752nd Tank or Armor School

[WorldWarPatches]

I see this DI has sold recently described as both 752 and Armor School. Which is it please.

[gomorgan]

I think this is the RTC armor.

[atb]

Armor Replacement Training Center.

[WorldWarPatches]

Thanks atb

[tredhed2]

There is some confusion among collectors because the 752nd was inactivated in 1943 and became a school for armored units in North Africa for a few months.....

 

The 752nd was the only full strength armor unit in theater. It was redesignated and after a few months, was redesignated back to the 752nd Tank Bn. Collectors sometimes find the ARTC DI w/ 752nd Tk Bn memorabilia; apparently, the battalion picked up the ARTC DIs at some point. Here is what a true, WW II period original DI for the 752nd looks like:

[752ndTank]

Thanks very much for posting this, because the link to the 752nd is a pure myth that got out of control, and unfortunately, I played an unwitting role in it. Some years ago on the insignia page of my 752nd Tank Battalion website, I showed a copy of this ARTC DI. I had posted it as a minor point of interest because the 752nd ran an armored replacement training school when it had been temporarily inactivated in North Africa and redesignated as the 2642nd Armored Replacement Battalion. However, my page contained a very clear statement that this was a stateside DI that was NEVER worn by any members of the 752nd, it was just posted as a side note. No one reads disclaimers.

 

Prior to posting this DI on my website, it was properly represented on eBay as an ARTC DI. However, shortly after I posted it, some eBay seller must have done a Google search, come up with a "link" between this DI and the 752nd, failed to read the text I had written, and offered it as a 752nd DI on eBay. A new internet truth was born. For a few years after that, every time I saw one of these listed as a 752nd DI, I contacted the seller and told them that it was not 752. Some of them changed their descriptions, but most of them ignored it, probably because they felt a real honest to goodness combat tank battalion might have a little more selling power. eBay's "sell one like this" feature seems to have helped spread the myth. I finally gave up trying to correct the mistake. The myth spread so far out of control that despite the fact that there was a clear disclaimer, I eventually took this DI off my page completely, but the damage was done.

 

By way of background, the former 752nd ran a significant armored training school in-theater, but it was not tied in any way to the ARTC. I have all of the original documents from the Major who ran the school, including its history, development, and training manual. Everything was developed from scratch by the 2642nd/752nd. They ran this school for almost their entire stint in NA until they were reinstated as the 752nd just prior to shipping to Italy. Once in Italy they were ordered to set up a similar school, which they did for about 5 months. When they were ordered into combat, the very successful school reverted to PBS control Peninsular Base Services), and was mainly staffed by D Company (light tank) personnel from both the 752nd and 760th Tank Battalions who did not go into combat immediately. The school continued into early 1945, when the D Company tankers finally went into the line. This was a hugely important training facility, turning out about 10,000 bad needed tankers for the MTO (about an entire division worth of trained crew members).

 

But none of them ever wore this DI. It has nothing to do with the 752nd, or the PBS ATS school for that matter.

 

Thanks for raising this question and for providing a forum for busting this myth.