Bomb Tank Game

[Guilleuma Deeken]

Bomb is a preserved M4 Sherman tank. It was used by the Canadian Army 27th Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment) which landed in France on 6 June and fought across northwest Europe until the end of World War II. It was one of the few Canadian tanks that fought without interruption from D-Day to VE Day.

Bomb was built at General Motors' Fisher Tank Arsenal in Flint, Michigan as an M4A2 Sherman Tank, serial number 8007. It was shipped to England, where it was issued with the War Department number T-152656. The tank was assigned to B Squadron of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers as the regiment converted from older training tanks to new Shermans in preparation for the invasion of France as part of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade.[1] The tanks of B Squadron all had names that started with B such as Barbara and Be Good. The name Bomb was inspired by the Fusilier's cap badge which features a stylized grenade.[2]

The original crew was led by commander Sergeant Harold Futter. The driver was Lance-Corporal Rudy Moreault with co-driver Trooper "Red" Fletcher. The gunner was Trooper A.W. Rudolph and Trooper J.W. 'Tiny' Hall was the loader.

Futter was wounded in July 1944 and replaced by Lieutenant Paul W. Ayriss as commander until he in turn was wounded in September and replaced by Lieutenant John W. Neill MC. Neill was wounded in late February 1945 and his replacement was Lieutenant Walter M. White in March. White was wounded in April and Lieutenant Ernest Mingo became the commander and remained so for the duration of the war.

Bomb landed at Juno Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, with the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment (27th Canadian Armoured Regiment) at Bernires-sur-Mer. Bomb served continuously in B Squadron for 11 months and participated in every major operation of the regiment until VE-Day.[4]

In the afternoon of D-Day, the SFR's three untested but thoroughly prepared tank squadrons and regimental headquarters arrived in France in a follow-up to the initial landings and the tanks barely got wet. Falling short of their assigned objectives due to traffic congestion, road damage, and a cautious pace, the regiment formed a defensive harbour formation overnight to prepare for the next day. During that first night, a German anti-tank gun fired at Bomb but missed. One of the accompanying Sherman tanks, a mine-clearing Flail, fired back destroying the anti-tank gun.

On the morning of June 7, the SFR's advance resumed. The Germans held their fire and adjusted their defences to make contact with the SFR at Authie and Buron. In two days of intense combat, the Canadian tankers destroyed 41 enemy Panther and Panzer IV tanks.[5] Two of those kills were Bomb's. B Squadron started the battle with 15 Shermans and emerged with five tanks fit for battle, including Bomb. The other two squadrons were just as badly mauled. The 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade's two other regiments took over the line, allowing the Sherbrookes to pull back and recover. After 11 days in reserve, the three fighting squadrons were rebuilt with serviceable, recovered and replacement tanks. Replacement crews from the echelons took over from casualties. Sgt Futter, who had commanded Bomb, was named Troop Sergeant of 2 Troop of B Squadron. The rest of June saw constant manoeuvring and probing, with frequent alerts always facing enemy fire.

In the closing weeks of August, as the Canadians, British and Polish divisions squeezed the Falaise Gap closed from the north against encircling American forces, the Germans fought just as hard to escape towards the east. On 17 August while Bomb was supporting the Fusiliers de Montral in a disorganized close-range skirmish to clear a walled school compound, a German infantry anti-tank rocket hit a track link welded to Bomb's turret. Again, there was no significant damage.

Even while the Falaise Pocket was collapsing, the Britain and Canadian armoured divisions turned left to pursue German units retreating out of Normandy. From their position on the east end of the pocket, the SFR was ordered to move quickly towards the Seine River to secure strategic routes into northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Command staff had recognized that the hard surface roads were undamaged and would be needed for main supply routes until other seaports could be liberated. Therefore, all steel tracked combat vehicles had to stay off the roads. With limited maps, the regiment's recce troop of Stuart tanks looped back and forth to escort packets of tanks and other vehicles following along the edges of fields and down narrow trails. During this road move, Bomb suffered a burnt out clutch and was late arriving in the staging area. In early September in the Fort de la Londe near Elbeuf, understrength Canadian infantry brigades tangled disastrously with rearguard German units with heavy losses. Lt Ayriss was reported injured in that fighting.

Brun's regimental history records Lt Neill taking command of Bomb in Falaise under fire on 17 August when Lt Ayriss was to be promoted[9] but also that as a Lt (not Captain) Ayriss was still the crew commander in September.[10] His name does not appear on the casualty lists for August or September[11]

As winter set in the regiment had periods of idleness due to bad weather, lack of replacement crews and tanks, and supply shortages. Bomb received new engines on one occasion, and a new set of tracks on another. .

