 photo shows three versions of the M4 Sherman, taking part in a Texas Military Forces World War Two reenactment on Camp Mabry. Texas Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Josiah Pugh.
A Sherman tank war memorial in Cassino, Italy. Texas Army National Guard photo by Sergeant First Class Daniel Griego, March 2010.
Silent U.S. Army film, dated 23APR1945, Sherman tanks enter the city of Leipzig, Germany. Combat action, civilians wounded, civilians welcome U.S. troops, German officer surrenders:
New York Army National Guard M4A3 Sherman, Fort Drum, during the 1950s.
An Easy Eight Sherman in Kumchun area, Korea, October 1950.
Believe it or not, this is a 70 years old Iraqi Sherman! It was ‘appropriated’ by U.S. Army forces and ‘repatriated’ to the U.S. towards the end of 2011. The pic was taken on Camp Virginia, Kuwait, as it awaited ship-out.
Iranian M36B1 Jackson version of the Sherman, used against Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war. Captured by Iraq and put on display, only to be ‘captured’ by U.S. forces and supposedly ‘repatriated’ to the United States.
A U.S. Marine checks-out a stripped Sherman in Beirut, Lebanon, April 1983.
Photograph from World War Two, 03JUN1944. The Sherman in the foreground has the rounded cast hull, while the Sherman behind it has the welded hull.
USMC vet Kenny White checks out a Marine Sherman gate guard at Twentynine Palms, California, December 2014. USMC photo by Lance Corporal Medina Ayala-Lo.
In Virginia, reenactors playing Marines fighting the Japanese stand aside for an approaching Sherman, August 2013. USMC photo by Corporal Paris Capers.
My grandfather, O.G. Hutchins, on his newly arrived USMC Sherman, sometime before shipping out against the Japanese.
My grandfather O.G. Hutchins, tank commander in the USMC during World War Two. Note the snow tracks used as sand tracks in the Pacific Theater (also indicative of some 75mm gunned Shermans, that is not saying they were the only Shermans that used them, obviously not). Also, notice the final-drive cover is different from the M4 in the above photo. He’s smiling because prior to getting Shermans his USMC unit was using tiny Stuart tanks (note how tall he is, even in the Sherman he had trouble ‘buttoning up’).
My grandfather’s old helmet. O.G. ‘Hutch’ Hutchins.
See my grandfather’s 1st Marine Division unit citations for actions in World War Two and Korea in LAST RIDE FOR 1ST, 2ND & 4TH TANK.
It has become dry and brittle due to decades of improper storage on my father’s property in the Mojave Desert of Southern California.
The hardened leather helmets were called ‘football helmets’ because they were directly based on the old style American football helmet.
Photo by Richard C. Ferguson, September or October 1950. Inchon, Korea, Easy Eight ‘Candy Ass’ decided to take a swim after off-loading from LST. It appears there’s only one cable (attached to front tow hook) keeping Candy Ass from going under.
U.S. Marine Corps photo, dated October 1950. It’s not Korea, it’s a pass-in-review of Shermans and F7F Tigercats at Cherry Point, North Carolina.
Argentinian Shermans waiting for new homes, or the scrapper.
Argentine hybrid-hull Sherman with French 105mm gun in what looks like a Firefly turret, and powered by a diesel motor.
Chile used Israeli M51 Super Shermans as live-fire range targets.
Chilean M60, a M4A4 Sherman with Israeli designed 60mm high velocity gun.
I can’t remember where this photo was taken (Fort Irwin?), sometime mid-late 1990s. Me in front of a Sherman based Recovery Vehicle.
At the end of May, 2019, the Idaho Army National Guard’s 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (which includes personnel from Oregon, Montana and Nevada) deployed more than 3-thousand troops to the U.S. Army’s Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC) in California.
Idaho Air National Guard’s 124th Fighter Wing also deployed their A-10C Thunderbolt-2s to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, to provide close air support at NTC. Even Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) personnel from Brazil joined in.
Video explainer of helicopter ops:
Specialist James Patrick launches a RQ-11 Raven Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV, drone).
Another 1-thousand-plus support troops from several other state militias (Arizona, California, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Puerto Rico), and several Army Reserve units, joined the 116th Armored Cav.
Specialist Brett Neal on his M1 Abrams based M1150 Assault Breacher.
Video, M1150 Assault Breacher live fire:
11th Cav OpFor ‘surrogate vehicle’ is an M113 dressed up to look ‘Russian’.
The state militias faced off against the U.S. Army’s 11th Cav Opposition Force (OpFor), who provided what’s now called ‘near peer’ threats. Near peer is a reference to China and Russia.
Even Idaho Air National Guard’s 266th Range Squadron played bad guy, deploying fake 1/1 scale models of ‘enemy’ anti-air vehicles.
The wargame lasted 14 days. The official report stated that this training is preparation for 116th’s deployment to NATO Germany in Spring 2020.
Recently the U.S. Department of Defense released a propaganda film written by Doctor Seuss (aka U.S. Army Captain Theodor Geisel), and produced by Frank Capra, that’s filled with lies about the ‘German People’ as a way of justifying the never ending occupation of Germany by the United States. I wonder what all those peacenik left-wing liberal Germans think about it?
The release of this propaganda film took place right after the U.S Army Garrison Bavaria’s attendance in the German-American Friendship Dinner in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany, on 08FEB2019.
The true reason for the violent occupation of Germany was-not the threat of the Soviet Union, it was to pacify and suppress the German people, looks like it worked.
IDAHO’S HERITAGE A-10C ‘8N’
Comparison of C-141A to YC-141B. The ‘B’ version also got inflight refueling apparatus.
In this photo you can see the unpainted fuselage ‘plug’ used to extend the C-141As into C-141Bs, as well as the aerial refueling sections.
NASA (National Aeronautics Space Administration) modified a C-141A into an airborne space observation vehicle in 1975. 
In 1996, NC-141A #12776, based on Edwards AFB, became the ‘Electric Starlifter’ with fly-by-wire controls. In the 1990s, 63 C-141Bs were upgraded to C-141Cs with the latest in digital equipment.
NC-141A #12779 with ‘universal radar nose’, wasting away on the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum’s South Base flightline, in California.
Even Idaho Air National Guard’s 266th Range Squadron played bad guy, deploying fake 1/1 scale models of ‘enemy’ anti-air vehicles.
