743 (US) Tank Battalion

Discussion in 'US Units' started by Buck-Compton, Jan 19, 2025.

  1. Buck-Compton

    Buck-Compton Junior Member

    Hello Everyone,

    My birth town was liberated in September 1944 by units of the 30th (US) Infantry Division and 743 (US) Tank Battalion. I'm trying to gather some information about this tank battalion. I have been able to find their S3 Journal for the period June-September 1944. And I have been able to find their unit history book called Move out Verify. What I'm trying to find is the following:

    - Table of organisation
    - Personnel Rosters (if possible defined op to crew level)
    - Equipment Rosters (if possible with vehicle identification numbers, names and other identification markings)
    - Photobooks from the battalion.
    - Pdf of the book The view from the turret (Folkestad, William B.)
    - Pdf of the book Move out! (Walt Cross)


    My special attention goes out to reference material covering 3 actions
    - Normandy landings: preferable photo material of the dozers and DD's deployed in the early stages of the assault
    - Combat actions St Fromond: in general photo material en specifically confirmation of the following

    upload_2025-1-19_19-53-11.jpeg
    Is this tank serial S3011146 from the 743rd Tkbn or another unit?
    upload_2025-1-19_19-54-12.jpeg
    This is mostlikely the same as above, anyone have details on this picture regarding when it was taken?
    Regarding both photo's is there a source known and are there more photos available?

    upload_2025-1-19_19-56-15.jpeg upload_2025-1-19_19-59-3.jpeg
    This is most likely a DD tank from the 743rd. Similar to the previous set of photo's. Is it part of a series? are there more available is a source known to anyone?
    Liberation Limburg (NLD): any photo's with identifiable sherman tanks would be most welcome.

    Looking forward to how you guys are able to help me out.

    Kind Regards,

    Remi
     
  2. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Old Hickory Recon

    I can provide you with information on the 743rd, but am not where I can at the present.
    The 743rd was an independent tank battalion attached (mostly) the 30th ID.
    They assaulted Omaha Beach 6 June, taking heavy losses.
    More to follow.
     
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  3. Buck-Compton

    Buck-Compton Junior Member

    Good evening Slipdigit I'm looking forward to what you have to offer!

    Regards,

    Remi
     
  4. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    There is one thread with three posts here id'd by an online search with: "743 Tank Battalion" site:ww2talk.com All are about their Omaha beach time.

    Somewhere in this thread they appear: Comparison of British and American areas in Normandy in terms of Fire Support and Effect

    Another search using: "743rd Tank" site:ww2talk.com found several other threads and two duplicates. At a glance a couple of photos have been here before. See: DD tanks in Normandy after D-Day

    Is there a separate Facebook group for the unit?

    Seen these: We Keep the Faith: A Memorial to the 743rd Tank Battalion 743rd Tank Battalion – Teaching History Matters 743rd Tank Battalion On Limburg ?
     
  5. Gary Kennedy

    Gary Kennedy Member

    Basic outline of the standard US Tank Battalion, using the Sep43 and Nov44 T/Os.

    The Tank Battalion, circa 1943 to 1945

    Battalion Headquarters (7 Officers, 21 men)

    Tank Section (1 Officer, 8 men) (add 4 men in Separate Tank Battalion)

    2 x Medium tanks (add 1 Medium tank in Separate Tank Battalion)

    Headquarters Company (5 Officers, 105 men)

    Company Headquarters (1 Officer, 5 men)

    Maintenance Section (1 Officer, 7 men)

    Administrative, Mess & Supply Section (23 men) * reduced by 7 men, June 1944

    Reconnaissance Platoon (1 Officer, 20 men)

    Mortar Platoon (1 Officer, 24 men)

    Assault Gun Platoon (1 Officer, 26 men)

    3 x Medium tanks (105-mm howitzer)

    Service Company (7 Officers, 112 men)

    Company HQ (1 Officer, 4 men)

    Maintenance Section (1 Officer, 5 men)

    Administrative, Mess & Supply Section (18 men) * reduced by 4 men, June 1944

    Battalion Administrative and Personnel Section (1 Officer, 5 men)

    Battalion Supply and Transportation Platoon (2 Officers, 50 men)

    Battalion Maintenance Platoon (2 Officers, 30 men)

    2 x Tank recovery vehicles

    Light Tank Company (5 Officers, 92 men)

    Company Headquarters (1 Officer, 10 men)

    2 x Light tanks

    Administrative, Mess & Supply Section (16 men) * reduced by 3 men, June 1944

    Maintenance Section (1 Officer, 9 men)

    1 x Tank recovery vehicle

    Three Platoons (1 Officer, 19 men), each comprised of;

