Post by torpedo on Nov 22, 2019 15:17:38 GMT
The result of the luckiest rifle barrelled shot I have ever seen is on show in the world’s largest tank museum at Bovington, England.
The subject is a German Panzer Tiger 1 tank, a secret new Wehrmacht design at the time of the incident. The Panzer tank had become partially immobilised having a damaged track. However the tank crew were effectively defending it making full use of all its armaments in particular the main turret gun.
The lucky shot from a smaller British Churchill tank of the 48th Royal Tank Regiment was a solid 6 pounder shot aimed squarely at the Panzers turret. The shell actually struck the Panzer’s main gun sleeve and ricocheted off lodging between the Tiger's turret and hull turret ring, jamming the turret. Partial fragment penetration destroyed the Panzers radio and injured the German crew.
Here’s the lucky bit - lucky for both the German tank’s crew and the British. The shell used was a non explosive armour piercing six pounder shell, (57mm) in size travelling at approximately 2900 feet per second, designed to penetrate up to 81mm of armour - effectively a very large, (6 pound) bullet.
With the tank now completely disabled and unable to aim, because of the broken track and the turret unable to rotate, the German crew decided discretion was the better part of valour and abandoned the tank before they were blown to bits - without executing their standing orders, “To set explosive destruction charges”. The rapid exit from the tank was noticed by the British tank crew who stopped trying to destroy the tank and captured it instead.
Known as Tiger 131, this Tiger was the first captured by the Western Allies and was particularly useful for intelligence. The tank was then taken to a place of safety where all its secrets were revealed. This WW2 event was so remarkable that even Winston Churchill personally visited the captured German Panzer.
The tank itself is now cleaned up and on display at the Bovington Tank museum in Southern England. The damage where the shell struck and wedged has not been touched and is clear for visitors to see.
The subject is a German Panzer Tiger 1 tank, a secret new Wehrmacht design at the time of the incident. The Panzer tank had become partially immobilised having a damaged track. However the tank crew were effectively defending it making full use of all its armaments in particular the main turret gun.
The lucky shot from a smaller British Churchill tank of the 48th Royal Tank Regiment was a solid 6 pounder shot aimed squarely at the Panzers turret. The shell actually struck the Panzer’s main gun sleeve and ricocheted off lodging between the Tiger's turret and hull turret ring, jamming the turret. Partial fragment penetration destroyed the Panzers radio and injured the German crew.
Here’s the lucky bit - lucky for both the German tank’s crew and the British. The shell used was a non explosive armour piercing six pounder shell, (57mm) in size travelling at approximately 2900 feet per second, designed to penetrate up to 81mm of armour - effectively a very large, (6 pound) bullet.
With the tank now completely disabled and unable to aim, because of the broken track and the turret unable to rotate, the German crew decided discretion was the better part of valour and abandoned the tank before they were blown to bits - without executing their standing orders, “To set explosive destruction charges”. The rapid exit from the tank was noticed by the British tank crew who stopped trying to destroy the tank and captured it instead.
Known as Tiger 131, this Tiger was the first captured by the Western Allies and was particularly useful for intelligence. The tank was then taken to a place of safety where all its secrets were revealed. This WW2 event was so remarkable that even Winston Churchill personally visited the captured German Panzer.
The tank itself is now cleaned up and on display at the Bovington Tank museum in Southern England. The damage where the shell struck and wedged has not been touched and is clear for visitors to see.
