With a fiery flash and a supersonic crack, the T-26E3’s gun sent the round crashing into the Tiger.
Mashlonik fired one of the new T-30 high-velocity, armor-piercing shells from 1,000 yards away. By leaving its cover, the driver of the Tiger exposed the belly of his panzer where the armor was much thinner. Immediately after firing the third shot, Cade was to reverse the tank to avoid return fire.Ĭade slowly pulled forward, creeping to where the American crew could get an opportunity. He hoped the armor-piercing rounds would knock out the tank and the round would kill the enemy crew.
Mashlonik ordered his crew to prepare two armor-piercing shells and one high-explosive round. Driver Ernest Cade would inch the tank forward until just enough of the vehicle was exposed so they could shoot. He would act as gunner for the mission while his normal gunner, Corporal Carl Gormick, took over as loader. Returning to his T-26E3, which lay hidden in a small valley, the young sergeant crafted a plan. But Mashlonik still believed he could destroy it. The Tiger crew had entrenched their vehicle, thus making it a more difficult target. Mashlonik had done a quick reconnaissance of the village from a distance during which he had spotted the Tiger. 40, a new American heavy tank that weighed 46 tons and boasted a 90mm cannon. His crew awaited him in T-26E3, designated No. Had he been commanding the M4 Sherman medium tank that day, the task would have seemed almost impossible without support or reinforcement, but now the odds would be evened because of the new tank he would be taking into battle against the Germans. Mashlonik’s job that day was to knock it out. The Tiger I was a fearsome opponent for any Allied tank crew in World War II. The 57-ton steel monster sported a long 88mm cannon that extended from a massive turret atop the blocky, angular mass of its hull. Sergeant Nicholas Mashlonik watched closely as the Panzerkampfwagen (PzKpfw) VI Tiger heavy tank rampaged through the village of Elsdorf in the Rhineland-Westphalia region of Germany on February 27, 1945.
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