GO WILD with DiscoverNEPA: Stuart Tank Memorial Association | Berwick, PA

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Berwick played a major role in World War II [music] and they're saving the memories in a museum. We'll celebrate the history [music] with the ride on a Stewart tank. Hello everyone. I'm Don Jacobs and I'm here in Berwick, Columbia County, and we're going [music] to go wild with Discover Nepa, learning about the Stewart tank, learning about how [music] important it is, and we're going to take a ride. The curator of this museum [music] is Tom Mclofflin. This is the Steuart Tank Memorial Association Museum in Burough, Pennsylvania at 309 North Vine Street. Prior to World War II, uh the Army handbuilt their own tanks one at a time at Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois. And going into the war, they had 300 tanks and the Marine Corps only had zero. They knew they had to do something, so they broke down and went to private contractors.

[00:00:51]In the spring of 1938, the American Car and Foundry Corporation, commonly referred to as ACF, was one of several sites selected by the War Department to produce tanks for the support of the Allies. The first order was received that year to build 392 M2 A4 tanks, the Stewart tank. The first tank was delivered on August 14th, 1940, 16 days ahead of schedule. Part of the plant still exists in Burwick today.

[00:01:26]Nobody had produced this many tanks before, and the ACF couldn't get someone to supply enough armor plate, so they actually built their own furnaces and produced their own armor plate here.

[00:01:36]>> And they were the largest producer of armor plate in the United States during World War II.

[00:01:40]>> Wow. How many people do they employ in their heyday? At the peak, they had 9,135 workers. They came from 177 different towns all over northeastern Pennsylvania. The rest, you could say, is history. The museum is a great place to find even more history about the Steuart tank and the other items from World War II. From US guns to weapons of the enemy, the word spread about this museum and people started donating things that they had so they could be on display forever. The museum is open to the public and despite its size, it's packed with artifacts and stories about the war. The museum opened in 2022, but years before that, a committee collected up enough money to buy a Steuart tank, refurbish it completely, including a new engine, and made it roadworthy. Adam Hartzell is the driver of Lady Lois. Is that the name that it would have had on it in World War II? whatever company they're part of, which is ABLE through item. Generally, it depends what >> type of unit it is. But say if you're an Able Company, um, a lot of times every tank in Able Company would have a name starting with A.

[00:02:55]>> A. Got you.

[00:02:56]>> Yep.

[00:02:56]>> Before you start the tank, you need to crank it to ensure fluids are where they need to be. Adam's father jumped on it first.

[00:03:07]>> Yeah. If what you're doing is literally getting all the unspent oil and fuel out of the lower cylinders from the last time it ran. Okay?

[00:03:18]And even I had a turn at the crank. And you give it at least 50 to 60 cranks each time before you start.

[00:03:25]>> Okay?

[00:03:27]So, whenever you want to whenever you want to quit, I'm done. [laughter] Good job. All of this stuff is outfitted with authentic World War II stuff.

[00:03:36]Right. The shovel would have been there, the the axes, everything, right?

[00:03:40]>> Yep. You're living and fighting out of this vehicle as a part of a crew of four men. So, you got to have enough stuff for those guys to survive for a long period of time, you know, without any help. So, the main armament of a Steuart tank is a 37 mm uh gun. This was of course very small, but at the time these tanks were developed early in World War II in the early 40s, the primary role of light tanks is generally not to fight enemy tanks. It's infantry support, reconnaissance. That's why they're built to be fast. You know, they're used by cavalry units as well. It also features three 30 caliber machine guns. You've got a bow machine gun right here for the guy that is called your bow gunner. You have a co-axle uh 30 cal up there in the uh main gun uh mount as well. And you have an exterior uh M19119 A4 um on top of the turret for anti-aircraft defense.

[00:04:36]>> And four people fit in this.

[00:04:38]>> Yep. Four guys would actually uh crew and operate this. And then sometimes you do actually see on a variety of tanks you see infantry riding on the back, you know, cuz they didn't have enough trucks sometimes to transport everybody, you know.

[00:04:49]>> Gotcha. And it was finally time to climb into the tank, which I quickly learned was meant for people a lot smaller than me. Holy goodness, you have to be skinny.

[00:05:02]>> Yep. Am I going to get out?

[00:05:04]>> Yep. We'll get you out. We have WD40 here. [laughter] >> Can I stay here or do I I have to go down?

[00:05:09]>> Yep. Right there is fine.

[00:05:10]>> Oh, good. Yeah.

[00:05:11]>> As long as you can stand steadily and hang on.

[00:05:13]>> Stand and I'm holding on. Yep.

[00:05:16]>> Now, you're going to be down in that other one, right?

[00:05:18]>> I'm [clears throat] going to be down there.

[00:05:19]>> Okay. Yep.

[00:05:20]>> Back in 1940s, uh, men and women were both a lot smaller, generally speaking, than most people today. Um, myself, I'm about 5'10", 195 lbs, and I even struggle to get into the driver's seat sometimes of this vehicle. Um, even even the crew hatches, they're a little bit better than the driver's seat to get into, but still, it's hard to get into.

[00:05:44]>> And now the noise begins when he started up the engine. Both mags on.

[00:05:51]I'll pump some accelerator pedal.

[00:05:54]Ready, Don?

[00:05:55]>> Yes, I am.

[00:05:57]>> Starting.

[00:06:06]Wow.

[00:06:19]Your neighbors must love you.

[00:06:22]>> So, how often do you get like stopped by the cops going down the road?

[00:06:26]>> Never.

[00:06:27]>> They know we're here. They're right down the street of city hall anyway. So, >> Yep. Every time they have it out on the street, people are wavering and cheering and stuff. So, >> absolutely, why not? Right.

[00:06:38]>> It's the only town in America where you can see a tank drive down the street and it's normal.

[00:06:42]>> And it's normal.

[00:06:45]>> Not that. It happened during the war too cuz they tested them by going out Route 93 from Burwick to Orangeville and back.

[00:06:51]>> Oh, is that right?

[00:06:52]>> That's why we actually uh talked with the state and we got 93 from Burwick to Orangeville renamed um Steuart Tang Memorial Highway >> because that's what they tested them.

[00:07:04]>> How do you like that?

[00:07:06]>> It also has a five-speed manual. It's called a synchro mesh transmission.

[00:07:12]Um, so you got five gears and then forward and reverse.

[00:07:16]>> It was known for its speed, wasn't it?

[00:07:18]>> Yeah, these tanks were actually the fastest tank that we had at the time in World War II when they came out in the early 40s. Um, the top speed was about 35 mph in fifth gear.

[00:07:29]>> What an awesome experience. It's going back in the garage, but it could be coming to a town near you. Now, for this episode of Go Wild with Discover Nepa and all the other episodes, you can go to discovernea.com or subscribe to YouTube.