M42B1 Flamethrower Tank - Springville, AL - Military Ground Equipment Displays on Waymarking.com

M4A1 Medium Tank Sherman
M42B1 Flamethrower

A total of 6,281 M4A1 Medium tanks were built during 1942 and 1943. These tanks were built by Lima Locomotive Works, Pacific Car and Foundry and Pressed Steel, and were the first tanks with a cast steel hull. They were powered by a 400 HP 9-cylinder R-975 Continental radial gasoline aircraft engine.

Combat weight was 66,500 lbs with a maximum road speed of 29 MPH. The steel armor ranges from ½” on the floor to 4 ½” on the lower front hull. The welded plates along the sides are not patches, but “applique armor”, installed for additional protection to the internal ammunition stowage areas.

Over 40,000 M4A1 through M4A3 tanks, including the Special Purpose Variants, were built, making the M4 series the most widely produced and widely used tank in service with the American, British, and allied forces in World War II.

This tank has been modified into an M42B1 by the removal of the 75mm main gun and the installation of an E7 flame gun and three fuel tanks inside the hull with a total capacity of 275 gallons of 8% napalm. Flamethrower range was 375 feet.

Most of these M42B1 tanks were modified from M4A1 tanks that had been returned to the US after battle in North Africa, and were intended for use during the invasion of mainland Japan. The surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945 made the invasion unnecessary and the M42B1 and B2 tanks were placed in storage. In 1950, many of the flamethrower tanks were sent to Korea; however, the B1 model R-975 radial-powered tanks were considered too maintenance intensive and only the later B2 model GAA V-8 powered tanks were used. Most of the radial-powered tanks wound up as gunnery range targets and thus did not survive.
This tank is a rare example of the early M4A1 Shermans and we are fortunate that members of the Springville National Guard made the effort years ago to preserve it.

Thanks to:
Mayor William Isley and the Springville City Council
Dixie Division Military Vehicles Club
Advanced Computer Engraving
Veterans Memorial Museum
Springville Purple Heart Chapter 2213
Springville VFW Post 3229
Buckner Trailer
2013

Info from the plaque.

Location restrictions: The tank is located in a parking lot for Big Spring Park. There are no admission fees. The park is open daily. Daytime visits would be best.

Visit Instructions:

1.) Only log the places you physically visit.
2.) Please submit a photo(s) taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background, and old vacation photos are accepted. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit
3.) Please provide any additional information about the equipment you may have that is not listed in the waymark's description.

 

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.