In the olden days of naval warfare, galleys used to ram each other. That tactic had gone away centuries before WWII. And yet, the tactic was used at least once in a tank battle. Lt. John Gorman was a tank commander in Normandy about a month after D-Day. His armored division was in battle near the city of Caen on July 18, 1944. When his Sherman tank (an American tank provided to the British army) crested a ridge, he encountered four German tanks. One of them was a King Tiger tank. This German monster (70 tons) was the most feared tank of the war. It was armed with an 88-millimeter cannon that was the best weapon of its type in the war. Originally designed for use as an anti-aircraft gun, it was also put on a tank to create the Tiger. The 88 could destroy any Allied tank that it ran into. But most Allied tanks could not penetrate its armor. The King Tiger was an even larger version of the Tiger. Thankfully, they were not made in large numbers and they had mechanical problems. The Sherman, on the other hand, was fast and mechanically sound (not surprising since it was made by American automobile factories). It was undergunned and could not defeat a Tiger unless it could hit it in the rear. Dueling with a Tiger was almost suicidal. When Gorman identified the German tanks, he decided to take them on. When he saw the King Tiger’s turret rotating to target him, he ordered his driver full speed ahead. And then he yelled “Ram it!” The Sherman hit the German tank from behind, disabling both. Both crews exited their tanks and ran for cover. The last of Gorman’s crew to get out, took refuge in a ditch. The same ditch the German crew was in! He smiled and ran away. Gorman found a Sherman Firefly (a type of Sherman with a bigger gun) and returned to the battlefield. He finished off the King Tiger and destroyed another tank. He was awarded the British Military Cross.
https://www.tankroar.com/2020/10/21/gorman/
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/john-reginald-gorman-tank.html
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