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A
76mm tank from C Company speeding through Pianoro on the way to
Bologna, 21 April 1945. This photo provides a good view of the sloped
sides of the T-23 turret and the heavy mantlet for the 76mm gun. Also
note the old track fastened over the driver's position for added
ballistic protection. (Official U.S. Signal Corps photo). |
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The
first 752nd tank to enter Bologna on 21 April 1945. The tank has just
entered the city through the archway in the distance. A small crowd
begins to gather around the tank, as a tanker climbs down to ask
directions. Bologna was the fourth large city that the 752nd helped
liberate. (Official U.S. Signal Corps photo). |
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A
crew member of the first 752nd tank into Bologna receives directions
from one of the locals. This is the same tanker who is shown
dismounting from the tank in the photo above. (Official U.S. Signal
Corps photo). |
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Major
Woodbury's tank, identified by the upswept name "Betsy II" on its side,
enters Bologna as an Italian policeman watches. Note the spare grousers
mounted on the side of the turret, and the spare track blocks in front
of the driver's position for added ballistic protection. (Official U.S.
Signal Corps photo). |
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752nd
tanks parade down Bologna's Via Rizzoli on 21 April 1945. The long
sheets draped across the tank decks are Air Recognition Panels,
designed to minimize the chances of attack by friendly aircraft. Each
tank had three fluorescent panels (yellow, cerise/pink, or blue), and
each panel had a white reverse side. Either single colors or
combinations of colors were designated for a given day or operation.
(Official U.S. Signal Corps photo). |
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A
portion of the 752nd assembled briefly in Bologna's main plaza after
liberating the city on 21 April 1945. Shown is a mix of 75mm M4 and
M4A1 tanks, 76mm M4A3s, M5A1 light tanks, a T2 tank recovery vehicle,
and M18 Hellcat tank destroyers. (Official U.S.
Signal Corps photo). |
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A
small crowd gathers around a T-2 Tank Recovery Vehicle in Bologna on 21
April 1945. This T-2 belonged to B Company, and was named "Boom Town."
It is built on the old M3 chassis, as noted by its high profile and the
old M3 bogey trucks with centered track return rollers. Also note the
use of "duck bill" end connectors on the tracks, many of which have
broken off. (Official U.S. Signal Corps photo). |
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752nd
M4A3 76mm tanks and M18 Hellcats of the 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion
wait for engineers to build a pontoon bridge across the Po River. Photo
taken near Revere, Italy on 25 April 1945. (Official U.S. Signal Corps
photo). |
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752nd
tank rolls through the streets of Buttapietra on 26 April 1945. The
752nd
received 76mm M4A3s in February 1945, and some were equipped with the
relatively rare muzzle brake. Note the absence of markings, the new
hull design and T23 turret, the old VVSS suspension system, and
well-worn tracks. The Signal Corps caption on this photo incorrectly
states the location as Pozzo. The building behind the tank is
still in use today. (Official U.S. Signal Corps photo). |
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A
76mm M4A3 of C Company of the 752nd takes an overwatch position against
targets across the Po River, as troops of the 3rd Battalion, 351st
Infantry Regiment prepare to cross. Wrecked German motor vehicles and
horse-drawn carts litter near bank of the Po. The blown bridge in the
distance necessitated the crossing of the Po by amphibious vehicles,
and on rapidly constructed pontoon bridges. Photo taken near Ostiglia
24 April 1945. (Official U.S. Signal Corps photo). |
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A
good view of the M1A1C muzzle brake, used to deflect the gun blast to
the side in order to minimize target obscuration from dust. This 76mm
M4A3 of the 752nd is providing direct fire support as troops of the
88th Infantry cross to the north bank of the Po River. Photo taken 25
April 1945. |
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Tankers
of the 752nd ferried 88th Infantry troops across the Po River in LVT-4
Amtracks (also called Alligators, Fantails, or Water Buffalo).
Some 120 LVT's were made available to the 5th Army for crossing the Po
at various sites. Original plans called for the entire 755th
Tank
Battalion to operate all 120 LVTs, and the 755th was pulled off the
line in March 1945 to train for this purpose. However, 5th
Army
plans eventually limited the 755th's involvement to just 40 men, who
operated only 20 of the 120 LVTs. Tankers from other battalions such as
the 752nd operated the remaining LVTs, although it
is not
clear how many 752 men were involved. Tankers were used to
drive the amphibious vehicles, because the
controls and handling characteristics were far more tank-like than
boat-like. Shown in this photo are two LVT-4s
assembled in the streets of Revere before moving out on 24 April
1945. |
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One
of the LVT4 Alligators pulls away from the south bank of the Po River
on 24 April 1945, in the Ostiglia area. This Amtrack, marked C3C, is
carrying 30 men of the 3rd Battalion, 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th
Infantry Division. (Official U.S. Signal Corps photo). |
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D
Company tanks and tank destroyers of the 805th TD wait to cross the Po
River on 25 April 1945. These tanks and TD's went on the next day to
capture Verona in a daring 30 mile (48 kilometer) dash. Click here to learn more about
D Company in action at Verona. (Official U.S. Signal Corps photo). |
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German
POWs march past their fallen comrades at the junction of Routes 62 and
12 at Verona on 26 April 1945. Called "Bloody Corner" by the GIs, this
is where the light tankers of the 752, along with tank destroyers of
the 805th TD battalion, took retreating Germans by surprise in fighting
the night before. Click here
for more details about D Company's action in Verona. (Official U.S.
Signal Corps photo). |
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28
April 1945 was the 752nd's worst single day for casualties, with 19 men
being killed or wounded in action. Here Pvt. Melvin Allen is being
evacuated by his crew members, (l-r) Gene Elliott, Wilbur Moore, and
Herbert Horne after their tank (in background) was hit by a Panzerfaust
in Vicenza. The man on the far right is with the 88th Infantry.
(Official U.S. Signal Corps photo). |
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Another
casualty in the fighting in Vicenza on 28 April 1945. Barely visibile
in the rubble, a 752nd tank has just crashed into a building, its
driver killed seconds earlier by a sniper. Members of the 88th Infantry
check the buildings for the sniper. Click
here to see more photos of the 752 in action in Vicenza.
(Official U.S. Signal Corps photo). |
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752nd
tanks and men of the 88th Infantry Division advance along via Littorio
as they liberate Cornuda on 30 April 1945. The street is now called via
30 Aprile in honor of the liberation. A dead German soldier, already
stripped of his boots, lies where he fell. The church Chiesa
Arcipretale is in the distance. (Official U.S.
Signal Corps photo). |
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A
B Company M4A3 provides support for doughboys of the 350th Infantry
Regiment on the road to Feltre. The Piave River is on the right, and
the Alps are straight ahead. Note the five spent 76mm shell casings on
the road. This photo was taken on 1 May 1945, the day before the war in
Italy ended. This tank is equipped with duckbill end connectors to
provide better "flotation" on soft ground. Several connectors have
broken off. (Official U.S. Signal Corps photo). |