rnixartillery Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 My other half found this photo along with several others of her Grandfather who served throughout WWII in the tank regiment.He had undergone extensive training to operate the 'Swimming tanks' as they were known as back then.We are not sure wether he drove a DD tank onto the beaches of Normandy but he did crew Sherman's throughout the war.note the tanks names,Blake,Blich and Beatty. Jo's Grandfather is the guy with the mistache far right stood on the Sherman. Rob....................rnixartillery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny152 Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Mate, It will be easy to get his service record and info on him. Will be over next month for that brew. Will give you all the relevant people to contact. Could find out if he was on D-Day! That would be easy. Cheers Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazz Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 13/18 H were a DD regt on D Day. They landed on sword beach, see attached link. http://www.sgtjohnbarnes.com/Memoirs-John-Barnes.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rnixartillery Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 Very interesting,thanks for that. Rob...................rnixartillery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin powles Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Hi, That photo could of possibly been taken at Fritton Lake in Norfolk, the tree line looks right, dd shermans trained there. kev. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Great stuff and very nice picture. :thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) Hi, That photo could of possibly been taken at Fritton Lake in Norfolk, the tree line looks right, dd shermans trained there. kev. They are not DD Shermans, though it could still be Fritton. More likely to be nearer to Aldershot judging by the photo credit. Edited January 16, 2012 by Adrian Barrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Adrian - on tank Number 58 there are 'mud guards' fitted. Often seen these but seem to be pre D-Day. What is the purpose of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Johns Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) They are not DD Shermans, though it could still be Fritton. More likely to be nearer to Aldershot judging by the photo credit. The credit on the photo "Gale & Polden" were a printing company in Aldershot, they were responsible for a lot of official Military photgraphs, and published various newspapers including the Aldershot news Edited January 16, 2012 by Nick Johns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Adrian - on tank Number 58 there are 'mud guards' fitted. Often seen these but seem to be pre D-Day. What is the purpose of them? Jack, they are the front section of the sandshields. Originally for desert use to keep the dust down, they were often fitted from kits such as here. Later tanks had a more elaborate set and were fitted from new. They did not survive long in action as they were only sheet steel. The three tanks here are all Sherman V and none have applique armour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajmac Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Are the centre sections of the sand shields on the floor next to the left hand Sherman, perhaps they are in the process of fitting them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex van de Wetering Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 13/18 H were a DD regt on D Day. They landed on sword beach, see attached link. http://www.sgtjohnbarnes.com/Memoirs-John-Barnes.pdf Only A Company had the Sherman V DD's, B and C were equipped with wading Shermans (Shermans III and V). All landed at Sword Beach near Hermanville La Breche. According to the unit history all landed at about the same time....the DD's were supposed to arrive first, but the lack of speed, meant that they reached the beach at about the same time as the LCT's carrying the wading Shermans. Interesting picture! Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Are the centre sections of the sand shields on the floor next to the left hand Sherman, perhaps they are in the process of fitting them.... Well spotted, probably track maintenance judging from the sledge hammer! Another reason why the shield tended not to last long, a pain to keep refitting them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Only A Company had the Sherman V DD's, B and C were equipped with wading Shermans (Shermans III and V). All landed at Sword Beach near Hermanville La Breche. According to the unit history all landed at about the same time....the DD's were supposed to arrive first, but the lack of speed, meant that they reached the beach at about the same time as the LCT's carrying the wading Shermans. Interesting picture! Alex That would be A squadron. There are some famous pictures of C squadron lined up prior to embarkation, Carole, a Sherman Vc being prominent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinT Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) My other half found this photo along with several others of her Grandfather who served throughout WWII in the tank regiment.He had undergone extensive training to operate the 'Swimming tanks' as they were known as back then.We are not sure wether he drove a DD tank onto the beaches of Normandy but he did crew Sherman's throughout the war.note the tanks names,Blake,Blich and Beatty.Jo's Grandfather is the guy with the mistache far right stood on the Sherman. Rob....................rnixartillery. Interesting names. Turret number 58 later carried the name BETH ( B Sqn 3 troop ). I take it that the names read l - r and can you read the WD