Artillery and Armour in the USA: Texas (4) Fort Hood, 1st Cavalry Museum

Artillery, Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles in Texas (Part 4), Fort Hood, 1st Cavalry Museum

One of the aims of this website is to locate, identify and document every historical piece of artillery and all armoured fighting vehicles preserved in Texas. Many contributors have assisted in the hunt for these tangible pieces of our military history and the list you see here is constantly being revised as new finds are discovered and the data is updated. The photos have come from various contributors, but the author likes to "ground truth" the reports, so a good number of the photos are by the author unless otherwise credited. Any errors found here are by the author. It often happens that military monuments that are relatively mobile, have been moved for restoration or scrapped, sometimes they are repainted with different markings and serial numbers, or they are replaced with a different piece of kit. For those reasons, any additions, deletions, corrections or amendments that you may be able to add to this list of Artillery and AFVs in Texas would be most welcome and may be e-mailed to the author at hskaarup@rogers.com. The primary aim is preserve our military history and to keep the record accurate.

Fort Hood

Fort Hood is a U.S. military post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is named after Confederate General John Bell Hood. It is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about 60 miles (100 km) from each. Fort Hood is an installation of the United States Army and is the largest military base in the world (by area) with more than 215,000 acres. Its origin was the need for wide-open space to test and train soldiers equipped with Second World War tank destroyers.

The War Department announced the location in January 1942, and the initial completion was set for that August. As originally constructed, Fort Hood had an area of 158,706 acres (64,226 ha), with billeting for 6,007 officers and 82,610 enlisted personnel. The main cantonment of Fort Hood had a total population of 53,416 as of the 2010 U.S. Census.

Fort Hood is the home of III Corps, 1st Cavalry Division, 13th Sustainment Command, First Army Division West, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 41st Fires Brigade, and many other Forces Command and other units. The Fort Hood main cantonment area, otherwise referred to as Main post, holds its own airfield, Hood Army Airfield.

The 4th Infantry Division previously located at Fort Hood moved to Fort Carson, Colorado, exchanging positions with several units. The 4th Infantry Division Museum closed at Fort Hood for the last time on 29 May 2009 to complete its move to Colorado although most of the outdoor pieces remained at Fort Hood as part of the new 3rd ACR Museum. (Wikipedia)

Fort Hood is home to the 1st Cavalry Division Museum, located in Building No. 2218, 761st Tank Battalion Avenue. It is open 9 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm Saturday, and noon to 4 pm Sunday.

Fort Hood is also home to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Museum, located in Building No. 409, 761st Tank Battalion Avenue. It is open 9 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm Saturday, and noon to 4 pm Sunday.

1st Armored Cavalry Division Museum Artillery and Armour

M1 Abrams MBT.

M3A1 Stuart light tank. Captured by the Japanese and later recaptured by US forces.

M4A2 Sherman tank, Second World War.

M7 Priest 105-mm SP Gun.

M4A3E8 76-mm (HVSS) Sherman tank.

M74 ARV.

M41 Walker Bullldog light tank.

M44 155-mm SP Howitzer.

M47 Patton Medium tank.

M48 Patton Medium tank.

M60 MBT.

M60A1 MBT (RISE).

M60A3 MBT.

M59 APC.

M113 TOW. Tube-launched Optically-guided Anti-tank missile system.

M113A2 APC.

M114 Command and Recce Carrier.

M163A1 20-mm SPAAG Vulcan.

M109A5 155-mm SP Howitzer.

M8 Light Armoured Scout Car (Greyhound).

M3A1 Half-track.

Willys MB 1/4-ton 4X4 Jeep.

M38A1 1/4-ton 4X4 Jeep.

M37 3/4-ton truck.

XM-708 3/4-ton dump truck.

XM-711 3/4-ton wrecker.

M211 2-1/2-ton truck.

M35A2 2-1/2-ton Cargo Truck.

M792 Gamma Goat Truck.

M984 HEMTT Wrecker.

M1230 MRAP.

M1025 HMMWV.

MGR-1 Honest John surface-to-surface rocket. The MGR-1 Honest John rocket was the first nuclear-capable surface-to-surface rocket in the United States arsenal. Originally designated Artillery Rocket XM31, the first unit was tested on 29 June 1951, with the first production rounds delivered in January 1953. Its designation was changed to M31 in September 1953.