| Original caption: “Light tank going through water obstacle.” M3 light tank of the Armored Force School (AFS) drives through a mud puddle at Fort Knox. This light tank is missing its side-sponson-mounted M1919 Browning 30 caliber (7.62 millimeter) machine guns and its bow-mounted machine gun. It wears the yellow national insignia, with “AFS” painted inside the star. The United States Army Armored Force School was established on October 1, 1940, in Fort Knox, Kentucky, with the 1st class starting on November 4. New officers received 10 weeks’ training in armored warfare. Mechanics and welders attended civilian schools in cities around Louisville, which were relatively accessible from Fort Knox, until AFS created training programs. Some 11,000 Lieutenants graduated from AFS in 1940-1945. Photographed by Alfred T. Palmer (March 17, 1906 – January 31, 1993). A native of California, Alfred T. Palmer traveled the world during the 1920s and 1930s as a photographer for shipping lines. In 1940, he was selected to lead the photo department of the Office for Emergency Management. In 1941, he moved to the Office of War Information. After the war, Palmer was a staff photographer at National Geographic Magazine. He later produced films for the United States Maritime Commission, the State Department, corporations, and humanitarian groups. Palmer visited the 1st Armored Division before it left for overseas and took dozens of color and black-and-white photographs. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2218.jpg |
| Image Size | 4.91 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 8294 x 6412 |
| Photographer | Alfred T. Palmer |
| Photographer Title | Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 1, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | Fort Knox |
| State or Province | Kentucky |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | Library of Congress |
| Record Number | LC-USW36-154 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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