Artillery, Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles in Texas: Fort Hood, 3rd Cavalry Museum
This museum has been moved off base to a new site dedicated to the mounted warrior. The National Mounted Warrior Museum is owned and operated by the US Army. It is free, open to the public, and is located at Building 69000, 105 Trooper Loop, outside the main gate to Fort Hood (previously Fort Cavazos).
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 U.S. military post located near Killeen, Texas. The post wass 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. Most of the armour is now with the National Mounted Warrior Museum outside the front gate.
3rd Cavalry Museum, Brave Rifles.
3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Museum
The 3rd Cavalry Museum (Brave Rifles Museum) at Fort Hood, Texas, showcases over 170 years of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment’s history, from frontier days to modern conflicts, featuring artifacts, vehicles, uniforms, and a gift shop, with both indoor exhibits and outdoor displays of tanks. It’s a small but significant stop near the main gate, complementing the larger 1st Cavalry Museum and located on 761st Tank Battalion Ave, offering insights into mounted warfare evolution.
The museum is being closed and its artifacts moved to a new museum outside of base, technically convergingnwith the upcoming National Mounted Warrior Museum, which will be the official museum for the Cavalry.
M1126 IAV Stryker AFV (ICVV).
M551A1 Sheridan tank.
M1 Abrams MBT.
M103 Heavy Tank armed with 120-mm Main Gun.
M41 Walker Bulldog light tank, Serial No. 2323. Painted Registration No. 420102.
M47 Patton Main Battle Tank.
M48 Patton Main Battle Tank, Serial No. 3535. Painted Registration No. 0718842.
M60A0 Patton Main Battle Tank, Serial No. 1420.
M3 Stuart tank.
M3A1 Stuart tank.
M5A1 Stuart light tank, Serial No. 6306, Registration No. 3049418.
M3 Lee Medium tank, Serial No. 4428, Registration No. W-304433.
M4A1E9 VVSS Sherman tank, (recorded as Serial No. 60633, but unlikely for this version). Painted Registration No. 3015305, (also unlikely), built by Pacific Car & Foundry (PCF), 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Museum, Fort Hood, Texas.
M4A3(76) HVSS Sherman tank, Serial No. 45268, Registration No. 30101501, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Museum, Fort Hood, Texas.
M10 GMC Wolverine Tank Destroyer.
(Author Photo)
The author served with 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (4 CMBG) in Lahr, Germany (1989-1992). One of the marvelous things about driving the back roads within 50 km of Lahr on a day trip was the discovery of interesting vignettes of history at almost every turn. We were in France heading back to Lahr from Marckholsheim on a side road when we came upon this M10 Wolverine Tank Destroyer on a hardstand with its gun turret facing a small copse of trees on the other side of the road. There was an anti-tank shellhole right through the TD – clearly the crew had just seen the AT Gun, turned to fire, and was destroyed before it could shoot ca January 1945. There is a plaque mounted on the TD recording 5 soldiers died for France.
Audie Murphy won his Congressional Medal of Honor near Colmar, just south of this location. Murphy received the Medal of Honor for valour demonstrated at the age of 19 for single-handedly holding off an entire company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, then leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition.
M36B1 Jackson tank destroyer (TD), GMC, Serial No. 772, Registration No. 40191071.
17-pounder SP Achilles, M10C Tank Destroyer (British).
M18 Hellcat TD. Painted Registration No. 48181953.
M24 Chaffee light tank, Serial No. 363, Registration No. 30112956.
M7 Priest 105-mm SP Gun.
M7B2 Priest 105-mm SP Gun.
M40 155-mm Long Tom SP Gun, GMC.
M44 155-mm SP Howitzer.
M74 armour recovery vehicle (ARV).
M2A1 Half-Track.
M16 Half-track GMC.
M113A2 armoured personnel carrier (APC), Serial No. C1845.
M114 Comd and Recce Carrier.
M50 (MGR-LB) Honest John SSM.
Soviet T-43 MBT (not observed).
Chinese Type 69-11 tank (copy of a Soviet T-55).
Soviet T-55 MBT.
Soviet T-62 MBT.
Soviet T-72M1 Main Battle Tank.
Soviet BMP-1.
Soviet BRDM-2 (RKH).
Soviet MT-LB.
Soviet 122-mm 2S1 Gvozdika SP Gun.
Soviet KrAZ-255B 8-1/4 ton Cargo Truck.
Soviet M1937 37-mm AT Gun,
Soviet M1942 45-mm AT Gun.
Soviet S-60 57-mm AA Gun.
Soviet T-12 100-mm SB AT Gun.
Soviet ZPU-1 14.5-mm AAMG.
Soviet ZPU-2 14.5-mm AAMG.
Soviet ZPU-4 14.5-mm AAMG.
Soviet ZSU-23-2 23-mm AAMG.
Chinese Type 74 37-mm Twin AA Gun (copy of a Soviet M1939).
Belgian Royal Cannon Foundry 47-mm AT Gun Model 1931.
French Hotchkiss 25-mm M1934 L-72 AT Gun.
German PAK 35 37-mm AT Gun.
German PAK 36, 296(r) 76.2-mm Gun.
German PAK 40 75-mm AT Gun.
Italian Model 39 47-mm AT Gun.
T3 76-mm AT Gun, USA.
3rd Cav Museum, War Memorial.
GDR W50 LA cargo truck.
2-1/2 ton cargo truck.
M746 HET Truck.
M715S truck.
T214 Ambulance.
M37 Cargo Truck.
Soviet UAZ-469 truck.
Willys MB 1/4-ton 4X4 Jeep.
M151A2 1/4-ton 4X4 Jeep.
M201 1/4-ton 4X4 Jeep.
Bell OH-13 Sioux Helicopter (Serial No.). 3rd Cavalry Museum.
Bell UH-1B Iroquois Helicopter (Serial No. 61-1963). 3rd Cavalry Museum.
Other Sherman Tanks at Fort Hood
M4A3(76) HVSS Sherman tank, Serial No. 61948, US Army Reg. No. 301149705, 2-8 Cavalry Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division.
M4A3(76) HVSS Sherman tank, Serial No. 60633, US Army Reg. No. 30113655, 36th Engineer Brigade Motor pool.
M4A3(76) HVSS Sherman tank, Serial No. 43878, US Army Reg. No. 30100112, 3rd Brigade Combat Team Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division.
M4A3(76) HVSS Sherman tank, Serial No. 61587, US Army Reg. No. 30114609, III Corps Parade Field.
M4A3(105) HVSS Sherman tank, Serial No. 73274, US Army Reg. No. 30137106, Mates.
M4A3(76) HVSS Sherman tank, Serial No. 66228, US Army Reg. No. painted 30125550, Range Control.