M4 Medium Tank "Cookie" will return to Overloon war museum

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Some more info on Cookie:
M4 Medium Tank, serial number 24871, registration number USA 3033401.
Assigned to 7th Armored Division, 31st Tank Battalion, Company C as Tank no. 13.
Put out of action during the Battle of Overloon, The Netherlands, between 30 September and 18 October 1944. Location: 2 to 3 km. to the west of the Oploosche dijk area in the hamlet called 't Vlak. Crew: none killed - tank was not hit but instead tilted in a ditch and was abandoned by the crew.
"Cookie" had been moved to Overloon Museum by 11 March 1947.

Sources:
http://www.7tharmddiv.org/docrep/overloon-tanks.htm
http://www.7tharmddiv.org/wwii-tank-serial-numbers.htm
http://www.7tharmddiv.org/overloon-cookie-returns.htm


And some more pictures:
Cookie pictured on 27 May 1946 at the former Overloon battlefield, by then the museum grounds.
356aa46862224c5413810fce3346fd442fea642944cd31878f4f20d2e3a77a09.jpg
Source: Nationaal Archief 2.24.01.03, 901-7696


Boys climb on Cookie just after WW2. In the early years the Overloon museum was not more than a collection of artefacts on the former battlefield.
79764904c2a9b50e79d0ccf8df3ff15707af9aa2619ed9aa14d9494f42bc627d.jpg
Source: Nationaal Archief, 2.24.01.09, 900-0425


1960s:
bhic.nl a86c45c2-45f9-11e3-8e79-634d7e8d23b3.jpg
Source: https://www.bhic.nl/memorix/images/s...e-237244c790f7

[jdmcm]

Interesting to note the rails welded to the turret upper sides and what looks like a missing cupola, In service modification to hang extra kit from or post war to assist people climbing on it?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by jdmcm

Interesting to note the rails welded to the turret upper sides and what looks like a missing cupola, In service modification to hang extra kit from or post war to assist people climbing on it?

John, the rails on the turret can be seen in the earliest pictures of Cookie. At that point in time the exhibits were true battlefield relics with no alterations done to them.
So the rails are an in service modification.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Some more photos of Cookie:


1950's picture postcard:
37828796_1794576983954611_8891073333446049792_n.jpg


Most likely taken somewhere in the 1960s:
77318890_2601983053213996_5345074838388080640_n.jpg
Source: https://proxy.archieven.nl/0/6299426...14CEF5897CC3E2

[maple_leaf_eh]

This story is about the practise of monuments as simple symbols without recognizing that individual tanks have important singular histories of their own. As I recall, a couple of strong personalities thought a tank is a tank is a tank, and Cookie's story in the Netherlands was undervalued when she was relocated to Italy.

Someone wanted a Sherman as a monument, and followed the path of least resistance to get one. By hook and by crook and by Golly, they were going to got themselves a monument. Supposedly that was going to be the end of the story. Can everyone hear the tinkle of ice in drinks behind the chatter of corporate donors, smell the well-perfumed crowd of onlookers, and hear as the conversation moves on to something else? Some people in some circles don't know what they don't know.

Except, unlike art museums and art dealers exchanging expensive paintings as commodities, there are other people who knew and cared more about what Cookie represented than someone getting a tank plonked down in a public place. I am very pleased the Dutch have been able to correct this mistake, and recover their historic piece.

[David Herbert]

I agree with Terry !

David

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

This story is about the practise of monuments as simple symbols without recognizing that individual tanks have important singular histories of their own. As I recall, a couple of strong personalities thought a tank is a tank is a tank, and Cookie's story in the Netherlands was undervalued when she was relocated to Italy.

Someone wanted a Sherman as a monument, and followed the path of least resistance to get one. By hook and by crook and by Golly, they were going to got themselves a monument. Supposedly that was going to be the end of the story. Can everyone hear the tinkle of ice in drinks behind the chatter of corporate donors, smell the well-perfumed crowd of onlookers, and hear as the conversation moves on to something else? Some people in some circles don't know what they don't know.

Except, unlike art museums and art dealers exchanging expensive paintings as commodities, there are other people who knew and cared more about what Cookie represented than someone getting a tank plonked down in a public place. I am very pleased the Dutch have been able to correct this mistake, and recover their historic piece.

Terry, well put - but in itself the motives to establish the Ortona memorial were very honest, and it was no mean feat to realise it - see this thread: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7443

Sadly, the museum offered the wrong Sherman for this worthy cause: instead of selling an anonymous, but correct type of Sherman, they sold an inccorect type of Sherman and most importantly - a genuine battle relic

To make a long story short, "Committee Sherman tank Overloon" - a group of local enthusiasts - have corrected the museum management's mistake. First by making sure a proper tank memorial was established in the middle of Overloon village and outside the museum's influence, then they set to work to get Cookie back. They did an amazing job on both tanks

[Ed Storey]

The story about Cookie and its return to Overloon was documented in the most recent No. 188 edition of After the Battle Magazine.

Ortona Sherman Swap [1].jpg Ortona Sherman Swap [2].jpg

[Jakko Westerbeke]

Originally Posted by jdmcm

Interesting to note the rails welded to the turret upper sides and what looks like a missing cupola, In service modification to hang extra kit from or post war to assist people climbing on it?

You can see that on more American M4s in wartime photos, the principal use seems to have been to hang bags and things off of. Finding photos of it online is somewhat difficult, but here’s one with a similar rail clearly visible:

M4_burning_leipzig_crop.jpg
(source)

And a full-length one along the hull side to boot.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Attached are some pictures I took a couple of weeks ago. Cookie is at the Overloon museum again, even though it's still partly dressed up as "Athena".
I am sure Covid interfered with the plans, as the return was kept quite silent and the tank is still in outside storage.

Let's hope it gets returned to it's original livery and markings soon....and let's hope they use the early museum pictures that Hanno posted to match the location, shape, size and font of the original markings!