SCHWERE PANZERJÄGER-ABTEILUNG 559, SEPTEMBER 1944
Typically, each German division had an organic Panzerjäger-Abteilung, or anti-tank battalion, in addition to the anti-tank platoons attached to the headquarters of the infantry and Panzergrenadier regiments. The success of the independent, fully-armored Panzerjäger units that were deployed during the French campaign of 1940 led to the creation of more heavily armed formations. By the end of the war, the army's schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilungen, or heavy anti-tank battalions, were equipped with the Nashorn self-propelled 8.8cm gun, the Panzerjäger V Jagdpanther, and the Panzerjäger Tiger ausf B, better known as the Jagdtiger. In addition, a number of independent battalions operated the 8.8cm PaK 43, a towed version of the gun fitted to the Tiger II and Nashorn. Most of the Jagdpanther units served in the east, although five battalions fought on the Western Front, and small numbers of these powerful anti-tank weapons were issued to Panzer units very late in the war. The formation shown here is schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 559 and is depicted at the time of the battles for Arnhem in central Holland in September 1944.
SCHWERE PANZER-ABTEILUNG (TIGER-FUNKLENK) 301, OCTOBER 1944
From the earliest days of the war, the German Army recognized the need for a specialist vehicle that would be capable of clearing minefields and eliminating enemy pillboxes and bunkers. The first models, developed by the firm of Borgward, were fully tracked, radio-controlled vehicles that could be used to tow mine-detonating rollers. By May 1942, the rollers had been superseded by a completely new vehicle capable of carrying a 500kg demolition charge under fire and placing it near the target or within a minefield where the resulting explosion would detonate the mines. This vehicle was the schwerer Ladungsträger Borgward B IV Sdkfz 301 which, with slight variation, would remain in service until the end of the war, although production had ceased by late 1944. These vehicles were used with some success in late 1942 and at Kursk in June 1943, where, for the first time, they were controlled from specially adapted Sturmgeschütz III assault guns. Formed in late 1942, Panzer-Abteilung 301 had served in Russia and Italy before being transferred to Truppenübungsplatz Grafenwöhr in Germany in mid-1944 to begin training on Tiger I tanks specially adapted to control the Borgward demolition vehicles. The first Tigers were received on September 1, and the following day the battalion was renamed schwere Panzer-Abteilung (Tiger-Funklenk) 301. Further deliveries followed, including ten vehicles transferred from schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 503 on October 21, 1944. The battalion never received its full allocation of tanks, however, as can be seen from the diagram below. It seems that one tank was left at Grafenwöhr in November when the battalion moved to the front. In addition, the battalion's fourth company was permanently detached and was used in February 1945 to form Panzer-Abteilung (Funklenk) 303. The battalion fought on the Western front until April 16, 1945, when the last three serviceable tanks were destroyed by their crews.
PANZERS IN THE WEST, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1945
Not included here are the armored vehicles allocated to the Panzerjäger battalions of Infanterie, Volksgrenadier of Lufwaffe Feld-Divisionen. At this time, the Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer tank destroyer was making its appearance, with a total of seventy-two reported during September and October. All were with infantry formations and the independent Heeres-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 741. Also omitted are fully-tracked recovery vehicles such as the Bergepanther, Bergepanzer III, and Bergehetzer which were generally, but not always, allocated to Panther battalions, assault gun units, and Panzerjäger units respectively. Panzer-Kompanie Hummel was originally a temporary grouping but became the fourth company of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 506 on December 8, 1944, just before the commencement of the Ardennes Offensive.
1. PzKpfw V Panther ausf G. 8.Kompanie, Panzer-Regiment 33. From August 19, 1944, vehicles were painted in standard camouflage patterns before leaving the assembly plants and the schemes adopted can often identify a particular manufacturer. That shown here was common to many Panthers produced by Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen-Hannover (MNH) and the application of the Balkenkreuz on the turret side, or its complete absence, is often an identifying feature of these tanks. The small number 80 on the turret, in black with a white outline, probably identifies the 8.Kompanie commander. At this time, the regiment was attached to 9.Panzer-Division and the tank depicted here was photographed at Humain, south-east of Namurin Belgium, in December 1944.
