the worst was probably being in a submarine. I think I would have had the guts to be in the infantry or even in a tank but a submarine ? I would have deserted
@@fabiana7157 Said Ana, Wich Ana will never experience a war and has never been in the army. Shut your stupid mouth when your life isn't at risk at a chance of a war.
TO EVERYONE WHO IS CALLING THE PERSHING CREW "ASSHOLES" FOR FIRING MORE THAN ONCE. Remember, you're sitting behind a desktop, not on the front lines like these men were. Also remember, they didn't have a little indicator like in video games where it says "target destroyed," all they saw was the tank still looking at them. Remember, the Pershing crew were alerted that the Panther had destroyed the Sherman at just the street across from them, all they could do was avenge them.
What matters most, they just heard the panther Took out a tank on the road besides them, why would they risk being taken out themselves if a single shot didn't work?
Agree 100%. What I really am wondering about is why need for 3rd hit, since it is clear the tank is burning and every single crue member is either gone fleeing or dead inside OR if alive inside stands 0 chance of survival? Not that I'm judging them for wasting rounds, I really wornder if there is practical need for this, was there any possibility the Panther would have survived 2 hits and remain repairable?
The pershing gunner and a panzer 4 gunner who was at the battle met at the same place they battled and had a beer 70 years later this was at a different location not in this film
He actually met with the crew of another panzer in the city that day. Earlier on they fired at a panther through a building, knocking done the building and getting debris stuck in the panthers turret rotating thing, rendering the gun useless. The crew then abandoned the vehicle
I've got to hand it to that Panther crew. They positioned themselves in the middle of the city and tried to defend it for as long as they could. The American gunner from the Pershing said that he didn't want to look at the tank that he had just destroyed. He said he knew that men had died in it, and that even though they were the enemy, they were still human beings.
@@Den_Stackars_Uttern2559 It's because the gunner actually didn't know if he had hit it or not because the pershing was moving when he fired, so instead of waiting for a visual confirmation he just kept shooting. I guess that when you know that's a panther in front of you you're rather double/triple tap that beast
I agree with pijama, if you weren't sure whether the crew was bailing or not you'd be better off shooting it again, that panther could have easily done in the pershing
@@enochvarga7570 I think I read somewhere that he didn't know if he had hit the panther because he fired while moving, so he kept firing. Don't quote me on that though because double tapping a tank is a very common thing as you said.
Angers me, these men fought bravely, and died in the process about days/weeks before the war is over, all that for nothing, i salute these men and may they find eternal peace.
Yeah it was rather intense. I think that the 2nd shell might've cut his upper body apart from the rest, looking at where the round landed, he basically doesn't show any signs of movement after the Pershing's gunner shot 2nd time. Surprisingly every one of them survived the first shot, must've landed badly or maybe 't was a defective shell or something idk. Pretty horrifying either way
@@DanielOfRussia The first shot fired was a Tungsten round, these were machined rounds, and so were in short supply (only a few allocated to each Pershing). And so it wouldnt have simply detonated, it penetrated and made most crews bail out, mostly from shock. The second and third shot was a more traditional APHE/CBHE or something (been a while since I read about it) that started the fire (Panther's were kind of notoriously easy to kill with a sideshot because they had fuel & ammo everywhere) and killed the gunner.
@@DanielOfRussia You can see after the first shot had hit the Panther that it starts to smoke. Indicate that they had hit either ammo that began to cook (As they call it) or the engine. From where you can see the first shot hit and the angle, then I think it had a chance to hit the engine. Most likely fuel tanks. About the gunner. I think the second shot hit (It hit right on the turret ring of the Panther) the gunner's leg or lower part of his body and felt back inside. Still heartbreaking to know that he was so close to come out, yet felt back inside and most likely burn alive
My Grandfather was a medic in the 3rd armored during this battle. He survived the war, but died when I was twelve, so I didn't get to ask him the questions I would have liked to. I do know that he was wounded twice during the war. After the war he gave away all his guns except for a .22 that he eventually gave to me . He became a Chiropractor and devoted the rest of his life to helping people. I'm lucky He survived the war,unlike thousands like him from both sides,some protecting the world from tyranny and others protecting their families and their homeland. I salute all of you who sacrificed.
Eric Severson my Grandfather died too.He got killed by a sniper, while helping his best friend.Respekt to all the solider.I live in Cologne, and you can still see the war.
@@friedhelmrindfaller622 I'm sorry to hear that about your Grandfather. Sounds like He was the true definition of a Hero.There is a reason they are called "The greatest generation".
The german Panthercrew: Commander: Barthelboth, survived; Gunner: König, survived; Crewmember: unknown, died in field hospital; Crewmember: unknown, dead in the Panther; Crewmember: unknown, survived. After the Panther had knocked out the Sherman from a distance about 350m, they moved on and stopped at the corner of Komödienstraße/Marzellenstraße. The reason why the german tank did not fire at the Pershing was, that they expected Shermans. The Pershing was pretty unknown. The tankcommander knew, that there where 2 other Panthers left in Cologne. This could have been the reason why he didn´t react.
@@b-17gflyingfortress6 Yes. The Pershing could take out a Panther from any angle. It could also knock out a Tiger 1 from any angle. There were also eyewitness accounts of a Pershing and a King Tiger trading shots but missing each other, but the second shot from the Pershing knocked out the King Tiger; the article didn't say where the King Tiger was hit, however.
Sherman commander, lost a leg and died, that's fricken sad... feel bad for the Panther's gunner too.. Respect for every single soldier who fought in any battles. RIP veterans and brave men and women. Thank you for your service you did for your countries.
I am in Cologne right now as an exchange student, I have seen all the places in the video. It is a very different feeling to stand in the exact same position where 70 years ago someone died, and everyone there walks without knowing anything about it. So saddening.
3:26 Notice the faces of the pershing crew, they look like "shit what we are doing?" Tank crews knows what is die in a tank, that means die burned alive... Nobody can feel happiness after that, dont matter if they are the enemy.
