Similarly, the British Army did not recognise any tank aces. The March 1945 Yank described Pool as "the ace of American tankers" and stated that " is an almost unbelievable document of total victory." A 1943 New York Times story also labelled Chinese Major General Hoo Hsien-Chung as a "tank ace" for the actions of a force under his command during the 1938 Battle of Taierzhuang. The US Army's weekly magazine Yank (which was not available to public) featured several successful tank commanders such as Pool. Abrams credited the success of his tank to the gunner. Pool and Creighton Abrams were responsible for the destruction of large numbers of German tanks and other armoured vehicles. US Army tank commanders such as Lafayette G. The United States Army did not recognize the concept of "tank aces" during World War II, with proposals to do so being rejected. Historian Dennis Showalter has suggested that the confidence which the crews of Tigers and the operators of other relatively advanced weapons had in the capabilities of their equipment may have reinforced their ideological conditioning, and encouraged them to take risks in combat. Few soldiers who operated Panther tanks at this time received the same high decorations, as these tanks were more vulnerable to Allied tanks and initially less mechanically reliable than the Tiger. The Allies did not have any tanks capable of easily defeating the Tigers during this period. German highly decorated tank commanders were most often soldiers who served in units equipped with Tiger I or Tiger II tanks between mid-1943 and mid-1944. Most of the successful German tank commanders served in units equipped with Tigers during this period. In contrast, British historian Robert Kershaw argues that the large number of tanks destroyed by some German commanders can be attributed to the skills they gained through years of combat.Ī Tiger I tank during the Battle of Kursk in June 1943. Zaloga argues that the term "panzer ace" is a romanticisation of reality mixed with propaganda, as it is neither possible to correctly determine "tank kills" in the heat of battle, or to separate individual performance from technological or battlefield advantage. In recent years, German historian Sönke Neitzel and American military historian Steven Zaloga, amongst others, have examined the combat performance of highly decorated German tank crews during the war. English translations of German author Franz Kurowski's use the term in his Panzer Aces series, which focuses on highly decorated tank commanders such as Michael Wittmann and Franz Bäke. The term "panzer ace" has become prominent in contemporary popular culture as part of the uncritical portrayal of the Waffen-SS in English-language militaria and popular history works, especially in the United States. The similar term, tank ace has been used post-war to describe highly regarded tanks commanders. The Wehrmacht as well as British and American militaries did not recognise the concept of an "ace" during the war. Panzer ace (tank ace) is a contemporary term used in English-speaking popular culture to describe highly decorated German tank (" panzer") commanders and crews during World War II. ![]() For the Panzer Aces book series, see Panzer Aces.
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