Usahec Us Army Heritage Center Outdoor Exhibits Part One

The USAHEC is located at Army Heritage Drive and Soldiers Drive Carlisle PA.  (40°12′30.70″N  77° 9′33.72″W)   It is an impressive site.  I haven’t yet had the opportunity to see the inside display.  I have been in the library and research portion and that is fantastic.  They also have evening lectures that are generally good.  For teachers, some of them count for continuing credit.  I will not get into the patriotic aspects.  I cover them elsewhere.

If the inside display half as impressive as the outside one it is well worth driving to see on its own.  I just have to get time when it is open.  The outside display puts things in a perspective by locating them in a valid setting that could not be done in any other way. 

As you get out of your car at the center you will see two displays, a Vietnam era helicopter and what nearly everyone would call a tank.  After all, everyone has seen a tank and this looks like a tank.

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You certainly have heard the “what looks like a duck” line.  Let me ask this, what looks like a tank, sounds like a tank, has a big gun like a tank, tracks like a tank and isn’t a tank?  It is the World War 2 Hellcat tank destroyer.  Its mission in life was to destroy tanks.  It was designed to do that and only that.  The battle tank has other missions, providing infantry support for example.  To be effective in destroying tanks the tank destroyer differs from a battle tank in three major areas, speed (faster), armor (far less to save weight) and a big gun (to better hunt tanks with). Where the battle tank carries high explosive ammunition for anti-personnel and anti-structure use as well as Armor Piercing to kill other tanks the destroyer carries mainly or exclusively AP.  Yes, there is a battle tank here if you want to see one up close, near the back of the display, but this is not a tank.

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As you proceed back through the grounds you see these interesting buildings.  These are built over the plans of the buildings that an army unit would construct for temporary quarters.  Note the one has a steeple.  This is a chapel.  The ones behind are barracks and a mess hall.  They were constructed of lumber, plywood and tar paper. They could be constructed fast which was the primary attribute.  This was new construction and the barracks was not open the day I was there.  Every time I go to the AHC there are new exhibits under construction.