If your lucky the Shrapnel Or explosive mass kills you Instantly Or in seconds But yet again if you not lucky you might be stuck in a tank starting to cook off being in a tank is Scary
I believe this tank was repaired after it was shot previously too? Repairing tanks after this was a pretty disgusting job as there were dead bodies inside.
@@vyshtora it's hard to replace an engine where the mountings have been permanently welded shut by the sheer temperature of all that ammunition's charges going off
Clarence saw the gunner coming out of the tank which was in fire already and put the second shell to cut him in half. Then when they saw the panther getting ammo racked and burned to shit, they fired a third one just to kill anyone near it in case there was anyone left from the 4 (now ) crew that they saw themselves climbing out in flames. Of course they would write a book and tell their shit since this one was filmed on camera unlike endless other everyday warcrimes so they had to covered their asses somehow.
@@jpej173 Many people which returned home including Germans had nightmares from what they saw and what they did. Like Heinrich Severloh who killed a lot of people as german machineguner on D-Day.
@@CrniWuk and so did Mustafa, the sniper fighting the US forces in Iraq. Watch the videos he published to the locals. One video is someone filming a marine on the street talking to his friend when a 7.62 passes right fcking through his left leg, in such an instant that the poor marine tried to step up again and then looked down to see that half of his fucking leg from his ruined knee and down was bent the opposite way, that's when he realised why he couldn't stand up. And after all that finally comes the headshot. Can you tell why a sniper of that caliber didn't just put one in his chest or in his head in the first place ? First because he knew they were filming the particular marine and wanted to show off his "skill". And the second is the same fucking reason the second shot was fired in this vid. Thing is these are everyday situations of war, and when some of them get caught in camera, then the shit hits the fan and everyone (or the blamed at least) try to cover their asses
@@jpej173 What a nonsense. It was common to fire several shots on Tanks, even if the crew was already bailing out. The German did this all the time, it was even part of the standard procedure, take a look into H.Dv. 470/7 Ausbildungsvorschrift für die Panzertruppe (A. V. Pz.) Heft 7 Die mittlere Panzerkompanie This is not a warcrime. The gunner made his decision in a part of a second, do you gonna judge him for that? At least the US troops handled POV or wounded enemies way better than German forces did.
The book Spearhead explains this very event in great detail. It was awesome to watch exactly what they described and the author did an excellent job describing it from what I can tell.
Panther crew! Commander: Wilhelm Bartelborth Survived Another crew member named Otto König Survived Two of the crew found alive in 2008 including Köning.Barteelboth died before 2008. The Gunner: Deceased.
If every German soldier was a nazi, that means that all British and French soldiers were imperialists, all Soviet soldiers were hardline communists and all American soldiers were self-righteous assholes. Think before you talk shit.
That shot penetrated the turret ring, which is a weak spot in the most tanks. That very well may have destroyed his lower half, if he survived, the 3rd shot hit the ammo storage and sent a cook off in the tank. Hopefully he bleed out or was unconscious before the cook off. Thats the worst way to go in a tank...
This Pershing was knocked out at the distance of 250 meters with a single shot by a Nashorn from the 2nd Company of schwere Heeres Panzer Jaeger Abteilung 93. This engagement took place in the town of Niehl, north of Cologne on March 6th of 1945.
Every time I watch this I flinch when the second round hits the Panther, right as the gunner is trying to get out through the turret hatch. You can see his body slump back down into the turret. Makes my stomach churn. Poor guy was just trying to get out.
Interesting view, with the tank still there: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Warning_sign_in_cologne.jpg/1280px-Warning_sign_in_cologne.jpg Germans sitting across the Rhine would lob mortars when they saw people approach the Cathedral. The first rule of armed combat: Do not draw attention to yourself; it attracts fire and annoys the people around you.
The American commander leg was actually smoking, meaning that a piece of the armor or the round itself cut it at incredibly high speed also burning the flesh and clothing. Fuck, that must've hurt... Rest in Peace.
We should remember that when we were in our late teens and early twenties, going to college and university, starting jobs and beginning our lives, this generation were forced to fight. I don't think any of the soldiers in this video wanted to be there, but they were ordered to fight.
Pershing Crew didn't double tap the Panther for no reason. No tank is dead until you see it burning even if the crew is bailing out. During 73 Easting a Bradley IFV was shot by a sabot from a tank (probably a 3BM15 APFSDS-T) and then by a BMP-1 (probably PG-15V). The IFV was abandoned only to be re-crewed after the battle.
Germans didn't really put much of a fight from Jan-April 1945 at the western front. It was mainly a sniper or small resistance of children and old men that were force to fight on while the Generals find time to abandoned the Wehrmacht and flee Europe. After the Battle of the bugle it was all lost.
It was a brutal war. Both sides lost good and honest men. Families on both sides were devastated by their losses. Men after the war were never the same and ultimately the war claimed more casualties. Let’s hope we never have another war on this scale again.
The video says 2 died, 2 lived and survived the war, and 1 survived the battle shown here but his whereabouts are unknown. But in the video, it shows all five of them jumping out of the Panther doesn't it? Well, not much is said about the gunner due to him being half way out of the turret when the second round hits.
Another video with this same footage claims the tank commander has his legs severed and he dies on the hatch while the two who ran around the building died. So I am unsure which to believe quite frankly.
just cus you see some one run doesn't mean the guy is fucked up on the inside, when that happen you go into survival mode and try to scape the area not knowing you might have blood vessels burs ted inside your body and bleeding inside.
