Many, many thanks, gentlemen! This is definately very useful! And as always, I have read many interesting posts. Although it would be nice to know the best tank aces from the USA, France and Great Britain... I mean, if they destroyed more than two Tigers, I think they're aces, considering that a Tiger was worth 15 Allied tanks!

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

Little bit more information about Lafayette G Pool, including a portrait : -

http://www.3ad.org/wwii_heroes/pool_.../pool_home.htm

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Thanx alot Martin!I wonder why there´s not more of him around or is there soemthing wrong with my eyes...? I mean his total score is really amazing!

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Gonna start on some more detailed info on some of these tanks aces.

Otto Carius - 150+ Kills (sPzAbt. 502)-Tiger I--Knight's Cross 5/4/44, Oak Leaves 7/27/44.

from http://www.achtungpanzer.com/gen4.htm

Otto Carius was born on May 27th of 1922 in Zweibrucken, Rheinland-Pfalz in Southwest Germany. Just as he graduated from school, World War II broke out and he volunteered for 104th Infantry Placement Battalion in May of 1940. Following training, he was assigned to the 21st Panzer Regiment and experienced his first battle as a loader on a Panzer 38(t) during the "Barbarossa" operation in June of 1941. After about a year of war experience on the Eastern Front, Carius was accepted in an Officer Candidate Course and following its completion, was assigned to the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion in April of 1943. Equipped with the new Tiger tanks, he was assigned as a tank commander to the 2nd Company of 502nd Tank Battalion. That summer, the 2nd Company was deployed to the Russian Leningrad Front and took part in several operations in that area. During that time, 502nd Tank Battalion was ordered to reinforce the front along with 11th SS Freiwillige Panzergrenadier Division "Nordland" at Narva Bridgehead. During one of his engagements, Carius destroyed four Soviet SU-85s and successfully withdrew without losses. In June of 1944, the company was transferred to Dunaburg (Daugavpils in Latvia) to defend the city from a concentrated Russian offensive. In the July of 1944, Russians outflanked the German defensive lines via the motorways west of Minsk and Borissov to Witebsk (same route was used by Germans in 1941). By using tanks in vast numbers, Soviets intended to divide the German occupied territory into small salients and then take port city of Riga. Since Riga is situated at the mouth of Dvina River, Dunaburg was an important strategic point for both Germans and Russians.

On July 22 of 1944, 1st Lieutenant Otto Carius with his company of eight (early and mid production) Tigers advanced towards village of Malinava (northern suburb of Dunaburg) in order to halt the Russian advance. 1st Lieutenant Otto Carius and 1st Lieutenant Albert Kerscher (one of the most decorated commanders of sPzAbt 502) took a Kubelwagen in order to check if the village was already occupied by Russians. They discovered that village of Malinava was already occupied by the enemy. Carius recognized that the Russian tanks in the village were only advance troops waiting for the main force to arrive. He decided to recapture the village before the arrival of reinforcements. Carius returned to his company for briefing and explained his plan to take the village. He decided to attack the village using only two tanks because there was only one road leading to the village and rushing all of his Tigers would be dangerous. Six Tigers remained in the reserve while Carius and Kerscher's Tigers moved towards the village of Malinava. Speed was the essence of Carius' strategy and it was decisive to upset Russians and immobilize their tanks.

When Carius' Tiger No.217 was about to enter the village, two T-34/85 tanks were observed rotating their turrets. At this moment, Kerscher's Tiger No.213 which followed Carius at about 150m, fired and knocked them out. Also for the first time, Otto Carius encountered Russian's latest JS-1 (or possibly JS-2) heavy tank. Its silhouette was somewhat similar to the German King Tiger and Carius was confused at first but after hesitating a bit, he fired and JS-1 burst into flames. Afterwards, Otto Carius recalls that the entire battle did not last more than 20 minutes. In such a short time, Carius and Kerscher's Tigers knocked out 17 Russian tanks including the new JS-1. Although the Russians were attacked by suprise, Carius' quick and accurate recognition of the situation and the excellent tactics used were the main factors in the outcome. Carius' achievement at Malinava is equally outstanding to Michael Wittmann's achievement at Villers-Bocage.
In November of 1943, Otto Carius destroyed 10 Soviet T-34/76 tanks at the distances as low as 50 meters.In August of 1944, Otto Carius was transferred to Paderbornto the newly created schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 512 and received the command of the 2nd company. sPzJagAbt 512 was equipped with powerful Jagdtigers, armed with 128mm Pak 44 L/55 gun. Carius commanded the 2nd company, which was training at Senne Camp near Paderborn and at Dollersheim near Vienna. On March 8th of 1945, without finishing its training, 2nd company was directed to the frontline near Siegburg. It then took part in the defence of the River Rhine and eventually surrendered to the US Army on April 15th of 1945. Interesting fact is that Otto Carius, only wore his Knight's Cross at the front, as it was a "pass" to get requests filled better. After the war, Otto Carius became an owner of a pharmacy called Tiger Apotheke.

