Posted on Jan 14, 2018
SANTA FE RAILROAD IN WORLD WAR II CAMP HOOD TANK DESTROYER TRAINING EXERCISES 52024
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An interesting look into recruit training and advanced training of the Tank destroyer unit at Camp Hood Texas during World War II. Some parts of this Periscope films shows different signs for example : " Think Dammit " ! enjoy........
Note : I have included two more videos in the links below that cover more of Camp Hood training. The M-10 Tank destroyer and M3 Motor Gun Carriage Half Track.
Santa Fe Railway presents “Seek Strike Destroy,” a World War II-era color film made in cooperation with the US War Department’s Bureau of Public Relations and the Fort Hood military post (at the time called Camp Hood) in Texas. The film opens with a scroll supporting WWII servicemen and encourages the viewer to “redouble our resolve to speed the victory which must and will be our!” The film opens with an aerial view of Camp Hood as soldiers march in formation, prepare meals, and unload supplies from rail cars. As an incoming recruit train (mark 03:10) enters the grounds, we are introduced to a fresh-faced inductee who acts as the “guide” for the remainder of the story. Scenes from basic training unfolds as recruits march and take target practice on the gun range before beginning their advanced training (mark 05:45) as gun crews and with tank destroyers. A crew climbs aboard a tank at mark 08:00 for additional target practice followed by a run through the battle conditioning course (mark 08:40) “to accustom them to the rigors of actual combat.” After scaling walls, crawling under barbed wire, up nets, and down ropes, the recruits face a water hazard and unarmed fighting (mark 10:41). Men train with small arms, machine guns, and bazookas (mark 11:25), and learn “the art of house-to-house fighting.” Although the training is intense, the narrator explains it is necessary. “By subjecting our men to battle conditions during training, first fright is over and done with, thus enabling them to think clearly when going into actual combat,” we’re told at mark 16:26. Near mark 17:00 the film addresses some of the tactical problems of tank destroyer training, and we watch as “Nazi tanks” emerge from a tree line as part of an exercise. As training is complete, supplies and equipment are shown being loaded on freight cars and the train pulls out, “loaded with men and machines who mean business.”
During World War II, tank destroyers were developed to counter German mobile armored units. These were mobile anti-tank guns on armored halftracks or specially developed tanks. Wide-open space was needed for the tank destroyer testing and training, which Texas had in abundance. Andrew Davis (A.D.) Bruce was assigned to organize a new Tank Destroyer Tactical and Firing Center, and he chose Killeen, Texas for the new camp. The War Department announced the selection on 15 January 1942. An initial acquisition of 108,000 acres (169 mi² / 437 km²) was made, and it was estimated that the camp would cost $22,800,000 for the land, facilities, and development of utilities. The date of completion was set for 15 August 1942.
In mid-August the camp was occupied and the official opening took place on 18 September 1942. Camp Hood was named for the Confederate General John Bell Hood, who gained recognition during the Civil War as the commander of Hood's Texas Brigade.The original facilities provided housing and training sites for nearly 38,000 troops. In January 1943, an additional 16,000 acres (65 km²) in Bell County and 34,943 acres (141 km²) in Coryell County near Gatesville, Texas were purchased. The site near Gatesville was known as the sub-camp and later as North Camp Hood. During the war years, North Camp Hood housed nearly 40,000 troops and 4,000 prisoners of war, and was the site for the southern branch of the United States Disciplinary Barracks.
At the end of 1942 there were about 45,000 troops living and training at Camp Hood and in late June 1943 it peaked at almost 95,000 troops, which was maintained until early 1944. In 1944 the number of tank destroyer battalions in training at Camp Hood declined rapidly. Field artillery battalions and the Infantry Replacement Training Center replaced them in March 1944. By September, the Infantry Center was the largest activity on post with 31,545 troops. The total camp population on the last day of 1944 was 50,228.
https://youtu.be/bl1mMGKq8MM
https://youtu.be/-L9H8YRDPcM
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen C. @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc wayne LTC Wayne Brandon @ maj william Maj William W. 'Bill' Price @ capt tom Capt Tom Brown @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smsgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ sra christopher SrA Christopher B. @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sfc william SFC William Farrell @ ssg david SSG David Andrews @ ssg robert SSG Robert Webster @ sgt randy Sgt Randy Wilber @ sgt jim SGT Jim Arnold @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski @ cpl dave CPL Dave Hoover @ spc margaret SPC Margaret Higgins
Note : I have included two more videos in the links below that cover more of Camp Hood training. The M-10 Tank destroyer and M3 Motor Gun Carriage Half Track.