Jayden Greig I heard in another video that the comander had his legs blown off too, and his body was fused to the frame of a bicylce that was next to the tank.. but I dont know.. does it really matter that much .. it was war. The Pershing crew shot at the Panther cause it hit one of their tanks.. it was also a test.. and it won
+alwcurlz - some think it's stupid because the captions are so fast they are difficult to read. They didn't read the description where he explained that they were so fast because of his time limit. meh some people complain because - reasons ... While I would have liked longer time to read the captions, I worked around the issue by pausing the video when they appeared. It still provides the information so I'm not complaining
Damn I feel bad for that panther gunner, to be so close to escaping yet so far, as the shrapnel and shell probably blew his legs off and shredded his abdomen as he slid back down the hatch into the blaze
Damn.. what's amazing is the fact that there were very few pershing tanks that the Americans had at that time & it was the only American tank strong enough to engage a panther..& they did it damn well..👏 🇺🇸
The basics thats taught in tank combat is to "shoot until visual confirmed kill" the pershings gunner, in a destroyed city covered in rubble couldn't make out the fine details of the panther from the dust kicked up by the 90mm gun, so he reverted to his training to shoot until he knew it was a kill, which in this case was an ammunition explosion. however the dude who recorded the duel probably has descendants that record the highschool bathroom fights
The photographer, always in danger, survived, the photos survived, not with the sophisticated equipment of today. Amazing that these pictures all these years later can tell a story.
jajesam sigurno If it was out of fuel it wouldnt have burned for 3 days. If the engine was out of order they would have scuttled it. Experienced tank crews were more valuable than tanks in 1945. It got flanked, simple as that. It was not expecting a Pershing to be right there so soon.
+TheCleansingx It looks like the second shot went right through the turret ring and exploded inside the turret completely blowing away his lower half of his body. Not a good way to go.
the horrible of war ... no winner all are casualties, but we are here to play our part as the lessons we must learn or SOMEONE might teach us again ... thanks
KEELIN It's not a videogame, for sure, but the concept of facing and angling your armour still exists in real life. If the Panther had the time to react (Which it looks like it didn't) then rotating the hull towards the Pershing might have saved it.
That panther tank commander and radio operator was lucky man ever, they survive from ammo rack But they crew died include assistance driver, Loader, radioman, Gunner.
No, no Luck. And no god. The allied command decided it was useful to keep it as a reference point for the bomber pilots... So, it was used to bomb the citiy more precicely.
gcgrabodan I don't think you can aim that precise from 10km alt. I think the reason is that they used incendiary bombs which only burnt everything down and did not destroy the stone church. Most of the house's walls are still standing too..
gcgrabodan yes, where I live the Church in the center is still standing while a lot of buildings around it were destroyed. The buildings south of it are still standing though
Permit me to say that the guys who recorded this incident were indeed journalists. It may not have been their profession, but the moment you record events as they happen and relay it in an understandable fashion, you become a journalist.
The Motion picture photographers are Signal Corp Combat Photographers, they film, and take down information for the Captions and descriptions of what they film. All the info they can get is recorded for Dept. of the Army Records, and for use in research, and training.
being in a tank is scary even more in modern tanks now everyone cann get a Good Rocket launcher that cann penn manytanks from the side and roof hits will Penetrate Everytank so going into a city cann by Very Scary
I just saw a thing on my local news channel about how the gunner in the Pershing actually came from around here in Pennsylvania and there’s a book about him but I don’t know what the name of it is
Read the book Spearhead! It's about the two of the tanks crews in this film (US and German) and what they did in the war leading up to this. It's an amazing book!
The reason why the Pershing kept on shooting the Panther while crew was bailing out was to prevent the possibility of that Panther being recovered. It was a common occurrence - on both sides, shooting tanks until they burned. It just so happened that this one was filmed!
Clarence Smoyer was the gunner and he was very young when this happened. He said he fired until he saw the other tank burning then he stopped, remember he was basically a kid then. In the picture of the Pershing crew he is the one in the middle of the 3 guys on the top of the tank, the other 2 have helmets on, Clarence has nothing on his head. He said he wanted to make sure the panther couldn't fire back.
Note how the Panthers Gunner seemed to be struggling to climb out of the Turret. I have a theory as to what caused him to struggle. At that point, the Ammunition had probably started to burn creating a very intense flame in the fighting compartment. Do you know how a fire stays lit? It sucks in every bit of oxygen around it. You have a very fierce fire, in a very tight and cramped space with one source of oxygen. The open turret hatch. What I think happened was the fire was sucking in oxygen from the open hatch essentially creating a vacuum that started sucking the gunner in as well basically dragging him into the fire. If thats what happened I really hope the second shell fired by the Pershing killed him instantly since he disappears from the clip after the second hit meaning he was either killed instantly or lost his grip and was sucked right back into the ammunition fire.
The Sherman tank commander with his severed leg... I would like to know more on what's going on in that image. I understand its smouldering but what other details can be seen? Rest in peace sir and thank you.
At least they made sure that panther wouldn't get the chance to do take out another sherman. Good shootin' bois, sucks they only got 2 of the crew though. (If there were only 3 panthers left in Cologne at the time, which is apparently why the panther didn't shoot the pershing, then the Germans had no reason not to surrender, and as such receive no sympathy from me in that regard. They chose to stay and fight, they made their own bed) Although, mad respect to all people who willingly choose to get into those metal coffins, especially nowadays with ATGM's and drone-dropped munitions and the like
Yes i would've put a 2nd just to make sure. I know they probably had some unwritten gentlemenly rule that once a tank is confirmed dead you let the enemy/survivors/her crew try and get away/escape/live? They may not have seen them escape or didn't want any other crew member to fire a shot at them. Plus with the panther barrel pointed at them they weren't sure if it was kaput and they wanted to be sure.
I just want to clarify that a Tiger has poor frontal armor, due to it being flat. Any Sherman with APCR, or a 76.2 Could penetrate it. The Panther here is invincible to both it and the Pershing at the front hull, but has very poor side armor, and a turret that is both flat, and occasionally a shot trap. Multiple field reports speak of the latter weaknesses. These were not values taken from WoT or WT.
So if I get this right gunner and loader died driver, commander, and radio operator lived but one went MIA I'm glad that panther got destroy. That's war for you.
