Mashlonik’s job that day was to knock it out. The Tiger I was a fearsome opponent for any Allied tank crew in World War II. The 57-ton steel monster sported a long 88mm cannon that extended from a massive turret atop the blocky, angular mass of its hull. Jim Bates.Sergeant Nicholas Mashlonik watched closely as the Panzerkampfwagen (PzKpfw) VI Tiger heavy tank rampaged through the village of Elsdorf in the Rhineland-Westphalia region of Germany on February 27, 1945. The action was recorded by a Signal Corps cameraman T/Sgt. The two side hits went completely through and out the other side.'įour of the Panther's crew were able to successfully bail out of the stricken tank before it was destroyed. All three of our shells penetrated, one under the gun shield and two on the side. Then we stopped and I fired two more shells to make sure they wouldn't fire at our side. When I turned our turret, I was looking into the Panther's gun tube so instead of stopping to fire, our driver drove into the middle of the intersection so we wouldn't be a sitting target. However, as we entered the intersection, our driver had his periscope turned toward the Panther and saw their gun turning to meet us.

'We were told to just move into the intersection far enough to fire into the side of the enemy tank, which had its gun facing up the other street. What happened next was described by the T26E3 gunner Cpl. A T26E3 was in the next street over and was called over to engage the Panther.

The lead Sherman was knocked out, killing three of the five crew. They ended up stopping just before the Cathedral because of rubble in the street and didn't see the enemy Panther. Two M4 Shermans were supporting infantry and came up on the same street as the Panther.

A Panther tank on the street in the front of Cologne Cathedral was lying in wait for enemy tanks. On 6 March, just after the 3rd Armored Division had entered the city of Cologne, a famous tank duel took place.

Panther tank battle cologne