    5 x Light tanks

    Three Medium Tank Companies (5 Officers, 117 men), each comprised of;

    Company Headquarters (1 Officer, 17 men)

    2 x Medium tanks

    1 x Medium tank (105-mm howitzer)

    Maintenance Section (1 Officer, 9 men)

    1 x Tank recovery vehicle

    Administrative, Mess & Supply Section (19 men) * reduced by 5 men, June 1944

    Three Platoons (1 Officer, 24 men), each comprised of;

    5 x Medium tanks

    Total Strength of 729 all ranks (40 Officers, 689 men) * reduced by 29 men, June 1944

    53 x Medium tanks (add 1 Medium tank in Independent Tank Battalion)

    6 x Medium tanks (105-mm howitzer)

    17 x Light tanks

    6 x Tank recovery vehicles
     
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  6. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Source: Fold3.com

    IMG_0380.jpeg IMG_0380.jpeg

    IMG_0381.jpeg

    IMG_0382.jpeg

    IMG_0383.jpeg

    IMG_0384.jpeg

    IMG_0385.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2025
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  7. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    This is just one article from Newspapers.com…….their are a LOT more, most are about individual soldiers and their awards of gallantry while serving with the 743 Tank Battalion

    IMG_0386.jpeg
     
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  8. Tolbooth

    Tolbooth Patron Patron

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  9. EKB

    EKB Well-Known Member

    Move out, verify: the combat story of the 743rd Tank Battalion contains a roster, listing of fatal casualties and tables of individual commendations.

    Free PDF copy here:
    Move out, verify: the combat story of the 743rd Tank Battalion

    Duplex drive M4 No. C-18 of 743rd Tank Battalion breaks through a hedge line on 29th June 1944. Maybe the AAR will hint at where the action was recorded. The bow of the base plate for discarded float screen was often used as a storage tray, as shown here. Picture credited to the 165th Photo Signal Company.
    M4 tank of 743TB - C18.jpeg


    The caption claims that duplex drive No. C-7 was rolling through Saint-Fromond on 7th July 1944. Troops from the 117th Infantry Regiment. Photo credit to same lensmeister from 165th SPC.
    M4 tank of 743TB - C07.jpeg


    M4 No. C-15 a.k.a. CANNONEER II at a maintenance yard for repairs to battle-damaged wheels. The turret side racks are unusual; don’t recall seeing this type before. The caption notes this tank was a replacement for CANNONEER I, a duplex drive Sherman knocked out at Omaha beach. Crew members pictured:

    Capt Alfred H. Williams - Louisville, Kentucky (commander)
    Tec 4 Perry W. Reams - Centralia, Missouri (driver)
    Pfc Fidus G. Simpson - Martinsville, Virginia (bow gunner)
    M4 tank of 743TB - C15.jpeg


    Description states that M4 No. 11 got field mods to carry a section of Bailey bridge, on 17th September 1944. Location given as Gulpen, Netherlands.
    M4 tank of 743TB - A11.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2025
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  10. Buck-Compton

    Buck-Compton Junior Member

    Goodeving everybody,

    davidbfpo Thank you for the two thread's I've checked them out, they confirm the information I already had available. I'm already familiar with the three links you've shared. I've tried to contact the first site a couple of weeks ago but their mail server seems to be down, sadly enough.

    Gary Kennedy: Thank you for the T/O's!

    Temujin : Thank you for these sources. I Always keep forgetting about the FOLD3 website. Very interesting documents to read!

    Tolbooth : very sad to read about those things

    EKB : I was aware of the PDF copy I already had downloaded it. What an awesome set of photo's! Great detail in them as well! Might I ask where you found these photo's? The capture of photo 3 says something about the tank being called Cannoneer II. Is the us naming system similar to that of the British and Canadian? All tanks in C company have a name starting with a C? Are these photo's part of another package or album? I'm curious as to what more is to be found.

    In several pictures I have noted a rectangle which is to be seen in front of the driver on picture 3. Is that a unit marking?

    img_1_1737412650075.jpg

    Looking forward to any additional information you can offer me!

    Regards,

    Remi
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2025
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  11. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    I asked in Post 4: Is there a separate Facebook group for the unit?

    Yes, it is a private group and they state:
    From: https://www.facebook.com/groups/574528792658159
     
  12. Buck-Compton

    Buck-Compton Junior Member

    Hello davidbfpo I'm sorry for not responding to that remark. Yes I have tried to contact them as I'm not on Facebook anymore. Up until now I haven't had a response.

    Regards,

    Remi
     
  13. EKB

    EKB Well-Known Member

    Found the photo years ago but don’t remember the source. On closer examination the name might read CANNONEER III. Sometimes the photo descriptions have misspelled words or other errors. The marking below the driver’s hatch is a U.S. national flag.

