Soviet tank commander Dmitry Lavrinenko was given only several months to prove that he was the best Allied tank ace of WWII with 52 victories. With such amazing effectiveness he would definitely. Sep 09, 2015  Killers: The Most Lethal Tanks of World War II. Killers: The Most Lethal Tanks of World War II. Where the tank commander was also responsible for firing the gun. This meant the tank.

1.Kurt KnispelKurt Knispel destroyed more enemy tanks - Soviet, British and American -than anyone else in history. Nobody knows exactly, but probably around 200. Allied tanks were being blown away by Knispel and his Tiger tank.Kurt Knispel had 168 confirmed kills of enemy tanks (possibly as high as 195).

He was also credited with the destruction of over 70 enemy Pak (anti-tank guns), and countless bunkers, field works, enemy soft skins, MG-nests etc. Etc.He fought in virtually every type of German tank as loader, gunner and commander.He was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class, after destroying his fiftieth enemy tank and the Tank Assault Badge in Gold after more than 100 tank battles. When Knispel had destroyed 126 enemy tanks (with another 20 unconfirmed kills), he was awarded the German Cross in Gold. He became the only non-commissioned officer of the German tank army to be named in a Wehrmacht communique. At the famous Panzer Battle at Kursk July 1943, he destroyed twenty-seven T-34 tanks in 12 days Later, as commander of a Tiger II, he destroyed another 42 enemy tanks. Though he was recommended for it four times, Knispel never received the Knight’s Cross, a standard award for most other World War II German tank aces. Unlike many soldiers, Knispel was not consumed by the pursuit of decorations and did not suffer from a “sore throat” (Heer slang for those who lusted after the Knight’s Cross)When there were conflicting claims for a destroyed enemy tank, Knispel always stepped back, always willing to credit success to another tank crew.

Knispels slow promotion attributed also to several conflicts with higher Nazi officers. His behaviour was not up to the Nazi-standard and he cared far more for his mates than for the Nazi system: Long hair, goatee- beard, unwillingness to obey orders he disagreed with was one thing, refusing to take part in attacks on civilians was another. On one occasion he even attacked an officer when he saw him mistreating soviet POW`s. Most soldiers would have been in lot of trouble for this, perhaps even executed, but not Knispel. It tells a lot of Knipsels standing, not only within his Panzer Abteilung, but in the whole German Panzer Force. 2.Otto CariusAfter about a year of experience as a loader in a Panzer 38(t) on the Eastern Front, Carius underwent an Officer Training Course, which he successfully completed, being assigned as the commander of the 2nd Company in the 502nd Tank Battalion immediately after, in April 1943.Equipped with the new Tiger tanks, the 2nd Company participated in various operations on the Eastern Front. One of the more notable of these was at the village of Malinava, near Dunaburg, on the 22nd of July 1944.

Keeping his eight Tigers held back in reserve, Carius and his First Lieutenant, Albert Kerscher, took a Kubelwagen to scout the village for enemies. Seeing as it was already occupied by only a handful of Russian tanks, Carius and Kerscher sent their Tigers in and destroyed four T-34 that were guarding the village. The six remaining tanks then joined them, and all eight of the Tigers successfully defended the village from the Russian reinforcements which totaled 17 tanks, one of them being the new IS-1.Only two days later, Carius was scouting the terrain with a few of his men, hidden in a Panzer trench, with the rest of his company waiting a little distance behind. Suddenly, they were ambushed by both Russian infantry and tanks. Carius was shot in the leg by machine gun fire, and was unable to move.