Born: 27 May 1922 in Zweibrucken
* Awards:
- Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class (EK II and EK I),
- Knights Cross (Ritterkreuz),
- Oakleaves to the Knights Cross (Eichenlaub),
- Wound Badge in Gold,
- Panzer Battle Badge in Silver (100),
* Total victories (kills):
- 150-200 tanks,
* Majority of this score was tailed on the Eastern Front.

(As an aside note.. I've read in a couple other sources that Carius seriously disliked the JagdTiger. Too large and difficult to maneuver. I think I've got the quote in another source about how "silly it was to be making a vehicle like the JagdTiger at such a late and difficult time in the war"...)


A couple excerpt from "Tigers in the Mud", Carius's autobiography...
from http://www.panzer-vi.fsnet.co.uk/tales_ocarius.html

We begin with the battle at Malinava........................

We (Albert Kerscher) & I mde our way cautiously towards the village (Malinava) to check unconfirmed reports about the enemy movements. We crept up & Albert (Kerscher) saw the silouettes of at least 5 Russian T-34 tanks plus a large number of infantry. We made our way back to our Tigers & began to attack the village. Kerscher took up the left flank & we went with all speed towards the village. I saw two T-34 tanks had spotted my tank & began to turn their turrets towards my position. I swiveled my turret but Albert had got them first & they exploded. I carried on into the village firing occasional HE rounds towards the many trucks & Infantry. The Russians were taken by surprise & were already retreating. Our next encounter took place round the corner of the square when I met 3 T-34 tanks. Albert was still on my left & hit the one closest to me. I took out the other two which actually seemed to be unoccupied as neither made any aggressive move towards me. I then sighted what I thought to be a King Tiger about 700meters away. However my radio operator assured me that we hade no Tiger II tanks within a 50 Kilometer raduis of our position so I fired. We approached the destroyed tank & found it to be of a new type later identifed as a JS-1. We carried on knocking out various soft vehicles & artillery pieces when we encountered 3 more T-34's sitting outside the back of the village. Their turrets were all facing the direction of the last explosions they must have been expecting us to roll through the smoke. We had however fired to our flanks & now were side on to the Russian tanks. We destroyed all 3 before any of them could realise their mistake. By the time our Infantry had arrived we had knocked out a total of 17 tanks & god knows how many trucks & guns. We took up a position defending the approaches to the village whilst our infantry mopped up the last pockets of resistance.

Battle of Pemvlinka........................

My battalion was resting & refitting when the report came through of an enemy tank column moving into the area. We quickly climbed into our Tigers & began to move out in 3's in a v formation spaced about 100meters apart. In total we had 12 operational Tigers the other 3 were left behind & camouflaged as static defense positions. My formation broke off & headed down the right flank of the roaad at full speed. We had a spotter on a motorcylce ahead of us reporting back what he saw. After travelling about 5 Kilometers our spotter annouced the presence of around twenty T-34 & SU-122 assault guns moving cautiously through a field. We moved up towards the hedgerow & targeted the turreted T-34 tanks. They were moving quite slowly & to our knowledge were without infantry support. All 3 Tigers of my section quickly destroyed the front 3 T- 34's. The others were thrown into confusion by the surprise of our attack. They all stopped which I found to be strange, swivelling their trurrets looking for us. I ordered another quick burst of fire & informed my section to move away after they had fired their round. The spotter informed us that 2 T-34s & an assault gun were now ablaze. We split our formation up & performed a perfect encirclement manouvre whicch saw me going head on at the enemy with my gun firing as we moved. My comrades had outflanked the enemy & attacked from both sides. We destroyed all the enemy tanks within about 30 minutes of the first shot. We found out that this was the probe element & our platoon had encountered the main body which turned out to be made up of infantry mainly. After artillery support had been called to drive the Russians back we re joined & formed a defensive ring until we were given support from our infantry.

(Anyone else have any info on some of the less well known tank aces on the lists here?)

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Seriously, all today is missing is free cotton candy and the annual Bay State Hooker Parade to make it any better.

Ernst Barkmann-82+ Kills (Das Reich)-Panther-Knight's Cross 8/27/44.