The man who who lost his leg and seen crawling out of the sherman is. 2nd Lt. Karl Edmund kellner, born 29 Nov 1918 , from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He died momments after he the footage was taken. The medics failed to get to him in time. The men who where helping him stopped the bleeding from his wound but the shock of his wound was much too bare which resulted in Cadiac Arrest. He was already dead when medics arrived.
Clarence Thomas, nature of Palmenton, Pa. the gunner of this Pershing Tank was just awarded the Bronze Star Metal this week in Aug. 2021. Finally, after 75 years. Believe he is not 93 years of age. He has a long crocked nose and can be seen standing on top of the tank with the rest of the crew.
I've been playing War Thunder and knowing what happened to those sherman crews inside the tank gives me shivers i can't imagine myself being inside a tank being inside a cramp space knowing you are an extremely big target and knowing you're armor is basically useless agans't german anti tank guns man i can't do that
The Sherman was a very weak armoured tank which is why it was so easily destroyed by German armour. If you notice the logs mounted on the side of the sherman was to try to give the Sherman a little more protection from enemy shells.
1:58 poor guy, he was almost out of the tank but the 2nd shot from the Pershing I think got him, If ur eyes is clear as mine he's just laying dead on the hatch and probably fell inside the tank after an hour of burning
Tank combat seems cool until you realize that you have to be *inside the tank*
Good news your in a tank bad news is your in a tank
the worst was probably being in a submarine. I think I would have had the guts to be in the infantry or even in a tank but a submarine ? I would have deserted
It's cool anyway, you're just a pussy
World of tanks lol
@@fabiana7157 Said Ana, Wich Ana will never experience a war and has never been in the army. Shut your stupid mouth when your life isn't at risk at a chance of a war.
TO EVERYONE WHO IS CALLING THE PERSHING CREW "ASSHOLES" FOR FIRING MORE THAN ONCE. Remember, you're sitting behind a desktop, not on the front lines like these men were. Also remember, they didn't have a little indicator like in video games where it says "target destroyed," all they saw was the tank still looking at them. Remember, the Pershing crew were alerted that the Panther had destroyed the Sherman at just the street across from them, all they could do was avenge them.
What matters most, they just heard the panther Took out a tank on the road besides them, why would they risk being taken out themselves if a single shot didn't work?
Agreed war is hell
Im wondering if they used hvap/apcr shells since most of the crew managed to survive.
@@combatantezoteric2965 they were using aphe but got gaijined
Agree 100%.
What I really am wondering about is why need for 3rd hit, since it is clear the tank is burning and every single crue member is either gone fleeing or dead inside OR if alive inside stands 0 chance of survival? Not that I'm judging them for wasting rounds, I really wornder if there is practical need for this, was there any possibility the Panther would have survived 2 hits and remain repairable?
The pershing gunner and a panzer 4 gunner who was at the battle met at the same place they battled and had a beer 70 years later this was at a different location not in this film
really ? can you please give me a source i'd like to learn about that
@@NlGHTSKY www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-allentown-wwii-sherman-tank-clarence-smoyer-20190218-story.html
i think this is it
He actually met with the crew of another panzer in the city that day. Earlier on they fired at a panther through a building, knocking done the building and getting debris stuck in the panthers turret rotating thing, rendering the gun useless. The crew then abandoned the vehicle
@@watspoon1837 I read the book spear head just yesterday I have to edit the comment I made thank you
@@burningpotato9447 Hope you enjoyed the book, it was a lovely read :)
I've got to hand it to that Panther crew. They positioned themselves in the middle of the city and tried to defend it for as long as they could.
The American gunner from the Pershing said that he didn't want to look at the tank that he had just destroyed. He said he knew that men had died in it, and that even though they were the enemy, they were still human beings.
the gunner shot it 3 times, the crew started to bail after they were first hit?
@@Den_Stackars_Uttern2559 It's because the gunner actually didn't know if he had hit it or not because the pershing was moving when he fired, so instead of waiting for a visual confirmation he just kept shooting. I guess that when you know that's a panther in front of you you're rather double/triple tap that beast
@@pijama5394 I think it was pretty much standard procedure for both sides to keep firing at the tank so that it could not be recovered
I agree with pijama, if you weren't sure whether the crew was bailing or not you'd be better off shooting it again, that panther could have easily done in the pershing
@@enochvarga7570 I think I read somewhere that he didn't know if he had hit the panther because he fired while moving, so he kept firing. Don't quote me on that though because double tapping a tank is a very common thing as you said.
Especially sucks to die knowing the war is so close to over.
He could have bailed earlier, they got shot twice. Second time really was the one that did the damage. Very unfortunate.
Angers me, these men fought bravely, and died in the process about days/weeks before the war is over, all that for nothing, i salute these men and may they find eternal peace.
Watching the Panther's gunner getting killed when he was almost out of the tank is actually shocking
Poor guy didn't get out in time
Yeah it was rather intense. I think that the 2nd shell might've cut his upper body apart from the rest, looking at where the round landed, he basically doesn't show any signs of movement after the Pershing's gunner shot 2nd time. Surprisingly every one of them survived the first shot, must've landed badly or maybe 't was a defective shell or something idk. Pretty horrifying either way
@@DanielOfRussia The first shot fired was a Tungsten round, these were machined rounds, and so were in short supply (only a few allocated to each Pershing).
And so it wouldnt have simply detonated, it penetrated and made most crews bail out, mostly from shock.
The second and third shot was a more traditional APHE/CBHE or something (been a while since I read about it) that started the fire (Panther's were kind of notoriously easy to kill with a sideshot because they had fuel & ammo everywhere) and killed the gunner.
@@DanielOfRussia You can see after the first shot had hit the Panther that it starts to smoke. Indicate that they had hit either ammo that began to cook (As they call it) or the engine. From where you can see the first shot hit and the angle, then I think it had a chance to hit the engine. Most likely fuel tanks. About the gunner. I think the second shot hit (It hit right on the turret ring of the Panther) the gunner's leg or lower part of his body and felt back inside. Still heartbreaking to know that he was so close to come out, yet felt back inside and most likely burn alive
@@Danspy501st pretty sure the first shot hit the engine and made the crew bail out, the rest hit the crew compartment.
