Jack Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Full story on the front page - click the HMVF logo to get there! A World War II-era M4 Sherman tank on display at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany has been confirmed to be the “Cobra King,” the first tank to reach besieged American troops defending Bastogne from the Germans’ counterattack during the Battle of the Bulge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcspool Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 (edited) Read below for the final installment of a story that started on my G104 mailing list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/G104/) Personally, I think it is a pity Cobra King was not brought back to Bastogne temporarily before being shipped to the USA. - Hanno Historic Cobra King heads to new home in Patton Museum Jun 16, 2009 By Mary Markos (USAG Grafenwoehr) GRAFENWOEHR, Germany - Sixty-five years after making its mark on American military history, the Cobra King is headed home. The 3.6 ton, World War II-era M4 Sherman "Jumbo" tank, which was identified by U.S. Army officials as the first tank to break through German defenses and reach surrounded American troops during the Battle of the Bulge, was lifted from its Vilseck home June 9 for transport to the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Ky. To prepare the steel warrior for transport, staff members from the Maintenance Activity Vilseck first had to tow the vehicle one kilometer from the Rose Barracks' gate, where one staff member said it has sat on display for at least 25 years, to the MAV for cleaning. Mark Manzo, U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr, Logistics Plans and Operations Division chief, said the cleaning process took more than 160 hours before Cobra King passed the stringent customs inspections. The tank, which will travel first to Bremerhaven, Germany, and loaded to sail June 17, is expected to arrive stateside July 6. According to a recovery and restoration plan submitted by Len Dyer, Patton Museum director, it will then undergo a two-phase reset. "My intent is to reset Cobra King in appearance to her historic state as pictured on the day after the relief of Bastogne," Dyer states in the plan. Phase one will remove the current M-1A1 76mm main-gun that was installed in March 1945 (a year after the tank broke through Bastogne) at the direction of Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr., commander of the 3rd U.S. Army, to give the vehicle greater firepower against German Panthers or Tigers. The Patton Museum will then replace the gun with the original Jumbo version, an M-3 75mm, L38 main-gun. Phase one will also see the vehicle repainted and the track replaced with a standard track with duck bill extensions, which was originally installed on Jumbos to provide better flotation across the ground due to the increase in the vehicle's combat weight. Phase one is expected to take six weeks to complete. The interior will be restored during phase two. An estimate of how long that will take, however, will not be available until the Cobra King has been inspected by museum staff. "The idea is to try to keep the original components on the equipment," said Gabriele Torony, U.S. Army Europe curator. The tank, Torony added, will be moved to the U.S. Army Museum in Washington, D.C., with its expected opening in 2013, to serve as "the feature, historically significant artifact in the World War II gallery." An honor fitting, said Manzo, for a vehicle that played such a critical role in the war. "The Battle of the Bugle was a significant event which changed the course of the war. The Cobra King was the lead tank in the break out of the encirclement of Bastogne which changed the course of history. It is the only artifact which can be placed at such a pivotal point in the war." Source: http://www.army.mil/-news/2009/06/16/22737-historic-cobra-king-heads-to-new-home-in-patton-museum/ Edited June 26, 2009 by mcspool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted June 26, 2009 Author Share Posted June 26, 2009 Thanks Hanno for the update! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefano Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Read below for the final installment of a story that started on my G104 mailing list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/G104/) Personally, I think it is a pity Cobra King was not brought back to Bastogne temporarily before being shipped to the USA. - Hanno Sorry Hanno, but I think that Cobra King should go to Bastogne to stay - period. I can't believe that they're taking it back to the USA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcspool Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Thanks Hanno for the update! My pleasure. When I find the time I'll do a short write-up about the discovery of Cobra King, which is slightly different from what is presented by the US Army publications. - Hanno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcspool Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Sorry Hanno, but I think that Cobra King should go to Bastogne to stay - period. I can't believe that they're taking it back to the USA Stefano, I agree with you. Cobra King's place for eternity should be in a purpose built museum in Bastogne. But you know how the Americans can be. They even claim and "bring back" FT-17 tanks from Afghanistan, a type they never had, just because they want it! - Hanno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 76mm main-gun that was installed in March 1945 (a year after the tank broke through Bastogne) WTF :??? :rofl: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcspool Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 (edited) The tank was identified by matching serial and registration numbers, a project worked jointly by historians with U.S. Army Europe and the U.S. Army’s Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor in Ft. Knox, Ky. I'd like to set the record straight on who really discovered and identified Cobra King: It was back in 2001 when CH Keith Goode noted the Jumbo at Vilseck has serial number S/N 50487 (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/G104/message/1195). One thing led to another, and Joe DeMarco was able to confirm M4A3E2 with serial number 50487 corresponds to registration number 3083084 (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/G104/message/1198), which is the number of "Cobra King" - have a look at the Signal Corps photo Joe posted at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/G104/files/Surviving_Shermans/Germany/Vilseck/ Search the message archives at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/G104/messages for more background on this important discovery. After this important start, it is due to G104 mailing list members, many of which serve in the US military, like David Davenport, Shawn Ferguson, Brian Stigall, "the Army historians finally got on the ball and confirmed it for themselves". No doubt many others did their bit behind the scenes as well. Possibly Cobra King took part in the Hammelburg Raid, but this still needs to be confimred. Great research task for the Army historians! Regards, Hanno G104 mailing list owner & moderator Edited July 18, 2009 by mcspool spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcspool Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 76mm main-gun that was installed in March 1945 (a year after the tank broke through Bastogne) Joris, Cobra King is one of 254 M4A3E2´s built. The E2 is an up-armoured variant of the M4A3 Sherman tank with extra armour on the hull and turret. The M4A3E2 was designed as an assault tank, and therefore equipped with a standard 75mm main gun and HE (High Explosive) ammunition. Later, when in actual use in NW-Europe, some units retrofitted the longer 76-mm gun in place of the 75-mm gun, as they had a need for better armour piercing capabilities. - Hanno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcspool Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Cobra King has arrived at the Patton museum. See http://www.armorfortheages.com/Volunteers/Projects/CobraKingProject/CobraKingProjectPage.htm for progress on the restoration. The record about its discovery has been set straight. - Hanno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.