3. PzKpfw V Panther ausf G. 2.Kompanie, SS-Panzer-Regiment 1. Commanded by Untersturmführer Hubert Kaufmann, this tank, as part of Kampfgruppe Peiper, was knocked out in the attack on Stoumont in December 1944. All the regiment's Panthers were painted in factory-applied schemes, the example shown here being indicative of vehicles manufactured by Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (MAN) and Daimler-Benz. This is the most commonly seen pattern. Another scheme, the so-called disc pattern of MAN, is shown in our photograph (2) of a Panther ausf G of 1.Kompanie, SS-Panzer-Regiment 1.
1. PzKpfw V Panther ausf G. 3.Kompanie, SS-Panzer-Regiment 12. This tank was disabled in the attack on Krinkelt-Rocherath in December 1944, together with the battalion adjutant's vehicle. The camouflage scheme suggests that this vehicle was assembled by either MAN or Daimler-Benz. It is fitted with both the raised fan housing on the rear deck and the Flammvernichter exhaust mufflers, the latter shown in our photograph (2).
2. PzKpfw V Panther ausf G. 2.Kompanie, SS-Panzer-Regiment 1. This tank was commanded by Unterscharführer Krüger and was disabled at Stoumont, fifteen kilometers west of Malmedy. This vehicle, although damaged, was photographed from several angles, allowing for an accurate representation of the camouflage pattern. The small dots, painted onto the bands of color in a contrasting shade, are typical of the factory-applied scheme employed by Daimler-Benz and is today commonly referred to as Ambush camouflage.
1. PzKpfw IV ausf J. 3.Kompanie, Panzer-Regiment 33. From September 1944, the metal Schürzen, or skirt armor, fixed to the PzKpfw IV tank and its variants was gradually replaced in production by panels made of heavy wire mesh and commonly referred to as Thoma Schild, or less often Thoma Schürzen. The rails that held these panels were also quite different from the previous arrangement. One major advantage of these new shields was that Ostketten, or the extended winter tracks, could be fitted without having to adjust the fittings for the hull Schürzen. The attractive insignia (2) commemorated the honor title of Panzer-Regiment Prinz Eugen; it was granted in March 1943 to acknowledge the regiment's Austrian origins. This should not be confused with the Waffen-SS division of the same name.
3. Panzerbeobachtungswagen IV ausf J. SS-Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 12. Photographed in Luxembourg in December 1944, these vehicles were quite rare and were issued to self-propelled artillery batteries. These tanks were fitted with extra radios, a rotating periscope in front of the commanders position, shown here extended, and the cupola from a Sturmgeschütz III assault gun. The artillery regiment of 12.SS-Panzer-Division was issued with five of these tanks on November 11, 1944.
1. PzKpfw Tiger ausf B. 2.Kompanie, schwere Panzer-Abteilung 506. Although it was photographed in December, this tank retains the camouflage scheme typical of the summer months, with swathes of Rotbraun and Olivgrün sprayed over the Dunkelgelb base color.
The Tiger depicted in our illustration (1) was captured by a units of the US Army on December 15, 1944 near Gereonsweiler, east of Geilenkirchen. It was used in combat for sometime by its new owners, the German markings covered with large white stars (2).
2. PzKpfw Tiger ausf B. 2.Kompanie, schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 501. The companies of this battalion employed different colors to depict their turret numbers just as they had in Normandy. As shown here, the second company had red numbers outlined in white, the third company's numbers (3) were blue with a yellow outline, and the first company used black, outlined-white numbers (4). Most tanks were camouflaged in the so-called Ambush scheme and all the profiles here were taken from actual examples.
1. Sdkfz 251/9. 1.SS-Panzer-Division. Captured by US Army
units during December 1944, this vehicle may have been operated by III.Bataillon, SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 2, part of Kampfgruppe Peiper. Photographs show that at least some of the battle group's halftracks, including Peiper's command vehicle, were painted in a similar camouflage scheme.
The vehicle shown above is the later version of the Sdkfz 251/9 where the gun, shields, and other parts were issued as a kit and fixed to a standard Sdkfz 251/1 halftrack. The silhouette is decidedly higher that that of the earlier, factory-produced version shown below. The placement of the unit insignia (2) is based on photographs of other halftracks of the division.
