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Tiger tank mudguard

This rear mudguard is from one of the 3 Tiger tanks knocked out by Joe Ekins, a Sherman Firefly tank gunner of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, at St Aignan on the 8 August 1944.

1944
Metal

In August 1944 the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry were involved in the planned breakout from the Caen Salient as part of Operation Totalize in Normandy, France. This rear mudguard is from one of the three Tiger tanks knocked out by Joe Ekins, a Sherman Firefly tank gunner of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, at St Aignan on the 8th August 1944. His unit was positioned opposite the right flank of the advancing Tiger tanks. During this brief twelve minute action the Waffen-SS tank commander Michael Wittmann, the 4th top scoring tank ace in history, was one of the casualties when his Tiger tank exploded after being directly hit. The heavy damage to this mudguard is still clearly visible.

On display in the Military Galleries at Abington Park Museum