Patton Museum - Patton's Cadillac Limousine
Bill Maloney
11/29/2010

01PattonsCadillacLimousine 02PattonsCadillacLimousine 03PattonsCadillacLimousine 04PattonsFatalAutoAccidentDiagram
01 Patton's Cadillac Limousine 02 Patton's Cadillac Limousine 03 Patton's Cadillac Limousine 04 Patton's Fatal Auto Accident Diagram

General George Patton's 1938 Series 75 Cadillac Limousine Specifications:

Hitler's Mercedes Limousine Patton's Thompson Submachine Gun
Another more notorious WWII vehicle, Hitler's Mercedes Limousine, can be found at the Canada War Museum in Ottawa, Canada General Patton' s Thompson Submachine Gun can be found at the West Point Museum in West Point, NY

Wheelbase: 141 inches
Width:
feet, inches
Height:
feet, inches
Crew:
1+
Weight:
lbs
Max Speed: mph
Range: miles
Powerplant: 346ci water cooled gas engine 140hp
Fuel Capacity: gallons
Entered Service: 198
Unit Cost: $

This is the very car that Patton had the auto accident on December 9, 1945 where he suffered the injuries that ultimately killed Patton on a trip to go pheasant hunting near Mannheim Germany. The car accident diagram shows General Patton's Limousine driven by 19 year old PFC Horace Woodring traveling south on the N-16 in Germany at high speed and had just overtaken and passed a US Military Police sedan containing Lieutenants Peter K. Babalas and John Metzker. A US Military depot was down the road ahead of Patton on the right. Coming in the opposite direction was a US Army 2 1/4 Cargo Truck driven by 20 year old Technical Sergeant Robert L. Thompson which began turning into the depot's entrance, misjudging the high rate of speed Patton's Cadillac Limousine was traveling. Patton's Cadillac struck the truck on the left hand. Patton was sitting on the edge of the rear seat at the time and was thrown forward and hit his head on the clock in the back of the front seat. Patton suffered a broken nose, lacerations to the scalp and forehead, and a broken neck. As a result of the broken neck Patton was paralyzed from the neck down. Lt. Babalas took command of the accident investigation and reported that Patton's driver was speeding and the driver of the truck turned into oncoming traffic. Patton asked Lt. Babalas that he find neither driver at fault as it was an accident (I suspect he directed/ordered his driver to drive that fast and felt somewhat responsible for causing the accident). General George Patton died of a pulmonary embolism 12 days later in Heidelberg Hospital in Germany on December 21, 1945.

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