Recently, as part of the upcoming centenary of Fort George G. Meade, I have been studying and researching the 'Five of Hearts' Renault FT. For those who may not be familiar with the Five of Hearts, the tank was part of the US 344th Light Tank Battalion and was involved in heavy combat on 4 October 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Five of Hearts had two crews that day, of which all four soldiers were wounded and one later died of his wounds. One crewman, Private Horatio Rogers, received the Distinguished Service Cross and a second crewman, Sergeant Arthur Snyder, was later remarked by George Patton in a letter of recommendation as having deserved the Medal of Honor, but "....unfortunately, all the eye-witnesses died of wounds before we thought about getting statistics." Of the more than 500 tanks used by American forces during World War I, Five of Hearts is one of only two tanks with known combat histories that survives today. The camouflage scheme currently sported by Five of Hearts today is a post-war experimental pattern.
Have you been able to study any images from the restoration of the tank? Is it known, for a fact, the tactical symbol was red? I have not found any documentation yet, as to the color used for tactical markings for the 326th and 327th Battalions.
A second question: Have you found any reference to the tank being called the "Five of Hearts" during 1918-1919? The first reference I can find using that expression is actually in a speech much later (1939) in a speech delivered at Fort Meade by Arthur Snyder. Patton repeated the term in 1940, claiming to have remembered Snyder and the tank. Prior to 1957, apparently, the plaque displayed with the tank referred to it as the "ACE OF HEARTS."
I wonder if it was referred to by any of those names during 1918? As you know, there would have been three tanks in the battalion bearing a Heart with a five--one in Company A (heart on a white square background), one in company B (on a circular background), and one in Company C (on a diamond background): In essence, THREE "Five of Hearts" in one company, so it would seem a bit awkward for a Battalion HQ person to tell a sergeant, "Go get the Five of Hearts". The sergeant would be forced to ask, "Which one?"
It looks like you and the museum have done a wonderful job with FT 1516! Any plans to look into original paint configuration?
Hi John, There is lots of mystery to the tank. It may have been referred to by it serial number 1516 and not by Five of Hearts, but as you have read in the various post-war speeches, Snyder called it Five of Hearts and it has certainly stuck. The practice of using the card suits came from the French Army. If the US Tank Corps closely adopted the French method - other than moving the symbol from the rear of the tank to the turret - then the heart should have been blue, not red. The current paint scheme is explained by museum personnel as being a post-war scheme and not the one sported by the tank in the war. There are other parts of the tank which are not original because it was in bad shape when it was moved inside the museum and stabilized. The post-war 37mm gun mount and shield are not original, many of the tracks are reproductions, and the interior is a shell. But there is no doubt that the tank is the one pictured in the famous Signal Corps photograph and that it sported a five of hearts symbol. To me, the 'Ace of Hearts' plaque and the post-WWII letter written written by Major Parks (of Camp A.P. Hill) are an unexplained anomalies. As far as I know, there are no plans to re-paint the tank.
Now, having just written all that, I am not an expert on the tank. What I know about the paint and configuration comes from Steve Zaloga who be making a video with me about 'Five of Hearts' next month. I will pose some of your questions to him. Regards, Marc
-- Edited by MLW on Thursday 16th of February 2017 12:50:53 AM
Thank you so much, Marc! I thought, perhaps Mr Zaloga might have some insight on this. A BLUE heart? Wow. That is the first I time I considered that! Your comments on the tank are most helpful and appreciated. Treat em rough! John
Great discussion on the history of this tank! By the way, ever notice the tracks are on backwards. Kind of odd.
I saw a French document posted by "Tanker" that says the French playing card symbols during wartime were painted black. I haven't seen any documentation on the blue color. I know the French switched to colored playing card symbols after the war. v/r Warren
Warren that is really interesting. Yes, TANKER is MOST helpful in deciphering the information as it applies to the US tank battalions.
Lemons guessed that the colors of the playing card suit designations might have red or ochre for the 326/344th Bn and green for the 327/345th Bn when he wrote his book, Organization and Markings. He based that on observing the shift of contrast in original black and white photos. I will say, the color of the suit designators do seem lighter than black in all of photos I have examined.
I was hoping Marc would have replied with, "Oh yes, the curatorial staff did paint scrapings and found the original heart was xxxx!" But, most research isn't that easy!
It would be nice to find physical evidence of the colors or a document somewhere for the US tanks like the one published for the French regarding markings or tactical symbols. I agree that the hearts and diamonds appear to be lighter in shade than black in the old photos of the US tanks. Warren
The Five of Hearts sat outside for so long its original paint was long gone by the time it was brought under cover. At NARA there is an English translation of the French document titled 'Provisional Instructions on the Tactics of Light Tank Units,' issued on 24 June 1918 by French GHQ. I am trying to find it and scan it as I am told it is the document used by the US Tank Corps.
that document sounds very interesting. I hope you are able to locate it and scan it.. that document sounds very interesting. I hope you are able to locate it and scan it.