My Grandfather was a medic in the 3rd armored during this battle. He survived the war, but died when I was twelve, so I didn't get to ask him the questions I would have liked to. I do know that he was wounded twice during the war. After the war he gave away all his guns except for a .22 that he eventually gave to me . He became a Chiropractor and devoted the rest of his life to helping people. I'm lucky He survived the war,unlike thousands like him from both sides,some protecting the world from tyranny and others protecting their families and their homeland. I salute all of you who sacrificed.
Eric Severson my Grandfather died too.He got killed by a sniper, while helping his best friend.Respekt to all the solider.I live in Cologne, and you can still see the war.
@@friedhelmrindfaller622 I'm sorry to hear that about your Grandfather. Sounds like He was the true definition of a Hero.There is a reason they are called "The greatest generation".
@Nicholas Zhang Thank you.
Those men were so brave. Regarding your grandpa....much respect.
I hope you keep that fun forever, and give to your children. God bless
Damn dude, that commander climbing out of the tank with his leg still smoking. That shit hit me hard.
sure bro, when ppl plays his war games, they forget what the real war looks like
reality isnt so pretty
not my proudest fap.
The Sherman commander lost his leg and bled out and died on the spot. Terrible deal.
Cykahu Blyatbar qq
Holy crap thats detailed
The German gunner got hit by second round and fell back inside of turret
Man RIP my fellow German
Well spotted.
I wonder how it felt like being cooked by the ammunition inside the tank
@@katekarin3838 *P A I N*
@@katekarin3838 It feels wonderful. You should try it at least once.
The german Panthercrew: Commander: Barthelboth, survived; Gunner: König, survived; Crewmember: unknown, died in field hospital; Crewmember: unknown, dead in the Panther; Crewmember: unknown, survived.
After the Panther had knocked out the Sherman from a distance about 350m, they moved on and stopped at the corner of Komödienstraße/Marzellenstraße. The reason why the german tank did not fire at the Pershing was, that they expected Shermans. The Pershing was pretty unknown. The tankcommander knew, that there where 2 other Panthers left in Cologne. This could have been the reason why he didn´t react.
It is the exact reason. There's a documentary on this and the commander thought it was a Panther.
It's incredible that 3/5 crewmen survived that blazing inferno!
Maybe but the Panther were not standing good with his armor. So no German tank faces the enemy, as it shows the vulnerable side
@@DBond-bv2oi I think Pershing could pen Panther's turret easily so angling wouldn't be much different
@@b-17gflyingfortress6 Yes. The Pershing could take out a Panther from any angle. It could also knock out a Tiger 1 from any angle. There were also eyewitness accounts of a Pershing and a King Tiger trading shots but missing each other, but the second shot from the Pershing knocked out the King Tiger; the article didn't say where the King Tiger was hit, however.
Its so insane to see that as a guy who lives in cologne im walking through these streets evry day
Yes lived there and walked the tank battle and also to the top of the cathedral spriar
damn that's scary
@@Korn1holio yeah, u wouldnt believe that such things happend there cause its so peacefull and clean right now
Is the panther still there?
@@philmybutup4759 yeah and hes still shooting
I like tanks but I'm not seeing my self inside of one, those were some brave fellows
Sherman commander, lost a leg and died, that's fricken sad... feel bad for the Panther's gunner too.. Respect for every single soldier who fought in any battles. RIP veterans and brave men and women. Thank you for your service you did for your countries.
Can't believe this particular duel is filmed. What a relic
I lived in Cologne for 2 years. It's heartbroken to see footages like that and recognize the streets
I am in Cologne right now as an exchange student, I have seen all the places in the video. It is a very different feeling to stand in the exact same position where 70 years ago someone died, and everyone there walks without knowing anything about it. So saddening.
3:26 Notice the faces of the pershing crew, they look like "shit what we are doing?" Tank crews knows what is die in a tank, that means die burned alive... Nobody can feel happiness after that, dont matter if they are the enemy.
They must have thought, "we won this one, but that could be us tomorrow."
If your lucky the Shrapnel Or explosive mass kills you Instantly Or in seconds But yet again if you not lucky you might be stuck in a tank starting to cook off
being in a tank is Scary
I believe this tank was repaired after it was shot previously too? Repairing tanks after this was a pretty disgusting job as there were dead bodies inside.
@@FINSuojeluskunta I believe a cooked off tank is beyond repair.
@@vyshtora it's hard to replace an engine where the mountings have been permanently welded shut by the sheer temperature of all that ammunition's charges going off
71 years ago at this present moment
72
rip
73
Today is the 75 anniversary of d-day
R.I.P for the sherman's crew, and to the panther gunner and loader watching them to their last mission
"Even if they where the enemy it still hurts you know they where still human"
- Cpl. Clarence Smoyer, the gunner of the Pershing.
Clarence saw the gunner coming out of the tank which was in fire already and put the second shell to cut him in half. Then when they saw the panther getting ammo racked and burned to shit, they fired a third one just to kill anyone near it in case there was anyone left from the 4 (now ) crew that they saw themselves climbing out in flames. Of course they would write a book and tell their shit since this one was filmed on camera unlike endless other everyday warcrimes so they had to covered their asses somehow.
did it hurt him when he was getting hard knowing he knocked the fuck out of that crew?
@@jpej173 Many people which returned home including Germans had nightmares from what they saw and what they did. Like Heinrich Severloh who killed a lot of people as german machineguner on D-Day.