Santa Fe Railway presents “Seek Strike Destroy,” a World War II-era color film made in cooperation with the US War Department’s Bureau of Public Relations and the Fort Hood military post (at the time called Camp Hood) in Texas. The film opens with a scroll supporting WWII servicemen and encourages the viewer to “redouble our resolve to speed the victory which must and will be our!” The film opens with an aerial view of Camp Hood as soldiers march in formation, prepare meals, and unload supplies from rail cars. As an incoming recruit train (mark 03:10) enters the grounds, we are introduced to a fresh-faced inductee who acts as the “guide” for the remainder of the story. Scenes from basic training unfolds as recruits march and take target practice on the gun range before beginning their advanced training (mark 05:45) as gun crews and with tank destroyers. A crew climbs aboard a tank at mark 08:00 for additional target practice followed by a run through the battle conditioning course (mark 08:40) “to accustom them to the rigors of actual combat.” After scaling walls, crawling under barbed wire, up nets, and down ropes, the recruits face a water hazard and unarmed fighting (mark 10:41). Men train with small arms, machine guns, and bazookas (mark 11:25), and learn “the art of house-to-house fighting.” Although the training is intense, the narrator explains it is necessary. “By subjecting our men to battle conditions during training, first fright is over and done with, thus enabling them to think clearly when going into actual combat,” we’re told at mark 16:26. Near mark 17:00 the film addresses some of the tactical problems of tank destroyer training, and we watch as “Nazi tanks” emerge from a tree line as part of an exercise. As training is complete, supplies and equipment are shown being loaded on freight cars and the train pulls out, “loaded with men and machines who mean business.”
During World War II, tank destroyers were developed to counter German mobile armored units. These were mobile anti-tank guns on armored halftracks or specially developed tanks. Wide-open space was needed for the tank destroyer testing and training, which Texas had in abundance. Andrew Davis (A.D.) Bruce was assigned to organize a new Tank Destroyer Tactical and Firing Center, and he chose Killeen, Texas for the new camp. The War Department announced the selection on 15 January 1942. An initial acquisition of 108,000 acres (169 mi² / 437 km²) was made, and it was estimated that the camp would cost $22,800,000 for the land, facilities, and development of utilities. The date of completion was set for 15 August 1942.
In mid-August the camp was occupied and the official opening took place on 18 September 1942. Camp Hood was named for the Confederate General John Bell Hood, who gained recognition during the Civil War as the commander of Hood's Texas Brigade.The original facilities provided housing and training sites for nearly 38,000 troops. In January 1943, an additional 16,000 acres (65 km²) in Bell County and 34,943 acres (141 km²) in Coryell County near Gatesville, Texas were purchased. The site near Gatesville was known as the sub-camp and later as North Camp Hood. During the war years, North Camp Hood housed nearly 40,000 troops and 4,000 prisoners of war, and was the site for the southern branch of the United States Disciplinary Barracks.
At the end of 1942 there were about 45,000 troops living and training at Camp Hood and in late June 1943 it peaked at almost 95,000 troops, which was maintained until early 1944. In 1944 the number of tank destroyer battalions in training at Camp Hood declined rapidly. Field artillery battalions and the Infantry Replacement Training Center replaced them in March 1944. By September, the Infantry Center was the largest activity on post with 31,545 troops. The total camp population on the last day of 1944 was 50,228.
https://youtu.be/bl1mMGKq8MM
https://youtu.be/-L9H8YRDPcM
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen C. @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc wayne LTC Wayne Brandon @ maj william Maj William W. 'Bill' Price @ capt tom Capt Tom Brown @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smsgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ sra christopher SrA Christopher B. @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sfc william SFC William Farrell @ ssg david SSG David Andrews @ ssg robert SSG Robert Webster @ sgt randy Sgt Randy Wilber @ sgt jim SGT Jim Arnold @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski @ cpl dave CPL Dave Hoover @ spc margaret SPC Margaret Higgins
Fort Cavazos
WWII World War Two
Training
Tanks
Military History
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 10
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This is my second attempt at responding to your post SGT John " Mac " McConnell. Hopefully this one will process.
