The Battle of Skillura (August 15, 1974) - a tank battle during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus . The largest tank clash during the conflict. One of two collisions of tanks with tanks (the second battle was on August 16 between T-34-85 and M47 ).
| Battle of Skillura |
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| Main Conflict: Turkish Invasion of Cyprus |
| date | August 15, 1974 |
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| A place | Skillura , Cyprus |
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| Total | Victory of the National Guard of Cyprus |
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 Cyprus
|  Turkey
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Sergeant Konstantin Drosos | is unknown |
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1 tank, 1 infantry battalion | 34 tanks, 2 infantry battalions |
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is unknown | 8 tanks destroyed |
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On July 22, the Turkish army invaded Cyprus. The Turkish invasion forces were supported by about 110 M47 and 55 M48 tanks. The National Guard of Cyprus (Greek Cypriots) were armed with a total of 32 T-34-85 tanks. The lack of armored vehicles forced the Greeks to use literally every captured trophy. As a result, on August 1, the Greek Cypriots managed to capture the M47 tank from the Turks.
On August 15, two companies of Turkish M47 tanks, with the support of two battalions of paratroopers, launched an attack on the village of Skillura. Skillura defended with five companies of infantry and one single captured tank, under the command of Sergeant Konstantin Drosos, captured earlier. As a result of the battle, the Greek tank destroyed 7 enemy tanks and stopped the advance of the Turks. Another Turkish tank was destroyed by recoilless gun fire [1] . The hero of this battle, former sergeant Konstantin Drosos, was awarded the order only in 2015. Today, Konstantin Drosos is a leader of the Communist Party of Greece [2] .
