| Joe Ekins | |
|---|---|
| 1924 - | |
 Photo of Joe Ekins taken sometime during the war |
|
| Place of birth | Rushden, Northamptonshire, England[1] |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |  British Army |
| Rank | Trooper |
| Unit | A Squadron, 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry[2][3][4][5][6] |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
Joe Ekins (born 1924 in Rushden, Northamptonshire, England), 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 8th 1944 near St. Aignan de Cramesnil, France.[2][4][5][6] However, in recent years it has been claimed that Sherman Fireflies from the Canadian Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment were the actual killers of Michael Wittmann.[7][3]
Contents |
Operation Totalize
During Operation Totalize the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry and elements of the 51st (Highland) Division reached the French village of St. Aignan de Cramesnil during the early morning of August 8, 1944.[8][4][3] While B Squadron stayed around the village, A and C Squadrons moved further south into a wood called Delle de la Roque.[6]
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.[6][8][4]
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.[6]
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).[8][4]
A short time later, the main German counterattack was made in the direction of C Squadron. A Squadron (minus 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.[6]
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, Issue 48 of the After the Battle Magazine was published. It contained an article on the last battle of Michael Wittmann. In this issue, Les Taylor, another member of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry during the war, stated that Joe Ekins was the man who was responsible for the death of Wittmann.[2] Although at the time of his death, Wittmann was practically unknown to the allied forces[9], 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 the ones responsible for his death.
The 1st Polish Armoured Division, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, the 144 Royal Armoured Corps and the RAF Second Tactical Air Force were the main claimants. In No Holding Back, a book by Brian Reid on Operation Totalize, which contains an entire appendix devoted to the death of Michael Wittmann, these claims are completely 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 144 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.[10]
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.
However, 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 frame of the battle.[11] 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 conducting bombing runs in support of Operation Totalize around the time of the German counterattack. However, there is currently no evidence to support this theory.
Brian Reid then goes on to discuss the possibility that Joe Ekins was not, in fact, Michael Wittmann’s killer, as there was another armoured regiment in the area and much closer to Wittmann’s tank.
A Squadron of The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment, 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, commanded by Major Sidney 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. [12]
Reid puts forth the opinion that with the range Joe Ekins would have had to fire over to hit Wittmann’s tank[13] and the proximity of The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment to the tank, that the latter were most likely the killers.[12] However, there is no official Canadian record to support this position, due the Fusiliers' Regimental Headquarter's halftrack being destroyed by a stray USAAF bomb.[14]
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, for the first time, he does not claim Wittmann for the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry and acknowledges that other regiments were in the area at the time and engaged the attacking Tigers.[15][3]
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 and further reading
- 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
Footnotes
- ^ "[1]
- ^ a b c After the battle, Issue 48, Pg 50
- ^ a b c d Tout, Fine Night For Tanks
- ^ a b c d e Tout, Fine By Tank D to VE Day
- ^ a b Reid, Pg 424
Lord Boardman letter to Radley-Walters, 13 June, 1999 - ^ a b c d e f Hart, Pg 52-69
- ^ Reid, Brian. No Holding Back (Robin Brass Studios, 2005) p. 410-430
- ^ a b c Reid, Brian. No Holding Back (Robin Brass Studios, 2005)
- ^ Reid, Pg 411-412
- ^ Reid, Pg 418-20
- ^ Reid, Pg 426-429
PRO, Air 25/709, 84 Group RAF Operations Record Book August 1944, pg 8 Serial 18, 8 August 1944
PRO, Air 25/698, 83 Group RAF Operations Record Book August 1944
PRO, 2 TAF Operations Record Book, Sheet 28, 8 Aug 44
PRO, 83 group Operations Record Book, 8 Aug 1944 - ^ a b Reid, Pg 410-430
- ^ Reid, 2005. Pg 416
- ^ Reid, Pg 414
- ^ Reid, 2005 p. 423
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