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/gen5.htm

Ernst Barkmann was born in Kisdorf in Holstein on August 25th of 1919.He was a son of a local farmer. In 1935, Barkmann finished school and started to be involved in family business along with his father. On April 1st of 1936, Ernst Barkmann joined SS-Standarte Germania as a volunteer and after three months of training joined the III Battalion of the Standarte at Radolfszell. Barkmann took part in Polish Campaign of 1939 serving with 9th Kompanie of SS-Standarte Germania as a machine gunner and was wounded there. In Autumn of 1941, Barkmann was seriously wounded during fighting near Dnieprpetrowsk (Operation Barbarossa) and received the Iron Cross (Second Class). In late 1941, Barkmann was transferred to Holland as an instructor of European SS-Volunteers but in early 1942, he volunteered for service with division's Panzer Regiment. Ernst Barkmann returnedto the Eastern Front in winter of 1942 and was transferred to 2nd Kompanie of 2nd Panzer Regiment of 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.Barkmann's unit was equipped with Panzer III (50mm gun) tanks which were outclassed by Soviet T-34 and other. In early 1943, 2nd Panzer Regiment took part in the Battle for Kharkov, where Barkmann won the Iron Cross (First Class). In mid 1943, Barkmann was transferred to 4th Kompanie which was equipped with new Panzer V Panther tanks.
In late 1943, Ernst Barkmann was promoted to the rank of SS-Unterscharfuhrer. In early 1944, the entire division was transferred to Bordeaux area in southern France for rest and refitting as a panzer division. Following the D-Day (June 6 of 1944), 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich was ordered to move northwards and was committed to battle.
In early July of 1944, Das Reich was moved to Saint Lo to halt the advance of the US Army's 9th and 30th Infantry Divisions and the 3rd Armored Division. On July 8th, Barkmann's Kompanie was a spearhead of Regiment's attack on the advancing American units. On this day, Ernst Barkmann knocked out his first Allied Sherman tank near St.Lo. On July 12th, he destroyed two more Shermans while disabling the third one. During that engagement Barkmann moved his camouflaged Panther to ambush position and awaited for more Allied armor, knocking out three Shermans. After that Ernst Barkmann's tank was hit by an anti-tank gun which caused fire. He decided to abandon his burning Panther and along with his crew he quickly put out the fire. After that engagement his Panther ended up in the workshop for repairs. After a day of rest, in morning of July 14th, Barkmann was ordered to recover four Panthers that had been cut off behind enemy lines. He succeeded in his task and added three more Shermans to his score. On the same day at noon, Ernst Barkmann was ordered by the Regimental Commander SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Tychsen to recover wounded German soldiers from their American captors. Once again he succeeded and in the evening his own Panther was returned to him from the workshop. On July 26th, Barkmann's Panther suffered from engine problem and was sent to field workshop.When mechanics were working on it, field workshop was attacked by Allied fighter-bombers and Barkmann's Panther was hit in the engine compartment. By the dawn of July 27th, his Panther was repaired but he was cut off from the rest of the Kompanie and was on his way to rejoin it. On his way back, near the village of Le Lorey, Barkmann was stopped by the retreating German infantrymen who reported that Americans were closing in. Ernst Barkmann decided to send two of his men to verify that report. They soon returned with news of American column made up of some 15 Shermans and other vehicles approaching. Then Barkmann moved his tank up the road to the crossroad where he positioned his Panther in the surrounding oak trees, awaiting the enemy. When the American column approached, Ernst Barkmann opened fire, knocking out two leading tanks and then tanker truck.Two Shermans tried to go around burning wreckage that blocked the road and one of them was knocked out followed by the other one.In the response, Americans retreated and called up the tactical fighter support and Barkmann's Panther was damaged and some of the crew members were wounded. Using the element of suprise two Shermans attacked "wounded" Panther but were also knocked out.Barkmann and his crew repaired their Panther and knocked out single Sherman while leaving.His driver managed to moved their damaged Panther to the safety of nearby village of Neufbourg. During that brave engagement often called "Barkmann's Corner", Ernst Barkmann destroyed approximately nine Sherman tanks and many other various vehicles.

On July 28th, Barkmann reached Coutances and joined the rest of his Kompanie. During two day period, he destroyed fifteen Shermans and other vehicles. On July 30th, Americans surrounded Granville but Barkmann towing one more damaged Panther was able to break out. In order to destroy their disabled Panther their crew decided to set it on fire and soon by mistake both Panthers caught fire. Both crews were forced to make their way to the German lines 7 kilometers away on foot. Barkmann reached Avranches on August 5th, and was warmly welcome by his comrades who heard about his exploits. For his bravery and skills Ernst Barkmann was recommended for Knight's Cross and was accepted on August 27th and was awarded on September 5th.
SS-Oberscharfuhrer Barkmann continued his successful career and took part in the Ardennes Offensive in December of 1944, where on December 25th he was seriously wounded. During the Ardennes Offensive, Barkmann's Panther drove into the group of American tanks from the 2nd Armored Division. Quickly combat begun and outnumbered Barkmann managed to knock out few Sherman tanks. One Sherman rammed Barkmann's Panther but didn't cause much damage although both tanks got stuck and Panther's engine stall. After few minutes, Barkmann's mechanic managed to restart the engine and Panther retreated with blocked turret. Even with the damage, Barkmann knocked out Sherman that waspursuing him and retreated to safety although his Panther was beyond the point of repair.
In March of 1945, Barkmann was once again fighting with Soviets in the area of town of Stuhlweissenburg, where he knocked out four T-34s and brought the total score of the Das Reich Division for the war so far to 3000 enemy tanks destroyed. At the time Das Reich was exhausted by non-stop fighting and lack of replacement tanks. Barkmann's unit alone had only nine fully operational vehiclesfrom which three were soon lost to Soviet Josef Stalin tanks. The remaining six Panthers were ordered to link up with the remnants of the Panzer Regiment of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler commanded by SS-Standartenfuhrer Jochen Peiper.By April of 1945, Barkmann saw action south of Vienna during the fighting in Austria. There his Panther was hit by a mistake by friendly soldiers and Barkmann along with his crew members was wounded. Later on his Panther was disabled in a huge bomb crater and was destroyed by its crew. Ernst Barkmann was able to reach British zone of operation where he was taken into captivity.
During his very successful career, Ernst Barkmann earned Knight's Cross for his bravery and skills along with the Panzer Assault Badge for 25 and 50 engagements with the enemy. He survived the war and lives in Kisdorf, Germany, where he was the long-time fire-chief and also major (burgomaster).

