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This Sherman M4A3E2 Jumbo Cobra King was the first tank to break through to the beleaguered 101st Airborne Div. at Bastogne on Dec 26, 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge.
Cobra King served with the 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division during WWII and fought through France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, and into Czechoslovakia.
According to historians, Cobra King had been knocked out of action in France in Nov 1944. The tank was repaired and returned to action in Luxembourg. There, tank commander Charles Trover was killed by a sniper on Dec 23 as he stood in Cobra King’s turret. Trover was replaced by Lt. Charles Boggess who finally commanded Cobra King during the Battle of the Bulge.
Along with Boggess, Cobra King was crewed by driver Pvt. Hubert Smith, assistant driver/bow gunner Pvt. Harold Hafner, loader Pvt. James Murphy and gunner Cpl. Milton Dickerman. The five men led Gen Patton’s 3rd Army’s relief of Bastogne on Dec 26.
After a cruel battle the tank crew spotted some soldiers in the distance who through binoculars looked like Americans. But the tankers were wary because infiltrating German troops were said to be dressed as Americans. Finally, an America soldier strode up to the tank, stuck his hand out to Boggess and said: “Glad to see you.”
Today the iron hero rests in a museum in Virginia.
Miniature of Cobra King tank exhibited in Japan on 2018 at Shizuoka Hobby Show, in central Shizuoka.
Cobra King served with the 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division during WWII and fought through France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, and into Czechoslovakia.
According to historians, Cobra King had been knocked out of action in France in Nov 1944. The tank was repaired and returned to action in Luxembourg. There, tank commander Charles Trover was killed by a sniper on Dec 23 as he stood in Cobra King’s turret. Trover was replaced by Lt. Charles Boggess who finally commanded Cobra King during the Battle of the Bulge.
Along with Boggess, Cobra King was crewed by driver Pvt. Hubert Smith, assistant driver/bow gunner Pvt. Harold Hafner, loader Pvt. James Murphy and gunner Cpl. Milton Dickerman. The five men led Gen Patton’s 3rd Army’s relief of Bastogne on Dec 26.
After a cruel battle the tank crew spotted some soldiers in the distance who through binoculars looked like Americans. But the tankers were wary because infiltrating German troops were said to be dressed as Americans. Finally, an America soldier strode up to the tank, stuck his hand out to Boggess and said: “Glad to see you.”
Today the iron hero rests in a museum in Virginia.
Miniature of Cobra King tank exhibited in Japan on 2018 at Shizuoka Hobby Show, in central Shizuoka.
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