34 TANK from 1
rect way to start it. “It really was amazing,”
said Hashem. “The engine needs to be cranked about fifty times from the back. It’s really a workout, but it’s a lot easier than you might imagine. If the en- gine is stopped for more than one hour it has to be cranked again. It takes the oil out from the cylin- ders.” The engine ran great on
the stand and the Wright Museum crew was anx- ious for the next phase. “We have a great crew
here,” said Hashem. “Headed by Randy Cook,
“Alligator Alice” as she sat in the garage at the Wright Museum for years until her renovation in May of 2011.
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they are the best crew we ever had. They take care of all the vehicles here to keep them running in top form and do a fantastic job.” So, with great anticipa-
tion, the tank was shipped from the museum property to Northeast Military Ser- vices to be reunited with the engine (as reported in the Weirs Times’’ May 26, 2011 issue). The engine was installed
and the tank was painted. Back in Wolfeboro, the museum board decided on “Alligator Alice” as the name for the Sherman Tank. It was named after David Wright’s mother and also fit into the style of names that crews gave their tanks during the war. In October of 2011, the
tank made the trip back to Wolfeboro. An anxious crowd awaited (as reported
THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, April 26, 2012
in The Weirs Times’ Octo- ber 27, 2011 issue). “It started and ran, but
not very well,” Said Hash- em. “There was a lot of sediment coming out from the gas tanks.” So, the tank and en-
gine went back to Massa- chusetts. More work was done and the engine was “tweaked.” “It was getting kind of expensive,” said Hash- em. “Each trip down costs about a thousand dollars, never mind the cost of the
work.” In about a month, the
tank was back and the en- gine was started again. “It still wasn’t running
very well,” said Hasehm. “Then is started to make this ‘clunkety, clunkety, clunk’ sound and then it just stopped. We tried to start it one more time and it just wouldn’t start. It seems that two rods and pistons broke and thrashed the engine and engine block. But, we didn’t know that at the
In October of 2011, “Alligator Alice” was back at the Wright Museum with her new engine. Problems soon developed and she was sent back again.
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time so we sent the tank back yet again.” “That’s when they found
the engine was shot. So they shipped the tank back.” “Even though we had
parts of the engine that were salvageable, the en- gine itself was not salvage- able at all,” sad Hashem. And yet, another ex- pense. It was disheartening,
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considering that “Alliga- tor Alice” had been widely publicized and was expect- ed to be in operation by the museum’s opening in May. For years, visitors to the Wright Museum have been asking if they had a Sherman Tank. It was the most recognizable tank from the war and many visitors had family mem- bers who fought in them and wanted to see one. David Wright had ac-
quired the tank in the 1990s and kept it in the garage at the museum for years. To actually get it up See TANK on 35
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