This past weekend World of Tanks video game released a number of somewhat amusing advertisements. These short ads all follow the same format, starting out as a parody of an unrelated commercial which is rudely interrupted by a Sherman tank. Normally we don’t post about video game stuff, but these ads did bring one question to mind. Namely, whose Sherman tank did they use in the ads and how did it get the name “Houston-Kid II”? By looking at a still shot from one of the ads, we can see that this vehicle is a composite hull M4 armed with a 105mm howitzer. It also has an unusually long machine gun barrel protruding from the gun mantlet. The tank has “Houston-Kid II” painted on the side. From what we can tell, there actually was a Sherman tank used in World War two with that nickname, although it was a M4A3, not a composite hull M4. A tank named Houston-Kid II is pictured on page 316 of Hunnicutt’s book Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank. According to various internet sources this particular tank belonged to the 756th Tank Battalion which was part of the Seventh US Army . If anyone knows any details about the particular Sherman tank used in the ads, we would be interested to know where this vehicle is located and to whom it belongs.
Ad Screenshot:
Hunnicutt Picture:
The World of Tanks ads can be viewed below.
Tank and AFV News 
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