Borden in Simcoe County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Sherman Crab Mine Flail ⎯⎯⎯ Fléau de Déminage du Sherman Crab
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 6, 2024
1. Sherman Crab Mine Flail / Fléau de Déminage du Sherman Crab Marker
Inscription.
[English] The Sherman Crab, a mine-clearing tank that used a huge flail to beat the ground in front of the tank is one of many specialized armoured vehicles which Britain developed for the invasion of France. A mine flail is a vehicle-mounted device that makes a safe path through a mine-field by deliberately detonating land mines in front of the vehicle that carries it. The huge drum on the front has 43 chains with weights on the end and cutters on the end of the drum to deal with barbed wire or other potential entanglements. The drum rotated at 142 rpm and would churn up huge amounts of dust and debris when engaged. While flailing, the Crab would move at approximately 1.25 mph. This vehicle also operated as a tank, with a crew of 4, a 75mm main gun and 2 machine guns. ,
[English] The Sherman Crab, a mine-clearing tank that used a huge flail to beat the ground in front of the tank is one of many specialized armoured vehicles which Britain developed for the invasion of France. A mine flail is a vehicle-mounted device that makes a safe path through a mine-field by deliberately detonating land mines in front of the vehicle that carries it. The huge drum on the front has 43 chains with weights on the end and cutters on the end of the drum to deal with barbed wire or other potential entanglements. The drum rotated at 142 rpm and would churn up huge amounts of dust and debris when engaged. While flailing, the Crab would move at approximately 1.25 mph. This vehicle also operated as a tank, with a crew of 4, a 75mm main gun and 2 machine guns.
[Français] Le Sherman Crab, un char de déminage qui utilisait un gros fléau pour frapper le terre en avant du char, est l'un des plusieurs véhicules blindés spécialisés que la Grande-Bretagne avait mis au point pour l'invasion de la France. Un fléau de déminage est un dispositif monté sur un véhicule et qui sert á créer un chemin sécuritaire dans un champ de mines en déclenchant délibérément les mines terrestres en avant du véhicule sur lequel est monté le dispositif. Le gros tambour situe à l'avant comporte 43 chaînes munies de poids à leur extrémité et de lames á l’extrémité du tambour pour éviter de se prendre dans les fils barbelés ou autres obstacles éventuels. Le tambour tournait à une vitesse de 142 tr/min et retournait de grandes quantités de saleté et de débris lorsqu'il était en marche. Lors du déminage, le Crab pouvait avancer á une vitesse de environ 1.25 mi/h. Ce véhicule servait également de char, pouvant accueillir une équipe de 4 personnes, muni d’un canon principal de 75 mm et de 2 mitrailleuses.
Location. 44° 17.31′ N, 79° 53.474′ W. Marker is in Borden, Ontario, in Simcoe County. It is at the intersection of Dieppe Road and Gibraltar Road, on the left when traveling south on Dieppe Road. The marker and tank are located near the northeast corner of Worthington Memorial Park at Canadian Forces Base Borden. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Borden ON L0M 0B1, Canada. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Ontario Cottage Country and specifically in Georgian Bay Country. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Rupert’s Land.
Excerpt: A mine flail is a vehicle-mounted device that makes a safe path through a minefield by deliberately detonating land mines in front of the vehicle that carries it. They were first used by the British during World War II. The mine flail consists of a number of heavy chains ending in fist-sized steel balls (flails) that are attached to a horizontal, rapidly rotating
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 6, 2024
3. Sherman Crab Mine Flail / Fléau de Déminage du Sherman Crab
rotor mounted on two arms in front of the vehicle. The rotor's rotation makes the flails spin wildly and violently pound the ground. The force of a flail strike above a buried mine mimics the weight of a person or vehicle and causes the mine to detonate, but in a safe manner that does little damage to the flails or the vehicle. An innovation was the addition of cutters to the rotor that cut barbed wire and stopped the flail from becoming tangled. This feature made the Crab very effective at tearing up barbed wire obstacles. A blast shield between the flail and the tank gave added protection from detonating mines. The Crab weighed 32 tons - around two tons more than a normal Sherman.
(Submitted on June 3, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 6, 2024
4. Sherman Crab Mine Flail / Fléau de Déminage du Sherman Crab
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 6, 2024
5. Sherman Crab Mine Flail / Fléau de Déminage du Sherman Crab
Credits. This page was last revised on June 3, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 2, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 269 times since then and 95 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 3, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
