FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Dec. 2, 2013) -- A World War II-era M4A3 "Sherman" tank staged at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs for the past decade was transported Nov. 22, to Fort Drum, where it will undergo a complete makeover before being returned to the museum next year.
The restoration project, which will include welding broken parts as well as stripping and painting the tank, will be a training exercise for the Allied Trade section of the New York Army National Guard, machinists and mechanics who work out of the State Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site, or MATES, next to Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield, on New York State Route 26.
The tank, which once traveled up to 30 mph, spent most of its 69-year history in the North Country.
It was displayed for many years outside of the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Carthage before 1980, around the time that it was moved to the New York State Armory in the village, where it spent two decades as a static display.
The tank had to be moved to the armory because New York State Route 3 was widened in front of the VFW in Carthage, according to Warrant Officer 3 Robin Steele, MATES Allied Trade supervisor and restoration project lead.
Steele, who picked up the tank Nov. 21, at Saratoga Springs, said he also transported it to the museum in 2002.
When the work is finished next year, the tank will earn a spot as an exhibit back at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, according to the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
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