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From Ken Small's book 'The Forgotten Dead' he explains that this tank was not, as is commonly thought, sunk along with an LST or other ship during the German attack, but was in fact sunk when it pitched off the side of a vessel after another tank on deck reversed into it. The tank was a Dual Drive (or DD) model which were tanks modified with rear propellers aswell as an inflatable 'skirt' that was mounted around the tank. As one can imagine a tank is not the best vehicle to try and float to shore and is a complete disaster waiting to happen when, in this case, the specialised waterproof rear hatch is left off! As soon as the Sherman hit the water the interior started to take on water. The results of this are pretty obvious. Luckily no-one died in the incident. |
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