Armor nicknames

[Sonni]

I have been wondering what nicknames do your country's tanks have?

In Finland the T-34 is very often called 'Sotka'. The name comes from the resemblence with the bird Sotka (Aythya Marila, Scaup in english).

T-34:



Aythya Marila:



I'd like to know what nicknames do other tanks have, and possibly the stories behind those names.

[M4Jess]

From the German side.

Kat, small, mainly carnivorous animal, Felis katus, member of the family Felidae, popular as a household pet, and valuable for killing mice and rats....only....



"KAT" Also known as "SissyKat"

[Don Doom]

M4 AKA Ronson lighter, this wantabe a tank is more depentable than the ciguret lighter by the same name! It will even light up when you bump into a 7.62mm mg34/42 round!!
This ability is credited for saving amany German troops life during the winter! They had only march 20-30 feet in the snow until they reached the next ronson burning away!:D :p

[Belisarius]

Not a tank, but the SdKfz 251/1 with Wurfrahmen was nicknamed the Walking Stuka.

No explanation needed.

[tracer]

Incredible irony:

Originally posted by M4 Jess
From the German side.

Kat, small, mainly carnivorous animal, Felis katus, member of the family Felidae, popular as a household pet, and valuable for killing mice and rats....only....

...the German nickname for the T-34 was 'Mickey Mouse' (due to its appearance with its turret hatches open).

...and the Katz were developed to counter it.

[sandman20]

Germans called M4Sherman as "Tommy Cooker", for a reason we all know.
It was easy target and easily destroyed

[sandman20]

Tiger vs. Sherman
:p

[Irinami]

You could turn that into a good banner, sandman!

[Losqualo]

Originally posted by Belisarius
Not a tank, but the SdKfz 251/1 with Wurfrahmen was nicknamed the Walking Stuka.

No explanation needed.

Another nickname was "heulende Kuh" (howling cow), because of the sound it made when launching it's rockets.

The 3,7 cm PaK gun was called "Heeresanklopfgerät" (Army Knocking Device), because all it could do was knocking at a T-34 .

And the 8,8 cm PaK 18 was called "Scheunentor" (Barn Gate), because of it's large silhouette.

[LordCucumber]

Do popular sayings fit in here? I'm not sure who invented it (most likely the British or the Russians), but when Tigers first appeared on the battlefield, some Allied tankdrivers soon started using the term 'Tip your hat to the Tiger', due to the many one kill shots at the turrets of Allied tanks. It was a phrase of respect for the awesome firepower of the new German tanks.

[Ruskolnikov]

Hi all..

I know this post is about armour nicknames so I hope you dont mind some aircraft nicknames (and dont shout at me if you do mind!)

ME 163 "komet" Rocket Fighter:
"Krafttei" = power egg

Heinkel HE177 Heavy Bomber:
"Reichsfeuerzeug"=Reichs Cigarette Lighter (a kind of flying M4! ??)

Junkers JU87 "Stuka" dive bomber:
Russians called it "lopata"=spade
Italians called it "picchiatello"=crazy, or, hit on the head

Henschel HS129 close support/tank buster:
"Der Fluegende Buchsendoffner"=the flying can opener

Arado 66c (open cockpit biplane):
The Finns called it "hermosaha"=nerve saw (I presume this must have been a "little" noisy to fly!)

Blohm und Voss Bv 138 flying-boat:
"Der Fliegende Holzschuh"=flying clog

regards

Marian

[stevemk1a]

Cool ... the nicknames given to varied equipments by their users and opponents always seems to give the most accurate depiction of their effectiveness and usage

[STEELER13]

Yo All,
I believe the Russian opinion of the American Stuart tank really says much! Soldiers do like to gripe....but then watching your comrades burn to a crisp must not have a been a very positive memory.I bet the Russians wished there was a Lemon Law in effect on that Lend-Lease deal.
On the otherhand, Germans called the Ferdinand the "Elefant" and the name evolved into it's official name.

[Brutto-Bob]

Speaking about aircraft nicknames,

The italian Siai Marchetti S.79 Sparviero. was called: "Il gobbo maledetto" alias "Damned hunchback".

[Jacc]

Sonni told us
stuff

Nooooooooooooooooooo...!

Sotka was a steamboat somewhere around Finland, and when one Finnish jaeger saw the first captured T-34, he said that it resembled this particular steamboat. Thus the name - if the legend is true.

BTW. From this moment on till 9.1.2004, the first thing i see in the morning is StuG-40 (531-10 "Bubi"). Nice. Beautiful, so beautiful. Perhaps should add it into my banner, as the Sturmi seems to be so popular here.

[Voriax]

Originally posted by Jacc
Nooooooooooooooooooo...!

Sotka was a steamboat somewhere around Finland, and when one Finnish jaeger saw the first captured T-34, he said that it resembled this particular steamboat. Thus the name - if the legend is true.

Yes and no.
If you believe what the Finnish Armour museum people say, the name 'Sotka' was given by the driver of the first Sotka in Finnish service.
This driver had been working in a steamboat named 'Sotka' and he said that his tank "Swims lightly as Sotka".
And the name stuck.

Voriax

[Voriax]

Originally posted by Ruskolnikov


Arado 66c (open cockpit biplane):
The Finns called it "hermosaha"=nerve saw (I presume this must have been a "little" noisy to fly!)

Never heard of this...
The nickname 'Hermosaha' was normally reserved for the Soviet harrassing planes that operated during nights. They circled around airfields and other military targets, occasionally dropping a small bomb. Their purpose wasn't really cause any direct damage but to keep defenders awake during the night...it really must get into your nerves somewhat.

The planes used were outdated types that would've been sitting ducks in daytime. Germans used their outdated/captured aircraft for same purpose.

Voriax