He sent one of his men back to inform the rest of the company, while Carius stayed in the trench, presumably waiting to be killed.Carius took one more bullet in the leg, another in his arm, and two in the back before seeing a Russian officer standing over him. Realising that Carius was a decorated officer, his first instinct was to capture him. However, since there weren't enough resources to do that, the Russian officer shot him in the neck, expecting it to be a killing blow. However, after Carius’s company managed to beat the ambushers back, Carius was examined by a field medic, when it was discovered that he was miraculously still alive.During his recovery, Carius was transferred to the 512 Heavy Antitank Battalion, which was under training for the new Jagdtigers, equipped with powerful 128mm guns. On the 8th of March, 1945, Carius’s company, which still hadn’t completed its training, was sent to the front line, near Siegburg.Carius noted that everybody knew that the war was lost, and that at this point he was given orders to only keep the Allies as far away from the German border as possible. On the 15th of April, facing untenable pressure from the Allies, Carius’s company surrendered to the United States Army.After the war, Carius studied pharmacy at the University of Heidelberg. After getting his degree, he opened a pharmacy shop called the Tiger Apotheke, in honor of the Tiger tank, which he ran until 2011.

Otto Carius died on the 24th of January, 2015, aged 92.150+ Kills (sPzAbt. 502)–Tiger I–Knight’s Cross 5/4/44, Oak LeavesOtto Carius was likely witness to the single finest shot ever taken in a tank in any war. According to Carius' autobiography, his gunner once took down an enemy fighter plane with the tank's main gun, because it was annoying him. 1.Lafayette G. PoolAmerican Ace of Aces, Lafayette G. Pool killed over 1000 German soldiers and took 250 as war prisoners. Furthermore, he destroyed 12 tanks, 258 armored vehicles, and self-propelled guns.

He achieved all these within a period of 81 days, using three different Sherman Tanks from 27th June to 15th September, 1944. Born in Odem, Texas in July 23rd, 1919, Pool Joined the US Army on 13th of June, 1941. The following year, Pool began to serve in the freshly formed 3rd Armored Division and served until he got injured.Between June and September of 1944, Pool served with the US Combat Command A’s 3rd Armored Division in France.

He victoriously Commandeered three Sherman tanks: M4A1, and two M4A1 (76) Ws. The three tanks all bore the same “IN THE MOOD” 1-3 nickname. The first tank used by Pool lasted between 23rd and 29th of June of 1944 during the time which his platoon laid siege on Normandy at Villiers-Fossard.

Pool and his crew’s Sherman tank were however knocked out by a Panzerfaust, retiring it completely. Pool’s second tank was hit by friendly fire after lasting between July 1st and 17th August, 1944.

During this time, Pool’s Combat Command A was on the verge of clearing the German forces from Fromental Village when P-38 knocked out the Sherman.On the night of 15th September 1944, while Combat Command A attempted to force a Siegfried Line at Munsterbusch, Pool’s third Sherman was completely destroyed by a Panther that had laid an ambush. The panther hit the Sherman twice before Pool could salvage the situation and back-up. The two hits flipped the Sherman over the edge of a ditch.This double hit blew Pool out of his commanding hatch and badly mangled his leg with a shell splinter. He was lucky to have survived the ordeal although his leg had to be amputated.Pool’s successful encounters in the war led him to be nicknamed “War Daddy” by his crew. A movie, ‘Fury’, made to his honor was released in 2014 and was played by en.wikipedia.org. 1.Corporal Alfie NichollsCorporal Alfie Nicholls of the 9th Lancers made at least 13 kills in the Western Desert during the 1st battle of El Alamein (9 in one day in 1942), and once source states he may have had 40 kills in total.His biggest day was during B Squadron's encounter with the enemy on 3 July 1942.The regiment's marksmanship was renowned: their best shot was Corporal Nicholls of B Squadron, who was once personally congratulated by General Bernard Montgomery for knocking out nine enemy tanks in one day.

Those who met Alfie Nicholls in his later years could be forgiven for not realising that this unassuming man was one of the heroes of the 1939-45 war whose exploits in the Battle of Alamein earned him an immediate Military Medal on the personal orders of General Montgomery. Alfie was a fine shot. An inveterate poacher in pre-war days, his skills found an astonishing expression when he became a tank gunner with the 9th Queens Royal Lancers, serving in the North African and Italian campaigns. The techniques which has enabled the former farmworker to come home with a bulging sack of pheasants and rabbit were swiftly employed in the business of knocking out German tanks. He killed 14 of them during the Battle of Alamein alone – nine of them in one day. Monty was listening in to the action on the tank radio frequency and was so overawed that he promptly recommended that Cpl Nicholls should be awarded the MM. It is reckoned that Alfie disposed of at least 40 enemy tanks during his wartime career.