Thanks for sharing a video focused on the Tank destroyer unit at Camp Hood Texas during World War II. The GMC M-10 Wolverine Tank destroyer and GMC M3 Motor Gun Carriage Half Track were well suited to combat in Europe especially.
"On November 21, 1941 General Marshall activated the Tank Destroyer Force which was developed by the Army Ground Force's General Leslie J. McNair, and implemented by General Andrew Bruce at Camp Hood, Texas. They were charged with the mission to SEEK, STRIKE and DESTROY enemy tanks.
Camp Hood is located in southwestern Bell and southeastern Coryell counties in Central Texas. Most of the 218,000 acres owned by the United States Army is located in Coryell County. On January 14, 1942, at the beginning of United States involvement in World War II, it was announced that a Tank Destroyer Tactical and Firing Center would be established near Killeen, Texas. Gen. Andrew D. Bruce was selected as the first commander.
The first major unit, the 893d Tank Destroyer Battalion, arrived from Fort Meade, Maryland, on April 2, 1942. As other troops began arriving, some 300 farming and ranching families were required, on very short notice, to give up their land. Camp Hood was officially opened on September 18, 1942, and has been continuously used for armored training ever since. The installation was named in honor of Gen. John Bell Hood.
The mission at Camp Hood was almost immediately expanded to include a Replacement and Basic Training Center at North Camp Hood. At times, as many as 100,000 soldiers were being trained for the war effort. During the later part of the war some 4,000 German prisoners of war were interned at Camp Hood. Text courtesy of the Tank Destroyer Society."
https://www.tankdestroyer.net/places/camphoodtexas
Image: Tank Destroyer Battalion (SP) Structure - March 1944
I wasted a lot of time trying to post a 1942 task organization structure.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown CW5 (Join to see) SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT MSG Andrew White SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Joshua Caldwells]
Thanks for sharing a video focused on the Tank destroyer unit at Camp Hood Texas during World War II. The GMC M-10 Wolverine Tank destroyer and GMC M3 Motor Gun Carriage Half Track were well suited to combat in Europe especially.
"On November 21, 1941 General Marshall activated the Tank Destroyer Force which was developed by the Army Ground Force's General Leslie J. McNair, and implemented by General Andrew Bruce at Camp Hood, Texas. They were charged with the mission to SEEK, STRIKE and DESTROY enemy tanks.
Camp Hood is located in southwestern Bell and southeastern Coryell counties in Central Texas. Most of the 218,000 acres owned by the United States Army is located in Coryell County. On January 14, 1942, at the beginning of United States involvement in World War II, it was announced that a Tank Destroyer Tactical and Firing Center would be established near Killeen, Texas. Gen. Andrew D. Bruce was selected as the first commander.
The first major unit, the 893d Tank Destroyer Battalion, arrived from Fort Meade, Maryland, on April 2, 1942. As other troops began arriving, some 300 farming and ranching families were required, on very short notice, to give up their land. Camp Hood was officially opened on September 18, 1942, and has been continuously used for armored training ever since. The installation was named in honor of Gen. John Bell Hood.
The mission at Camp Hood was almost immediately expanded to include a Replacement and Basic Training Center at North Camp Hood. At times, as many as 100,000 soldiers were being trained for the war effort. During the later part of the war some 4,000 German prisoners of war were interned at Camp Hood. Text courtesy of the Tank Destroyer Society."
https://www.tankdestroyer.net/places/camphoodtexas
Image: Tank Destroyer Battalion (SP) Structure - March 1944
I wasted a lot of time trying to post a 1942 task organization structure.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown CW5 (Join to see) SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT MSG Andrew White SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Joshua Caldwells]
This site is dedicated to the men that served our country in Tank Destroyers. It is my hope that this site may bring together the families of these men to celebrate their accomplishments during WWII and in life.
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SGT John " Mac " McConnell
Thanks LTC Stephen F. . Great addition to this post. On a side note my father went through basic and tank destroyer training during this time at Camp Hood. Have a great day my friend.
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SGT John " Mac " McConnell nice video share but I was a tanker so not crazy about the subject haha.
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My father went through that training, but never served in a TD unit. Once he got to North Africa they assigned his as a radioman in an Infantry company.
The Tank Destroyers did have a cool pathc, a panther crusing a tank in it's mouth.
The Tank Destroyers did have a cool pathc, a panther crusing a tank in it's mouth.
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SGT John " Mac " McConnell
My father as well went through this training at Camp Hood. Thanks MSG Stan Hutchison
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