00:19 - Hi I'm Tom McLaughlin i'm

00:20 - the curator of the Stuart tank

00:22 - memorial museum

00:23 - here at three o nine north vine

00:25 - street in borough Pennsylvania.

00:27 - The purpose of the

00:28 - museum is to honor the

00:29 - nine thousand one hundred

00:30 - and thirty five workers

00:32 - from one hundred and seventy

00:33 - seven municipalities throughout

00:34 - northeastern Pennsylvania.

00:36 - That came here at the

00:37 - American car and foundry

00:39 - and built this

00:39 - Stuart light tank.

00:41 - And so many other items

00:43 - for the arsenal of democracy.

00:46 - Would like to take you

00:47 - inside and give you a tour of.

00:49 - All the different artifacts that

00:50 - have been donated by the local

00:52 - community

00:53 - and by the families

00:54 - of veterans in the area.

01:03 - Kane here we have a display of.

01:06 - World war two weapons.

01:08 - We have Thompson

01:09 - machine gun.

01:11 - We have a British three o three

01:13 - a German nine millimeter.

01:15 - Japanese

01:16 - seven point seven.

01:18 - Caliber rifle.

01:21 - Check

01:21 - eight millimeter.

01:23 - And a German

01:24 - eight millimeter.

01:25 - As well as a.

01:27 - US army grease

01:28 - gun and the German.

01:30 - Mp forty machine gun.

01:33 - As well as

01:34 - some metals a purple heart and.

01:37 - Bronze star and good

01:38 - conduct medal here on display

01:40 - we have a few grenades.

01:42 - Practice grenades not real ones.

01:45 - And a loaf offer

01:46 - a helmet and hat.

01:47 - And we have a.

01:49 - World war two US infantryman

01:51 - complete with

01:52 - his m one grand rifle.

01:58 - We have partnered with

02:00 - Jack craft and the endless

02:01 - mountain war memorial museum in

02:03 - sones town.

02:05 - He has a very large collection

02:07 - of military memorabilia starting

02:09 - with the civil war on up.

02:12 - And he has agreed to

02:13 - rotate his displays through or

02:15 - through this section

02:16 - of our museum

02:17 - so that people get the

02:18 - better flavor of things that.

02:21 - We may not have

02:22 - in our collection.

02:25 - I get.

02:27 - A main part of the mission

02:28 - of the Stuart tank memorial

02:30 - association is the

02:30 - education of the public

02:32 - and because of that

02:34 - we have a large lending

02:35 - library here in our museum

02:37 - where people can sign out books

02:39 - all about the different

02:40 - equipment and.

02:42 - PR.

02:43 - Personalities

02:44 - and battles that took place

02:45 - during the second

02:46 - world war sure.

02:48 - Everything from.

02:50 - Pearl harbor through a

02:52 - vj day.

02:53 - Victory in Japan.

02:55 - And all the different.

02:56 - Generals and

02:58 - politicians that are involved

03:00 - including all the.

03:02 - The German himmler

03:03 - and goering and Hitler

03:05 - and then you have

03:06 - eisenhower and even

03:08 - Bob dole

03:09 - and a few of those

03:10 - other veterans.

03:11 - And then we have our.

03:16 - Modern culture section

03:17 - where a store tag made

03:19 - it into popular culture.

03:21 - In the nineteen

03:22 - sixties there was

03:23 - a whole series by DC

03:25 - comics of the haunted tank.

03:27 - Where a tank crew

03:28 - in a steward tank.

03:30 - Fought their way from

03:31 - north Africa through

03:33 - Europe

03:33 - protected by the ghost

03:35 - of general Jeb Stuart.

03:37 - And.

03:39 - There was also

03:40 - at one point.

03:41 - The.

03:43 - American car and foundry had

03:44 - it's own choir and orchestra.

03:46 - And

03:47 - we have sheet music

03:48 - keep the yanks

03:49 - and tanks rolling on.

03:51 - The.

03:53 - There was also the movie tank

03:54 - girl url in which the tank they

03:55 - use there was a

03:56 - modified Stuart tank

03:59 - and there was an

03:59 - episode of the twilight zone.

04:01 - Where the Montana national

04:03 - guard crew of US Stuart tank.

04:05 - Found themselves

04:06 - at the battle of

04:07 - little bighorn.

04:09 - So it's.

04:10 - Made it's way through

04:10 - popular culture fairly well.

04:15 - K we also have

04:16 - a full collection of

04:18 - hundreds

04:19 - of factory photographs

04:21 - and pictures of

04:22 - where they are now have Stuart

04:25 - tanks in countries

04:25 - around the world.

