German heavy tank battalions

German heavy tank battalions

German heavy tank battalions ( _de. schwere-Panzer-Abteilung), were battalion-sized World War II tank units, equipped with Tiger I and Tiger II heavy tanks. Originally intended to fight on the offensive during breakthrough operations, the German late-war realities showed them better used and much more capable of fighting in a defensive posture by providing heavy fire support and counterattacking enemy armored breakthroughs. These panzer detachments were considered elite units.

Formation

Early formation units experimented to find the correct combination of heavy Tiger tanks supported by either medium Panzer III tanks or scout elements. 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.

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.

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.


= Heer units =

* 501st German heavy tank battalion
* 502nd German heavy tank battalion
* 503rd German heavy tank battalion
* 504th German heavy tank battalion
* 505th German heavy tank battalion
* 506th German heavy tank battalion
* 507th German heavy tank battalion
* 508th German heavy tank battalion
* 509th German heavy tank battalion
* 510th German heavy tank battalion
* 3rd Battalion, Grossdeutschland Regiment
** exception to the permanent assignment

Waffen-SS units

* 101st SS heavy tank battalion
* 102nd SS heavy tank battalion
* 103rd SS heavy tank battalion
* The 104th SS heavy tank battalion was planned 22 October 1943 for IV. SS-Panzerkorps, but was never formed

ources

*

External links

* [http://www.alanhamby.com/unithist.html#SS504 Tiger I Information Center]
* [http://fprado.com/armorsite/tigers.htm Tiger Battalions in WWII]


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