    U.S. Army ETO had a tendency to follow the British practice of naming AFVs but one can find exceptions.

    Photo coverage for the 743rd Tank Battalion is disappointing. Like most, they did not use distinctive turret or hull markings that could be seen from a great distance. The result is many pictures of generic vehicles that cannot be tied to a specific outfit, without study of other information. At the opposite end of the spectrum was 6th Armored Division, which applied supersized, two-digit numbers on the side superstructure. The 2nd Armored Division initially used large turret numbers in France, but these were soon covered or painted out as being too visible to enemy gun layers.

    Re: picture of the bulldozer. The blade does have a battalion marking but the last digit is difficult to read.
    NARA 404791112 - 111-SC-330258 - CROP.jpeg
    NARA 404791112 - 111-SC-330258.jpeg

    Another photo from the same series:
    NARA 404790724 - 111-SC-216080-1 - CROP.jpeg
    NARA 404790724 - 111-SC-216080-1.jpg
    https://catalog.archives.gov/search...rials=Photographs and other Graphic Materials
     
  14. paleojack

    paleojack New Member

    My great-grandfather served with this battalion and I have found his name in an enlistment roll, he was a Tec5 in Company D. He has since passed but he offered several stories about both the Normandy landings and the Battle of the Bulge.

    The thing he spoke most of is how kind and happy the French people (and surely Belgian) people were to see Americans and not Germans. My favorite story of his is that he and his crew were the first to discover that a bottle of wine, of which they were gifted many, would fit perfectly in a tank shell rack in place of spent ones.

    Learning more about his storied battalion in his absence is great and I anticipate more good participation.
     
  15. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Old Hickory Recon

    Here is a roster, mixed in with the 30th ID
    30th ID

    Here are some After Action Reports (AARs) 30th Infantry Division Click on the AARs to the left and select the 743rd.
     
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  16. Buck-Compton

    Buck-Compton Junior Member

    Hello everyone,

    Slipdigit: thank you for that website. Wasn't aware it existed. Going to comb trough to see if I can find anything useful.

    paleojack very nice story, did your great-grandfather remember anything about his period in the Netherlands? So if he was in D-coy he was on the light Stuart tanks?

    EKB very nice pictures, to bad we are unable to read that vehicle marking. It looks like a K-74 and then either a 6 a 4 or a 5... But all those battalions never where in the area of Fromond around the 8 of July...

    Lately I'm coming across morning reports. It seems they are quite similar to the war diaries the commonwealth units wrote. Maybe worthwhile to see if I can find those of 743 Tank battalion. Any one know where to start looking for them?

    Does Anyone know how to figure out the names that where given to the tanks of the us tank battalions?

    Regards,

    Remi
     
  17. Buck-Compton

    Buck-Compton Junior Member

    Hello everyone,

    I believe I ran into a stroke of luck. I was able to join the 743rd Facebook page. In their resources list i've found a file with the Able Company personnel roster (date unknown). In the roster i've found reference to the vehicle numbers 3011144 and 3011149. I'm not quite familiar with how the US army ordnance Corps distributed all the tanks to the tank battalions. But I guess it make it very safe to assume that the tank in my photo must have been part of 743rd Tank Battalion!

    Regards,

    Remi
     
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  18. EKB

    EKB Well-Known Member

    Last edited: Jan 27, 2025
  19. Buck-Compton

    Buck-Compton Junior Member

    I today had contact with someone who collects a lot of data on the 30th infantry division. He told me the dozer sherman in Fromond is definitly A-Coy 743 tank battalion with engineers from the 105th combat engineer battalion.

    EKB Wow what a great find you did! I'll put the stills in my collection of 743rd Tank Battalion photos! I also like the first scene with the signal men deploying a field telephone cable. Especially the fact that I'm a signals officer as well in the Netherlands Armed Forces. Nice to see them just climb up a telephone pole without security equipment, while smoking. Nowadays I would have to reprimand that soldier for both things.

    Regards,

    Remi
     
  20. EKB

    EKB Well-Known Member

    A few more pics near the bridge at St. Fromond.
    p012472.jpg img_099_lg.jpeg p012475.jpg
    p012472.jpg
    img_099_lg
    p012475.jpg

    Also traced several pictures of the 3rd Armored Division at Fromond and I can post links if interested. As this was a river crossing, the sequence and dates for this location suggests that traffic from the 743rd was probably mixed with other units and that could stir up a confusion. Also it was normal to see vehicles return to the rear for various reasons; messaging, maintenance, repair and of course salvage operations.

    It’s not easy to read, but the side view photo of the tank-dozer that you posted indicates art work and informal name of V***** Virgin. Another mystery until we see a high resolution copy.
     

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