04:26 - We have.

04:27 - A copy of the book the

04:28 - armed forces of the ac f

04:30 - which chronicles all the

04:31 - equipment that was built by the

04:33 - American car and foundry

04:34 - during world war two

04:36 - and just to.

04:37 - Complete the collection we have

04:39 - American car and

04:40 - foundry and khaki

04:41 - which is what they

04:42 - built in world war one.

04:44 - There's pictures of

04:45 - the fabrication of the.

04:47 - D seven bulldozers and the all

04:49 - the different versions of the.

04:52 - M three and m five Stuart tanks.

04:56 - And then we also have.

04:58 - The personal flags of.

05:00 - General William hardik.

05:04 - He served in the tank

05:05 - corps in the nineteen thirties.

05:08 - But even before the Stuart

05:09 - tank came into existence

05:11 - he served with general

05:12 - MacArthur in the pacific

05:15 - and also in.

05:16 - NATO after the war.

05:18 - He's tied to berwick in that

05:20 - he who is married to one of the

05:22 - daughters of.

05:24 - From wise potato chip fame.

05:26 - And his.

05:28 - Grandson Bob wise serves

05:29 - on our board of directors.

05:35 - Fred Sheppard Lee was a parts

05:36 - manager at American car and

05:38 - foundry when the

05:38 - marine corps got their

05:40 - very first.

05:41 - Tanks

05:42 - and they needed someone who

05:43 - knew something about tanks they

05:45 - came there on a

05:46 - recruiting mission

05:47 - as well as an inspection tour

05:48 - and Fred

05:50 - agreed to

05:51 - join the marine corps.

05:52 - The problem was

05:53 - Fred only weighed

05:54 - about one hundred and seven

05:55 - pounds so the marine corps

05:56 - rejected him three times.

05:58 - His son actually has copied a

06:00 - letter from the common on the

06:01 - marine corps it says

06:02 - you will take this man.

06:04 - And he went in as a captain

06:07 - know basic training officer

06:08 - candidate school

06:09 - we spent his first

06:10 - three months writing the

06:11 - manuals for the Stuart tanks.

06:13 - Then he came back to the factory

06:15 - and recruited one hundred men

06:16 - off the

06:17 - production floor

06:18 - and they became the marine corps

06:20 - armor maintenance and repair

06:21 - company in the south pacific

06:22 - for two and a half years.

06:27 - Back in the

06:28 - seventies

06:28 - they actually built

06:29 - a model of the.

06:31 - M five a one Stuart tank.

06:34 - Specifically for the g I Joe.

06:37 - And here we have a

06:37 - couple models of that.

06:40 - The one that's white

06:42 - that was actually.

06:43 - Made as a mockup.

06:45 - Of the last tank to come

06:46 - off the assembly line.

06:48 - Here at scf berwick.

06:51 - It came off the line on

06:52 - April seventh eighth

06:53 - nineteen forty four.

06:55 - It was painted white.

06:57 - Partly for the parade

06:59 - and but mainly because they

07:01 - painted them completely white to

07:03 - begin with as a primer coat.

07:05 - The interior of the

07:06 - tank was left white

07:07 - so that made it easier to see

07:08 - when all the

07:09 - hatches were closed.

07:11 - Once the parade was over.

07:13 - That tank went back to the

07:15 - paint shop

07:16 - and got a coat of olive

07:17 - drab loader on a railroad car

07:19 - and off to the army

07:20 - because.

07:21 - That was two months before d

07:23 - day and everything shipped out.

07:28 - People ask US.

07:30 - Why it was called

07:30 - the Stuart tank.

07:32 - That goes back to the

07:33 - early days of lend-lease.

07:35 - When we first gave

07:36 - lend-lease tanks to the British

07:38 - we gave them

07:39 - the m three light tank

07:41 - and the n three medium

07:42 - tank at the same time.

07:44 - And.

07:45 - They considered that to be a bit

07:46 - confusing having two different

07:47 - m three tanks.

07:49 - And they

07:49 - we name all our

07:50 - tanks after generals.

07:52 - So we'll rename these

07:53 - tanks after generals

07:55 - but just to kind of

07:56 - stick it to the Americans

07:57 - will name after

07:58 - confederate generals.

08:00 - So they named

08:01 - the light tank the.

08:02 - The

08:03 - Stewart and they named

08:04 - the medium tank the lie.

08:06 - Well the Americans.

08:07 - Caught on.

