Thread by @ReassessHistory

So did Lieutenant John Gorman of 2 Armoured Irish Guards *really* destroy a 68.5 ton King Tiger in a bonkers ram with his 33 ton Sherman tank?

WTF happened?

Want to know more?

Read on. /1
#WW2 #SWW #History

On 18 July, Operation Goodwood was launched as Second Army slung three armoured divisions in an audacious attempt to destroy Panzergruppe West as part of a mega-showdown that began back on 15 July.*

*Yup, Goodwood is one part of a MUCH larger offensive. /2

After an opening blitz by about 2,000 bombers (I shit you not) the tanks were loosed east of Caen towards the Germans.

Any op like this took massive amounts of infrastructure and was insanely complex to mount. Huge traffic jams/delays impeded progress. /3

2 Armoured Irish Guards was part of Guards Armoured Division & this was to be their first action of the battle for Normandy: in one of the greatest showdowns of the campaign.

It wasn't until 1700 that Major Tony 'Dipper' Dorman's 2 Squadron began to bypass troublesome Cagny. /4

Lt-Col Kim Findlay ordered 2 Squadron to follow the line of electricity pylons running eastwards to give them a firm direction.

Unfortunately for Lieutenant John Gorman and 4 Troop, as below, his tank Ballyragget bogged down by Ruisseau de Cagny. /5

John ordered both Evans' on, while Pat Harbinson's Sherman tried to pull them out with a tow rope.

It was a faff, half an hour was wasted... as the regiment raced on.

By the time they were free, Gorman tore off in pursuit, passing burning Shermans and then saw Dipper. /6

John was bloody keen, inexperienced, in his first action, a massive tank battle &determined to impress. He's either half-hanging out of the Sherman's cupola as the tank lurches cross country or peering out of the cupola.

A lot is going on, he misinterpret's D's warning. /7

So Ballyragget tears off, but even then... let's be honest, Shermans don't go much more than 10-12 MPH cross country, maybe 15 at a REAL push.

Gorman (below) moves with haste... to discover comms were a shitbag... wireless was fairly useless given massive interference. /8

In truth, Dipper was trying to probably slow him down, but Ballyragget races on with John encouraging James Baron. They tear through a field towards a hedge, and turn a corner into a lane, with Pat following about 200 yards behind.

Leaving the rest of 2 Sqn a bit perplexed. /9

He suddenly comes face to face with a King Tiger about 300 yards dead ahead, and three other tanks.*

*Either all King Tigers, or a Tiger, Panzer IV and Panther... but they were all initially reported as Panthers anyway.

I mean, well... fuck.

This is NOT good. /10

Gunner Albert Scholes fired the 75mm which hadHE loaded, but the round bounced off the turret 'and went sizzling up into the air.'

Then they tried to reload, Scholes says, "Gun's jammed, sir."

I mean, yeah.

Like, double fuck. /11

A few days before John had been joking with Ballyragget's crews about heavy German armour when Baron asked, what they should do then, so John quipped...

And now, like, his fucking joke is suddenly a good fucking option and vaguely viable tactic. /11

They do have one thing in their favour.

Their quarry is Tiger 112 under Feldwebel Gerber, part of 503 Schwere Panzer Battalion's 1 Kompanie.

Gerber is similarly inexperienced, but others from 503 S-Pz Bn claimed he had already lost his cool and was panicking. /12

112 was not ready for such an engagement and it appears that all involved, Gorman and the rest of 1 Kompanie were equally stunned to be suddenly scrapping at uncomfortably close range.

This gave him some time, as speed was unsurprisingly not the King Tiger's forte. /13

112 began engaging other Shermans, but Gerber forgot the core tenant of German AFV combat, firing when static to maximise accuracy and quick kills, and ordered his driver Horst Becher to reverse - sending the 68 ton monster careening back through a hedge. /14

James Baron (below) puts his foot down and Ballyragget charges at their quarry.

Now when I say charge, I mean this is probably about 10-15 MPH or so but that is 33 tons of American steel pummelling towards 68.5 tons of German steel.

Stoppage cleared, Scholes fires again. /15

This was an HE round as they had earlier figured the 75mm AP would be of little use against a heavier tank, but it appears the logic was that 75mm HE may just shake anyone up inside.

Scholes fires. /16

This would be quite the bloody impact for 112's crew to just shake off and as their turret is still slowly traversing round - Ballyragget slams in.

The forces of a 33 ton tank barrelling in at 10-15mph are bloody enormous.

No seat belts back then. /17

After the hellish impact...

112 is *allegedly* penetrated by German anti-tank gun (or perhaps Tiger firing at Ballyragget), which tears Thaysen's seat out from underneath him, and ruptures a shell case starting a fire.

This is *pretty convenient* for 112.

Gerber bails. /18

Both crews bail & either run off, or meet between their trashed AFVs face to face.

It's a bit confused.

I mean this isn't some low speed prang between a battered corsa and a punto.

Harbinson's Sherman appears and opens up on the other German tanks.

Both sides run for it. /19

Thaysen and Agnew meet in one of the funniest incidents of the campaign, before Agnew scarpers off to find his crew.

Whether it occurred in a trench or not is really a bit irrelevant. /20

Gorman led his crew, bar Agnew who catches up later, back towards the relative safety of Pat Harbinson's tank - only to find their saviour brewed up.

Two of Harbinson's crew are dead, Pat is badly burned and sadly dies two weeks later, but they get him out. /21

John made his way back to Workman's Firefly but found it in a state with Workman very much dead.

The gunner is in quite the state after his experience, but eventually brews up both Ballyragget (to deny it to the enemy) and 112. /22

They then scarper for home after briefly engaging the other tanks.

Gorman earns the MC, Baron the MM.

Notably 112 is ultimately destroyed, again technically by demolition charges - after which most photographs are taken.

No doubt to guarantee it's denial to the Brits. /23

So... Ballyragget's charge disabled King Tiger 112 by forcing Gerber and his hapless crew to bail...

THEN Gorman returned with the Firefly to destroy 112 and Ballyragget.

THEN the Germans double destroyed/megatrashed 112 with a demolition charge (at some point). /thread

And... tomorrow we'll look at how some of the other claims of the action are deeply questionable - and look a bit closer at a bizarre story involving warrior culture, sigint and what occasionally amounts to deniability.*

*Note the sudden fire that caught out 112 after impact...