Tank Aces?

[Roysalipuran]

Ok here is my post about Tank Aces (in particular Tiger Aces)... We have all heard of Michael Wittmann.. but, did you know that he was NOT repeat NOT the Highest scoring Tiger Ace of them all?
Here is the list:
Name Kills(the numbers beside the names) Unit (the s.Pz.Abt. stuff)
1.Kurt Knispel 168 s.Pz.Abt. 503
2.Walter Schroif 161 s.SS-Pz.Abt. 102
3.Otto Carius 150+ s.Pz.Abt. 502
4.Johannes (Hans) Bolter 139+ s.Pz.Abt. 502
5.Michael Wittmann 138 s.SS-Pz.Abt. 101
6.Uscha Oberhaber 127 s.SS-Pz.Abt. 102
7.Paul Egger 113 s.SS-Pz.Abt. 102
8.Arno Giesen 111 8./SS-Pz.Rgt. 2
9.Heinz Rondorf 106 s.Pz.Abt. 503
10.Heinz Gartner 103 s.Pz.Abt. 503
11.Wilhelm Knauth 101+ s.Pz.Abt. 505
12.Albert Kerscher 100+ s.Pz.Abt. 502
13.Balthazar (Bobby) Woll 100+ s.SS-Pz.Abt. 101
14.Karl Mobius 100+ s.SS-Pz.Abt. 101
15.Helmut Wendorff 95 s.SS-Pz.Abt. 101
16.Will Fey 80+ s.SS-Pz.Abt. 102
17.Eric Litztke 76 s.Pz.Abt. 509
18.Emil Seibold 69 s.SS-Pz.Abt. 502
19.Karl Brommann 66 s.SS-Pz.Abt. 503
20.Alfred Rubbel 60+ s.Pz.Abt. 503
21.Konrad Weinert 59 s.Pz.Abt. 503
22.Walter Junge 57+ s.Pz.Abt. 503
23.Bobby Warmbrunn 57 s.SS-Pz.Abt. 101
24.Jurgen Brandt 57 s.SS-Pz.Abt. 101
25.Heinz Kling 51+ s.SS-Pz.Abt. 101
26.Heinz Kramer 50+ s.Pz.Abt. 502
27.Alfredo Carpaneto 50+ s.Pz.Abt. 502
28.Heinz Mausberg 50+ s.Pz.Abt. 505
29.Dieter Ustuf 50+ s.SS-Pz.Abt. 103
30.Oskar Geiner 50+ s.SS-Pz.Abt. 103
31.Johann Muller 50+ s.Pz.Abt. 502
32.Joachim Scholl 42 s.SS-Pz.Abt. 102
33.Franz Staudegger 35+ s.SS-Pz.Abt. 101

As you can see Michael is only The 5th 5TH highest Tiger Ace of All time! In fact it was Kurt Kinspel with a amazing 168 tank kills! dude! he probably fought Like a spartan and :spartaaa: !

[**Spetsnaz**]

i knew about Otto Carius. I have his memoirs "Tigers in the mud" on my bookshelf :-)
if you like panzer specialists, do some research on the "Der PanzerGraf" - not really an ace, but a superb commander in the field of armoured warfare (or so hes described when i read about him)

[Roysalipuran]

Anyone know a Panther Ace besides Ernst Barkmann or the probably unheard of Pershing Aces?? ( I suggest you find the Book Tanks of World Wars 1 and 2 By George Forty or Play Panzer Front if you have a PSX)

[Sturmhaubitze]

Few people know of Kurt Knispel because he was not a poster boy for the National Socialists. He was born in Czechoslovakia, served with the Heer rather than the Waffen-SS, and never got promoted to a commissioned rank. He was nearly court martialed after stealing from a wrecked German officer's train car (Stuffed his tank full of every luxury item he could find, like chocolate and coffee), and beat the crap out of a German guard that was abusing a Soviet prisoner. He was humble and didn't care for recognition; when there was uncertainty as to who made a kill, he let the other tank commander take credit, so his actual kill score may have been much higher.

Then there's Staff Sergeant Lafayette Pool, who commanded several Shermans (at least one of them 76mm armed) during an 80 day period in Normandy. He knocked out 258 vehicles, 12 of them tanks (Mostly Panthers too!). He lost his leg when a FlaK36 knocked out their tank, but rejoined after the war to teach the next generation of US tankers. Twelve tanks may not seem much, but that was only over 80 days, while the German aces in the list had an entire war to rack up their kills.

The Western Allies had a tendency to not exploit their aces for morale and propaganda, so there's many more where Lafayette Pool came from.