08:08 - When we gave them the

08:09 - upgraded Lee and the new one

08:11 - for tank we named them the grey

08:13 - and the sherman

08:14 - before we gave

08:15 - them to the British.

08:20 - This is an m three Stuart tank.

08:22 - It was built here

08:23 - in berwick at a cf

08:25 - and

08:26 - came off the line in

08:27 - June of nineteen forty two.

08:28 - This particular

08:29 - tank is on loan to US

08:31 - from the national museum of the

08:32 - marine corps in Quantico.

08:35 - The Stuart tank

08:36 - at a four man crew.

08:38 - The.

08:38 - Driver or the assistant driver.

08:40 - The gunner

08:41 - and the tank commander.

08:44 - It had.

08:45 - A.

08:46 - Thirty caliber machine

08:47 - gun ball mount.

08:48 - It had another thirty caliber.

08:51 - Machine gun co

08:52 - actual to the main gun.

08:53 - It had.

08:55 - A third.

08:57 - Pivot mount above the

08:58 - turret for anti aircraft.

09:00 - The main gun itself.

09:02 - Was a.

09:04 - Thirty seven millimeter.

09:06 - Gun that was state of the art.

09:08 - Anti tank weapon in the.

09:10 - Nineteen forty to forty two.

09:13 - Which.

09:14 - This tank was designed to go

09:15 - up against a panzer one twos and

09:17 - threes.

09:19 - So.

09:20 - It matched up

09:20 - pretty well with them.

09:22 - As the.

09:24 - Tigers and panthers

09:25 - came out the larger tanks

09:27 - and the German army.

09:29 - Most of the stores were.

09:31 - Assigned to

09:32 - reconnaissance missions

09:33 - and the European theater

09:35 - but they liked them in the

09:36 - pacific because they weighed

09:37 - half as much as a sherman.

09:39 - And they can come

09:40 - off the landing craft and.

09:41 - Get across the

09:42 - coral to the beach

09:43 - where the sherman

09:44 - brings so much heavier

09:46 - wood sometimes crush

09:47 - the coral and get stuck.

09:49 - And the Japanese did

09:50 - not have that many tanks

09:52 - so it

09:53 - really didn't.

09:54 - Have much competition

09:56 - that and that field.

09:58 - But.

09:59 - We also have our own tank.

10:01 - As some of you may

10:02 - have seen lady Lois.

10:04 - It's a m three a one it's the

10:06 - next model up from this one.

10:08 - It came off the assembly line in

10:10 - December of nineteen forty two.

10:14 - If this six months

10:15 - after this tank.

10:16 - This tank.

10:17 - A serial number

10:18 - forty nine eighty eight.

10:20 - Lady Lois is Sarah lumber ten

10:22 - thousand three hundred and nine

10:23 - there's fifty five

10:24 - hundred serial

10:25 - numbers in a six month period

10:26 - there are putting

10:27 - out forty tanks a day

10:29 - at peak production.

10:34 - What they liked about this tank

10:35 - is that it did

10:37 - thirty five miles an hour.

10:39 - That most of the tanks

10:40 - and that period only did

10:41 - nine or ten because the

10:43 - original designed to be

10:44 - infantry support.

10:46 - So when the British got

10:47 - these tanks in north Africa.

10:50 - They were thrilled

10:51 - to death a nickname

10:52 - the honey.

10:52 - Because it was

10:53 - one honey to drive

10:54 - and one honey to maintain.

10:56 - The British tanks would have

10:57 - to have be.

10:58 - Maintenance every hundred miles

10:59 - to store was designed to go

11:00 - one thousand miles without any

11:02 - maintenance.

11:04 - Over half the store

11:05 - tanks built here in berwick.

11:07 - Actually went out on lendlease

11:08 - prior to

11:10 - Pearl harbor.

11:11 - They went to the

11:12 - the Russians the

11:14 - Chinese.

11:15 - The British commonwealth forces

11:17 - which included

11:18 - Australia new Zealand.

11:20 - India.

11:21 - South Africa

11:23 - and then all the.

11:24 - The free French the

11:25 - free yugoslavia free polls

11:27 - all received the.

11:29 - Stuart tanks

11:29 - through the British.

11:35 - The signature element on

11:36 - the Stuart tank is this large

11:38 - idler wheel on the back.

11:40 - This was a

11:41 - request from the

11:42 - British army.

11:44 - When they were in north Africa.

11:46 - By adding this large

11:47 - wheel on the back

11:49 - it extended the

11:50 - amount of track that actually.

11:51 - Sat on the ground

11:52 - and reduce the ground pressure.

