Fun fact of the day

[petercooman]

He did fight on the eastern front, maybe he could have ran into some lend-leasy ones there, if they were still around.

[Leman]

amazing how one person's (my) ignorance can generate so much info. such a knowledgeable crew on this forum.

[Ithoriel]

He did fight on the eastern front, maybe he could have ran into some lend-leasy ones there, if they were still around.

From the Wikipedia entry for the Matilda II

"The Red Army received 918 of the 1,084 Matildas sent to the USSR.The Soviet Matildas saw action as early as the Battle of Moscow and became fairly common during 1942. Unsurprisingly, the tank was found to be too slow and unreliable. Crews often complained that snow and dirt were accumulating behind the "skirt" panels, clogging the suspension. The slowness and heavy armour made them comparable to the Red Army's KV-1 heavy tanks, but the Matilda had nowhere near the firepower of the KV. Most Soviet Matildas were expended during 1942 but a few served on as late as 1944. The Soviets modified the tanks with the addition of sections of steel welded to the tracks to give better grip."

So it's a possibility, I guess.

[Steeleye]

I believe Wittmann racked up most of his impressive score on the Russian front.

Actually, Wittmann used to concentrate on commanding his tank and let his gunner get on with knocking out enemy vehicles with little direction from him. So really it was Wittmann's gunner who was the 'tank ace'.

This was, more or less, what happened on my tank. Tank commanders have a lot to do and can't spare much time to direct their gunners. After my commander had given the first fire order I was basically left to get on with it..."Sabot! Dot one, tank...on!"

Wittmann was killed when his tank was brewed up by a 17prd round from a Sherman Firefly at a range of about 800yrds towards the end of the Normandy campaign.

It was a flank shot so the round basically turned the Tiger inside out!

[petercooman]

From the Wikipedia entry for the Matilda II

"The Red Army received 918 of the 1,084 Matildas sent to the USSR.The Soviet Matildas saw action as early as the Battle of Moscow and became fairly common during 1942. Unsurprisingly, the tank was found to be too slow and unreliable. Crews often complained that snow and dirt were accumulating behind the "skirt" panels, clogging the suspension. The slowness and heavy armour made them comparable to the Red Army's KV-1 heavy tanks, but the Matilda had nowhere near the firepower of the KV. Most Soviet Matildas were expended during 1942 but a few served on as late as 1944. The Soviets modified the tanks with the addition of sections of steel welded to the tracks to give better grip."

So it's a possibility, I guess.

We should become myth busters here on the forum