'Tank explosion'. Instalation by James Van Arsdale
A few days later Dima accelerates out of the valley of death, after he’s seen a battlefield near Krasnograd, and he notices a Tiger about 500 metres away with smoke billowing from it.
They’re probably charging their batteries and he alerts Alik who decides to contact Fiodor, as both tanks are designated for one Tiger. He organises machine gunners and snipers to deal with the crew if they attempt to escape.
Larissa is instructed to fire the first round at the tracks, and that should move it forward for a short distance on one track, and it should then turn sideways because of the damaged track. The moment it turns sideways Fiodor’s T 34 will fire at the fuel tank on the side of the Tiger.
***
Meanwhile Hans Koch has grudgingly got permission from his Commander Helmut Schmidt to relieve himself. He doesn’t like any of his crew leaving the tank, as that’s when they’re most vulnerable, but he allows a morning and evening visit to the toilet. Helmut is obsessed with his loader, and rarely takes his eyes off him, and watches him going towards the bushes. He’s unaware that he is under surveillance from two T 34s that intend to send him on his way to a hellish Inferno filled with everlasting fire.
Hans has just found a comfortable spot in the bushes, when he hears a massive explosion, and sees a blinding flash, which waters his pupils and stings his eyes, and leaves his insides dry, until he’s unable to breathe.
The Tiger rattles and shakes violently, as it twists and turns sideways, leaving its fuel tank exposed, and when it’s hit the second time the hull rocks and trembles making the impotent monster quiver with fearful convulsions.The HE (high explosive) ammunition, which he had stored in the tank that morning, explodes with a vicious vengeance, and creates pressure waves inside the compartments, which blasts the hatches open, causing white hot slivers of steel from the inner walls of the tank to dance and ricochet around the interior, slicing the torched and burnt out crew with permanent disfigurement and mutilation, that will dispatch them to eternity.
The blazing red and orange-yellow flames dance and leap from the exposed hatches, attacking everything in their path and lick the burning, melting, sizzling steel with naked aggression, looking for something to scorch and melt.
The sparks fly and gush from the mouth of the 88 MM cannon with hostile intensity, spitting furious fire on the roasting and bruised Tiger that’s burning uncontrollably with demonic savagery.Steam hisses from the giant engine that’s expired, and small droplets of molten metal drip from the twelve-cylinder Maybach power plant. Hans notices that the ’Serpent’s Head’ Völker is the only one who manages to escape. He crawls towards Hans waving his hand and screaming for help. Hans has his SS dagger ready, as he’s determined to cut the Serpent’s eyes out, and crush his fingers with his boot.
***
Tanya, one of the Russian snipers, gets a perfect shot between the Serpent’s eyes, and the bullet departs from the back of his ugly head taking a few pieces with it.
Hans is ecstatic for a few seconds and jumps in the air forgetting that his braces are undone, and he collects a bullet in the rear, which throws him forward and the second sniper, Pietya, gets him in the leg.
The T 34 crews are overjoyed, and when they get their 1000 rubles bounty for the kill, they’ll pass it on to the widow and family of one of their dead comrades.
