Also, surviving Shermans would be sold to many other nations after the war. A German machine gun squad take up position in ruins, M4A3(75) Sherman tanks of the 9th US Armored Division in Westhausen, German, on April 10, 1945. Interestingly, during World War Two there was a great disparity between the qualities of training provided to tank drivers of different armies. Airmen who becamePOWsfirst went toDulag Lufttransit camp near Frankfurt, where they were interrogated for information, and then to a permanent camp. by Starace 13 Nov 2009, 15:14, Post Further colourised images unfold the consequences of operating an army tank in the middle of a flood with a soldier trailing through the water on his motorcycle. Both of his sons, Aleksei and Maxim have been working together with their father in the museums hangar. Having surveyed the likely approach, his Panther was nearly surgically angled to deflect shots from the likeliest avenues. | The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Ella Kanahele killed the pilot by bashing his head in with a rock. He used another Panther to recover four Panthers cut off from German forces, and also rescued some captured German soldiers. Diving through history books its easy to find cases when green crews drove their Panthers into combat. The actors also learned that the soldiers would differentiate between outgoing and incoming artillery by the whistling sound a projectile make when coming towards you (but not away from you). Yet in arguments like those concerning the Tiger tank, the Panther had one intangible factor to it, the crew inside. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital, and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday. After the attack, his aircraft crash-landed on a small Hawaiian island called Niihau, owned by the White American Robinson family. More prisoners were taken during theSecond World Warthan in any other conflict. Not exactly high-tech. The infantry needed a tank firing an effective high explosive round, which due to those pesky laws of physics, come from lower velocity guns. Chances of survival varied during a tour, depending on factors such as inexperience, fatigue, type of aircraft flown and target. General view of the huts and compound at Stalag Luft III prisoner of war camp. The British main tank-training base was at Bovington in Dorset, where the recruits slept on beds made of straw. The stunning pictures show allied and Nazi tank crews as they took part in the final stages of World War Two. Soviet tanks were made to be assembled and fixed fast, because in the war time even children were welding such machines. The restoration team claims that some hulls they found were clearly made by children. While it brewed up subsequent tanks in the column tried to get quickly past it to engage in the fight. "The pictures show the long journey to victory after D Day and the hard life of the tank crews, two of the photos show pictures from north Africa from the early part of the war," he said. The KV-1 we have followed in this story was restored to help mark the 75th anniversary of Kolobanovs battle. If you are interested in working with us or have a great story, please get in touch. What is less well known, however, are the crews who operated these massive machines. Cookie Notice by Inselaffe 17 Nov 2009, 18:53, Post A suitable replacement medium tank was urgently needed. But to get to the point you may have to go five kilometres through marshes or snow. Acting as the gel that binds the other components, the commander is the person in charge of the overall actions of the tank. Every few months a new draft of 18 year olds were called into the services. We do not trust the machine to the others: if they burn the engine clutch, it turns into a monument.. by JamesL 13 Nov 2009, 17:23, Post You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. long-buried World War Two tanks back to life, The worlds biggest plane may have a new mission. Operational flying was perilous. As John Irwin, an American tank gunner who fought in the allied invasion of Europe, bluntly put it his Commander Joe would pick the targets, and I would try and hit them[4]. The bombing was targeted, but six of the fifty allied planes crashed. Instructing had its dangers, too, as it involved flying with inexperienced recruits in old aircraft. This proved an extremely though job, as at times they had to work with minimal information. And what the ETO. Post Huge battles were fought, leaving the land strewn with dead bodies and ruined machines. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Hosted by Vikki. They often spend nights near the marshes in a van. One of the toughest jobs in a tank crew is that of the gunner. Increased incidence of burns and traumatic amputations. In fact, if the tank had a direct hit or was set on fire; the loader had to crawl under the gun to exit the tank. The rest of the crew have been together since the North African Campaign and are much more hardened to the realities of war. Out on operation, the driver didnt have access to the tools, personnel or parts necessary to remedy damage taken during battle. The Yakushevs use a rotation scheme. The bones were taken away to the Belarussian Ministry of Defense. Descriptions of the crews seems to indicate that their rides would get shot up but leave the crews more-or-less intact for the most part. For this question I'm excluding tank action on the Eastern Front and in the Pacific (and as far as the latter goes, largely because Japan's tanks were quite lackluster against anything they faced). War History Online welcomes many guest authors who share their knowledge of the history on our pages. The journey between camps often offered the best chance for an escape. "There are hesh (high explosive squash head), sabot (big ass anti-armor dart), white phosphorus smoke, canister (like a huge shotgun shell), and heat (high explosive rounds.) Perfect for concealed and everyday carry, the Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro is feature-packed and built for rough use. In order to help his father, his son Maxim became a welder and Aleksei a painter. When working for the club, they sold a German armored vehicle, an