3. Sdkfz 251/9. 2.Panzer-Division. Although this halftrack was photographed in December 1944, the division's reconnaissance battalion, Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 2, also had a number of these vehicles on hand during the Normandy battles. They were finished in almost identical markings and camouflage schemes and this may be a survivor of those early battles. The markings on the front of the hull (4) show the division’s unit Insignia and the tactical symbol identifying an armored infantry company.
1. PzKpfw IV ausf J. Panzer-Abteilung 115. Attached to 15.Panzergrenadier-Division, the battalion reported that eight of these tanks were on hand in September, although they are missing entirely from later reports. The Thoma Schild skirts, explained earlier, were also issued with sturdy mesh screens (2) for the hull deck, which were probably intended as walkways.
3. Sturmgeschütz III. Panzer-Abteilung 115. Photographed in Belgium in December 1944, this vehicle was one of thirty assault guns on hand with the battalion at that time. The Balkenkreuz national insignia and company number were probably applied to the Schürzen which are missing. This assault gun is coated with Zimmerit applied in the so-called waffle pattern (4), indicative of vehicles produced by the firm of Alkett.
1. Sturmgeschütz III. Heeres-Sturmartillerie-Brigade 667. This assault gun carries the battalion’s colorful unit insignia, unusual at this stage of the war, at both the hull front (2) and rear (3). From late 1944, a thick layer of concrete was applied to the superstructure front (4) as extra protection, although it is rare to see an unpainted example as this appears to be. The Balkenkreuz and Fahrgestellnummer, or chassis number, were applied (5) on the hull front. The elaborate camouflage scheme was almost certainly applied at the factory.
6. Sdkfz 234/2. Puma. Aufklärungs-Abteilung 2. During the Ardennes Offensive, the battalion had ten of these vehicles on hand as part of Kampfgruppe von Böhm, the lead element of 2.Panzer-Division. Note the troop number painted in white on the mudguard between the first and second wheels. The division’s unit insignia and the tactical sign identifying an armored car company can be seen behind the exhaust. This may be one of the vehicles that Hauptmann von Böhm’s battle group were forced to abandon near Foy-Notre-Dame after the fighting on Christmas Day 1944.
1. Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer. Panzerjäger-Kompanie 1167. Attached to the Panzerjäger-Abteilung of 167, Volksgrenadier-Division, this company had fourteen of these vehicles on hand in December and supported 1.SS-Panzer-Division in the attack on Bastogne. The camouflage scheme is typical of vehicles manufactured by the Böhmisch-Mährische Maschinenfabrik at Prague.
As a means of compensating for the greatly reduced manpower of the infantry divisions raised or reorganized from late 1943, it was planned that each would contain a Panzerjäger-Abteilung made up of a company of towed anti-tank guns, a company of assault guns, and a light anti-aircraft gun company. The assault gun company was to contain ten vehicles, either Sturmgeschötz III or IV assault guns or Hetzer tank destroyers, and was generally referred to (somewhat confusingly) as a Sturmgeschötz-Abteilung. Usually, but not always, the assault gun company was numbered separately from its parent battalion, the number arrived at by adding 1000 to the division's number. For example, the assault gun company of Panzerjäger-Abteilung 31 was referred to as Sturmgeschötz-Abteilung 1031. From late November or early December 1944, the assault gun companies of infantry Panzerjäger battalions were referred to as Sturmgeschötz-Kompanien, although Panzerjäger-Sturmgeschötz-Kompanien is sometimes encountered. It was intended that all infantry divisions would eventually contain a Sturmgeschötz company, but the enormous numbers of vehicles needed to fully implement this change were never available and many units did not receive their authorized allocation.
2. Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer. 2.Kompanie, Panzerjäger-Abteilung 1257. This unit was the second assault gun company of the Panzerjäger battalion of 257.Volksgrenadier-Division and is also referred to in some sources as Sturmgeschötz-Abteilung 1257 and Jagdpanzer-Kompanie 1257. In January 1945, the battalion took part in Operation Nordwind and was later sent to the Eastern Front.
