Duncan W. Fraser, President of ALCO (left) and S. E. Skinner, President of Oldsmobile inspect a welded patch on an M-4 tank in Nancy, France, December 1944. Courtesy of the National Archives.
A reader of this blog tipped me off to the fact that the future American Locomotive Company museum has found its space at 1910 Maxon Road, Schenectady. They are currently in fund-raising mode. My grandfather was an ALCO worker before joining the Army in 1943. He welded tanks and the secret M-7 mobile howitzer. This is discussed in the first couple chapters of my book.
The museum will focus on the company's locomotive production, but the director tells me that they will also have a M-7 on display. To learn more about ALCO's wartime efforts see my series of posts on Schenectady in WWII.
ALCO workers tending to an M-7, 1943.
Happy ALCO workers with a completed M4 Sherman tank.
An M7 being tested, perhaps at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.
As it turned out, the M7 was a really bad tank. Good pics
ReplyDeleteThe M-7 wasn't a tank, although the howitzer was mounted on a tank chassis. It was not designed to engage in a standard tank vs tank battle. It's purpose was to shell enemy tanks from a great distance. From what I have read it was especially effective in the Battle of El Alamein.
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