Ken Small and the Tank Recovery
Having decided to recover the tank he did not know where to start. Here he was trying to recover a tank which he did not own which was 60 feet under water. Nevertheless, he began by ringing the Customs and Excise office in Dartmouth. The office was bewildered to learn about Ken’s intentions and suggested he contact the American Embassy in London. The Embassy in turn passed him on to the American Defense Supply Agency in Alexandria, Virginia.
Not losing heart with the red tape and bureaucracy he had to deal with, it was eventually the office of Defense Property Disposal Service, European region, Wiesbaden, Germany that arranged a contract for him to purchase the tank for fifty dollars from the US Government. On 25th November 1974 he became the proud owner of the Sherman tank.
As the events of Exercise Tiger become clearer to him and now that he owned the tank, he was more than determined to recover it from the sea and place it as a memorial to the American servicemen who had lost their lives there.
Getting little or no support from the American or British Army, he hired the services of a local diving firm from Plymouth to undertake the salvage operation. Before starting the operation, the Royal Navy had to conduct a mandatory inspection of the tank for evidence of any human remains or ammunition. Luckily they did not find anything and gave the go ahead for the tank’s recovery.
A special technique was adopted to lift the tank from the seabed. Six flotation bags in sets of three pairs were joined together in the front, middle and rear of the tank.
Each pair of bags was joined by a thick nylon rope, which were subsequently replaced by metal straps later on as the nylon ropes kept breaking.
The bags were taken down to the seabed and attached to the tank, where they were inflated with compressed air which lifted the tank towards the surface.
Inspite of facing numerous obstacles and problems, the tank was finally lifted from the seabed on the fifth day from the commencement of the salvage operation. The tank was towed to within 150 yards off the beach.
The British Army, who were to undertake the winching of the tank ashore, pulled out at the last moment. Fortunately a winching firm from Cornwall offered help.
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