Gary Potterfield, News Director of U.S. Navy Mediterranean News Service, is
keeping Military.com informed about the progress in the effort to
recover a sunken Sherman DD tank, which is sitting in 65 feet of water
off the coast of Italy.
The tank was part of the 753rd Tank Battalion, 7th Army, and was participating in training exercises of the coast of Italy. During the course of this training, it had the canvas screen (which allowed the tank to float)
ripped by a projection on the ramp of its LCT (Landing Craft Tank); the
tank sank and one crewman was drowned. The sinking was witnessed by
veterans from the 756th Tank Battalion, who were training in the same area
on the day of the accident.
This image is a still taken from from video of the initial survey. (Photo by PH1(SW/DV) Andrew McKaskle, CLF Det. Combat Camera Atlantic)
"Divers spent Tuesday prepping the bridle around the
tank by attaching several chains around it. The plan is to lift the tank out
of the water Wednesday. It will be placed on the fantail of the ship [the
Grasp]. The ship will pull into the Salerno harbor where a crane will
transfer the tank to a truck," says Potterfield. (Photo by PH1(SW/DV) Andrew McKaskle, CLF Det. Combat Camera Atlantic)
The rescue-and-salvage ship Grasp recently moved into position over the tank
in the Gulf of Salerno about a mile offshore. The Grasp also helped recover
the wreckage of TWA Flight 800 and the airplane of John F. Kennedy, Jr. (Photo by PH1(SW/DV) Andrew McKaskle, CLF Det. Combat Camera Atlantic)
See the complete story.
See the 753d lineage and honors
