when you have nothing else you can do to save your crew, ram the bastard..... because if that turret swings round and fires one off... you're done for

This is one of the more extraordinary tank encounters of the Normandy campaign — and the famous photograph really does show the two tanks involved.

On 18 July 1944, during the opening day of Operation Goodwood, Lieutenant John Gorman of the 2nd (Armored) Battalion, Irish Guards, Guards Armored Division, was advancing near Cagny, east of Caen, in his Sherman named Ballyragget. 

Gorman's Sherman suddenly encountered German armor at extremely close range, including a Tiger II (King Tiger) of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503. 

This was particularly significant because the Tiger II was only just appearing on the Western Front. Its combination of extremely heavy frontal armor and the powerful 8.8cm KwK 43 gun made it a frightening opponent for a standard 75mm Sherman. 

Gorman's crew attempted to engage the Tiger II, but the situation rapidly deteriorated. Accounts differ slightly over the precise sequence — some state that a 75mm round bounced off or proved ineffective, while others describe the Sherman's gun jamming. What is consistent is that Gorman realiszd he was in an extremely vulnerable position while the Tiger II was bringing its 88mm gun around towards him.

So Gorman chose an extraordinary solution: He ordered his driver to ram it. 

Ballyragget charged into the much heavier Tiger II. The collision immobilized both vehicles and the crews abandoned their tanks. 

In the confusion, one member of Gorman's crew reportedly ran towards some men taking cover nearby — only to discover that they were members of the German tank crew. Most of the Tiger crew were subsequently captured. 

But Gorman wasn't finished. After getting clear, he obtained another Sherman — a Sherman Firefly, equipped with the much more powerful British 17-pounder anti-tank gun — and returned to the scene. Accounts credit him with firing on the immobilized Tiger II and completing its destruction. 

The famous photograph taken later in July shows the Tiger II and Gorman's Ballyragget still together following the collision. 

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