Proud Kraut Posted November 12, 2009 Share #1 Posted November 12, 2009 Thought I would post that picture of a cut open Sherman with French soldiers training, that I found today in an old kind of Bundeswehr yearbook. The picture must has been taken in France about 1957. I have seen a lot of training equipment and simulators in my career but I have never seen a pic of such a Sherman before. Was that a "selfmade" solution or were these cut open Shermans intentionaly produced for the Army? Did the U.S. Army use such Shermans as well? Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugme Posted November 12, 2009 Share #2 Posted November 12, 2009 I wounld't have your answer, the armored guys would be able to answer this one much better than I could but, it sure is a neat looking cut-away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper704 Posted November 12, 2009 Share #3 Posted November 12, 2009 It might have existed in WWII for training purposes. They probably would have been used in places like Camp Hood, Fort Knox, etc. Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted November 13, 2009 Share #4 Posted November 13, 2009 Not only for training, but I believe these were used for engineering studies as well. At the museum at Aberdeen, APG there were examples of German tanks that were sliced in a similar manner. I believe they were used to study movement and fighting routines for the crews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misanthropic_Gods Posted November 13, 2009 Share #5 Posted November 13, 2009 I think it was a whole tank at one point, then cut up at a later date for training purposes. Look at how rough the cuts on the armor are. This is an interesting little Sherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyClanton Posted December 16, 2009 Share #6 Posted December 16, 2009 Howdy They had a sectioned German tank like that at Ft Knox a few years ago. Don't know if its still there as I understand they are changing up the patton museum. Billy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KBar Posted February 23, 2010 Share #7 Posted February 23, 2010 That French one looks pretty sloppy to me, and likely was done so others, including instructors, could see inside at what everybody was doing. The ones at Aberdeen, and the King Tiger at Ft Knox, were done after the war so people could see inside. They origionally were displayed inside, and then moved outside. The ones still there are suffering pretty bad from being open to the elements. the KT at Knox had sheet metal over the openings outside for years, until it went to Knox for restoration and display. I saw turrets from Sheridans that were intact in every way except 85 % of the armor on the turret was missing. They seemed to have been made that way and mounted on some kind of mock up powered stands for training and instruction. There were several dozen, and they were at a US Marine Base (the marines never used Sheridans) out at the Disposal/salvage yard. i expect they were shipped in to eventually become targets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor Posted February 23, 2010 Share #8 Posted February 23, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwightPruitt Posted February 23, 2010 Share #9 Posted February 23, 2010 Don't know if its still there as I understand they are changing up the patton museum.Billy The Patton Museum is being moved to the new Armor School at (blasphemy of blasphemies) Ft. Benning. I don't know about the M1 series, but specially made cutaway turrets of M60A1, M60A2 and M551 were used as crew gunnery trainers in the 1970's at Holder Complex in Ft Knox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everforward Posted February 23, 2010 Share #10 Posted February 23, 2010 My Dad was at Ft. Knox from 1944-'46 as a Medium Tank Instructor.....(Shermans) I'll ask him in a little while if they had this stuff during wartime (or at least when he was there) and get back to the thread.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everforward Posted February 23, 2010 Share #11 Posted February 23, 2010 Okay... His recollection of events is that he does not recall seeing or having actual cut-away examples of tanks for instructional purposes in the period he was at Ft. Knox ('44-'46).....anything is possible he said, but he does not recall something like that during the war years. He says that the usual method for the classroom (or "concurrent studies" as he put it) was to have pretty big flip-charts with sectioned diagrams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted February 24, 2010 Share #12 Posted February 24, 2010 The Patton Museum is being moved to the new Armor School at (blasphemy of blasphemies) Ft. Benning. I don't know about the M1 series, but specially made cutaway turrets of M60A1, M60A2 and M551 were used as crew gunnery trainers in the 1970's at Holder Complex in Ft Knox. The Armor School is moving to Ft. Benning? What are they going to do with Ft. Knox? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwightPruitt Posted February 24, 2010 Share #13 Posted February 24, 2010 The Armor School is moving to Ft. Benning? What are they going to do with Ft. Knox? Future home of Army Human Resources Command and a light infantry brigade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadec20 Posted March 4, 2010 Share #14 Posted March 4, 2010 in addition to Army Human resources command and an infantry brigade, Cadet command and some other human resources stuff will be there. the last Officers Basic and enlisted courses to conduct armor training and Ft. Knox will be held this year and ending early next year. The museum is already packed up and in the process of being trucked to Ft. Benning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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