11:55 - Of the tank.

11:56 - It while they were

11:57 - in the Sahara desert

11:58 - so as a result.

12:00 - It only puts down

12:02 - ten pounds per square inch

12:04 - and it avoids getting

12:05 - bogged down in the sand

12:07 - and

12:08 - in other cases in the mud.

12:10 - While it's in service.

12:14 - Additionally on the rear of each

12:15 - tank there was a set of what

12:17 - were referred to

12:18 - as pioneering tools.

12:19 - A shovel

12:20 - or pickaxe

12:21 - a regular lumberjack axe

12:24 - and these are all

12:25 - there in case that

12:26 - the tank would get stuck

12:28 - on a tree stump or in a ditch

12:30 - or in the mud somewhere they

12:31 - would have tools

12:32 - where they they'd

12:33 - be able to work on

12:34 - the tank and get it.

12:35 - Extra.

12:36 - Extricated.

12:39 - And the last.

12:40 - Stuart tank built

12:41 - here at a cf berwick.

12:43 - Went out the door

12:44 - on.

12:45 - April seventeen

12:46 - nineteen forty four.

12:48 - And they suddenly had

12:49 - all that extra shop space.

12:52 - Caterpillar.

12:53 - Was building.

12:55 - A bulldozers for the army

12:57 - and they were.

12:58 - Falling behind

12:59 - on their production

13:00 - demand from the army was so

13:02 - great.

13:02 - For the bulldozers

13:04 - that the ordnance department

13:06 - contracted with Asia berwick to

13:08 - build additional.

13:09 - The seven caterpillar tractors.

13:12 - And and.

13:14 - In the end they

13:14 - ended up building

13:15 - over twenty one thousand.

13:17 - Of these tractors.

13:21 - Here we have a welding machine

13:23 - from the American car and

13:24 - foundry

13:25 - from the nineteen forties.

13:27 - The Stuart tank was.

13:29 - Where they made

13:30 - the transition from.

13:31 - Riveted tanks to welded

13:32 - tanks because they found that.

13:35 - As the anti tank

13:36 - guns got bigger.

13:37 - They didn't necessarily

13:39 - penetrate the armor plate

13:40 - but they had enough pressure

13:42 - to actually pop the rivets

13:43 - and crew members would actually

13:45 - get hit by broken rivets and

13:46 - wounded that way.

13:48 - So that they had to develop

13:50 - a way to weld armor plate

13:51 - without cracking it and that

13:53 - was a very involved process

13:55 - but this is one of the welding

13:57 - machines that they used.

14:00 - We have.

14:01 - An engine for most Stuart tank.

14:04 - They actually had

14:05 - an airplane engine.

14:07 - It was a seven cylinder radial.

14:10 - Continental engine.

14:12 - The same engine that was

14:13 - on the stearman biplane.

14:15 - Because the military didn't

14:16 - think that a truck engine could

14:18 - take the abuse.

14:20 - So they put airplane

14:21 - engines in them

14:22 - and we actually have a.

14:24 - Photo of.

14:25 - A.

14:27 - Warbler bond drive

14:28 - in Brisbane Australia.

14:30 - Where someone proved

14:31 - that had an airplane engine.

14:32 - They actually.

14:34 - Ran a Stuart tank off a ramp

14:36 - about twenty feet in

14:37 - the air jumping onto.

14:39 - Some old model a Ford.

14:41 - We use that as our proof that

14:43 - it's got an airplane engine and

14:44 - as a reminder to the.

14:46 - Members of the

14:47 - air force that back

14:49 - then it was the army air corps.

14:51 - We also have all the manuals.

14:54 - Some most of them are originals.

14:57 - From the

14:58 - from the factory and

14:59 - from the military for

15:00 - operation

15:01 - maintenance of the tank

15:02 - that's been very helpful for US.

15:05 - As we

15:05 - work to restore our.

15:08 - Our own tank.

15:09 - And then we have.

15:12 - Some photos here.

15:13 - Of test driving

15:14 - the tank on route

15:15 - ninety three the orange bowl

15:17 - highway.

15:18 - They would have to put

15:19 - a certain number

15:19 - of miles on each tank

15:21 - before the army

15:21 - would accept them.

15:23 - So if you lived

15:24 - on fries ave and.

15:26 - The orange will highway.

15:27 - You knew how many

15:28 - tanks they made that day.

15:30 - They made forty

15:31 - tanks a day about

15:32 - every forty minutes one would

15:33 - come

15:33 - past your house.

15:35 - And shake all the

15:36 - pictures off the wall.

