2. SS-Panzerdivision "Das Reich" Panther Ausf. A burned out near Sainteny in July 1944

Sainteny was a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in northwestern France and between the 9th and 10th July 1944 the scene of hard fighting between advancing US forces and defending German forces, with the latter supported by elements of 2. SS-Panzerdivision "Das Reich" fielding Panther tanks, with heavy casualties suffered on both sides and more than half of the buildings in the commune destroyed.

0:00 This particular Panther was filmed on July 10th and is burned out, with the remains of what what was likely a member of the crew of the vehicle. The ball mount for the bow machine gun and shape of the hull identify it as an Ausführung A.

0:23 The obvious battle damage to this vehicle is visible in the form of at least three penetrating hits in the side armor. While formidably armored frontally, the Panther was poorly protected from the sides and rear and was therefore was vulnerable to ambush, especially in the terrain encountered in Normandy. The location of the hits is where some of the ammunition for the main gun was stored and any one of those penetrations would likely have set the tank on fire immediately. The hits are also in line with the driver's position meaning he likely never left his seat. The bottom of the sponson under the targeted area is also blown out, which suggests an overpressure from the propellant being ignited. The tube on the side of the hull is where the barrel cleaning equipment was stored.

0:34 A closeup of the open loader's hatch that also shows the turret to be covered in chicken wire, the latter allowing foliage to be more easily attached as camouflage. A US Jeep drives by with the passenger armed with a Thompson submachinegun. The tube visible on the side of the Panther's hull is where the barrel cleaning equipment was stored. The rubber on the roadwheels has been burned off.

0:50 One interesting aspect of this wreck not shown in the footage is that it is just a few meters away from a wrecked US M4A1 Sherman. The main image shows how the vehicles were positioned on August 12th after being pushed aside to clear the road, while the inset shows their position when they were knocked out a month earlier.

0:55 A closer view of the Sherman reveals the extent of the damage it suffered, apart from several frontal penetrating hits the turret is knocked off its mounting and the tracks have lost their rubber pads to fire. The turret features additional "cheek" armor plating around 1.5 inches thick that was added to compensate for a thin spot in the protection that was reportedly targeted as a weak spot by enemy gunners.

There are five holes from armor piercing shells in the glacis and one in the transmission housing, with each area also showing evidence of a single hit from a HEAT warhead such as a Panzerfaust. The clean nature of the holes is consistent with shells from a high velocity gun, of which the Panther was equipped with a fine example and therefore a likely culprit. While it was common to fire on enemy vehicles until they started to burn to ensure they were out of action and make them difficult to recover, six shots would be overkill so they are not necessarily hits suffered in combat.