[killerpoodle]

The Western Allies had a tendency to not exploit their aces for morale and propaganda,

that's true, but surely the Allies wouldn't have much of a chance to earn kills. For example if you've got 10 Sherman tanks against a tiger the Shermans can only claim one kill as opposed to the tiger that stands the chance of claiming 10 kill

[Cossack]

Soviet Tank Aces (http://wio.ru/tank/ww2aces.htm)

On August 14, 1941, the vanguard of the German 8th Panzer Division approached Krasnogvardeysk (Gatchina) near Leningrad (St Petersburg), and the only Soviet force available at the time to attempt to stop the German advance was five well-disguised KV-1 tanks, dug in within a grove at the edge of a swamp. KV-1 tank no. 864 was commanded by the leader of this small force, Lieutenant Zinoviy Kolobanov.
German forces attacked Krasnogvardeysk from three directions. Near Noviy Uchkhoz settlement the geography favoured the Soviet defenders as the only road in the region passed the swamp, and the defenders commanded this choke point from their hidden position. Lieutenant Kolobanov had carefully studied the situation and readied his detachment the day before. Each KV-1 tank carried twice the normal amount of ammunition, two-thirds being armour-piercing rounds. Kolobanov ordered his other commanders to hold their fire and await orders. He did not want to reveal the total force, so only one exposed tank at a time would engage the enemy.

On August 14, the German 8th Panzer Division's vanguard ventured directly into the well-prepared Soviet ambush, with Kolobanov's tank knocking out the lead German tank with its first shot. The Germans falsely assumed that their lead tank had hit an anti-tank mine, and failed to realize that they had been ambushed. The German column stopped, giving Kolobanov the opportunity to destroy the second tank. Only then did the Germans realize they were under attack, but they failed to find the source of the shots. While the German tanks were firing blindly, Kolobanov knocked out the trailing German tank, thus boxing in the entire column.

Although the Germans correctly guessed the direction of fire, they could only spot Lieutenant Kolobanov's tank, and now attempted to engage an unseen enemy. German tanks moving off the road bogged down in the surrounding soft ground, becoming easy targets. 22 German tanks and 2 towed artillery pieces fell victim to Kolobanov's No. 864 before it ran out of ammunition. Kolobanov ordered in another KV-1, and 21 more German tanks were destroyed before the half-hour battle ended. A total of 43 German tanks were destroyed by just five Soviet KV-1s (two more remained in reserve).

After the battle, the crew of No. 864 counted a total of 135 hits on their tank, none of which had penetrated the KV-1's armour. Lieutenant Kolobanov was awarded the Order of Lenin, while his driver Usov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Later on, former Captain Zinoviy Kolobanov was again decorated by Soviet authorities, despite having been been convicted and downgraded after the Winter War for "fraternizing with the enemy." After the end of World War II, Lieutenant Kolobanov served in the Soviet occupation zone in Eastern Germany, where he was convicted again when a subordinate escaped to the British occupation zone, and was transferred to the reserves.

The battle for Krasnogvardeysk was covered up by Soviet propaganda. A monument dedicated to this battle was installed in the village of Noviy Uchkhoz in 1980, at the place where Kolobanov's KV-1 was dug in, due solely to the demands of the villagers. Unfortunately it was impossible to find a KV-1 tank, so an IS-2 heavy tank was installed there instead.

[Roysalipuran]

Thanks for the link Cossack Alexander Oskin and Ivan Golub where very Impressive (I mean come on! knocking out 5 Tigers or 3 King Tigers is not Impressive? Then go F*** yourself!) and I didn't now that Kurt was a good man! (although I knew about the tank-kills and his nationality) thanks for posting that Sturmgaubitze!

[Caesar]

Not exactly an ace, but impressive nonetheless.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=213689

[Cossack]

the link Cossack Alexander Oskin and Ivan Golub where very Impressive (I mean come on! knocking out 5 Tigers or 3 King Tigers is not Impressive? Then go F*** yourself!)
Yes. It is amazing! And Oskin was in T-34/85, not even in grand IS-2!

P.S. It is my favorite picture from this site: T-34 "Crab" style :trix:
http://wio.ru/tank/gal2/t34minec.jpg
It is ПТ-34.

[Roysalipuran]

LOL I've never seen a T-34 with a mine clearer before!! and i thought i've seen it all :wtf: love that Pic!

[Tom 1561]

I don't know where you got the record for Michael Wittmann but his score is
141 tanks and 132 antitank guns.

this info is from www.achtungpanzer.com

[Panzer General]

This is one of my favorite stories about a tiger tank!
From Wikipedia!!!