And military historians still regard his final exploit in the tank battles which followed the Italian invasion as one of the finest pieces of marksmanship ever recorded. The 26th Panzer Division was on the run. Three survivors were spotted driving along the road at high speed. Alfie’s tank was at least 900 yards away.

He did what any poacher would do when confronted with three pheasant breaking cover in a line. The right hand tank was blasted first, and then the left. With range and target now well established Alfie quickly popped the central surviving tank with a direct hit that caused it to disintegrate completely.

It was always hard to get him to admit his extraordinary feats of marksmanship behind a tank gunsights. “You couldn’t get him to talk about it much. He wasn’t that kind of man,” said widow, Mary, speaking at their council house.He claimed at least three more kills in an engagement with the 26th Panzer Division in Italy. 1.Lavrinenko Dmitriy FyodorovichDmitry Fyodorovich Lavrinenko, born of Kuban Cossack descent on the 10th September 1914 in the village of Besstrashnava in the Krasnodar Region of Russia, was a fearless tank commander who never allowed seemingly overwhelming odds to stop him engaging the enemy. The English translation of his home village is ‘fearless,’ and he certainly did his best to live up to that reputation.Lavrinenko was the commander of a tank platoon as part of the 4th Tank Brigade, and in September 1941, he found himself as part of the force defending the Russian capital, Moscow, against a furious onslaught by the German troops.

His platoon fought in the T-34 medium tanks that first rolled off the production line in September 1940 to critical acclaim, and the superiority of the tank, with its heavier armor and superior firepower, was apparent from the start. One of his early engagements was on the 6th October 1941 when he took four tanks and faced a far superior number of Axis tanks from the 2nd Panzer Army.

This David and Goliath battle took place near the village of Pervy Voin in the Orlov region of Russia. A Soviet infantry unit was in danger of being crushed by the Panzer force when Lavrinenko and his little team arrived on the scene. Capitalising on the element of surprise, this tiny group of Russian tanks managed to destroy 15 German tanks which gave the Russian infantry the time they needed to retreat. Similarly, Lavrinenko and his team saved a Soviet mortar company. By December, Lavrinenko had firmly established himself as a master tactician and one able to use the T-34 to take on far superior fire-power and come out the victor.

He might have been incredibly courageous, but he was not careless. Champions return to arms ps3. He carefully scrutinized the battlefield before committing his assets, and he was able to use the terrain to his best advantage. He would hide his T-34’s behind trees or in the folds of the land and emerge to surprise the enemy who had not see his tanks until it was too late. Another advantage that Lavrinenko had was that he was a sniper and could shoot unerringly with many types of firearm.

He was able to transfer this long-range ability to firing from his tank, but his preference was to engage at close quarters when he would burst out of cover at speed and engage at 150-300 yards.Not only was Lavrinenko, a highly skilled fighter, he was also an intelligent and careful commander. He was always conscious of where he and his team were and what dangers could possibly lie ahead. When the Soviets launched their counter-offensive during the Battle of Moscow, Lavrinenko and his team had surprised a German garrison that was based in the village of Gryady. The Russians had smashed the garrison, and the road to the next town, Pokrovskaya, was open. Erring on the side of caution, Lavrinenko refused to be drawn to pushing on, and he halted the attack. Later it was found that German forces were on the road and would have cut him off from the main Soviet lines. Unfortunately, this promising soldier was killed on 18th December 1941 when he was felled by shrapnel from a mortar round near Volokolamsk close to Moscow.

Lavrinenko was made a Hero of the Soviet Union for the destruction of 37 German tanks during a two-month period when he fought almost continuously. He added the additional 15 later.While German tank commanders had the luxury of being able to focus fully on commanding his tank, with the aiming and firing handled by his crew, in Russian tanks, the commander did his own aiming and shooting. This meant that Lavrinenko earned all the accolades while his German counterparts relied upon the accuracy of their gunners to rack up the kills attributed to them.