Polish Museum Receives Belgian Achilles

[henryk]

http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/news/belgian_a ... te]Belgian Achilles in Poznan

Belgium’s Minister of Defence Steven Vandeput has presented Poland with a unique M10 Achilles, self-propelled anti-tank gun with tracked chassis, on a visit of Poland’s Minister of Defence Tomasz Siemoniak to Brussels. It is thanks to the involvement of the Polish Embassy to the Kingdom of Belgium that the vehicle will become part of the Armoured Warfare Museum in Poznan and undergo thorough repair. Lt. Col. Tomasz Ogrodniczuk hopes the tank destroyer will be fully operational after renovation.

The Belgian side’s gesture is significant bacause currently there are not many such vehicles left in the world. Polish museums have never had any renovated Achilles in their collections so far. In the course of WWII, the Achilles was the basic anti-tank weapon of allied forces. Built on the M4A2 Sherman tank chassis, it was fitted with a British 17-pounder anti-tank gun. With such a weapon on board it could be employed in combat against the heaviest German Tiger or Panther tanks.

The Polish army in the West used the Achilleses in two antitank artillery regiments. The First Antitank Artillery Regiment was part of the First Tank Division commanded by General Stanisław Maczek, which liberated a vast part of Belgium, including Flanders. In Italy, the Seventh Antitank Artillery Regiment followed the whole combat trail with the Second Polish Corps led by General Władysław Anders. However, they were not used in action. Polish soldiers had altogether 50 M10 Achilles self-propelled anti-tank guns.

MFA Press Office
Photo: Lt. Col. Tomasz Ogrodniczuk/Armoured Warfare Museum in Poznan
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