15:38 - And we had our.

15:40 - Rosie the riveters we had

15:42 - women working in the factory as

15:44 - welders as machinists.

15:47 - As inspectors.

15:48 - So that they were free up.

15:50 - Men to work in the factory

15:52 - to have served in the military.

15:54 - We also have a flame

15:55 - thrower suddenly on display.

15:57 - It would melt

15:58 - inside this Stuart

15:59 - tank on a show elf.

16:01 - In the crew compartment

16:02 - and the gun would.

16:04 - Be run out through the ball

16:06 - mount where the current.

16:08 - Where the standard thirty mil.

16:10 - Thirty caliber

16:10 - machine gun is located.

16:12 - And it came in

16:14 - handy working.

16:16 - Battling the Japanese as they

16:17 - were embedded in some of the

16:18 - islands and pillboxes

16:20 - and bunkers.

16:23 - The scf also had bicycles.

16:26 - With

16:26 - large baskets on the front they

16:28 - were actually parts delivery

16:29 - vehicles

16:30 - because the factory was actually

16:32 - a the property was a half a

16:34 - mile wide by a mile long.

16:36 - And get parts back and forth.

16:38 - They would actually use

16:39 - bicycles delivered drawings and

16:41 - and parts

16:42 - and

16:43 - things of that nature.

16:47 - A beginning in the

16:48 - late nineteen thirties

16:50 - Hitler actually tried

16:51 - to come up with

16:52 - a design for a.

16:53 - Bomber that would reach the east

16:55 - coast United States from the

16:57 - a's or island

16:58 - in the Atlantic.

17:00 - And he picked nineteen targets.

17:03 - And one of those targets

17:04 - was the ac of berwick because

17:07 - of the number of tanks they

17:08 - were producing forty tanks a day

17:10 - and the fact that they were the

17:12 - largest producer of armor plate.

17:14 - In the United States

17:15 - during world war two.

17:17 - And as a result.

17:19 - You had so much.

17:21 - Precautions in the area.

17:23 - You had

17:24 - the.

17:25 - Blackout curtains where.

17:27 - They would

17:27 - have the families

17:28 - would close the

17:29 - blackout curtains.

17:31 - At night so that none of the

17:32 - light from inside

17:33 - the house would

17:34 - shine out so that.

17:35 - Any enemy planes cannot see it

17:37 - and you had the air raid

17:39 - wardens.

17:41 - Who would go out and verify

17:42 - that people had their blackout

17:44 - curtains up and

17:45 - also they would man.

17:46 - Observer stations on

17:48 - the mountains around

17:49 - around the town

17:50 - to spot four enemy aircraft.

17:53 - It never became an issue but

17:54 - they're prepared just in case.

18:00 - Sergeant de Turner.

18:02 - Was born in berwick

18:03 - grew up in s capac.

18:06 - He received the medal of honor

18:07 - for his actions in Luxembourg.

18:09 - Where.

18:11 - His squad

18:12 - was in a farmhouse.

18:14 - And they were attacked by.

18:16 - An overwhelming

18:17 - number of Germans.

18:18 - When it was all said and done.

18:20 - They captured

18:21 - twenty five Germans.

18:23 - And there were

18:24 - eleven dead Germans

18:25 - Lane on the ground.

18:28 - He received the medal

18:29 - of honor for his actions

18:31 - during the defense

18:32 - of that farmhouse.

18:34 - But it wasn't just him.

18:35 - His whole family

18:36 - his brother Robert

18:38 - while this was going on was in a

18:40 - hospital recovering from wounds.

18:43 - That he received.

18:44 - In the European theatre his

18:45 - other brother was in France.

18:47 - On the front lines

18:49 - and in the korean war

18:50 - his youngest brother Ernest

18:52 - was the first enlisted

18:53 - cat casualties.

18:55 - Of the korean war.

18:57 - And.

19:01 - Thank you for touring

19:02 - the museum today.

19:04 - We also take our show

19:05 - on the road we have our.

19:07 - Other tank.

19:08 - Lady Lois

19:09 - that we.

19:10 - Display in parades

19:11 - and other events

19:13 - and we also do presentations for

19:15 - school groups and service groups

19:17 - and other organizations.

19:19 - Contact US if you'd like to

19:21 - have a presentation.

19:23 - We are available

19:24 - through Facebook.

19:26 - At Stewart

19:27 - tank memorial association

19:28 - and on our website.

19:31 - Www dot brings

19:32 - do we home dot org.

19:34 - And.

19:35 - Thank you for being here today

19:37 - and and.