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German heavy tank battalions (German: schwere-Panzer-Abteilung), were battalion-sized World War II tank units, equipped with Tiger I and later, Tiger II heavy tanks. Originally intended to fight on the offensive during breakthrough operations, the German late-war realities required them to be used in a defensive posture by providing heavy fire support and counterattacking enemy armored breakthroughs, often organised into ad-hoc Kampfgruppe. These panzer detachments were considered elite units.

Contents

Formation

Early formation units experimented to find the correct combination of heavy Tiger tanks supported by either medium Panzer III tanks or scout elements. In 1942 this consisted of 20 Tigers and 16 Panzer IIIs, composed of two companies, each with four platoons of two Tigers and two Panzer IIIs. Each company commander would have an additional Tiger, and battalion command would have another two.[1]

Later formations had a standard organization of 45 Tiger Tanks, composed of 3 companies of 14 Tigers each, plus 3 command vehicles. Maintenance troubles and the mechanical unreliability of the Tigers posed a continuous problem, so often the units would field a smaller number of combat-ready tanks.[1]

The limited number of these heavy tanks, plus their specialized role in either offensive or defensive missions, meant they were rarely permanently assigned to a single division or corps; but shuffled around according to war circumstances.

In addition to tanks, each battalion planned to include the following:[2]
Description 1 July 1943 1 January 1945
Flakpanzer IV 0 8
8 ton 4x 2 cm Flak 6 3
Schutzenpanzerwagen 10 11
Bergepanzer V 0 5
18 ton Zugkraftwagen 8 7
1 ton Zugkraftwagen 8 13
Kettenkrad 0 14
Beiwagenkrad 25 0
Solokrad 17 6
Personenkraftwagen 64 38
Personenkraftwagen, zivil 2 1
Lastkraftwagen 111 84
Lastkraftwagen, zivil 24 34
Maultier 0 6
Kran-Kraftfahrzeug 3 3
Total 278 233

Army units

By the end of the war, the following heavy panzer detachments had been created. Early units were re-built several times by the end of the war.

Units attached to the German Army (Heer) were:

SS units

Units attached to the Waffen-SS were:

Further information: List of Knight's Cross recipients of the SS Heavy Panzer Battalions

Combat performance

Kill and Loss Ratio of the Tiger Battalions (1942 - 1945):[5]
Unit Losses Destroyed Ratio
501st German heavy tank battalion 120 450 3.75
502nd German heavy tank battalion 107 1,400 13.08
503rd German heavy tank battalion 252 1,700 6.75
504th German heavy tank battalion 109 250 2.29
505th German heavy tank battalion 126 900 7.14
506th German heavy tank battalion 179 400 2.23
507th German heavy tank battalion 104 600 5.77
508th German heavy tank battalion 78 100 1.28
509th German heavy tank battalion 120 500 4.17
510th German heavy tank battalion 65 200 3.08
13./Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland 6 100 16.67
III./Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland 98 500 5.10
13./SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 42 400 9.52
8./SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 31 250 8.06
9./SS-Panzer-Regiment 3 56 500 8.93
101 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 107 500 4.67
102 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 76 600 7.89
103 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 39 500 12.82
TOTAL: 1,715 9,850 5.74

Tank losses include not only losses inflicted by other tanks. Also, many tanks were abandoned by their crews due a lack of fuel or ammunition, especially at the end of war. Thus, the real tank-to-tank ratios are higher.

Notes

  1. ^ a b Schneider 2000, pp. 3–4.
  2. ^ Schneider 2000, p. 2.
  3. ^ Jentz, pp. 195, 265
  4. ^ Olsson, Thorleif. "Borgward IV- SdKfz. 301". Achtung Panzer!. http://www.achtungpanzer.com/articles/borgward.htm.  
  5. ^ "armorsite". http://www.fprado.com/armorsite/tigers-02.htm.  

References

  • Jentz, Thomas (1996). Panzertruppen 2: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force 1943-1945. Schiffer. ISBN 9780764300806.  
  • Schneider, Wolfgang (2000). Tigers in Combat I. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books. ISBN 9780811731713.  
  • Wilbeck, Christopher (2004). Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II. Bedford: Aberjona Press. OCLC 200489614.  

External links








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