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Seriously, all today is missing is free cotton candy and the annual Bay State Hooker Parade to make it any better.

Karl Körner - 100+ Kills (sS.S.PzAbt. 503)- survived / deceased

Karl Bromann - 66 Kills (sS.S.PzAbt. 503)-Tigers.

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/gen10.htm

SS-Hauptscharführer Karl Körner and SS-Untersturmführer Karl Brommann are both Panzer aces who started and finished their careers on King Tigers. They both served in schwere SS Panzer Abteilung (103) 503, which became part of III SS Panzer Corps (Germanic). sSSPzAbt 503 originated from the 8th company of 3rd Waffen SS Panzergrenadier Division "Totenkopf", which was equipped with Tigers from July of 1943 to March of 1944. On October 17th of 1944, sSSPzAbt 503 received their King Tigers and on January 27th of 1945 was transferred to the Eastern Front. Following their arrival to the front, unit saw heavy combat in the Neu Stettin (Szczecinek) area, allowing the escape of refugees from East Prussia. During the night of February 17/18, sSSPzAbt 503 was loaded on train and moved to Danzig (Gdansk). During the combat in Gdansk (Oliwa and Wrzeszcz districts) and Sopot, SS-Untersturmführer Karl Brommann (commander of the 1st Company) destroyed 65 tanks and self-propelled guns along with 44 artillery pieces and 15 vehicles (including some T-34s from 1st Polish Tank Brigade "Heroes of the Westerplatte"). Following his outstanding score, Brommann was awarded with Knights Cross. After the war, Brommann became and remained until his retirement a dental laboratory technician at the university clinic in Germany. Following heavy losses the remnants of the unit were evacuated to Swinemunde (Swinoujscie) and took part in combat in Stettin (Szczecin) area. In the last days of the Third Reich, six King Tigers from sSSPzAbt 503 attached to 11th Waffen SS Panzergrenadier "Nordland" took part in the defense of Berlin.

In April of 1945, SS-Hauptscharführer Karl Körner (platoon commander from the 2nd Company) was supporting an infantry counterattack in the Bollersdorf area (east of Berlin), when he encountered two Soviet JS-II heavy tanks at a distance of 200m. He quickly destroyed the first one and second one trying to reverse in order to take a firing position drove into an anti-tank ditch and was abandomed by the crew. On the road from Bollersdorf to Strausberg, Körner observed additional 11 JS-II tanks and around 120 to 150 enemy tanks in the process of being refuelled and re-armed on the egde of the village. He then fired and destroyed all 11 JS-II tanks on the road and attacked the rest of the tanks and their suprised crews. Number of fuel and ammunition trucks exploded causing even more panic among the Russian tankers, while Körner fired all 39 rounds he had left and knocked out 39 enemy tanks before he withdrew. Following this action, sSSPzAbt 503 and other units were falling back to defend Berlin. On his way to Berlin, Karl Körner destroyed over 100 Soviet tanks and 26 anti-tank guns in total, achievement for which on April 29th, he was awarded the Knights Cross in the bunker of Reichs Chancellery. After the ceremony, Körner returned to his unit on the frontline at Charlottenburg district of Berlin. On May 2nd, last King Tiger from sSSPzAbt 503 was destroyed during an attempt to break out of the city on the Spandau Bridge.

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Seriously, all today is missing is free cotton candy and the annual Bay State Hooker Parade to make it any better.

Info on SS Panzerführer Ernst Barkmann can be found here as well: Tolga Alkan's promising site......

www.geocities.com/alkantolga/

E

Very nicely done site...

Erich, I'm glad you saw this one... any chance you have some info on some of the other tank aces? Some of the less well-known ones? I'd like to maybe fill this thread out a bit... pull together as much info as possible on these aces.
If you have the time, I know you have an impressive library...

Speaking of, where's Mr. Evans... I'd imagine he's got some info that would fit in here as well...

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Seriously, all today is missing is free cotton candy and the annual Bay State Hooker Parade to make it any better.

I'll take a peek. Carl will come on soon and also Paul Errass has quite a bit on German Panzerkommanders and there are probably a couple other guys too.....

E

Nice... I'm thinking about another one of those edited together documents on this one. Mainly for my files- armored battles and related personalities really interest me. But of course I could re-post or provide copies...

