Tankers and Esprit de Corps

A question for veteran tankers... and I do hope Merlin notices this one.

Was it considered a top-assignment to be posted to the tank corps?
It was my understanding that a posting to the Panzer Corps was a choice assignment... especially if you were a young German selected for elite Tiger-trainng.
Did tankers in general consider themselves more fortunate than their infantry-minded comrades? Or did tankers think the Air Corps were the ones that had it made?
We tend to glamorize and glorify the life of a tanker here, but I suspect they were roasting in North Africa, and freezing their arses-off in the Ardennnes or the Russian Steppes. Probably banged their heads on hard-steel a lot while cramped-up in those tight-quarters with the overwhelming stench of gasoline/diesel, cordite and smoke.

I suspect the life of a WW2--and post-war--tanker was not nearly as exciting as we might expect.

Tim

 

esprit de Corps.

A difficult question to answer, to be accepted into the Royal Armoured Corps was considered a step up. The spirit in a cavalry regiment with hundreds of years history was something you have to experience to understand. In each individual regiment you believed you were the best.
One bone of contention by tank crews was the difference between them and RAF air crews. In an air crew you were at least a sergeant, you flew into battle, did your job, flew home. A ground crew looked after your plane, you had breakfast in the mess with waiter service.
In a tank crew you fought all day, refueled and rearmed your own tank, cooked your own meals, did your own guards, and probably fought again thr next day.
But, the pride you had in the Lancers, Hussars, Dragoons and the RTR regiments, the pride in serving under a special cap badge is very rarely understod by anyone who has not had the priviledge of doing so.
sorry if not too clear Tim but hard to explain.

 

I'm not denigrating either armor, or the personnel therein. As a former infantryman, though, I have to say that Bill Mauldin's Willie and Joe summed it up best, as they watched a Sherman trundling by:

"I'd ruther dig. A movin' foxhole attracts th' eye."

I'm 5'11", 164lbs. I can find cover and/or concealment almost anywhere!

 

tankers are mostly safe from flying splinters and bullets ,they dont have to walk their legs off while humping 80 lbs of gear all day ...but the moveing foxhole thing is a very real danger imo....when tankers encounter enemy tanks ,at guns and panzerfausts ...it seems to me that tankers stand a very good chance of being roasted alive in their claustraphobic little steel boxes . of course dead is dead either way ,but burning to death seems to me a really bad end ...i think i would rather take my chances armoured with a cotton shirt and a spade if there is any real tank on tank fight to be expected ...of course the last 60 years ...korea ,vietnam ,afganistan and iraq were and are places where tankers are almost immune from violent death... but a sherman ,panther or t34 were very dangerous homes in their day....

 

Merlin:
I appreciate your response... and understand that each regiment instilled in it's troopers the fact they belonged to an extra-special group of soldiers.
Being that the British Isles have been around a lot-longer than America, I'm sure the many centuries of military tradition have helped to instill that "esprit de corps" which I elude to.

Interesting comparison to the RAF-boys. It's hard-work being in a tank-crew... and keeping things running in proper-order. Those flyboys were likely seen as a bunch of "prima-donas" by the tankers, eh? The relationship to cavalry is not lost on tankers. Groom, feed, water and care-for the needs of your horse before you feed yourself...

Tim

 

espirit de corps

You've got it Tim, that is how I wanted you to see the answer to your original post, did it feel a top asignment to be in a tank regiment, not whether you would prefer to be in infantry, air force or tanks.
Don't get me wrong, there was much rivalry between cavalry and RTR, also as there was between the different RTR regiments and even between the different cavalry regiments; which was a good thing. Different regiments celebrated different days as part of regimental history, Waterloo Day, Balaclava Day, Cambrai Day,Gazala etc.

 

as a side topic on this

Does the analagy that a tanker does it all compared to the fly boys still apply today?

One assumes that the maintenance and serivce of a challanger in Iraq is far beyond the capabilities of it's crew due to the increasing technological features being built into them.

As such would a modern tank crew basically drive their tank all day and then park it up in camp so that they can have tea and biscuits whilst a specialist engineering crew carrying servicing and maintenance?

FNG

 

espirit

you still rearm, refuel, replace your own tracks if they come off, do your own guards, cooking etc, re the tech. stuff I don't know, perhaps it don't go wrong!!!

 

oh come on, how long have you known the british army

You reckon they could produce reliable and well made equipment that does exactly what you want in the way it should be done? :lol:

FNG

 

I watched a piece on armor-training at Ft. Knox, Ky some time back.
Based on the footage I saw, Merlin is "on the mark."
Unless your tank is disabled and must be fetched by a tank-retriever, it's up to the tank-crew to perform basic repairs. As I understand it, tanks need almost daily maintanance even when they are running-well.
Yes, re-stock ammo, top-off the fuel, check the radiator, tighten-up the loose track-links, etc... it strikes me as a lot of work.
My understanding is that a commander must be familiar with every aspect, every system and the role of each crew-member of his tank.
I expect it still helps to have a crew of country-boys, knowledgable about mechanical farm-equipment, and "fix-it" common-sense. It proved to be an asset for Michael Wittman.

Tim

 

yeah, flyboys, often bomber crews take very heavy casulaties. Its also harder to be a flyboy and the training is longer, harder, and more intense, often more than not mentally.

 

espirit de corps

Well FNG, as regards how long I've known the British army, quite a while, and regarding how the high tech equipment stands up these days, I understand that the electric kettle in the Chally 2 is rather good!! :roll: