Tigers, Panthers and... what else?

[Holman]

It just occurred to me to wonder what soldiers (axis and allied, east and west) called German tanks that weren't Tigers or Panthers. Did they actually say, "Look out! A Panzer IV!" or were there common nicknames for IIIs and IVs as well?

Likewise, did the T-34s have nicknames? Anyone know? Thanks.

[StellarRat]

Well, my reading tells me every German tank was a Tiger to American soliders . I don't know about the other nicknames. There must have been some you would think.

[Warmaker]

I heared somewhere that the Tiger presence may have been exageratted a bit in the West. The PzKpfw IVH does look like a Tiger if you don't know any better.

Nervous soldiers + combat conditions + a few extra PzKpfw IV's = More Tiger I's than you can shake your Bazookas at!

[Michael Dorosh]

Originally posted by StellarRat:

Well, my reading tells me every German tank was a Tiger to American soliders . I don't know about the other nicknames. There must have been some you would think.

Canadians and British too.

And every artillery piece - direct fire or indirect - was an "88".

[coldmeter]

I read somewhere that the german soldiers nicknamed the T-34 "Mickey Mouse" because when both hatches were open on the turret the silhoutte looked similar to that of the Mickeys head and big ears!

[coldmeter]

just remembered another one, the Germans used to call the M4 Sherman the "Tommy Cooker" because of it's tendancy to go up in flames alot with some poor lads stuck inside them.

[-E]

Originally posted by StellarRat:

Well, my reading tells me every German tank was a Tiger to American soliders.

My usual TCP/IP partner threatened to quit a couple of games because CMBB's FOW kept reporting all my tanks as Tigers. LOL!

[Slappy]

In the spirit of coldmeter's nicknames, the Sherman was well known as the Ronson by the british. Ronson being an english equivalent of the Zippo cigarette lighter. They were well known for going up in flames if looked at sideways by a 'Tiger'.

p.s. You can still find today, even in the US, Ronsonol brand Zippo fuel and Ronson flints for the same brand of lighters. The derivation is the same.

[ January 01, 2003, 02:55 AM: Message edited by: Slappy ]

[Michael Dorosh]

Originally posted by Slappy:

In the spirit of coldmeter's nicknames, the Sherman was well known as the Ronson by the british. Ronson being an english equivalent of the Zippo cigarette lighter. They were well known for going up in flames if looked at sideways by a 'Tiger'.

p.s. You can still find today, even in the US, Ronsonol brand Zippo fuel and Ronson flints for the same brand of lighters. The derivation is the same.

And the Ronson's motto was "lights every time", I believe, which was also applied sardonically to the Sherman.

[NebelRugen]

um it says in one of my books that i have that it was a T-26 and in my grandpas diary it also says that it was a t-26 the t-34 was (what he called (the sloped bread box) i dont know why he told me something why but i forgot?

[Leit]

M3 Stuart Light Tank

in Red Army had nickname "BMD3" = "Bratskaja Mogila dla Troih" = well ... somthing like "communal grave for all three".

Su-100 had nickname "Suka". (Not plesant name of a dog in Russian). The nickname apiared from its terrible property - it had fuel tank beside front armor. If shell penetrate front armor (or knock was heavy enoth) driver burn out :eek: alive.

In post battle reports after Kursk all tanks was called as Tigers and Self Propered Guns as Ferdinands - for awards offcourse: for 3 "Tigers" during a battle or a "Ferdinand" tank commander get Hero star.

That was with my grandfather's brother. He knock out(and damage) 3 JagdPanthers during one battle during Balaton operation. He called that armor Ferdinandes but after I show him Ferdinand, StuG and Jagdpanther photos he checked the third and called it FERDINAND ... Kaptan of RED ARmy, passed all war from the very first days with 37 tanks count can't rightly identify enemy armor.

[ January 01, 2003, 04:20 AM: Message edited by: Leit ]

[Belaja smert]

T-34 was called "Sotka" by finnish soldiers. Sotka is a finnish name for a species of waterfowl. "Sotka" originally meant Goldeneye (in form "sotkas") (Buchephala clangula), however, by end of 19th century it had turned to mean Scaup (Aythya marila), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) or Common Pochard (Aythya ferruginea). T-34's nick "Sotka" originates from a steamboat Sotka. One jaeger, when seeing the T-34 for the first time at June 1941, said that the tank "rolls like Sotka boat".

T-34 Sotka

[Scheer]

Hi all,

the SU-76 was nicknamed by the russian crews as " Bitch " or " Naked Ass Ferdinand ".

[Firefly]

As most of you probably already know, the British called the M3 Stuart the 'Honey', after an officer who took one for a test drive described it as 'a honey of a tank'.

To the original question, from what I've read allied troops tended to refer the Pz-IIIs and Pz-IVs simply by the generic term Panzers.

[Shadow 1st Hussars]

Originally posted by Michael Dorosh:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by StellarRat:

Well, my reading tells me every German tank was a Tiger to American soliders . I don't know about the other nicknames. There must have been some you would think.

Canadians and British too.

And every artillery piece - direct fire or indirect - was an "88".</font>

[ichadwick]

Heck. And I though they were all called "Bob."