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Seriously, all today is missing is free cotton candy and the annual Bay State Hooker Parade to make it any better.

Hermann Bix - 75+ Kills (4th Panzer Division)-Knight's Cross 3/22/45

Some info I found on thirdreichforum... taken from "Tank Aces" by Franz Kurowski...

Feldwebel Bix of the 35th Pz Rgt. 4th Panzer Division.

On the 4th of Oct. 1941 Feldwebel Bix in Pz III armed with a 5 cm L/42 encoutered T-34 and KV-1s tanks of the Russian Army tanks for the first time. In this battle which was in a part of Orel Bix for the first time, would also see Panzers retreating for the first time since the start of the war.

After this the crews of his tanks and others had to come to grips with the fact that they found tanks they could not stop by gunfire. On this occasion in Orel 8.8 Flak and 10.5 field artillery helped to stop the Russians.

As part of the Elberbach Brigade which was from the 35th Pz. Feld. Bix was in action again in Oslavaya.
In this action he was to fight and win his first battle with a heavy Russian tank.
It was in the afternoot of the of the 14th of Nov. 1941 when the Brigade had been ordered to attack the village. While attacking into the village the Russians tanks that had been there forced out to fight. Bix on fighting his own little battle spotted a KV-1 at a range of 30 meters. At that range he order his gunner Kruase to fire special armor piercing shot. They fired three with no penatration to the surprise and horror of the crew.

At this time he called by radio to his Leutnant Bloke for pioneers. Bloke called back to him, "Bix, if nothing else works try to shoot his cannon in two,,"!
Bix at first did not know what to think, but they tried.
The first shot the gunner Krause fired. The smoke from the gun firing and shell exploding at close range, blinded them both.
Bix ordered another shot, but Krause fire twice more before Bix ordered him, to cease fire.

After the third shot the KV-1 came to life and started to rotate it's turret towards Bix's tank. Leutnant Bloke was just coming onto the seen and Russian stopped and fired at his tank as they fired back.
The KV-1 started spewing spoke out of insides..
Then Bix's radio operator calls up, " His barrel has burst, Herr Feldwebel."

This was just the shot in the arm that Bix and the rest of of the Elberbach Brigade needed.

Then on the 24 th of November 1941, acting as the forward of the Elberbach Brigade, Feldwebel Bix advanced into Vanev there his tank destroyed 1 AA gun, 1 MG postion and while chasing a KV-1, 2 T-28 light tanks.
After this his unit caught up with him and his crew in the city.
Hauptmann Lekschsat came up in his tank for a report from Bix. Just after the tanks quieted themselves Bix heard a tank engine starting from about a 100 m's away.
Bix who was outside of the tank called to the driver to drive ahead to a barracks, from which they could see the KV-1 one around the corner.
"Open Fire!", Bix ordered but the shot blinded them as it struck the Russian. The short range was clouded so that they could not see the Russian.
Now it was the Russian's turn to fire but they were also blinded by the first shot. The Russian shot went high and wide.

Bix now tried to get into the turret but his jacket caught on the hatch. His intercom was torn out now. To Bix's horror the KV-1 was on a ramming coarse with his tank, he had seen the Russians do this many times before.
He yelled to his driver to reverse but there was no response.. The intercom was not connected. He scrambled around the turret to the drivers visor and motioned for him to reverse. This Schrwatz did just in time. The Russian went past them with only a couple of meters seperating them.

The big KV-1 smashed into a large stone wall and stopped the wall falling down onto the turret.
At first Bix thought the Russian may be immobolizied. But then the KV started to try and move. At a range of 10 meters they fired into the side of the turret with no effect!

By this time Bix had managed to get back into the tank and plug his radio in. The Hauptmann called, " Harpoon this is Chief, we are coming!"
Not a few secounds later the shots from the approaching tanks started to hit and bounce off the KV-1's thick armor. There were so many shots being fired that Bix's tank was getting rained on by pieces of shells, and armor.
Remebering his earlier success he ordered Krause to fire on the gun again, Krause anticipated this order and was ready, after three shots again. Bix ordered him to cease firing. Seeing the gun was hit he ordered Krause to target the running gear, after four shots he stopped.
Now the giant was done for, the Russians baled out and took off for safety.

After his wounding he was sent home to Germany to get better, there on the 5th Nov. 42 he was awarded the German Gold Cross.

Then Early 43 he underwent officer training before strating to be trained on the Panther in Sept. 43. After his training it was back to the Russian front. But to his pleasure it was to be with his old unit Pz Rgt. 35's, 1st Abt. This was in June of 44.

When they arrived in the Slutsk area there were no ramps to unload the Panthers so they pulled the train to favorable spot turned the tank 90 degrees and drove off. This was to take them into the battles to save what was left of Feldmarschell Busch's 34 divisions that held the center of the front. The 4 th Panzer fought with the 12 Pz. to the north and the 28th Jager Divisions to south.

