"WWII Tank Crew That Inspired the Movie 'Fury'" Topic

"The 3rd Armored Division landed in Normandy on June 24, 1944 with years of training but no combat experience. Over the next 11 months, the division would be part of the fiercest fighting in Europe during World War II. One tank crew in the division would kill 12 tanks, 258 armored vehicles and self-propelled guns, and 1,000 German soldiers in only 79 days. They also captured 250 German prisoners in the fighting.

The colorfully-named tank "In the Mood" was an M4A1 Sherman led by Staff Sgt. Lafayette "Wardaddy" G. Pool. His driver was Cpl. Wilbert Richards, the assistant driver and bow gunner was Pfc. Bert Close, his gunner was Cpl. Willis Oiler, and Tech. 5th Grade Del Boggs was the loader.

In the Mood first saw combat at Villers-Fossard on June 29, 1944. 3rd AD was ordered to attack German positions to give the nearby XIX Corps a chance to straighten out their front lines. During the battle, In the Mood was credited with killing 70 German soldiers and three armored vehicles before it was destroyed by Panzer fire. The crew survived and christened a new Sherman as "In the Mood."…"

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Amicalement
Armand

Interesting, thanks for posting Armand!

A votre service mon ami!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Does anyone know what this photograph represents? I am not expert on WWII, but the body looks like that used by the M10 gun motor carriage, called "Wolverine." The men appear to be in an open-topped turret – a tank destroyer? Might this be armed with a 90mm, and be a version of the "Jackson?" Certainly not a M4A1 Sherman.

GdeP

I say the vehicle in the pic is indeed an M36.

Proper name was 90mm Gun, Motor Carriage M36. GMC M36 for short. Not called "Jackson" in the U.S. Army. Sometimes referred to as "Slugger" by front line troops, but that seems to have been pretty limited. Mostly just M36, or "tank destroyer".

Some key visual recognition features …
1) The sloped hull sides mark it as one of the Tank Destroyers (GMCs): M10, M10A1, M36 or M36B2. M4, M4A2 and M4A3 Sherman tanks had vertical hull sides (as did the M36B1). The M4A1 had a cast hull, with rounded features but still a primarily vertical hull side.

2) The lack of a hull MG also marks it as an M10, M10A1, M36 or M36B2. All versions of the M4 Sherman had hull MGs, or at least a hull MG position (with gun removed on the British Sherman Fireflies or the M36B1).

3) The rounded gun mantlet marks it as an M36 or M36B2. The M10 and M10A1 had an angled gun mantlet.

4) There is no turret roof. By the time most M36B2s entered service they had turret roofs added. This was spaced above the open-topped turret, with about a 1-2 inch gap.

So … I would say it is an M36.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

And … Lafayette Pool is a pretty well known and revered name among US Army tankers.

He is recognized as the top American tank ace of WW2. The auditorium and rec facility at Ft. Knox, where US tankers trained for decades, was not named "Pool Hall" due to billiards tables!

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But until this thread I had no idea he was nicknamed "War daddy", or was the namesake of the character in Fury.

Learn something new every day! ;-)

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)