I was reading a book on tank warfare which mentioned Sgt. Lafayette Pool as being a US tank ace with 258 kills of tanks/armored vehicles in 83 days.
I have some questions about Pool:
1. Is Pool the #1 US tank ace?
2. How many of the 258 kills were tanks?
3. He used a Sherman with a 76mm cannon for some of his kills. Did he also use a Sherman with a 75mm for some of the kills?
Sgt. Lafayette Pool--US tank ace?
He served with the 3rd Platoon, "I" Company, 32nd Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Division from 1941 to 1944. During a brief 83 days in combat in France, Belgium and Germany, Pool and his tank crew were credited with destroying 258 enemy vehicles, including tanks, self-propelled guns, and armored cars. He and his crew killed over 1,000 enemy soldiers and took over 250 prisoners.
His was the point tank in 21 full-scale engagements, and he survived many harrowing close calls with death. Fighting from three different Sherman tanks, Pool and his crew knocked out no less than 12 German tanks, most of which were superior to the Shermans in terms of armor and firepower.
This article answers question three.
http://www.3ad.com/history/wwll/pool.pa ... .tanks.htm
His was the point tank in 21 full-scale engagements, and he survived many harrowing close calls with death. Fighting from three different Sherman tanks, Pool and his crew knocked out no less than 12 German tanks, most of which were superior to the Shermans in terms of armor and firepower.
This article answers question three.
http://www.3ad.com/history/wwll/pool.pa ... .tanks.htm
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PanzerArm
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Fuzzy Math
Those numbers sound highly suspect to me, especially for a crew in the ETO for only 4 months, and in only 21 engagements. The only thing I really believe is the 250 prisoners, as I know it was not uncommon for large numbers of Germans to surrender to tanks, especially during the battles in the Falaise Pocket.
-Kevin
-Kevin
GUYS:
Thanks for the info. From what I've read, Pool used a 76mm Sherman for all his kills, but one article I read said his division started out with 75mm Shermans on D-Day---this confused me. I assume Pool is the #1 US tank ace. There is confusion about tank aces because German tank aces are credited with tanks-only or tanks & armored vehicles.
Thanks for the info. From what I've read, Pool used a 76mm Sherman for all his kills, but one article I read said his division started out with 75mm Shermans on D-Day---this confused me. I assume Pool is the #1 US tank ace. There is confusion about tank aces because German tank aces are credited with tanks-only or tanks & armored vehicles.