Sherman tank used to ram German King Tiger Most of us have been in the situation where we are firing off our airsoft guns mid-skirmish and have run out of ammo, or our weapon has become jammed. What do we do next? Reach for our sidearm of course! But what happens where this situation occurs, and there isn’t a sidearm to rely on? You use your initiative, as Sir John Gorman did in July 1944, with an insane plan which actually worked out rather well!

Naval tactics

As a Catholic Ulsterman, Sir John Gorman joined the Irish Guards in 1942 and worked his way up to the rank of Captain by the time he returned to civilian life in 1946, mainly thanks to his actions during Operation Goodwood as the Allies battled their way through northern France. On July 18th, 1944, Gorman and a group of men under his control were driving a group of M4 Sherman tanks when they spotted four German tanks through a hedge around 300 yards in front of them, one of which was a King Tiger tank, which British tanks knew about all too well. [caption id="attachment_1309" align="aligncenter" width="300" class=" "]A Tiger II (King Tiger) tank preserved in a museum A Tiger II (King Tiger) tank preserved in a museum[/caption] Lance-Corporal Baron had previously asked his Lieutenant what they would do if they ran into a King Tiger (known to have thick armour and a cannon which was originally designed to be an anti-aircraft gun), to which Gorman told his men: “The only thing we can do is to use naval tactics — if the 88mm gun is pointing away from us, we shall have to use the speed of the Sherman and ram it.” Upon encountering a King Tiger, luck was on their side. The tanks he was commanding were often considered as being noisy, but the German tanks seemed to be oblivious to their presence. When he later recalled the story, Gorman said: “Having a conference, they were. Sitting in the middle of the field.” After damaging the other vehicles, Gorman called for his driver to hit the accelerator and ram the King Tiger. Crashing through the hedge and hurtling down a hill at a speed of 40 mph, the Sherman was heading straight for the German tank. Around 75 yards before impact, the Sherman’s gunner fired a high-explosive shell which never had a chance of damaging the King Tiger, but would certainly give the Germans something to worry about! Upon impact, both tank crews bailed out of their respective vehicles and scrambled in different directions; except one man. Gorman’s front gunner, Guardsman Agnew found his exit blocked so scrambled out the rear of the tank. Upon dropping to the ground, he saw four men running for a ditch and joined them… but he soon realised they were not his comrades, but German soldiers! After receiving some rather stunned and icy stares from his enemies, Agnew smartly saluted the men before exiting the ditch and disappearing into a cornfield to find his allies! [caption id="attachment_1310" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Aftermath of the collision between the King Tiger and the Sherman tanks Aftermath of the collision between the King Tiger and the Sherman tank[/caption]

Seeking reinforcements

Once the crew of the Sherman were reunited, Gorman told his men to stay where they were before setting off on a mazy run through the orchards to find reinforcements. He soon stumbled upon a Firefly tank, where he completed the destruction of the King Tiger thanks to the 17-pounder gun. But in his absence, his crew had been caught in an artillery barrage, with two of his men sustaining injuries. Baron made a rough bed for his friends and stayed with them until they were picked up by a passing tank. For their parts in this crazy event, Baron received the Military Medal, with Gorman being awarded the Military Cross and the Croix de Guerre. He and his unit also went on to help liberate Brussels, as well as helping themselves to a truck-load of Piper Heidsieck champagne. In fact, his unit had a little too much of the bubbles, and soon took to saying: “Give me a cuppa instead of that old fizzy stuff."