"What did the German soldier call Allied tanks?" Topic

I do not mean some textbook designation for "booty panzers" with some gobbledygook and a (a) at the end.
What did Hans and Franz call a Sherman? Or a T-34?

Sherman = "Tommy Cooker"

That's the only one I know.

"Panzer"

Toast?

Ronsons

Ronsons, because they lit up on the very first strike.

"Targets"?

They called IS-IIs 'Stalins', KVs 'KWs' and T34s 'T34s', in fact they seemed to call an awful lot of Russian tanks T34s including BT-7s, T-26s, Lend Lease Stuarts etc. I suppose one green tank on fire looks much like another.

Shermans were Tommy Cookers, or Shermans. Cromwells were sometimes called Shermans too (see 'T34' above)

Churchills were Churchills, unless they were also 'Shermans'.

I've seen "Russian Panzer" in at least one memoir.

I saw a WWII German infantry anti-tank training film – and at least in that film, when they said "enemy tanks" they said "feindlichen Panzer"

As I recall, they used a captured T-34 to demonstrate techniques

They called IS-IIs 'Stalins', KVs 'KWs' and T34s 'T34s', in fact they seemed to call an awful lot of Russian tanks T34s including BT-7s, T-26s, Lend Lease Stuarts etc. I suppose one green tank on fire looks much like another.

So every Russian tank is a T-34? That's just like every German tank is a 'Tiger' on the western front.

Then again, the Russians did have lots of T-34's, perhaps more than any other type.

IIRC, according to that new Bolt Action book to be plastered by heavy artillery was "the business". (In German, of course.)

I thought "ronson" referred to the stowage method used to fix the fire problem, not the problem itself.

And Americans were called "Gangsters"! :-)

Altfritz
As I recall ronson was a type of lighter that "lit every time"

I believe American tankers derogatorilly called the M4 'Ronsons' themselves because of their tendency to catch fire when hit by German shells.

i read somewhere many years ago that when the t34 first appeared, it was called the "troublemaker".

The term "Ronson" was occasionally used in WW2, but it refers to flamethrower tanks, whether or not they are Shermans. The "Lights Every Time" advertising campaign for Ronson lighters originated in England in the 1950s…

I imagine a common nickname for Shermans and T34 might have been "The only friggen tanks we ever see" :)

In 1945, "Tank with fuel" could be substituted.

The "ronson" comment has been repeated so many times over the years it has become true, but I have yet to find an original source on the issue.

I imagine a common nickname for Shermans and T34 might have been "The only friggen tanks we ever see" :)

Yep. I read an interview with a German landser and they asked him which he thought the best tank of the war. He answered the Sherman, and when pressed why, he noted "because it was the only tank I ever saw!"

He was most impressed when he got captured. The Americans just left them in a field, while an American column rolled by for 3 days. Sometimes someone would throw them some rations. He could not believe the sheer number of vehicles.

Shermans and M18 Hellcat TD's did well enough against PZIV's and Panthers at Arracourt when the element of surprise is on their side.

A joke ?

My guess is that they used the usual colloquialisms like "Blechdose", or "Blechpanzer", "Dicker Bauch", "Schildkröte", "Wohnwagen", "Bus",
"Sch- Panzer" if you didn't have tanks or inadequate anti-tank equipment.

Apparently US Halftracks were called "Muli"

Trucks were nicknamed "Tonner"
Jeeps and others were "Kubel" or "Schwimmer"

The 37mm PAK was the "Heerespanzeranklopfgerät" or tank door knocker because it was ineffective against T34 tanks.

Panzerschreck = "Ofenrohr"

Pak 43/41 = "Scheunentor"

A pistol was referred to as "Taschenflak or Taschenpak"

A helmet was a "Hurra-Tüte" or "Knitterfreie"

Chaplains were "Sündenabwehrkanone"

Captured Soviet 76.2mm Guns were called "Ratsch-Bumm"

Flamethrowers were "Bratgerät"

On the Ronson thing. I saw a post (I believe on a World Of Tanks Forum) that showed a variation of the 'Lights Every Time' Ronson slogan did pre-date ww2.

"I thought "ronson" referred to the stowage method used to fix the fire problem, not the problem itself."

The solution was "wet stowage" which involved new racks filled with a water mixture designed to douse fires before they began. It also involved relocating the ammunition stowage lower in the hull. Extensive testing showed the "water racks" had no appreciable effect while relocating the stowage was what significantly cut down on fires and catastrophic explosions.

"So every Russian tank is a T-34? That's just like every German tank is a 'Tiger' on the western front."

Yes, that was my point.

On the Ronson thing. I saw a post (I believe on a World Of Tanks Forum) that showed a variation of the 'Lights Every Time' Ronson slogan did pre-date ww2.

Cherished myths die hard.

Unterpanzer. At this time many non German things or people were untersomething/someone.

From 'German Paratroops in the Med' theres a picture of a Pak 38 with a display card on the inner shield showing silhouttes of a Churchill, Sherman and Grant, with their most viulnerable areas marked.

Its too small to read what each tank is labelled, but at least anti tank gunners appeared to have some vested interest in identifying each different type of allied tank.

okay, "Sündenabwehrkanone" for a chaplain is friggen hilarious.

Donald Featherstone did a set of rules for North Africa and tank silhouettes featured in that IIRC. I think the game focused on the tank crew (IIRC he was a tanker, yes?)