In the areas of Baranovichi, Stoltce Bix leading an attack ran into a AT front and was hit 17 times, they thought the Panther had been disabled but it was only damaged roadwheels. Later he switched tanks and carried on the attack with 11 other Panthers, that were under the command of Oberleutnant Goldhammer. They succeeded in taking a small village and holding the night but without infantry it was impossible to hold. Then over night the front moved and when dawn came the unit was behind enemy lines. The unit decided the only way out was to drive as fast as possible, keeping formation and not stopping for anything. When they set out the first Russians were not prepared for this rash attack from behind and they folded up as the tanks sped by shooting at anything of danger. Then they had to head south down a dirt road in a field. To the right was trees and to the east of that the friendly lines. No one new in the German lines that this unit was out there, any who would of know would of written them off.
They were wrong. The tanks in wedge formation speeding at up to 50 kph approached the trees and started to come under fire. The leader called for individual tageting and not to stop. So Bix seeing the tank in front rotate, it's turret ordered his gunner and the company opened fire. The Russian fully alert but under fire and pooring out as much fire as they could had a disadvantage. The short range and the speed of tanks rushing by the them at a right angle. They just did not get lucky, at the time of turn the Oberleutnant Goldhammer called to his tankers over the radio, Only a few more kilometers, don't stop.
The Germans in the trenches heard the firing from the Russian line and the fires starting, but had no idea what was happening. To there surprise the alarm of tanks approaching was called as one after another appeared, hell bent for leather.
A officer in the line looking through his binoculars shouted out that they were Panthers, he waved his hat and the lead tank as came nearer fired off a flare. They made it back. The exhausted tankers and amazed onlookers saw the tankers pile out of there machines that had gotten upto 120 degrees inside. They were exhausted but had a grim look of determination as they looked back at the smoke from where they came.
This was in July or Aug. of 44. It was also in Aug that he kept adding to his score but his Panther let him down finally. They were hit on the mantle and the shell went down into the radio operator compartment. This was Bix's secound wound that would take him from the front.

Upon his recovery he went back to his old unit and got himself and a new tank and crew. They were ordered to report to OberLt. Goldhammer right away. But on his way he heard the call from a 2 or 3 tank section that had gotten them selves stuck in a swamp surrounded with thickets. As he travelled he was getting a stronger signal so they new they were on the right path. But with the onset of darkness the game was getting more dangerous. The stuck tanks Bix was sure would not survive the night and he could not leave them. So the search went on... Finally they could hear firing so they approached the area once they made contact with the stuck tanks. Bix ordered his tank to close up and give supporting fire well the others did as well. The first stuck tank was pulled free in an hour the secound quicker.

In the first battle of Curland we have Bix in his faithful Panther that the crews now trusted more than anything, the tanks were dependable and despite the stories of short ranges and such the tanks were run ragged.
When Bix reported to OberLt. Goldhammer, he was ordered to join the rest of the company. In the battle that was to follow Bix and his comrades found themselves against a numerically stronger enemy once again.
Now that the Russians had mounted the 85 mm gun in the T-34s and changed there tactics to more numerous but smaller groups of tanks the job of checking the Russian mass attack had been taken from the Germans. With there Tigers and Panthers they still could contain most attacks that they faced but now Bix was to face the Stalin 2.
They found themselves in battle with other members of there company when a large tank appeared, at first Bix was unsure of what this was, but on a closer look he new he was facing the newest Russian super heavy tank. He ordered his tank forward after the Russian had fired, he knew that they had a slower reload time so he took this chance to close the range. The first shot was a hit that did no apparant damage, but now the Russian was turning his turret on him, it was now time to find out if he would as lucky as he was with the KV's before, the second shot struck just below the gun mantle and the barrel started to drop, when the third shot from the Panther finally penatrated and caused an internal explosion.
So it was the Stalin was also beat able, but the battle was not done, he had fired three rounds so far, the next targets were T34s, four fell before his gun and a possible two others.
This was his welcome back to the front. First rescue his comrades, then a tank battle, Bix's tank score now is unknown to me. There is to many battles that they are rushed into, day after day.

After some time he was again knocked out in battle, this time he came back to the front in a JagdPanther. With this new weapon his kills continued to rise. He fought on in the northern pockets on the Baltic with the remainder of his unit. They fought one last memorable battle there.
In there defensive pocket the JagdPanthers had scouted positions from which they would fight each day. Moving from one to another, till one day when the last three JagdPanthers were out. The
Russians had been trying to push on the pocket but had given up the tank attacks except in certain spots and at there picked time.
Bix and his two other units had moved into position when they came under anti tank gun fire as usual. As Bix was taking care of the enemy his other two vehicles were also involved. Bix noticed the brush across from him to his left moving about, this was in the Russians lines, all he could see were the bushes moving around
but by the amount of disturbance he thought at once it was either a heavy gun or one of the Russian heavy tank destroyers.
Just as the bushes separated and the great barrel of the tank destroyer started to appear Bix's own 88 opened fire.
To there surprise the beast kept moving into firing position, they fired again and again but to no avail. With a change of position also the still did not knock out the Russian. The Russian tank destroyer fired on Bix's Jagdpanther and there was a huge crash. The tank was still moveable but the gunner was wounded. The Russian hit the gun mantle dislodged it pushing the whole 88 with it's mount further back into the fighting compartment. Bix after the hit tried to aim the gun by looking through the open breech, even he was to stunned by the blow to notice that the gun was out of action. The loader called to him, telling the tank was done and they were finished. The Russian wasn't though. He got one of Bix's other units before being taken from a flanking shot. Upon closer examination, they found that the 88 rounds that Bix's Jagdpanther had fired penetrated up to 10 cm before stopping. The hits had not penetrated the front plate due to the angle of the plate and angle
at which the shot was fired.