@@CrniWuk and so did Mustafa, the sniper fighting the US forces in Iraq. Watch the videos he published to the locals. One video is someone filming a marine on the street talking to his friend when a 7.62 passes right fcking through his left leg, in such an instant that the poor marine tried to step up again and then looked down to see that half of his fucking leg from his ruined knee and down was bent the opposite way, that's when he realised why he couldn't stand up. And after all that finally comes the headshot. Can you tell why a sniper of that caliber didn't just put one in his chest or in his head in the first place ? First because he knew they were filming the particular marine and wanted to show off his "skill". And the second is the same fucking reason the second shot was fired in this vid. Thing is these are everyday situations of war, and when some of them get caught in camera, then the shit hits the fan and everyone (or the blamed at least) try to cover their asses
@@jpej173 What a nonsense. It was common to fire several shots on Tanks, even if the crew was already bailing out. The German did this all the time, it was even part of the standard procedure, take a look into
H.Dv. 470/7 Ausbildungsvorschrift für die Panzertruppe (A. V. Pz.) Heft 7 Die mittlere Panzerkompanie
This is not a warcrime. The gunner made his decision in a part of a second, do you gonna judge him for that?
At least the US troops handled POV or wounded enemies way better than German forces did.
The book Spearhead explains this very event in great detail. It was awesome to watch exactly what they described and the author did an excellent job describing it from what I can tell.
Panther crew!
Commander: Wilhelm Bartelborth Survived
Another crew member named Otto König Survived
Two of the crew found alive in 2008 including Köning.Barteelboth died before 2008.
The Gunner: Deceased.
two of the crew died no? one later in a field hospital
@@liampett1313 I don't have names for the rest. They found 1 body inside the tank.
As for the 2 unkown statements about their fate varies by source.
Look up Greatest Tank Battles: The Battle for Germany. In it one crew member from the Pershing tank that was in this battle is interviewed.
jes it was very cool to watch this after that
A book called "Spearhead" was just released with first hand accounts of the men in that American Pershing.
War thunder: only one shot that panther gone
World of tank: HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE
the german gunner died on the 2dn shoot of the pershing?
Diego Ascencio i think so
He was not a "nazi" in person. In fact, he was a soldier fighting for his country, no matter what side he was on. So it is indeed very sad.
If every German soldier was a nazi, that means that all British and French soldiers were imperialists, all Soviet soldiers were hardline communists and all American soldiers were self-righteous assholes.
Think before you talk shit.
That shot penetrated the turret ring, which is a weak spot in the most tanks. That very well may have destroyed his lower half, if he survived, the 3rd shot hit the ammo storage and sent a cook off in the tank. Hopefully he bleed out or was unconscious before the cook off. Thats the worst way to go in a tank...
@@jakubrybicki6678 he was not a nazi dumb libtard!
That panther gunner probably just lost half of body when the 2nd shot hit
damn it, i cant read that fast
Cucun Jameela pause the video then dumbass
pause - for wimps )) (humor)
@@olliewills1227= jackass.
@@olliewills1227 I'd bet 4 years later you are still a complete asshole
@@ivanemilov522 ivan mate who asked you to pipe up
This Pershing was knocked out at the distance of 250 meters with a single shot by a Nashorn from the 2nd Company of schwere Heeres Panzer Jaeger Abteilung 93. This engagement took place in the town of Niehl, north of Cologne on March 6th of 1945.
Paulo Silva its the other pershing that you're telling about
OK. Thanks for the info. The result is however the same. The pershing was knocked out.
Reagan Gavin What is your point?
Paulo Silva He's just being patriotic.
Wait even from like space?
Piece of history right there.
Every time I watch this I flinch when the second round hits the Panther, right as the gunner is trying to get out through the turret hatch. You can see his body slump back down into the turret. Makes my stomach churn. Poor guy was just trying to get out.
There's a McDonalds on the left corner now when they show the panther footage.
NO JOKE!
Interesting view, with the tank still there:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Warning_sign_in_cologne.jpg/1280px-Warning_sign_in_cologne.jpg
Germans sitting across the Rhine would lob mortars when they saw people approach the Cathedral. The first rule of armed combat: Do not draw attention to yourself; it attracts fire and annoys the people around you.
0:37 I like he’s like what happened imma just casually walk
The American commander leg was actually smoking, meaning that a piece of the armor or the round itself cut it at incredibly high speed also burning the
flesh and clothing. Fuck, that must've hurt... Rest in Peace.
@Primordial Ooze trying too hard.
We should remember that when we were in our late teens and early twenties, going to college and university, starting jobs and beginning our lives, this generation were forced to fight.
I don't think any of the soldiers in this video wanted to be there, but they were ordered to fight.
Simon Yip I think that was the Vietnam war
Pershing Crew didn't double tap the Panther for no reason. No tank is dead until you see it burning even if the crew is bailing out.
During 73 Easting a Bradley IFV was shot by a sabot from a tank (probably a 3BM15 APFSDS-T) and then by a BMP-1 (probably PG-15V). The IFV was abandoned only to be re-crewed after the battle.
That dude who was climbing out as the 2nd shell hit fell back in.
Xor rd that's sad, he almost got out
Mhm. Fragmented. Probably into his leg or chest. It came through the turret ring.
Amazing you can see the shot holes in the hull.
I'm from cologne this is a feeling deeper than sadness in my heart when I see this! 🇩🇪💔
Germans didn't really put much of a fight from Jan-April 1945 at the western front. It was mainly a sniper or small resistance of children and old men that were force to fight on while the Generals find time to abandoned the Wehrmacht and flee Europe. After the Battle of the bugle it was all lost.
I read the book about the gunner in this tank duel who destroyed the German tank. He was from Pennsylvania. Riveting."Spearhead" by Adam Makos.
Camera man just standing there while the man with a blown off leg gets out of the hatch
This is better combat footage than any other video I’ve seen
war thunder logic:
german shoots american tank: 1 tap
american tank shoots: bullet bounced away
*shell
I would strongly advise shooting .50 cals at a Panther.
It was a brutal war. Both sides lost good and honest men. Families on both sides were devastated by their losses. Men after the war were never the same and ultimately the war claimed more casualties. Let’s hope we never have another war on this scale again.
