Joe Ekins Destroyed Three Tigers

During the Normandy campaign, an inexperienced British tank gunner named Joe Ekins destroyed three German Tiger tanks with his first five shots fired in combat. On August 8, 1944, Ekins used his Sherman Firefly's 17-pounder gun to hit the tanks from about 800 yards away, despite having fired only six live rounds during training. One victim has traditionally been identified as Tiger 007, commanded by Waffen-SS tank ace Michael Wittmann, who was credited with around 135 tank kills.

Previous Fact Next Fact