![]() The Sherman was a great tank for the generals, who needed thousands of reliable tanks they could feed into far-ranging campaigns. The Americans shipped spare parts along with the Shermans to keep them in service.Īs the battle for Germany heated up in late 1944, the M4s 75mm gun proved unable to pierce the thicker frontal armor of enemy vehicles, and its own armor was too thin to withstand the heavy shells of German guns. It had to be reliable and easy to maintain. The Sherman was designed to be built by the thousands in American factories, shipped by rail to ports, and loaded into Victory Ships for transport to combat zones around the world. ![]() The M4 was a good tank in 1942, but as the war progressed the United States lagged in armored vehicle development. The Germans also fielded a number of powerful tank destroyers with direct-fire guns.Īmerican tank crews, who first went into action in North Africa in late 1942 during Operating Torch, fought most of World War II in the Sherman. In response to the Soviet threat, the Germans introduced the PzKpfw V Panther medium tank and the Tiger I heavy tank. Thus, the Germans became trapped in a vicious cycle of designing and fielding larger tanks with thicker armor and more powerful guns as they battled the Red Army on the Eastern Front. It officially received the name “Pershing” in March 1945.Īt the outset of Operation Barbarossa in 1941, the Germans faced formidable Soviet tanks, such as the T-34 medium tank and the KV series heavy tank, which prompted the Germans to develop powerful medium and heavy panzers capable of defeating these fearsome tanks in battle. The T-26E3 tank entered production in November 1944, an overdue answer to the superiority of heavy German tanks. General of the Armies John Pershing when it was christened the Pershing and given the designation M26. The technical appellation of T-26E3 would soon be supplemented with the name of the late U.S. His skill and experience as a tank commander were the reason that he was given No. The three destroyed tanks brought Mashlonik’s tally to 15 tank kills since Normandy, three of which were carried out in his T-26E3. The remaining PzKpfw IV apparently beat a hasty retreat. Mashlonik hit two of them, each panzer receiving an armor-piercing projectile followed by a high-explosive round. The Tiger crew tried to bail out of their stricken vehicle, but Mashlonik finished them off with two, rather than one, high-explosive rounds.ĭuring the course of the long morning, the T-26E3 crew spotted three PzKpfw IV’s operating to the west of the destroyed Tiger. The second round drilled straight into the Tiger’s thick gun mantlet and ricocheted down into the hull, setting the German tank ablaze. The round smashed the transmission and drive assembly, stopping it immediately. With a fiery flash and a supersonic crack, the T-26E3’s gun sent the round crashing into the Tiger. Mashlonik fired one of the new T-30 high-velocity, armor-piercing shells from 1,000 yards away. By leaving its cover, the driver of the Tiger exposed the belly of his panzer where the armor was much thinner. Immediately after firing the third shot, Cade was to reverse the tank to avoid return fire.Ĭade slowly pulled forward, creeping to where the American crew could get an opportunity. He hoped the armor-piercing rounds would knock out the tank and the round would kill the enemy crew. Mashlonik ordered his crew to prepare two armor-piercing shells and one high-explosive round. Driver Ernest Cade would inch the tank forward until just enough of the vehicle was exposed so they could shoot. He would act as gunner for the mission while his normal gunner, Corporal Carl Gormick, took over as loader. Returning to his T-26E3, which lay hidden in a small valley, the young sergeant crafted a plan. But Mashlonik still believed he could destroy it. The Tiger crew had entrenched their vehicle, thus making it a more difficult target. Mashlonik had done a quick reconnaissance of the village from a distance during which he had spotted the Tiger. 40, a new American heavy tank that weighed 46 tons and boasted a 90mm cannon. His crew awaited him in T-26E3, designated No. Had he been commanding the M4 Sherman medium tank that day, the task would have seemed almost impossible without support or reinforcement, but now the odds would be evened because of the new tank he would be taking into battle against the Germans. Mashlonik’s job that day was to knock it out. The Tiger I was a fearsome opponent for any Allied tank crew in World War II. The 57-ton steel monster sported a long 88mm cannon that extended from a massive turret atop the blocky, angular mass of its hull. Sergeant Nicholas Mashlonik watched closely as the Panzerkampfwagen (PzKpfw) VI Tiger heavy tank rampaged through the village of Elsdorf in the Rhineland-Westphalia region of Germany on February 27, 1945.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |