Joe Ekins
Encyclopedia
Joe Ekins is a retired World War II
British Army
veteran. He gained recognition for apparently killing the famous German tank commander, Michael Wittmann
, the 4th top scoring tank ace in history, on August 8, 1944 near St. Aignan de Cramesnil
, France
. However, in recent years it has been claimed that Sherman Fireflies
from the Canadian Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment
were the actual killers of Michael Wittmann.
and elements of the 51st (Highland) Division reached the French village of St. Aignan de Cramesnil during the early morning of August 8, 1944. While B Squadron stayed around the village, A and C Squadrons moved further south into a wood called Delle de la Roque.
C Squadron positioned themselves on the east side of the woods and the understrength A Squadron positioned themselves in the southern portion, with '3 Troop' on the western edge of the wood.
From this position they overlooked a large open section of ground and was able to watch as German tanks advanced up Route nationale 158 from the town of Cintheaux
. Under strict orders from the troop commander, they held their fire until the German tanks were well within range.
Ekins, the gunner of Sergeant
Gordon's Sherman Firefly (called Velikye Luki
- A Squadrons tanks were named after towns in the Soviet Union
), had yet to fire his gun in action.
With the Tiger tanks
in range, the order was given to fire. What followed was an almost 12-minute battle that saw Ekins destroying all three Tigers that '3 Troop' could see (there was actually seven Tiger tanks in the area heading north, along with some other tanks and self-propelled guns).
A short time later, the main German counterattack was made in the direction of C Squadron. A Squadron (less Sgt Gordon, who had been wounded and had already bailed out of the Firefly) moved over to support them and in the resulting combat, Ekins destroyed a Panzer IV
before his tank was hit and the crew was forced to bail out.
Following the battle and tankless, Ekins was reassigned to another tank within the squadron as a radio operator and remained in this position for the rest of the war.
The 1st Polish Armoured Division, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps
and the RAF
Second Tactical Air Force
were the main claimants. In No Holding Back, by Brian Reid on Operation Totalize, which has an appendix devoted to the death of Michael Wittmann, these claims are discredited.
Examination of the armoured division's war diaries revealed that they were too far north from St. Aignan de Cramesnil to have taken any part in the defeat of the German armoured counterattack. Investigation also ruled out the 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps, although they did take part in defeating the counterattack, they were positioned around Cramesnil and therefore out of effective range of the position of Wittmann’s tank.
The main source of controversy surrounding Wittmann's death came from the claim made by the RAF Second Tactical Air Force, partially supported by Mr Serge Varin, who took the only known photo to survive of the destroyed tank and who stated that in his opinion the tank was destroyed from an air attack.
Brian Reid has also discredited this explanation after examining the logs of the Second Tactical Air Force. He notes that they make no claim of engaging or destroying any tanks in the area where Wittmann died during the time of the battle. With the Second Tactical Air Force ruled out, some on the Internet have claimed Wittmann’s tank therefore must have fallen victim to the US Eighth Air Force
, which was bombing in support of Operation Totalize around the time of the German counterattack. However, there is no evidence to support this theory.
Brian Reid then goes on to discuss the possibility that Joe Ekins was not Michael Wittmann’s killer, as there was another armoured regiment in the area, much closer to Wittmann’s tank.
A Squadron of The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment, 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade
, commanded by Major Sydney Radley-Walters, was positioned in the chateau grounds at Gaumesnil. This area is parallel with the Delle de la Roque woods and the location of the Joe Ekin’s Firefly. From this position, based on verbal testimony from the tankers, they engaged several tanks and self-propelled guns driving up the main road and across the open ground towards Hill 112, including several Tiger tanks.
Reid concludes that given the range Joe Ekins would have had to fire over to hit Wittmann’s tank and the proximity of The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment to the tank, that the latter were most likely the killers. There is no official Canadian record to support this conclusion, due the Fusiliers' Regimental Headquarter's halftrack being destroyed by a stray USAAF bomb.
After the war, Ken Tout, who at the time of Operation Totalize was a member of C Squadron of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, published an account of the battle and of Wittmann’s demise and claimed Joe Ekins as his killer. However, when researching his new book on the subject, he interviewed former members of A Squadron, Sherbrooke Fusiliers. In the book he does not claim Wittmann for the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry and acknowledges that other regiments were in the area at the time which engaged the Tigers.
He married his childhood sweetheart and together they had two children. He now also has two grandchildren.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
veteran. He gained recognition for apparently killing the famous German tank commander, Michael Wittmann
Michael Wittmann
Michael Wittmann was a German Waffen-SS tank commander during the Second World War. Wittmann would rise to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer and was a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross holder....
, the 4th top scoring tank ace in history, on August 8, 1944 near St. Aignan de Cramesnil
Saint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil
Saint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:-Personalities:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. However, in recent years it has been claimed that Sherman Fireflies
Sherman Firefly
The Sherman Firefly was a World War II British variant of the American Sherman tank, fitted with the powerful British 17 pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon...
from the Canadian Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment
Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke
Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces. It is based in Sherbrooke, Quebec, with a sub-unit in Granby.-Armourial description:...
were the actual killers of Michael Wittmann.
Operation Totalize
During Operation Totalize the 1st Northamptonshire YeomanryNorthamptonshire Yeomanry
The Northamptonshire Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army formed in 1794 as volunteer cavalry, it later served in an armoured role before being reduced to squadron level in 1956...
and elements of the 51st (Highland) Division reached the French village of St. Aignan de Cramesnil during the early morning of August 8, 1944. While B Squadron stayed around the village, A and C Squadrons moved further south into a wood called Delle de la Roque.
C Squadron positioned themselves on the east side of the woods and the understrength A Squadron positioned themselves in the southern portion, with '3 Troop' on the western edge of the wood.
From this position they overlooked a large open section of ground and was able to watch as German tanks advanced up Route nationale 158 from the town of Cintheaux
Cintheaux
Cintheaux is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Geography:The commune is located between Caen and Falaise and is the home to the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery....
. Under strict orders from the troop commander, they held their fire until the German tanks were well within range.
Ekins, the gunner of Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Gordon's Sherman Firefly (called Velikye Luki
Velikiye Luki
Velikiye Luki is a town on the meandering Lovat River in the southern part of Pskov Oblast, Russia. It is the second largest town in Pskov Oblast; population: The town is served by the Velikiye Luki Airport....
- A Squadrons tanks were named after towns in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
), had yet to fire his gun in action.
With the Tiger tanks
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
in range, the order was given to fire. What followed was an almost 12-minute battle that saw Ekins destroying all three Tigers that '3 Troop' could see (there was actually seven Tiger tanks in the area heading north, along with some other tanks and self-propelled guns).
A short time later, the main German counterattack was made in the direction of C Squadron. A Squadron (less Sgt Gordon, who had been wounded and had already bailed out of the Firefly) moved over to support them and in the resulting combat, Ekins destroyed a Panzer IV
Panzer IV
The Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
before his tank was hit and the crew was forced to bail out.
Following the battle and tankless, Ekins was reassigned to another tank within the squadron as a radio operator and remained in this position for the rest of the war.
Controversy surrounding Wittmann’s death
In 1985, an article in Issue 48 of the After the Battle Magazine chronicled the last battle of Michael Wittmann. In it, Les Taylor, another member of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry during the war, stated that Joe Ekins was responsible for Wittmann's death. Although at the time of his death, Wittmann was practically unknown to the allied forces, following Les Taylor’s account of what happened that day nearly every allied formation in the area and some who were not, claimed to be responsible for killing him.The 1st Polish Armoured Division, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps
Royal Armoured Corps
The Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...
and the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Second Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
were the main claimants. In No Holding Back, by Brian Reid on Operation Totalize, which has an appendix devoted to the death of Michael Wittmann, these claims are discredited.
Examination of the armoured division's war diaries revealed that they were too far north from St. Aignan de Cramesnil to have taken any part in the defeat of the German armoured counterattack. Investigation also ruled out the 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps, although they did take part in defeating the counterattack, they were positioned around Cramesnil and therefore out of effective range of the position of Wittmann’s tank.
The main source of controversy surrounding Wittmann's death came from the claim made by the RAF Second Tactical Air Force, partially supported by Mr Serge Varin, who took the only known photo to survive of the destroyed tank and who stated that in his opinion the tank was destroyed from an air attack.
Brian Reid has also discredited this explanation after examining the logs of the Second Tactical Air Force. He notes that they make no claim of engaging or destroying any tanks in the area where Wittmann died during the time of the battle. With the Second Tactical Air Force ruled out, some on the Internet have claimed Wittmann’s tank therefore must have fallen victim to the US Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, which was bombing in support of Operation Totalize around the time of the German counterattack. However, there is no evidence to support this theory.
A Squadron of The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment, 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade
2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade
-History:Soon after 3rd Canadian Tank Brigade assumed the designation in summer 1943 of the original 2nd Canadian Tank Brigade, the new 2nd Tank was redesignated and reorganized as 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade. Although reorganized as an armoured brigade, no motor battalion served under its command...
, commanded by Major Sydney Radley-Walters, was positioned in the chateau grounds at Gaumesnil. This area is parallel with the Delle de la Roque woods and the location of the Joe Ekin’s Firefly. From this position, based on verbal testimony from the tankers, they engaged several tanks and self-propelled guns driving up the main road and across the open ground towards Hill 112, including several Tiger tanks.
Reid concludes that given the range Joe Ekins would have had to fire over to hit Wittmann’s tank and the proximity of The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment to the tank, that the latter were most likely the killers. There is no official Canadian record to support this conclusion, due the Fusiliers' Regimental Headquarter's halftrack being destroyed by a stray USAAF bomb.
After the war, Ken Tout, who at the time of Operation Totalize was a member of C Squadron of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, published an account of the battle and of Wittmann’s demise and claimed Joe Ekins as his killer. However, when researching his new book on the subject, he interviewed former members of A Squadron, Sherbrooke Fusiliers. In the book he does not claim Wittmann for the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry and acknowledges that other regiments were in the area at the time which engaged the Tigers.
Later life
After the war, Ekins returned to Rushden, Northamptonshire and went back to work in the shoe factories near his home town. He retired 34 years later, after becoming a manager of one of the factories.He married his childhood sweetheart and together they had two children. He now also has two grandchildren.
Sources
- After the Battle Magazine, Issue 48.
- Agte, Patrick. Michael Wittmann and the Waffen SS Tiger Commanders of the Leibstandarte in WWII: Volume 2, Stackpole Military History (Oct 2006), ISBN 0-811733-35-1
- Ellis, L.F. United Kingdom Military Series, History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Military, Victory in the West: The Battle of Normandy: Volume I, Naval & Military Press Ltd; New Ed edition (Sep 2004), ISBN 1-84574-058-0
- Hart, Stephen A. Sherman Firefly vs Tiger: Normandy 1944, Osprey Publishing (2007), ISBN 9781846031502
- Lefevre, Eric (Author), Cooke, R (translator). Panzers in Normandy: Then and Now, After the Battle (Oct 1983), ISBN 0-900913-29-0
- Reid, Brian. No Holding Back: Operation Totalize, Normandy, August 1944 Robin Brass Studio (April 2005), ISBN 1-896941-40-0
- Schneider, Wolfgang. Tigers in Combat: Volume 2, Stackpole Military History (15 April 2005), ISBN 0-811732-03-7
- Tout, Ken. By Tank - D to VE Days, Robert Hale Ltd (reprint 29 April 2007, ISBN 0-70908-148-0
- Tout, Ken. A Fine Night for Tanks: The Road to Falaise, Sutton Publishing Ltd; New Ed edition (16 Dec 2002), ISBN 0-75093-189-2
External links
- Daily Mail article on Joe Ekins.
- Tank Museum veteran podcasts includes two by Ekins