6th armoured 69th tank battion location battle of bulge

The number of the tank is obscured by the tanker who is standing in front of it but other photos show it to be number 23 which would make it an A Company tank.

This one has both the white triangle and the 'fighting turtle'. The next photo shows another tank of the 68th Tank Battalion. The Sherman in the foreground has number 47 which would make it a B Company tank. This photo shows tanks of the 68th Tank Battalion which can be recognized by the white triangle on the hull. Now let's look at some examples of 6th Armored Division tanks and their markings: The rest of the tanks where a variety of Shermans: M-4, M4A3 (75mm and 76mm), Jumbos, a few composite M-4s and some 'Easy 8's'.ĭ Company was the light tank company and used M-5A1 light tanks. The tanks were numbered as follows:Įach company had one Howitzer Sherman except for the HQ Company which had 3 and the Howitzer Shermans used the last number in the series.

Next to the battalion insignias, the tanks would also have a hull number. The white triangle was by far the most used although the turtle has been seen in some photos. The 68th use two types of insignia: a 'Fighting Turtle', the Disney character Toby Tortoise and a white triangle.

The 69th had a Panther inside the hull stars as its battalion insignia. Apparently it is rather rare to see a 69th tank with the insignia painted on as it has only been seen on some light tanks from D Company and a couple of howitzers from HQ Company. Some veterans also mentioned it made them nervous to go into action with a big white target painted on their tanks. Sometimes the painting wasn't even finished before the vehicle was sent into action. In some black and white photos the marking appears as a wolf head on a simple white square. Each battalion had its own insignia.īecause the 15th was known as the Wolf Pack, it had a wolf's head over an armored triangle as the battalion insignia.

The 6th Armored Division had three Tank Battalions: the 15th, the 68th and the 69th.

6th armoured 69th tank battion location battle of bulge