After this he was able to get aboard one of the last vessels to leave well they were under the protection of one of the Kriegsmarine's last light cruisers. Fortune would still smile on Bix, he hid out once they got to the west, and he was reunited with his wife who smuggled him civilian clothes. So after the surrender he turned himself in officially ending the carrier of the famous tank killer.

[ 27. March 2003, 10:14 AM: Message edited by: CrazyD ]

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Seriously, all today is missing is free cotton candy and the annual Bay State Hooker Parade to make it any better.

Rudolf von Ribbentrop- 14 Kills (LSSAH+ HJ) Knight's Cross 7/20/43

from http://home.att.net/~SSPzHJ/VRibbentrop.html

Ribbentrop
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date of Birth:
10 May 1921

Awards:
Iron Cross II: 19 June 1940
Inf. Assualt Badge Bronze: 1 October 1940
Wound Badge in Bronze: 18 April 1940
Finnish Freedom Cross IV: 1 October 1941
Iron Cross I: 18 March 1943
Wound Badge in Silver: 1 May 1943
Knight's Cross: 15 July 1943
German Cross: 25 August 1944

Commissioned Ranks:
Commissioned: 20 April 1941
SS-Oberstumführer: 20 April 1943
SS-Hauptsturmführer: 30 January 1945

Wounds:
Wounded: 2 September 1941
Wounded: 3 June 1944
Wounded: 20 December 1944

Surrenders:
8 May 1945

Rudolf Von Ribbentrop was born on 10 May 1921 in Wiesbaden. His father was the German Foreign Minister Joachim Von Ribbentrop. At the outbreak of the war, Rudolph Von Ribbentrop enlisted as a recruit in the Replacement Battaillon of the "Deutschland" Standarten. Following the invasion of Polland, Von Ribbentrop was transfered to Kompanie 11. He served in this Kompanie throuhgout the Western Campaign, winning the Iron cross second class, and a promotion to Sturmman for bravery in the face of the enemy. He was also to recieve his first wound; a bullet fragment in his upper right arm.
After the successful conclusion of the Western Campaign, Von Ribbentrop was sent to the SS Junkerschule in Braunschwieg. He was commissioned on 20 April 1941 as a Untersturmführer, and was given command of a platoon in 1 Kompanie, Reconnaissance Battalion "Nord". Upon the invasion of Russia, SS Kampfgruppe Nord was sent to Finland were Untersturmführer Ribbentrop was to distinguish himself in the eyes of the Finn's and was awarded the Finnish Freedom Cross, fourth class. On 2 September, 1941 Von Ribbentrop was wounded once again when a bullet fractured a bone in his left forearm. He was sent to a hospital in Hohenlynchen, were he stayed until Febuary 1942. Following a short home leave, he was reassigned to the newly formed Panzerregiment of the LSSAH.
Initially serving as a Platoon leader in the Abietlung's Kradschützenaufklärung kompanie, he was later transfered to 3 Kompanie's first Platoon as Platoon leader. He then served briefly with the Regimental Staff as a Operations Officer. He was then assigned to the 6 Kompanie, II./Pnz.Regt 1, in command of the first Platoon where he went into action during the retreat from Kharkov. Von Ribbentrop was wounded for the third time during these battles; shot in the right shoulder blade, and left shoulder. He also had a minor lung wound. After refusing to be evacuated, Obersturmführer Von Ribbentrop layed in a field hospital while the Russian's encircled the positions of Kampfgruppe Meyer. On day five it was decided the Kampfgruppe would break out to the south, while Wünsche's I.Abeitlung would simutanously attempt to break through the Russian front in the same direction as the breakout. The wounded V. Ribbentrop took part in the breakout in his panzer, which at the time only had use of it's machine gun. Wünsche was successful in relieving the beleagured Kampfgruppe, and over the next week had to beat back continous Russian attempts to destroy Kampfgruppe Meyer. During the ensuing battles, Untersturmführer Alt, commander of the 7 Kompanie was killed. Obersturmführer Ribbentrop was awarded the Iron Cross first class for his personal bavery in these battles.
On 13 March 1943 Ribbentrop took command of 7 Kompanie, and was the Kompanie Commander during the recapture of Kharkov. Following Kharkov's recapture, Ribbentrop was placed as a Regimental Adjutant. One month later he was given the responsibilty of training Luftwaffe members that were sent to the LSSAH. On 15 June he was back in field command, and was appointed commander of 6 Kompanie. One month later he was awarded the Knight's Cross.
On 1 August he was transfered to the newly formed 12.SS Panzerdivision "Hitlerjugend", and was charged with commanding two Junior officer training courses. Four months later he was appointed commander of the 3 Kompanie, I./Pnz.Regt 12. On 3 June 1944, heading back to Le Neubourg following a training excersize, his car was attacked by a Spitfire, and Von Ribbentrop was wounded for the fourth time; again a back/lung wound. He was taken to Bernay Hospital, and by 9 June, was back in command of his Kompanie. Towards the end of July, he was sent back ot the hospital in Bernay to recieve treatment fo Jaundice. During the defensive battles in Normandy, Ribbentrop was awarded the German Cross in Gold, and the Panzer Assault Badge "25". Following the breakout from Falaise, Obersturmführer Von Ribbentrop was made the Regimental Adjutant to Panzerregiment 12. It was in this capacity that he saw action in the "Battle of the Bulge".
On 20 December he was wounded for the fith time with a shell fragment in his mouth. He was awarded the Wound Badge in Gold, and shortly there after given command of I./Pnz.Regt 12. He commanded this Abeitlung until the Divisions surender to the American's on 8 May.

