In early July of 1944, Das Reich was moved to Saint Lo to halt the advance of the US Army’s 9th and 30th Infantry Divisions and the 3rd Armored Division. On July 8th, Barkmann’s Kompanie was a spearhead of Regiment’s attack on the advancing American units. On this day, Ernst Barkmann knocked out his first Allied Sherman tank near St.Lo. On July 12th, he destroyed two more Shermans while disabling the third one. During that engagement Barkmann moved his camouflaged Panther to ambush position and awaited for more Allied armor, knocking out three Shermans. After that Ernst Barkmann’s tank was hit by an anti-tank gun which caused fire. He decided to abandon his burning Panther and along with his crew he quickly put out the fire. After that engagement his Panther ended up in the workshop for repairs. After a day of rest, in morning of July 14th, Barkmann was ordered to recover four Panthers that had been cut off behind enemy lines. He succeeded in his task and added three more Shermans to his score. On the same day at noon, Ernst Barkmann was ordered by the Regimental Commander SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Tychsen to recover wounded German soldiers from their American captors. Once again he succeeded and in the evening his own Panther was returned to him from the workshop. On July 26th, Barkmann’s Panther suffered from engine problem and was sent to field workshop.When mechanics were working on it, field workshop was attacked by Allied fighter-bombers and Barkmann’s Panther was hit in the engine compartment. By the dawn of July 27th, his Panther was repaired but he was cut off from the rest of the Kompanie and was on his way to rejoin it. On his way back, near the village of Le Lorey, Barkmann was stopped by the retreating German infantrymen who reported that Americans were closing in. Ernst Barkmann decided to send two of his men to verify that report. They soon returned with news of American column made up of some 15 Shermans and other vehicles approaching. Then Barkmann moved his tank up the road to the crossroad where he positioned his Panther in the surrounding oak trees, awaiting the enemy. When the American column approached, Ernst Barkmann opened fire, knocking out two leading tanks and then tanker truck.Two Shermans tried to go around burning wreckage that blocked the road and one of them was knocked out followed by the other one.In the response, Americans retreated and called up the tactical fighter support and Barkmann’s Panther was damaged and some of the crew members were wounded. Using the element of suprise two Shermans attacked “wounded” Panther but were also knocked out.Barkmann and his crew repaired their Panther and knocked out single Sherman while leaving.His driver managed to moved their damaged Panther to the safety of nearby village of Neufbourg. During that brave engagement often called “Barkmann’s Corner”, Ernst Barkmann destroyed approximately nine Sherman tanks and many other various vehicles.
In the village square of St lambert, north-west Chambois, was dominated by a single German Panther on August 14 1944. It knocked out the leading Dherman of the 14 14 tanks of Major David Currie’s South Alberta Regiment. The next moment, two RAF Typhoons mistakenly hit Currie’s command tank with rockets. Wisely, Currie decided to withdraw for the night to the end of the village. Next morning, a patrol stalked and rushed the Panther. Lieutenant G.g. Armour leading the patrol had just climed on top of the tank when the commander of the tank with the grenade in his hand when the commander of the tank emmerged and they fought hand to hand when a infantryman shot the German and a nother German when the poked his head out of the hatch. He then through the grenade down the hatck and thus won the square.
Have any of you ever sean the documentary about a rgimant of US airborne that dropped the night before D-day and fought through Europe. It was called Band of Brothers. On episode they were in the Netherlands in a village or actualy approching it when one of them warned the commander of Sherman tank convoy that there was a German tank destroyer hidden in the hay of a barn near the main road, but the brittish commander just said that he could not see anything and he would find out if they reached it. He moved on but was knocked out just a second after adn also the other tree tanks in the convoy. I love playing WW2 games and when ever they say I must destroy a German King Tiger or Tiger 1 I almost shit myself.
In Medal of Honor European assult you got to take a town where you must combat a lot of German King Tigers and it si very hard because the Bazoka that you have just have a few bullets and there are quite a lot of them, so you must attack it with grenades.
Henk
Several Pics of the Pz VII Maus:
The dented frontal amour of Kubinka museum Maus.
More pics of this very crazy projekt.
I think for mobility, the Panther was a great german tank.
reliable firepower and speed.
the panther was a very good tank. I think one of the best tanks was the T34 with German crew :lol:
Well mate there I must say that the Germans did fight deadly in the T-34 when they captured one and modified it to suit their needs like the comanders capula and radios. They also painted them.
They loved the T-34 and was always on the look out for a T-34. I saw this website where they found a T-34 in a marsh with a German comanders capula and the German white and black cross on it. They will be restoring it.
Henk
Panzer IV for me 8) 
Yes, it is the one thank you verry much mate. It still looks great hey after all those years in that marsh.
Henk
I think this is the site you are talking about. http://www.diving.ee/articles/art035.html[/quote]
About the briefing, looks like tank can be in service after a
small mainteinance. :arrow:
No mate your link does not work.
Henk
Thank you Cuts.
Henk
KT II has wider track, which means it can travel to more place then Sherman. My guess is Sherman commander must also be the guy who fire the cannon too.
KT II has bigger size, that means crew would have a more comfortable time to control the tank than the crew in sherman
KT II has 700hp, only 375hp for Sherman
KT II has 185mm, only 75mm for Sherman (not to mention Panzerschreck rocket could penetrate over 200 mm of armor)
No slope armour for Sherman to deflict cannon fire, has to use sandbag to increase its tiny armour against GErman tank and anti tank unit
Sherman tank has one advantage, which is its range at 240km verus 110km for KT II
KT II has 88mm anti tank cannon, Sherman tank has 75mm cannon ( no idea about how the 105mm howitzer perform though)[/quote]
You forgot to mention that a King Tiger couldn’t cross the average European bridge during The Battle of the Bulge.
It’s not much good if it can’t go many places, sometimes I think that Hitler and his tank designers must have had very small penises.
What I want in a tank is what I want in a family passanger car: practical, inexpensive, reliable, easy to service, low fuel consumpsion, and always ready. I think the best German tank was the Panther in this regard.
Even so, the Tiger II and the Panther share a miserable caracteristic…an unreliable transmition , in my opinion the best german tank was the Tiger I.
Königstiger mit Porsche turm.
Königstiger mit Henschel turm.
Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe:
Yes, but did the Tiger 1 not have a underpowerd engine and suffer from brake downs? Did the Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe ever reach production or a prototype?
Henk
Yes the Tiger had his troubles but was only in the beggining of his career, the mid 1943 production vehicles solved almost every trouble.
Several combat reports in 1944 ave the Tiger II a availability for the combat of about 60 %, the Panther 52 % and the Tiger I 84 % almost as good as the old Mark IV with 85 % of his total available for combat.
The Löwe remain in mocke-up only, was replaced by the Maus…a much worst and expensive desing…crazy. :?
That is why I said the Panzerkampfwagen VI “Tiger” Ausf. E (Sd.Kfz. 181) was the best.
Thanks, and yes the Maus was a waste of cash and time.
Henk
Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe??? I have never heard of such machine? Can anyone tell me anything about it? Any links… or any more pics?
Those are good looking tanks though!