648th Tank Destroyer Battalion
The 648th Tank Destroyer Battalion was a tank destroyer battalion of the United States Army active during the Second World War.
| 648th Tank Destroyer Battalion | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1943–1945 |
| Disbanded | 1945 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | Army |
| Part of | Independent unit |
| Equipment | 3" anti-tank guns M18 Hellcat |
| Campaigns | World War II |
The battalion was activated at Camp Bowie on 6 March 1943,[1] formed around a cadre drawn from the 628th Tank Destroyer Battalion.[2] After early training on self-propelled tank destroyers, it was converted to a towed battalion equipped with towed 3" anti-tank guns in March 1944. It sailed for the United Kingdom later that year, and was deployed into the European theater in February 1945.[1]
On 20 February, the 648th was attached to the 70th Infantry Division,[3] fighting in the Moselle region on the French-German border. During the next month, the 70th Division captured Saarbrücken and closed off the defending forces in the Saar region in a large pocket.[4]
The battalion was relieved from attachment to the 70th Division on 31 March,[3] and withdrew into reserve to re-equip with self-propelled M18 Hellcat tank destroyers. However, this process was delayed, and was not completed before the end of the war.[5] Elements of the reconnaissance company were attached to the 36th Infantry Division from 11 to 14 April,[6] and the entire battalion returned to combat duties under the command of the 86th Infantry Division on 15 April, operating in Bavaria.[7]
Notes
- Yeide, p. 266
- History of the 628th Tank Destroyer Battalion
- "70th Infantry Division". Order of Battle of the United States Army World War II. United States Army. December 1945. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
- 70th Infantry Division History
- Yeide, p. 266, merely notes that they "began conversion". Nafziger gives a reequipment date of 24 May, and Zaloga suggests the conversion did not happen at all until after the end of the war. The 86th Infantry Division combat record for mid-April confirms this, noting them as the "648th (T) Battalion", the notation for a towed unit. It is not clear if any early-arriving M18s were active before late May.
- "36th Infantry Division". Order of Battle of the United States Army World War II. United States Army. December 1945. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
- "86th Infantry Division". Order of Battle of the United States Army World War II. United States Army. December 1945. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
References
- Nafziger, George F. (1991). "American Tank Destroyer Formations 1941–1945" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
- Yeide, Harry (2007). The tank killers: a history of America's World War II tank destroyer force. Casemate. ISBN 978-1-932033-80-9.
- Zaloga, Steven J (2005). US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944–45. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-798-0.
- Tankdestroyer.net (Web based United States tank destroyer forces information resource) Tankdestroyer.net