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Seriously, all today is missing is free cotton candy and the annual Bay State Hooker Parade to make it any better.

Emil Seibold - 69 Kills (Das Reich)-Pz IV+ Captured T-34s

from http://www.dasreich.ca/seibold.html

Born: February 26th, 1907 in Basel, Switzerland
Iron Cross 2nd Class: August 23rd, 1941
Iron Cross 1st Class: April 20th, 1943
German Cross in Gold June 4th, 1944
Knights Cross: May 6th, 1945

Emil Seibold entered the SS in April 1940 with the SS-Totenkopf-Standarte and experienced his first combat in the infantry. In November 1940 he was t transferred to the division and joined the 3/Pz-Jager Abteilung as a motorcycle driver and became a gun commander in the same Kompanie. In March 1943 the remnants of the Abteilung were given T-34's and formed into the III. Abteilung. Seibold scored many kills in his T-34 and went on to become one of the divisions most successful Tank Aces. He was awarded one of the last KC of Das Reich after scoring his 65th kill.

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Seriously, all today is missing is free cotton candy and the annual Bay State Hooker Parade to make it any better.

(didn't see this ace on list... and not sure about accuracy of info, but...)

from http://www.panzerv-panther.fsnet.co.uk/aces.html

Oberst Franz Bake

Franz Bake was born Schwarzenfels on the 28 th Feb 1898. He fought in the great war from 1915 as a lance corporal in the 7th infantry regt. He retired from army life in 1919 & studied to become a dentist. As part of the reserves Bake went on his first army manouvre on april 1st 1937 some 18 years since his retirement. By the outbreak of war he was a luitenat reserve of the Panzerabwehr abeitlung 65(anti-tank battalion) In November he was promoted to Oberleutnant & by January had become the company commander. During the battle for Farnce Dr. Bake was wounded twice but he remained with his unit. He was again promoted to the rank of major on May 1st 1941 & by August had become the leader of the Panzerstaffel ,11 Pz regt, 6th Pz Div. He fought in Russia during Barbarossa & by 1943 had earned the Knights cross which he recieved on July 1st. *On July 14th he was ordered to lead the 11th Panzer regt although some felt he was too young. The unit performed well & he was awarded the oakleaves to the Knights cross on November 3rd 1943 & promoted to Oberstleutnant. In early 1944 he was given a special command consisting of tigers from Spz Abt 503 & a mixed *battalion of Panthers, stugs & sturmartillery. Christened as Panzer Regt Bake the regt took part in the desperate retreating actions towards Germany. During the battle at Balabonowka Pocket his regt was credited with 267 destroyed soviet tanks with the loss of only 1 Tiger (mechanical) & 4 Panthers (2 Mechanical). His own tally grew whilst commanding his own Panther to 79 tanks & 102 AT guns & vehicles. On Feb 21st he joined a unique group of hoilders of the swords to the Knights Cross with oakleaves. He was promoted to the rank of Oberst (Colonel) on May 4th 1944 & became the commander of Panzer Brigade 106 Feldhernhalle. During Jan 1945 he became a career soldier & undertook Division Commaander training & in March became commander of the 13th Pz Div Feldhernhalle 2 which he commanded until his surrender on May 8th 1945. He remained a Pow until 1947 where he retired to Germany.

Awards
Iron Cross 2nd Class 01/11/1940
Iron Cross First Class 01/08/1941
Knight Cross 11/01/1943
Oakleaves to Knights Cross 01/08/1943
Swords to Oakleaves to Knights Cross 21/2/1944
4 X "50" Tank Combat Badge
Infantry Assault Badge Gold
Wound Badge Gold

Kills
97 tanks destroyed or disabled
146 misc Afv's
52 Anti Tank Guns


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