Brigadier General Joseph M. Colby, born in Lake Mills, earned his place in history as “The Father of the Sherman Tank.” Widely credited with shaping the design and development of the tanks used by Allied forces during World War II, Colby’s innovations helped turn the tide of the war.
He began his military education at the Virginia Military Institute and briefly studied at the University of Iowa before graduating from West Point in 1929. Colby later pursued advanced studies at MIT. Though he started his career as a cavalry officer, he shifted to Ordnance in the 1930s, where he became a leading authority in tank design.
His contributions include pioneering torque converter transmissions, torsion bar suspensions, and the concentric recoil mechanism for tank cannons. He introduced American tanks to the British Army in North Africa and trained them in their use.
As director of tank production at the Detroit Arsenal during WWII, Colby earned the nickname “Mr. Tank.” In later years, he returned to his Iowa roots—helping dedicate Sherman tanks in Forest City in 1957 and again in Lake Mills in 1962, where a tank still stands in Arlington Park as a tribute to his legacy.
