Great single tank performances

I'm sure there are plenty of such stories (primarily from the Tiger Tank appreciation society ) but extra points for a story that involves someone doing something impressive :bang: in an otherwise pap tank

 

Just check out our unbelievable Tank Aces Topic

 

One incredible story that i mentioned in the quiz section is about a type97 Japanese tank in tarawa who with incredibe luck destroyed a much powerful Sherman75 with a shot right down the barrel. They didnt have much time to celebrate as another sherman blew out the type97s side witn an ap shell the next minute.

 

There are many tiger stories so I went mention any of them.

However the Battle of Arras, a single B1.Bis destroyed all the German tanks there.

The crew didn't have long to celebrate, armistice made them surrender and in order to keep their tank from being captured they destroyed it, and they couldn't even console themselves that the battle was won because the germans held the ground in the end.

 

It shows how little individual achievements often mean in war... In very few of the cases where whole units were destroyed by the actions of one tank or other small crew, it actually influences the course of events significantly; it is all these individual actions combined that give success or failure.

 

Do you have a source on this? This is highly unlikely.

 

Hello.
Maybe the best kill of the WWII.
Leutnant Beckman of the Heeres Panzerjäger-Abteilung 88 who destroyed a JS-2 near Marzdorf in March 1945 from the distance of 4.600 meters,with his "Nashorn".
And a other one always with a “Nashorn” the Hauptmann Albert Ernst, leader of the I.zug of the schwere Heeres Panzerjäger-Abteilung 519,who destroyed near Vitebsk in a single day 23 December 1943, 14 T-34 and KV tanks with only 21 shells of 88mm,and the day after, 4 more kill and won for this action the Ritterkeuz and the nick name of "Tiger of Vitebsk"

 

Yes I do Have a source.

Check out Tarawa by Peter Young.
However I cannot give u the exact page and im not positive about the author a the book is not with me anymore.

The whole reason why i put this incident in the is thread is that it is 'incredible and unlikely'.

 

What tank has among it's kills a ship?

 

Weren't some Shermans used to fire on German shipping across the mouth of the Scheldt in the evacuation of 15th Army?

 

I was asking about a german tank ace who sunk a destroyer (French i think) because i don't remember who it was.

 

KV-2 of 2nd tank Division of III mechanized corps managed to halt entire 6 Panzer Division for almost 2 days ( 24-25 of june 1941) near Lithuanian town of Raseiniai. Crew simply run over AT batery and destroyed one 88 mm gun from 900m. They positioned themselves so germans could not outflank them ( marshy ground). German tank attack failed. During the night sapers managed to put two demolition charges on the tank and managed to destroy one of the tracks, gun was undamaged. Next day a panzer company mounted mock charge to busy the russian crew. A 88 was towed in position and fired 4 shots to destroy the russian tank. Unknown heroic crew perished.

 

Yeah - we have a topic on that tank somewhere...

http://www.fun-online.sk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1175

phenomenal!

 

Welcome to the forum, Tiso! This is indeed one of the most remarkable single tank actions of the war, which shows the shock the KV tanks gave the Germans with their unprecedented amount of armour mixed with a gun much more powerful than, for example, the 2pdr on the Matilda II.

 

Considering the fact that bulk of Panzerwaffe was armed witk PzKpW-38(t) tanks which was most numerous at the time and they encountered tanks like T-34, KV-1 and KV-2 shock must have been terrible. Even older designs like T-26 and BT-7 were camparible with german tanks.
Soviet tank crews did their best and displayed numerus acts of heroism.
What saved the day for germans at the beggining was fact that russians didn't know how to use them in coordinated formations for lack of reliable radios, poor maintenance of equipment, stalinist purges that killed most of experianced fomation commanders, outdated tactics and lack of coordination with air force. Soviet doctrine said that tanks can't be used by themselves but they need strong infantry support ( lessons learnd in Spain and Kahlhin Gol) and they distibuted tanks according to that. When russians learned that tank troops are specialists that need good training and reliable communications together with air suport situation changed drammaticaly ( offensive operations at Moskva, Stalingrad, Kursk etc.).

 

... agreed, although lack of radios still hampered them until quite late on in the war. The lack was simply due to small production figures, the T-34 had a space in the hull for a radio, but relatively few were fitted.

 

One modeling link for that KV-2 in 1/72:
http://www.ontheway.us/gallery10/FrValerianKV-2.htm

 

I will have to find a link since I'm too lazy to type in the entire story now however Michael Wittmann's action at Villers Bocage on June 13th , 1944 where his Tiger I nearly wiped out an entire armored column of the British 7th Armored Divisions (Desert Rats) has to rank up there with any single oustanding performance of the war.
Read the full account, it is very thrilling and interesting. He had some help from the other Tigers under his command before the day's action was over however his decision to attack immediately, without support,
set up the situation that enabled the extremely one sided action to occur and did the lion's share of the fighting.
Truly amazing.

This action has been well reported in many accounts however I recommend highly PANZER ACES by Franz Kurowski.

 

I'll get back to you on this one. As I recall there was no armor on either side deployed at Tarawa Atoll. Essentially, the island of Betio was too small for the practical deployment of armor.

 

But this column was made up of only a few tanks and mostly lightly armoured vehicles and Bren carriers, since the unit engaged was 1st Rifle Regiment, not an armoured unit. Wittman took out, IIRC, 29 vehicles but few of these were tanks; his Tiger was then itself knocked out by a Sherman Firefly in the village itself.