serials? Cheers Kevin Edited January 21, 2012 by KevinT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duplexdrivestu Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 They are not DD Shermans, though it could still be Fritton. More likely to be nearer to Aldershot judging by the photo credit. Hi I know this is an old thread, but DD Shermans were not used for training at Fritton Lake, until after DDay. Valentines were used by all the regiments for their freshwater and Saltwater training. The US were first to receive Sherman DDs, in March 1944 which they used at Slapton (Torcross), whilst the UK regiments undertook a "Shermanisation" Course at Stokes Bay from 4th April. Thanks Stuart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 Discovered this photo when visiting the HMVF site today. I have the same photo, a piece of the memorabilia left by my late father. He is the one sitting astride the gun on tank 56 in the centre of the picture. I am keen to find out any information on the exploits and journey of 5th Troop B Squadron 13/18 Royal Hussars from his time of joining the Royal Armoured Corps on 30/09/1942 until his transfer to the Royal Army Reserve on 28/05/1947 as I am looking to retrace his journey. If anyone has photos or information, maps, postcards (my father collected many during his travels), I would be extremely interested in connecting with you. Many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 Dear Alex, re: your statement that only A Company had Sherman V DD's, my father was a tank driver in 5th Troop, B Squadron and swam ashore in his Sherman DD. The DD tanks from 'A' and 'B' Squadrons of 13th/18th Royal Hussars were launched 2.5 miles (4 km) from shore. Five could not be launched as the leading tank on its LCT tore its screen – they were later landed directly on shore – one tank sank after being struck by an LCT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazz Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 The Light Dragoons at Catterick, have a Sherman gate guard that was a 13/18H vehicle, as they, along with the 15/19H were amalgamated to form the LD, there is a picture on the site somewhere, I'll see if there's a link somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 The LD Sherman is a Grizzly. Painted in 13/18 Hussars markings but that is the only connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex van de Wetering Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 (edited) my father was a tank driver in 5th Troop, B Squadron and swam ashore in his Sherman DD. Bracken, you are quite right...indeed, my comment is incorrect (kind of stupid as I was working on a scale model of a B Squadron DD tank at the time:blush:)...it was C Squadron that was equipped with wading tanks, and A and B that had the DD tanks. As Adrian mentioned there are some good pictures of "C" Squadron going onboard the LCT's...and also movie footage at the IWM of them landing in Normandy, with one of the LCT's on fire. Do you happen to know the turret number or name of the your father's tank? There is film footage of the DD's in action in and around Ouistreham...Also the "Gold, Juno, Sword" book of Georges Bernage has some pictures of the DD's taken in Ouistreham, which I think are also displayed in the Grand Bunker museum in Riva Bella. Alex Edited July 30, 2017 by Alex van de Wetering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazz Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 Thanks Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Hi Alex. Thank you for posting reply. :-) The turret number of my father's tank in the photo is 56 (he is the one sitting astride the gun. I have an original copy of the same photo). Alas, I am not sure if his tank carried the same number on DDay, or of the name. Obviously, I know it begins with a letter 'B'. Thank you also for reference to film and book. Do you happen to know the name of the film. I plan to visit Bovington Tank Museum and the IWM this autumn, and the Grand Bunker Museum next spring. I am also hoping to follow his path through Europe over the next 2/3 years. Bracken Bracken, you are quite right...indeed, my comment is incorrect (kind of stupid as I was working on a scale model of a B Squadron DD tank at the time:blush:)...it was C Squadron that was equipped with wading tanks, and A and B that had the DD tanks.As Adrian mentioned there are some good pictures of "C" Squadron going onboard the LCT's...and also movie footage at the IWM of them landing in Normandy, with one of the LCT's on fire. Do you happen to know the turret number or name of the your father's tank? There is film footage of the DD's in action in and around Ouistreham...Also the "Gold, Juno, Sword" book of Georges Bernage has some pictures of the DD's taken in Ouistreham, which I think are also displayed in the Grand Bunker museum in Riva Bella. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 My wife's grandfather is Reginald Ewington from South Wales. He was the gunner in tank 58 and has his head poking out of the vehicle in the picture. We know he joined the regiment on his 21st birthday April 1943 and fought his way through to the end of the war where he was in Bremen on VE day. He was then demobbed in November 1945 joining the Glamorgan County Constabulary. He landed on Sword beach in his Sherman DD tank on DDay as a trooper and was sometime later promoted to Corporal and crew commander of his tank during the push through Europe. He was subsequently awarded the Belgian Croix De Guerre with Palm for bravery while clearing the town of Bourg Leopold in September 1944. I hope this information is of interest and helpful to the discussion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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