SdKfz 252, to a collector in Britain, and a Soviet heavy tank IS-2 went to a private collection in Latvia. What was the lifespan of a tank in WW2? Oft quoted "tail gunners in WWII had a life expectancy of 4 flights." "or 2 weeks." Fred Wilson, May 18, 2013 #2 Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran In January 1945 I had a letter from home telling me that my brother had enlisted in the RAF. In early 1941 a German prototype known as the VK 30.01 would have been very comparable to the Sherman. A Sherman provided you with protection against most enemy fire but against a Tiger it could easily become your coffin. These are all numbers I've come across when doing my own research, but again, the answers are generally always vague and sometimes the numbers just don't match. Then they wander through forests and marshes searching for machines. Youll find everything from the story about the worlds greatest space mission to the truth about whether our cats really love us, the epic hunt to bring illegal fishermen to justice and the small team which brings long-buried World War Two tanks back to life. Clifford Williamson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. They take part in the show, too. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com, politicususa.com and hillreporter.com. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro CCW Pistol Review. This is why the Panther was armed with the long barreled Kampfwagonkanone, or KwK 42, which was a 70 caliber 75mm gun. As some said, averages are meaningless. According to the vets, the life expectancy of a tank crew member was only six weeks. Now the KV-1 differs from an original vehicle in only a handful of parts. Now Vladimir works as the chief mechanic and renovator in a historic and cultural complex called the Stalin Line near the countrys capital, Minsk. Discussions on every day life in the Weimar Republic, pre-anschluss Austria, Third Reich and the occupied territories. At age 55, World War 2 Veterans were estimated to live 21.4 and 26.1 life-years, 1.4 and 0.3 more life-years for Korean Conflict Veterans, and 3 and 1.5 more life-years for Vietnam Era Veterans for male and female, respectively. He shipped off to the Pacific and was wounded in 1942 at the Battle of Guadalcanal, and for his efforts was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Airman First Class Shigenori Nishikaichi was a Japanese pilot who took part in the second wave of the Pearl Harbor attack. Bomber operations were extremely stressful and frequently perilous, with a random chance of death or horrific injury. They find help in archives and from older residents, some of whom were children during the war. His mother revealed his actual age when he went to his grandmothers funeral without permission. The duo then took Benehakaka Ben Kanahele and his wife, Kealoha Ella Kanahele, as captives. He would command a Panther tank during the Ardennes offensive and later fight against the Soviets in 1945. Or sent in again? The life expectancy for newly enlisted Spitfire pilots during the Battle of Britain was only around four weeks. These were often upgraded even further by their new owners. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Yet it had a much better power to weight ratio, lower ground pressure, and was more than 8 mph faster on roads. By signing up you are agreeing to our, Here's the New Trailer for Angelina Jolie's, The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election. Endurance and perseverance were the watchwords. But it doesnt match, says Vladimir. The battle involved about 2,000 tanks from both sides, including this KV-1. A Bomber Command aircrew operated as a team. We put new turrets on them.. The tank was absolutely new, it ran only 400km. Occupational hazards such as lack of oxygen, frostbite and lower pressures at high altitude meant they needed equipment to keep them warm and breathing. Lifetime of the tank in WW2 was rather short. As well as moving the tank, he also had to double up as a mechanic. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Enjoy. They're also accurate to about 2.5 miles." When it is very deep they put on chemical protection suits. by Michael Kenny 23 Dec 2009, 03:23, Post In order to enlist, a young man had to be at least 17 years of age or 16 with parental consent. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". By the 12th he knocked out 3 more, but had to turn in his tank, No 424, to the workshop due to damage from an anti-tank gun. It was up to the driver to, using whatever he had available to him, keep the tank running. Since the vaunted Tiger had only 100mm thick armor, with no sloping, it was actually less protected in the front. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Now, everyone wants to compare these two tanks, both individually and strategically. The life expectancy for newly enlisted Spitfire pilots during the Battle of Britain was only around four weeks. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Alternatively, search more than 1 million objects from The Headrest Safe is the ultimate in discreet storage for your valuables (gun, money, credit cards, jewelry, medicines). Here is a snip from a U.S. Army website discussing WWII tank injuries.. Older locals said the vehicle had sunk into soft ground near a spring, but nobody knew the exact location. - Al2110 Aug 12, 2020 at 12:16 3 Average is very misleading. The Johns Hopkins University memorandum ORO-T-117 Survey of Allied Tank Casualties in World War II studied tank casualties extensively, in particular 274 medium tanks and 48 light tanks. The question is are there any official records to back this up, and also something that is specific to tank crews, excluding any other branches. It has never exploded, says Vladimir, as he superstitiously knocks on wood three times. With the Soviets steadily improving their tanks the Germans needed to be able to deal with not just the current threats they faced, but future ones still on the drawing boards. This made it ridged and difficult to turn; and for this reason some crews would have an assistant driver to give the main man an extra pair of eyes. 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