1. Beobachtungspanzerwagen IV ausf J. SS-Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 1. This vehicle was part of Kampfgruppe Peiper and may have been attached to the artillery regiment's II.Abteilung. The rail to which the steel-mesh Schürzen or Thoma Schild was attached can be more clearly seen in the photograph (2) and is of a much simpler construction than the earlier type. Just ninety-six of these specialist artillery observation tanks were issued between September 1944 and March 1945, when production ceased, and most were conversions based on older models.
3. Sturmgeschötz III ausf G. Panzer-Abteilung 103. Attached to 3.Panzergrenadier-Division, the battalion had twenty-seven assault guns on hand when the Ardennes Offensive began. The method of displaying the company number, painted onto a small metal plate fixed to the bracket holding the two spare wheels, was also used during the battalion's Italian service. It is unknown if the division's unit insignia (4) was displayed on any of the battalion's vehicles as it had been in Italy, but it was certainly used on a number of signposts.
1. PzKpfw Tiger ausf E. Panzer-Kompanie Hummel. When this company was detached from schwere Panzer-Abteilung 506 in February 1945, the tanks reverted to the practice of using numbers beginning with 1, although there is some debate about which colors were used. During the spring of 1945, the company was temporarily attached to Panzer-Brigade 106. It would seem that this unit retained its original title, although Hauptmann Hummel was killed in November 1944, in the fighting near Linden, and replaced by Leutnant Flör.
2. PzKpfw Tiger ausf E. Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 301 (Funklenk). Most tanks of this battalion had black company numbers painted onto the turret side toward the front. The lack of a number here may indicate that this is one of the tanks handed over from schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 103 in October 1944. Note the bracket welded to the turret stowage box, which was an identifying feature of this battalion’s tanks and is also visible in our photograph (3).
1. Sdkfz 164. 8.8cm Pak 43 (L/71) auf Geschützwagen III/IV. Nashorn. Unit uncertain. The official caption of the photograph on which this illustration is based states that this vehicle was from 1.Kompanie, schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 525 and attached to schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654, which was equipped with Jagdpanther tank destroyers. The former is usually assumed to have served in Italy until the end of the war; however, one report states that from November 1944 just two companies were with the battalion in Italy, so the caption may be correct.
2. Sdkfz 164. 8.8cm Pak 43 (L/71) auf Geschötzwagen III/IV. Nashorn. 1.Kompanie, schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 93. This unit took part in Operation Nordwind and the fighting in the Ruhr Pocket, although only the first company was equipped with these vehicles. The standard camouflage is almost completely covered in wavy lines of whitewash. Our photograph (3) shows another view of the same vehicle.
1. PzKpfw V Panther ausf G. Führer-Grenadier-Brigade. The first, second, and third companies of Panzer-Regiment Führer-Grenadier-Brigade were equipped with Panther tanks. It seems that the tanks had the company numbers painted on the turret sides, although any number would be obscured here by the lengths of spare track. The photograph (2) shows the same vehicle from the rear.
2. PzKpfw V Panther ausf G. Unit uncertain. Photographed in the Haguenau Forest near Strasbourg in early January 1945, this tank may be from either Panzer-Abteilung 5 of
25.Panzergrenadier-Division or Panzer-Regiment 22 of 21.Panzer-Division. A series of images was made at the time and all the tanks featured a variation of this unusual dazzle-style camouflage scheme. Some were completed in the style shown here and others with very wide diagonal bands.
3.01. Knocked out near Périers, 25 kilometers west of Saint-Lo, in July 1944 during the early stages of Operation Cobra, this Sturmgeschütz IV assault gun is from 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen. The division's Panzer-Abteilung 17 was equipped with forty-two of these assault guns when it was committed to the fighting in Normandy, the last shipment arriving just a few weeks previously. Accounts suggesting that these vehicles were allocated to the division's Panzerjäger-Abteilung are incorrect, as is the claim that a number of Sturmgeschütz III were also on hand. Examples of the latter were received by the battalion but not before late August 1944, when most of the division had either been destroyed or withdrawn from front.
Death Ride of the Panzers Page 10