"Major R J Crisp, 3 RTR, engaging a Heinkel HE 111 from his Cruiser Tank, Greece"

by David Rowlands

Giclee Print 58 x 38 cm

April 1941: 3rd Royal Tank Regiment took part in the campaign in Greece in Spring 1941. Before leaving Egypt, 3 RTR took over A10 Cruiser tanks from 5 RTR. The A10s were well known for their propensity for breaking their tracks frequently. As matters turned out, those bad tracks caused more casualties to the British armour than all the enemy effort.

The German advance was relentless, and the British were forced to withdraw towards Athens, fighting all the way. The road was littered with the results of air attacks. Every few miles another Cruiser tank would be abandoned, a victim of mud, worn-out tracks and lack of spares. The total strength of 3 RTR was down to three or four tanks.

In his book 'The Gods were neutral', Captain (Acting Major) Bob Crisp DSO, MC described how three of the tanks in his Troop were called 'Cool', 'Calm' and 'Collected'. The first and last of these had been abandoned, having shed their tracks. Crisp's tank, 'Calm', was alone on the road, until it was joined by one tank from HQ Troop. Between tree- and scrub-covered slopes, the two tanks trundled along together towards the Pinios river.

Suddenly, a Heinkel HE111 passed low overhead, following the twists of the road and heading north. The two men sitting on the back of the tank gave a yell, and leapt off into the rocks and undergrowth. The Heinkel had banked behind a headland and was roaring towards them with all his machine guns blazing. "The air was filled with that venomous zipping sound which near bullets make, and I ducked rapidly behind the armour-plating of the turret as it began to rattle like dried peas in a can. I reached quickly for the Bren gun." He then sprang up in the turret, and "…at the chosen moment emerged, Bren first, to see the Heinkel filling the whole sky about 40 yards from the tank and not more than 30 feet above the road. I pulled the trigger, lifting the barrel with the plane as the tracers banged into the dark fuselage. As it passed above me, so close that I thought it would hit the muzzle of the gun, the whole underside of the aircraft seemed to sparkle with little orange lights as the tracers disappeared into it. It was not possible for one bullet to miss." The plane made a wide turn and came down in a long flat glide, disappearing below the level of the trees.