The Ferdinand: A Nightmare Tank for the Nazis and Soviets Alike nationalinterest.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nationalinterest.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Weapons of WWII: Meet Nazi Germany s Elefant Tank Destroyer
The German Elefant proved a formidable opponent against Russian armor on the Eastern Front during World War II.
Here s What You Need to Know: Limited by poor mobility and being underpowered, the Ferdinand-Elefant was plagued by mechanical issues throughout its career.
It is dusk on July 17, 1943. The Red Army has not only withstood Hitler’s Operation Citadel to eliminate the Kursk salient, but it has launched its own offensive. On Kursk’s Northern Front the Soviets continue to hammer at the exhausted left flank of the German Ninth Army from the direction of Maloarchangelsk. Hauptman Rolf Henning’s kampfgruppe stands in the path of this counterattack. Before the day is over the kampfgruppe has decisively smashed the attack, destroying 22 Soviet tanks, some at more than 2,500 meters. Henning was personally responsible for 10 of the kills, while Leutnant Hermann Feldheim tallied 11 more. Both were vehicle commanders i