Counterbalance to Panzer Aces--Ace AT crews!

[John Kettler]

Here's something I've never seen before. It's a detailed listing of Russian antitank gun crews and their kills. Note particularly the pic of the 122mm M-38 howitzer firing directly and the dead crewman draped over the trail. THAT would smart! Below that is a picture taken from a Russian strongpoint at Kursk. It shows a 45mm ATG engaging what appears to be an immobilized Ferdinand!

http://www.wio.ru/galgrnd/atg.htm

Regards,

John Kettler

[PzKpfw 1]

Its interesting concerning Soviet AT guns effectiveness. The Germans lost 1500+ AFVs from August - July 1941. These were the highest tank losses suffered by the Germans from 1939 - 1943. The Soviets had virtualy no AFVs operational due to the huge material losses of August & July. AT guns were almost soley responsible for the 1500 + German tanks written off in that two month period.

Regards, John Waters

[cool breeze]

No Way! I mean its possible but holy smokes! Do you believe those account? especially the first? I mean how does a 76mm crew shoot 7 airplanes along with everything else? just that good of shots? lol lol lol. The only thing stranger than fiction is fact

[Erwin]

I wonder if it was the sort of gun that started its career as an AA gun like the 88mm(?)

[cool breeze]

I think I just looked it up and it appears to be a regular ass 76 mm towed tank gun. if they really shoot those plane it musta been a miracle.

[Erwin]

Or propaganda.. unless they could shoot canister and the plane was low and close enough. (Or, on the ground lol.)

[Streety]

The "1942" could mean the make-year of the 76mm gun or the year the crew were together. It could be the M1936 or M1939 divisional 76mm gun, which were developed as universal weapons intended for both anti-tank and anti-aircraft use (where they fired a flak round) and fire up to 15 rounds per minute. Certainly a forward-thinking idea (considering, soon afterwards, the finding of a dual-role for the German 88mm in WW2). In 1942 the Russians came up with an improved gun (the M1942 76mm - a.k.a. the "ZiS-3"). This could be what was meant by "1942", but it had the same barrel as the M1939 (except with a muzzle-break added), so could also still fire the same flak rounds. But by 1942 the 25mm & 37mm Soviet copies of Bofors guns were the preferred field AA option, and the ZiS-3 76mm was primarily used as an anti-tank gun.

So although probably exaggerated, whichever version of the gun it was, the plane-kills are possibly legit. Soviet 76mm guns (in particular the even earlier M1931 76mm, which were captured in fairly large numbers by the advancing German forces in 1941), were subsequently re-used back in Germany as dedicated flak guns to defend against the British bomber raids - where they definitely shot planes down.