| Original caption: “LSTs lined up and waiting for the tanks to come aboard. Two days before the invasion of Sicily.” M4A1 Sherman tanks of Team 1 of the Joss Force, F Company, 2nd Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, Command A, 2nd Armored Division “Hell on Wheels,” line up for transport on Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs) just before Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. Note Patrol Torpedo Boat out of the water, and CCKW 6-by-7-and-a-half ton trucks and half-tracks on the nearest LST’s deck. Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel (LCVPs) are moving around the LSTs. In late March, the 2nd Armored sent the 1st group of officers and men to amphibious training at Arzew, Algeria. His group was organized into a provisional battalion. It took with them F Company, 66th Armored Regiment, commanded by Captain Curtis M. Clark (May 16, 1914 – January 20, 1999), with the express purpose of learning waterproofing methods for armored vehicles. Much of their time was spent refining these methods and techniques using the available materials. Additionally, this battalion was tasked with familiarizing itself with landing craft, which would be used during the landing. To reach Arzew, Clark had to draw his sidearm and hold the French train engineers at gunpoint, forcing them to drive nonstop. He wrote a report about how the Division would work with French Engineers, but he was reprimanded, despite endorsements from 23 general officers. Joss Force loaded at Bizerte. 4 miles from Bizerte along the channel was the small town of La Pecherie. Here, the French had established a submarine base before the war. Large barracks and administrative buildings had been constructed, along with an elaborate system for storing munitions. Large concrete air raid shelters gave protection from air attack. Along the waterfront, many narrow finger piers had been built, each complete with facilities to refuel and re-water small ships. At the port of Bizerte, the armor assault landing team was aboard but still waterproofing their vehicles. The metal shrouds, designed to keep water out of the intake and exhaust ports and the air vents at the top of the engine compartment, did not fit properly and required more masking tape and sealing compounds than had been allotted. Captain Norris H. Perkins (September 5, 1912 – April 16, 2008), commanding H Company, 66th Armored, attempted to obtain the extra materials, but the quartermaster officer refused, stating that each unit was to receive only the designated amount. Perkins argued that if his team failed to get ashore, then in all probability the following units would also fail. The Quartermaster Colonel was not impressed. Perkins gathered his 17 tank commanders, informing them of the problem, and then sent them to locate the colonel’s supply. They returned with the information, whereupon Perkins took the tankers to the truck and doled out the necessary amounts. The corporal who was guarding the car rushed away to bring back his captain, who drew his weapon and ordered the raiders away. Perkins showed his own gun, told the captain to go to hell, and finished the job. The tank commanders rushed their extralegally obtained materials to their LSTs and hid them. They were under orders to admit to no 1, not even a general, that they had the material. Perkins leaped into his jeep and headed out of the dock area, only to be stopped by an armed guard. He bluffed the guard, telling him that he was en route to prefer charges against the colonel. He continued to headquarters, where he reported to John H. Collier (September 8, 1898 – April 21, 1980), the commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, what had happened. Collier had Perkins hide in a tent near regimental headquarters in case MPs were sent to capture him. Later, Collier had Perkins taken across Lake Bizerte, where he hid on the LSTs until the convoy sailed. F Company, 2nd Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored Division, reinforced the 3rd Infantry Division and landed on Yellow and Blue Beaches. The unit was split into 2 teams. Team 1: 574 personnel of the 6th-6th Armored Regiment landed with 78 millimeter (3-inch) howitzers in T-30 half-tracks, 30 M-5 Lee light tanks, and 17 medium M-4 Sherman tanks of F Company. The 41st Armored Infantry Regiment landed 773 personnel with another 3 T-30s and 47 millimeter (1.45 inch) M3 anti-tank guns. The 14th Armored Field Artillery Battalion landed 373 personnel with 12 105 millimeter (4.13 inch) M-7 self-propelled artillery. Team 1: 729 personnel of the 6th-6th Armored Regiment landed with 81 millimeter (3-inch) howitzers in T-30 half-tracks, 19 M-5 Lee light tanks, and 37 medium M-4 Sherman tanks of 2 companies. The 41st Armored Infantry Regiment landed 775 personnel with another 3 T-30s and 47 millimeter (1.45 inch) M3 anti-tank guns. The 14th Armored Field Artillery Battalion landed 145 personnel with 6 105 millimeter (4.13 inch) M-7 self-propelled artillery. Much of F Company traveled on USS LST-1 and unloaded successfully on July 10, 1943. Beginning at 1500 Hours, the rest of the regiment, as part of the 3rd Infantry Division reserve, began landing on “Yellow” and “Blue” beaches. At 1830, the regiment started unloading at the Licata harbor docks. The unloading continued until dawn. During this time, a German bomber scored a direct hit on a Company F ammunition truck aboard USS LST-158. The vessel burst into flames, and 3 tanks, the T-2 recovery vehicle, and several other vehicles were lost; 1 officer was killed, and 2 soldiers were later reported missing in action. Fortunately, the company’s other 14 tanks were already ashore. By 1200 Hours on July 11, all of the 66th Armor was ashore in Sicily. 1st Lieutenant John G. “Jack” Getsinger (March 31, 1919 – September 10, 2005) later recalled, “On the morning of July 10, 1943, we were aboard USS LST-1 – the first one ever built – in the Mediterranean offshore from Licata, Sicily. We were part of an armada of several hundred ships. Battleships and cruisers were pounding the shore, and two of our ships, one an LST, were on fire from German air attacks. There was more air combat than I saw at any other time during the war. I was standing on deck watching the show as we were headed toward the beach for our landing. I saw American and German planes in dogfights, and the Americans were getting the best of it, as I saw German plane after German plane get shot down. When I looked at our landing spot on the beach, I saw enemy artillery bursts intermittently hitting there. I had an idea about our unloading scheme and went to the wardroom to inform the company commander. I had just started talking to him when a German plane strafed our ship. I was hit in the foot and fell on the floor. I rolled over toward the wall and saw sunlight shining through the bullet holes. Well, I never set foot on Sicily. I went back to Africa aboard the same LST and spent the next several months in a hospital housed in Quonset huts near Constantine.” Getsinger was wounded again on July 31, 1944, at Saint Lo, France, when a Nazi German artillery shell blew off his right arm and punctured his lung. Combat Command A saw 12 days of action during the Sicily campaign. The 2nd Armored Division lost 56 killed in action, 250 wounded, 32 missing, and 5 captured. The Division captured 16,199 Nazi Germans and Fascist Italians. Shortly after his company arrived in Palermo at the end of the campaign, Clark was flagged down on the street by a nun. The nun then invited the entire tank company into the convent’s courtyard. Once inside, the tired and dirty tankers were allowed the luxury of a well-deserved bath. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0993.jpg |
| Image Size | 919.45 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2900 x 2216 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Office of Strategic Services |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 4, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Bizerte |
| State or Province | Bizerte |
| Country | Tunisia |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-226-FPL-2665(A) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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