Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike1158
"King Tiger having the turret shot off by a direct fire round from an M12". I'd like to see that report, fascinating stuff.
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After a lot of head scratching - came up with the reference. It was in Belton Cooper's book entitled "Death Traps - The Survival of an American Armoured Division in WW2". The quote is on Page 103:
"The hauling of the gas continued at a feverish pace, spurred on by accelerated artillery fire. As Task Force Love-lady approached the junction on the road between La Gleize and Stavelot, it ran into increasing German opposition. A firefight in this area destroyed a small German convoy of three ammunition trucks and three antitank guns. The American column split into two groups, one heading eastward toward Stavelot and the other southward toward Trois Ponts. Just north of Trois Ponts, the group ran into a heavy armored column consisting of Panther and King Tiger tanks from the 1st SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Panzer Division, considered the toughest panzer unit in the entire German army. Our lightly armored M4 Shermans didn't stand a chance against these German behemoths, and we immediately lost our four lead Sherman tanks. Task Force Lovelady withdrew slightly, established roadblocks, and called for heavy artillery fire.
In one incident, an M12 gun carriage with its 155mm GPF rifle loaded came around a bend in the road and suddenly found itself face to face with a King Tiger. Fortunately, the 155 was pointed directly at the base of the King Tiger's turret. The gun commander gave the order to fire. The 155 struck the King Tiger at the base of the gun mantlet where the turret joins the deck. The explosion ruptured the thin top deck armor and blew the turret off the tank, instantly killing the entire crew. Had the shell struck a few inches lower on the front glacis plate, it would have exploded harmlessly, and the King Tiger would have been able to drill the M12 from end to end with its high-velocity 88. Such were the fortunes of war."
Charlie