Lt Neill's replacement was Lt Walter White of West Gore, Nova Scotia, who took command of the tank and for a short period led B Squadron of the Sherbrookes from Bomb. Lt White was already an experienced armoured soldier in another regiment, having risen to Sergeant Major before taking his commission and attending Sandhurst Military College.[13] Postwar White recalled the names of the other troop tanks as, Barbara, Be Good, and Bohunk. After fighting in the Hochwald Forest in Germany, White claimed to have led a reconnaissance to the banks of the Rhine River. Bomb's fifth and last confirmed tank kill was in Deventer in April 1945. Six weeks after assuming command, Lt White was wounded while dismounted during the offensive to capture the Pimple on Calcar Ridge, near Deventer.[14]

By VE Day, the tank had fired 6,000 rounds in battle, had five enemy tank kills, used two engines and two set of tracks and taken two direct hits from enemy shells and been hit by an infantry anti-tank rocket, yet never missed a day of action.[16] The tank and crew members Rudolph, Moreault and Hall were the subject of a Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit short documentary made in 1945 entitled The Green Fields Beyond (number 2090) in 1945.[17]

Several years after the war, on-line reminisces of crew member Lt White suggested four tanks including Bomb were floated across the Rhine in March 1945.[18] He claimed three landed together and Bomb landed slightly further downstream. The appearance of tanks supposedly surprised and overwhelmed the Germans. This story is implausible because there is no mention of such an audacious raid in the regimental history published postwar, contemporary War Diaries, period documents including Corps level orders, and thoroughly researched secondary sources.

From the factory, serial number 8007 was equipped with a General Motors (GM) 6046 twin inline-six diesel engine. That engine was removed when Bomb returned to Canada. This was one of four standardized powerplants, which included the original Continental 9-cylinder R975 radial aircraft engine, the Ford GAA gasoline V8, and a 30-cylinder Chrysler multibank of five engine blocks on one crankcase. Each was an interesting engineering answer to the constantly increasing demand for tank engines. The GM 6046 consisted of two off-the-shelf GM 6-71 diesel truck engines connected with a transfer case to a single drive shaft. Unlike other models of Sherman which have doors on the rear hull, this engine was serviced from the top through large doors on the engine deck. With the exception of 490 M4A2 diesels issued to the US Marines, all diesel Shermans were shipped to Britain, Free French forces or the Soviet Union as Lend-Lease. The explanation was simple: the US military had standardized on gasoline as a fuel and did not want vehicles with non-standard fuel. The main tank fuel capacity of the M4A2 148 US gallons (560 L; 123 imp gal). Those tanks are located on the left and right rear hull sponsons, above the tracks. As Bomb sits on display, the latest restoration removed all fuel, grease and oil in its tanks and components.

On the continuum of M4A2 tanks, Bomb is considered late production, and has small grille engine deck plates. It has the Fisher-fabricated-style bullet splash guard at front of the engine deck doors under rear lip of the turret. The exhaust stacks are across the rear of the hull below the line of the upper armour. The rear upper hull is sloped, and has the Fisher simplified six-bolt rear engine deck plates configuration. There are welding scars where various fittings like the taillights and fuel can holders were removed over time. In the extreme left and right upper corners of the rear sponsons are two small storage compartments intended for extra track grousers. Their cover doors have been welded shut.

Moving forward, the Quick-Fix appliqu armour plates on the sidewalls indicate dry-stowage ammunition racks inside. The front glacis plate is the early 57 angle. The driver and co-driver have small hatches, and the characteristic cast "narrow" drivers' hood with direct vision slots but no additional Quick-Fix driver's hood additional front armour. Review of photos indicates the equilibrator springs on front hatches are missing. However, there are remnants of the fixtures for the "driver's hatch hood and windshield." The bow M1919A4 machine gun canvas dustcover's slot-style fitting is still present, although the ball mount itself has been removed and the opening plated over for display. The base for the high control radio antenna is present, and likewise blanked over. It has a one-piece rounded nose drawing E 4186 differential housing with the characteristic mid-production shot-defection lip for the bolt heads. Missing from the front glacis are the headlights and guards, and siren. However, there are welding scars and remnant bars on the front glacis, which correspond to where extra track sections were attached in Normandy to defeat German tank and anti-tank guns projectiles. The lifting eyes are the padded style, and the tow hooks themselves are missing.

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