How do I extract files without folder structure using tar

Question

I have a tar.gz-file with the following structure:

folder1/img.gif
folder2/img2.gif
folder3/img3.gif

I want to extract the image files without

Answer 1

Based on @ford's answer. This one will extract it to the my_dirname folder. So that we can properly clear the empty folders without affected currently existing files.

tar xzf images.tgz --transform='s/.*\///' -C my_dirname
find my_dirname -type d -empty -delete