The video says 2 died, 2 lived and survived the war, and 1 survived the battle shown here but his whereabouts are unknown. But in the video, it shows all five of them jumping out of the Panther doesn't it? Well, not much is said about the gunner due to him being half way out of the turret when the second round hits.
Another video with this same footage claims the tank commander has his legs
severed and he dies on the hatch while the two who ran around the building
died. So I am unsure which to believe quite frankly.
One was found in the tank the next day, another died in a hospital a few days after, the other three got away.
just cus you see some one run doesn't mean the guy is fucked up on the inside, when that happen you go into survival mode and try to scape the area not knowing you might have blood vessels burs ted inside your body and bleeding inside.
ooo is filthyfrank
Jayden Greig I heard in another video that the comander had his legs blown off too, and his body was fused to the frame of a bicylce that was next to the tank.. but I dont know.. does it really matter that much .. it was war. The Pershing crew shot at the Panther cause it hit one of their tanks.. it was also a test.. and it won
director : how long are you gonna show the subtitle?
editor : YES!!
Editor: No
Very well done and documented!
Apart from the the stupidly fast captions...
+Liofa - he had a time limit, so the compression on those ... he said as much in his description
Why is it stupid?
+alwcurlz - some think it's stupid because the captions are so fast they are difficult to read. They didn't read the description where he explained that they were so fast because of his time limit. meh some people complain because - reasons ... While I would have liked longer time to read the captions, I worked around the issue by pausing the video when they appeared. It still provides the information so I'm not complaining
ret7army
Ah ok. It seemed fine to me. But yeah, the captions were faster than what we see now days. Most times captions are too slow.
Damn I feel bad for that panther gunner, to be so close to escaping yet so far, as the shrapnel and shell probably blew his legs off and shredded his abdomen as he slid back down the hatch into the blaze
I’m not a slow reader , bit luckily I’m faster with the pause button
The idea of driving one of these into battle and that it could end up being your metal coffin is pretty damn terrifying. Nightmare fuel
"Oh bugger, the tank's on fire."
more like
Verdammt FEUER IN KAMPRAUM
RAUS HIER
Damn.. what's amazing is the fact that there were very few pershing tanks that the Americans had at that time & it was the only American tank strong enough to engage a panther..& they did it damn well..👏 🇺🇸
The American Sherman 76mm could engage not from the front tho
ur a kid
The basics thats taught in tank combat is to "shoot until visual confirmed kill" the pershings gunner, in a destroyed city covered in rubble couldn't make out the fine details of the panther from the dust kicked up by the 90mm gun, so he reverted to his training to shoot until he knew it was a kill, which in this case was an ammunition explosion.
however the dude who recorded the duel probably has descendants that record the highschool bathroom fights
Tankers were awarded the bronze star yesterday in Washington!!
Its crazy that the tank commander that crawled out of the shermwn in the begginning was literally steaming
The photographer, always in danger, survived, the photos survived, not with the sophisticated equipment of today. Amazing that these pictures all these years later can tell a story.
March 1945, Panther probably out of fuel or with engine out of order, maybe also out of ammo after hiting Sherman
Too much of WOT mate. They were desperate at that point there. Main goal, to stop an alies as long as they can and to do as much damage to them.
jajesam sigurno If it was out of fuel it wouldnt have burned for 3 days. If the engine was out of order they would have scuttled it. Experienced tank crews were more valuable than tanks in 1945. It got flanked, simple as that. It was not expecting a Pershing to be right there so soon.
OK, the Mighty American army managed to destroy 1 fully operated Panther with extra experienced crew. Are you happy now?
***** I'm sorry that reality upsets you.
LOL, You must be Jew. You love your reality but have a very big problem with logic.
So the german gunner died in the turret?
+TheCleansingx appearently that second shot from the m26 killed him
+TheCleansingx It looks like the second shot went right through the turret ring and exploded inside the turret completely blowing away his lower half of his body. Not a good way to go.
TheMinipily Poor fella.. It should have been noted in video imo!
+TheCleansingx He survived
just stop..
I came here to see this after reading about it in the audiobook Spearhead by Adam Makos
giving your side armor to the enemy what a bunch of tomatoes
bad joke
the horrible of war ... no winner all are casualties, but we are here to play our part as the lessons we must learn or SOMEONE might teach us again ... thanks
they should sidecraped or angled their tanks studied panther and Sherman commanders
its not world of tanks mate
KEELIN yeah xD
KEELIN It's not a videogame, for sure, but the concept of facing and angling your armour still exists in real life. If the Panther had the time to react (Which it looks like it didn't) then rotating the hull towards the Pershing might have saved it.
DubiousDrewski I disagree. The Pershing's 90mm would have penetrated Panther's frontal armor.
Andrew Sung no, Panther has 80mm armor, when its sloped, then you aint gonna penetrate it
That panther tank commander and radio operator was lucky man ever, they survive from ammo rack
But they crew died include assistance driver, Loader, radioman, Gunner.
Loader made it through the hatch in the back of the turret
All that death and destruction, and the cathedral still stood...Luck?
No, no Luck. And no god. The allied command decided it was useful to keep it as a reference point for the bomber pilots... So, it was used to bomb the citiy more precicely.
the germans bombed europe! or..?
gcgrabodan I don't think you can aim that precise from 10km alt. I think the reason is that they used incendiary bombs which only burnt everything down and did not destroy the stone church. Most of the house's walls are still standing too..
Not that precise, but the bombers generally tried to not hit the cathedral. That is documented.
gcgrabodan yes, where I live the Church in the center is still standing while a lot of buildings around it were destroyed. The buildings south of it are still standing though
This is from the book Spearhead. Strongly recommend it. Amazing book.
Not exactly.
Respect 🇺🇸🇩🇪🇷🇺
Nice upload and great description... UA-cam needs more of you.
UA-cam: * gives me 2 warning notices *
Me: oh yea… this is the real video
No journalist has te balls to do what these guys did. Record the war as it happened
AAHHHHHH!!!!!
Kevin Miller ehmm.. This happens today also??
