Richard Pearce Hunnicutt (June 15, 1926 – April 29, 2011) was an American historian, known for his research in armored fighting vehicles. Hunnicutt was born in Asheville,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, to James Ballard Hunnicutt and Ida Belle Black. He altered his birth certificate to enlist in the U.S. Army in September 1943. On 30 April 1945, while assigned to the 7th Infantry Division on

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, he was wounded by enemy mortar fire when his machine gun squad was countering a Japanese attack near

Hacksaw Ridge ''Hacksaw Ridge'' is a 2016 biographical war film directed by Mel Gibson and written by Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan, based on the 2004 documentary ''The Conscientious Objector'' directed by Terry Benedict. The film focuses on the World ...

. Shortly after the fight, 10th Army Commander

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Simon B. Buckner Jr., came onto the scene, and awarded PFC Hunnicutt the Silver Star and a promotion to Sergeant. Gen. Buckner would be killed in action nearly seven weeks later on the same island by enemy artillery fire. After the war, he was transferred to Europe, where he completed his army enlistment while stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. He earned a master's degree in engineering from Stanford University and later worked at General Motors. He met his future wife Susan Haight in Detroit. Later he worked as a metallurgist, consultant and partner in an engineering firm, ANAMET Laboratories. Hunnicutt was a nationally recognized expert in metal fatigue. Hunnicutt was one of the founders of the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum at

Aberdeen Proving Ground Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work a ...

and a frequent contributor to the Patton Museum at Fort Knox. Hunnicutt is mainly known for his research in the history and development of American armored fighting vehicles. He authored many books on American military vehicles. Historian Steven Zaloga described the multi-volume study as "essential cornerstone for anyone interested in U.S. tank history".''Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II'' p353
/ref>

Works

*Hunnicutt, R.P. (1971) ''Pershing: A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series''. Navato, CA: Presidio Press. *Hunnicutt, R.P. (1971) ''Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank'' *Hunnicutt, R.P. (1984) ''Patton: A History of the American Main Battle Tank'' *Hunnicutt, R.P. (1988) ''Firepower: A History of the American Heavy Tank'' * * * * *Hunnicutt, R.P. (2001) ''Half-Track: A History of American Semi-Tracked Vehicles''. Navato, CA: Presidio Press. *

Sources

Richard Pearce Hunnicutt Obituary
Published in The Oregonian on May 4, 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunnicutt, R. P. 1926 births 2011 deaths American military historians Historians of armoured warfare American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Writers from Asheville, North Carolina United States Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Silver Star Stanford University alumni General Motors people United States Army soldiers People from Tigard, Oregon