How One Tanker’s “Clutchless” Driving Trick Let Shermans Outrun Panthers скачать в хорошем качестве

How One Tanker’s “Clutchless” Driving Trick Let Shermans Outrun Panthers

At 1437 hours on August 12th, 1944, Staff Sergeant Thomas Kowalski sat in the driver's seat of his M4 Sherman tank, watching a Panther appear on the crest of a wheat field 800 yards away, and knew he had about eight seconds to live. The Sherman's top speed was twenty four miles per hour. The Panther could do thirty. In open terrain with no cover, physics dictated the outcome. The German tank would close the distance, position itself for a flanking shot, and punch through the Sherman's side armor like paper. Training said to radio for support, reverse into cover, hope the Panther driver made a mistake. Kowalski's hands moved to the clutch and shift lever. Then stopped. His right foot stayed on the throttle. He was about to do something that every instructor at Fort Knox had explicitly forbidden. Something that could destroy the transmission in seconds, strand his crew in enemy territory, get them all killed. But staying within regulation was also going to get them killed. Sometimes survival meant breaking the rules that were supposed to keep you alive.