Permit me to say that the guys who recorded this incident were indeed journalists. It may not have been their profession, but the moment you record events as they happen and relay it in an understandable fashion, you become a journalist.
The Motion picture photographers are Signal Corp Combat Photographers, they film, and take down information for the Captions and descriptions of what they film. All the info they can get is recorded for Dept. of the Army Records, and for use in research, and training.
Jup people today huh
That music is very haunting .
So tragic for both sides.
Yep, war is Hell. I can't imagine the fear and adrenaline going through their minds.Those are very brave men!
being in a tank is scary even more in modern tanks
now everyone cann get a Good Rocket launcher that cann penn manytanks from the side
and roof hits will Penetrate Everytank so going into a city cann by Very Scary
I just saw a thing on my local news channel about how the gunner in the Pershing actually came from around here in Pennsylvania and there’s a book about him but I don’t know what the name of it is
Spearhead
Yeah that’s the name of it! Thanks!
@@JacobN-hg8tv your welcome
Read the book Spearhead! It's about the two of the tanks crews in this film (US and German) and what they did in the war leading up to this. It's an amazing book!
The reason why the Pershing kept on shooting the Panther while crew was bailing out was to prevent the possibility of that Panther being recovered. It was a common occurrence - on both sides, shooting tanks until they burned. It just so happened that this one was filmed!
Clarence Smoyer was the gunner and he was very young when this happened. He said he fired until he saw the other tank burning then he stopped, remember he was basically a kid then. In the picture of the Pershing crew he is the one in the middle of the 3 guys on the top of the tank, the other 2 have helmets on, Clarence has nothing on his head. He said he wanted to make sure the panther couldn't fire back.
Note how the Panthers Gunner seemed to be struggling to climb out of the Turret. I have a theory as to what caused him to struggle. At that point, the Ammunition had probably started to burn creating a very intense flame in the fighting compartment. Do you know how a fire stays lit? It sucks in every bit of oxygen around it.
You have a very fierce fire, in a very tight and cramped space with one source of oxygen. The open turret hatch. What I think happened was the fire was sucking in oxygen from the open hatch essentially creating a vacuum that started sucking the gunner in as well basically dragging him into the fire.
If thats what happened I really hope the second shell fired by the Pershing killed him instantly since he disappears from the clip after the second hit meaning he was either killed instantly or lost his grip and was sucked right back into the ammunition fire.
The Sherman tank commander with his severed leg... I would like to know more on what's going on in that image. I understand its smouldering but what other details can be seen? Rest in peace sir and thank you.
At least they made sure that panther wouldn't get the chance to do take out another sherman. Good shootin' bois, sucks they only got 2 of the crew though. (If there were only 3 panthers left in Cologne at the time, which is apparently why the panther didn't shoot the pershing, then the Germans had no reason not to surrender, and as such receive no sympathy from me in that regard. They chose to stay and fight, they made their own bed)
Although, mad respect to all people who willingly choose to get into those metal coffins, especially nowadays with ATGM's and drone-dropped munitions and the like
Except the pershing commander admitted his crew also fired on the car...
This is way better than any war movies.
Yes i would've put a 2nd just to make sure. I know they probably had some unwritten gentlemenly rule that once a tank is confirmed dead you let the enemy/survivors/her crew try and get away/escape/live? They may not have seen them escape or didn't want any other crew member to fire a shot at them. Plus with the panther barrel pointed at them they weren't sure if it was kaput and they wanted to be sure.
I just want to clarify that a Tiger has poor frontal armor, due to it being flat.
Any Sherman with APCR, or a 76.2 Could penetrate it.
The Panther here is invincible to both it and the Pershing at the front hull, but has very poor side armor, and a turret that is both flat, and occasionally a shot trap.
Multiple field reports speak of the latter weaknesses. These were not values taken from WoT or WT.
If those days camera have the mic technology,,it will be epic the guns sound and the surrounding !!
watched so much warthunder videos and got this in my recommendation
So if I get this right gunner and loader died driver, commander, and radio operator lived but one went MIA
I'm glad that panther got destroy. That's war for you.
Panther? Loader died later that day, commander and driver lived, and the rest didd
I hate when the cameraman starts shaking the camera like a mad man when the best part of the battle starts.
Its so weird. Imagining that I just walked down those streets like 10 minuets ago before watching this video
The man who who lost his leg and seen crawling out of the sherman is. 2nd Lt. Karl Edmund kellner, born 29 Nov 1918
, from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He died momments after he the footage was taken. The medics failed to get to him in time. The men who where helping him stopped the bleeding from his wound but the shock of his wound was much too bare which resulted in Cadiac Arrest. He was already dead when medics arrived.
The driver had a fabulous chance with the second shot
Clarence Thomas, nature of Palmenton, Pa. the gunner of this Pershing Tank was just awarded the Bronze Star Metal this week in Aug. 2021. Finally, after 75 years. Believe he is not 93 years of age. He has a long crocked nose and can be seen standing on top of the tank with the rest of the crew.
I've been playing War Thunder and knowing what happened to those sherman crews inside the tank gives me shivers i can't imagine myself being inside a tank being inside a cramp space knowing you are an extremely big target and knowing you're armor is basically useless agans't german anti tank guns man i can't do that
good video i think the subtitles could have lasted for a bit longer, the one at 1.15 was only readable for less than a second.
Great work on this rarely captured event
The Sherman was a very weak armoured tank which is why it was so easily destroyed by German armour. If you notice the logs mounted on the side of the sherman was to try to give the Sherman a little more protection from enemy shells.
Not really the case
The piano really kills the seriousness of this footage. Like wtf lol
To bad the camera kept on shaking, it was hard to see what was going on. But what else is the cameraman supposed to do besides shaking?
1:58 poor guy, he was almost out of the tank but the 2nd shot from the Pershing I think got him, If ur eyes is clear as mine he's just laying dead on the hatch and probably fell inside the tank after an hour of burning
Theres something very disturbing and almost hellish about watching a tank burn like that knowing theres people in there.