On 7 July 1943, a single Tiger tank commanded by SS-Oberscharführer Franz Staudegger from the 2nd Platoon, 13th Panzer Company, 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler engaged a group of about 50 T-34s around Psyolknee (the southern sector of the German salient in the Battle of Kursk). Staudegger used all his ammunition in destroying 22 Soviet tanks, while the rest retreated. For this, Staudegger was awarded the Knight's Cross.

[LloydyBoy]

my favorite US tank ace
Staff Sergeant
Lafayette G. Pool

destoyed 152 Enemy veicles (Pz4s,Tigers and Panthers) and 106 AT guns (Flak 88s and Pak 40s) in a M1A3 Sherman, he was never givern the Knights cross

[Sturmhaubitze]

my favorite US tank ace
Staff Sergeant
Lafayette G. Pool

destoyed 152 Enemy veicles (Pz4s,Tigers and Panthers) and 106 AT guns (Flak 88s and Pak 40s) in a M1A3 Sherman, he was never givern the Knights cross

Already mentioned him, and note that his tank kills were only 12. Still impressive for only 80 days in the war.

[LloydyBoy]

oh must of been somone else but he was almost as good as Wittman

by the way how did micheal wittman die

[Sturmhaubitze]

No, same person. Of the 152 enemy vehicles, 12 were tanks, and most of those 12 were Panthers.

As for Wittmann, his unit was caught in a crossfire between the Northamptonshire Yeomanry and the Canadian Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment. The Sherbrooke Fuisiliers were closer and firing from a diagonal rear location, so more likely to have scored the killing shot. Though the Northamptonshire Yeomanry are typically credited as they were the ones mainly engaged, while the Canadians snuck up from behind. There was some theory about Typhoons, but they weren't in the area, and a rocket from a Typhoon would've caused significantly more damage to a tank (The photographs of his tank don't show any significant damage, other than the turret missing from when ammunition cook-off blew it off).

[k0mmandant]

Wittmann wasnt well known for his kills. More for his actions during the Villers Bocage campaign. Where he killed 11 tanks, 2 AT guns and 13 personell carriers in a 15 minute period.

[DrEvil....EVIL!]

Some Tiger units that did exceed the 10:1 kill ratio:
13. Kompanie/Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland (16.67:1)
Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 103/503 (12.82:1)
Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 102/502 (13.08:1).

Of these numbers perhaps the most extraordinary is the high score of the sSS Pz Abt 103/503 because of their short service period (with tanks) though it can be understood since they had plenty of opponents to aim at during the Battle of Berlin. More info is found here (http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=2026) and here (http://www.achtungpanzer.com/gen10.htm).

Notable members of the unit:

Karl Bromann (usually credited with 66 destroyed tanks but the exact number is unknown).

Karl Köner (usually credited with 100+ destroyed tanks but the exact number is unknown).

[jequirity]

On the British side of tank aces, trying to find individuals can be difficult and those that can be found tend to be more well renowned for actions that took place on single days. This is partly due to, as previous posters have mentioned, the fact that British propaganda never promoted their tankers as much as the germans and the fact that for most of the war the British never had a tank in great numbers with a main armament and armour superior to that of the Germans.

Probably one of the most famous British tankers has to be Trooper Joe Ekins from the Northampshire Yeomanry (33rd Armoured Brigade), the gunner credited with knocking out 3 Tigers in 12 minutes,including Wittman's requisitioned Tiger 007, using a Sherman Firefly during operation Totalize (8th August 1944). Ekins had previously only fired a 17pounder 6 times beforehand in training and after this feat went to become...a radio operator in a 75mm Sherman (Most British tankers were trained in all of the crew roles ).

Another notable British tanker was Sgt Wilfred Harris from the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards (8th Armoured Brigade) who managed to knock out 5 Panthers using 5 rounds on the morning of the 14th of June 1944. He then went on to become the squadrons quartermaster sgt and was awarded the DCM.

The last tanker I can recollect is Sgt Dring of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (8th Armoured Brigade) who knocked out 2 Tigers, 1 Panther and 1 Panzer IV in a single day. I've found info that he certaintly went onto destroying an additional tiger but I can't find any info on any kills after that. Nor can I find any info on any kills before the Normandy Campaign, I believe he fought from El Alamein onwards. He was badly wounded in the hand and sent back to blighty on the 18th November 1944 having been wounded by a HE shell from a Panther that he was stalking on foot.

EDIT: Just found another few:

Two notable tank destroyer sergeants were H. W. Bowden and G. P. J. Donovan (62nd Anti-Tank Regiments RA) who were credited with destroying between them 12-13 Panthers and Mark IVs on 8th July 1944 supporting infantry of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada around Buron.

Those are all the tankers I can think of off the top of my head, i'd be very interested If anyone can provide additional info on successful British tankers.