AUCTIONS Poulin Fine Arts & Antiques RARE WW2 650TH TANK DESTROYER BATTALION, COMPANY

1310L RARE WW2 650TH TANK DESTROYER BATTALION, COMPANY

SOLD
325.00USDto floor+ buyer's premium
This item SOLD at 2023 Aug 29 @ 14:03UTC-4 : AST/EDT
Category Collectibles
Auction Currency USD
Start Price 150.00 USD
Estimated at 300.00 - 400.00 USD
"A" GUIDON. 20" x 27" double applique orange cotton text and silhouette of cannon mounted M3 halftrack on black bunting field. The 650th was formed March 1943 at Camp Bowie, TX and merged with 425th Armor in March 1944. Army QM label not dated but unit only existed one year 1943-1944. The concept of tank destroyer units differed from Army doctrine of tank units before and into World War Two. Tanks were considered the break-through elements of the Army, designed to punch holes in enemy lines and exploit the rear areas causing havoc with logistics, reinforcements and more. The German Army also developed its own tank destroyer doctrine and weapons systems including towed guns (37MM to 88MM) and then motorized armored vehicles (a number of types). Tank destroyer units were designed to take on enemy tanks that had broken through friendly lines. In the U.S. Army this was done initially with towed 37MM and 75 MM anti-tank guns and later with motorized M-10 (75MM gun), M-36 (90 MM gun) and M-18 (76MM gun), the latter units being armored. The Battle of the Bulge was the swansong of the towed Tank Destroyer units with many of them overrun in the German surprise attack. The first battle where the towed guns had issues and high losses was at Mortain in Normandy. This helped the Army’s decision to adding the armored and more mobile tank destroyers to the war in Europe replacing the towed guns. As with many of the tank battalions of World War Two, tank destroyer battalions were assigned to armor and infantry divisions for fire support and anti-tank capability. The concept was first worked out in 1941 and the doctrine for the units certified in 1942. Prior to this towed 37 MM guns and M3 Half Tracks with 75MM guns mounted in the back were used in the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941 and again in the Carolinas maneuvers later that year. The concept was proven and orders issued to raise 53 battalions of tank destroyers which was greatly expanded later. The first combat use of tank destroyers was in North Africa in particular at El Guettar where the guns on the M3 halftracks helped stop the 10th Panzer Division albeit at considerable losses of units. As the M10, M36 and M18 armored tank destroyers began reaching the front the towed and halftrack mounted units converted to them. By the end of the war and the arrival of the M26 Pershing tank with heavier armor and a powerful 90MM gun, the curtain fell on the tank destroyer concept. That would be taken over by the tanks themselves – as they had been doing since 1942. In March 1943, the Tank Destroyer Force finally received a new branch insignia. This depicted the profile of a M-3 half-track mounting a 75-mm gun. Although only the version for left-side wear was authorized (M-3 facing to the right, or honorable, side), the insignia were occasionally worn in pairs; more rarely with the unit numbers added. The shoulder sleeve insignia was approved on September 22, 1942, and was created by the staff of General Andrew Bruce, its first commanding officer. The colors of the force were black and orange. Hence, the TD patch featured a powerful black panther crushing a tank in its jaws, all on an orange disk. The tank, which in the original version of the patch had eight bogie wheels, typified an American tank, not a German version. Insignia manufacturers had problems breaking numerous needles while completing all the bogie wheels, necessitating the four-wheel variation of the SSI, most common version. The 650th Tank Destroyer Battalion was formed in March 1943 at Camp Bowie, Texas. A year later it was deactivated and morphed into the 425th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. Thus, this flag had to have been made between 1943 and 1944. The guidon must have been made in the Tank Destroyer Branch colors. CONDITION: very good overall, one small hole in field, soiling, orange lettering light faded to gold/yellow. (02-19473-27/JS). $300-400.
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