Tank’s hatch offered soldiers escape

The escape hatch located in the belly of the Sherman tank has long been a point of conjecture and a favorite and a favorite plot device for Hollywood movie-makers. As you can see, there is such a thing. This photo was shot of the FHC’s Sherman. Some say it was there for the crew to switch drivers with some degree of safety. Others say it was there in case the tank overturned or somehow, the hatches were blocked or damaged. Others note that fires in Shermans grew fiercer when the hatch was opened and claimed they were sometimes welded shut. In the Pacific, tankers sometimes carefully drive over a victim of a Japanese sniper and pull him up into the armored vehicle. In movies, like “Tank” or “Fury,” the hatch gets lots of action as a clandestine way to get characters in, or out, of the vehicle.