What happened next was described by Eagle 7's gunner Corporal Clarence Smoyer: We were told to just move into the intersection far enough to fire into the side of the enemy tank, which had its gun facing up the other street [where the Sherman had been destroyed].
When I turned our turret, I was looking into the Panther's gun tube; so instead of stopping to fire, our driver drove into the middle of the intersection so we wouldn't be a sitting target.
The two side hits went completely through and out the other side.Four out of the original five of the Panther's crew were able to successfully bail out of their tank before it was destroyed, including Bartelborth.
[3] The action was recorded by United States Army Signal Corps cameraman Sergeant Jim Bates.
[7] Bob Early, the tank's commander, had already received a bronze star for his actions during the Battle of Cologne.