King Tiger with Porsche turret (1 Viewer)
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uksubs
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It first saw combat in Normandy in 1944
Phantom Warrior
Major
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The first 50 King Tigers were Porsche turrets - after that they were Henschel turrets. A bit more than half were used in combat by two Heer (Wehrmacht) units and the rest went to training units. S.Pz.Abt. 506 was the first unit to use King tigers and fought at Arnheim and later at the Bulge. The 1st and 3rd Kompanies of Schwere Pz. Abt. 503 were each equipped with 12 Porsche Turret King Tigers. S.Pz.Abt. 503 fought in Normandy and later in 1945 in Budapest.
Terry
Terry
fmethorst
Command Sergeant Major
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I posted this previously in a CS thread on the subject.
The Porsche turret was mounted on the first 50 Tiger II chassis (Fgst.Nr. V1-V3 and 280001-280047). Fgst.Nr. 280048 was produced in June 1944 which means all Tiger IIs shipped prior to June had the Porsche turret.This includes:
Fgst.Nr. V2 is the Tiger II (Porsche-Turm) currently on display at Bovington. This tank does not have zimmerit and was found by the British at Henschel's test area in Haustenbeck.
I don't have information on what happened to Fgst.Nr.V1 and V3.
March 1944
Pz.Lehr.Div. - 5 (Fgst.Nr.280001-280005). These Tigers all had zimmerit.
April 1944
Waffenamt Prüfwesen 6 (Weapons Proof Department 6) - 3 (Porsche-Turm)
Ersatz-Heer (Replacement Army) - 4 (Porsche-Turm)
May 1944
Waffenamt Prüfwesen 6 (Weapons Proof Department 6) - 3 (Porsche-Turm)
Ersatz-Heer (Replacement Army) - 4 (Porsche-Turm)
That's 22.
June 1944
1./s.H.Pz.Abt.503 (1st company 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion (Army)) - 12 (Porsche-Turm). These all had zimmerit.
July 1944
3./s.H.Pz.Abt.503 (3rd company 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion (Army)) - 12 (Porsche-Turm), 2 (Serien-Turm). These all had zimmerit. Two of the Tiger IIs (Porsche-Turm) were left behind when the unit deployed to the front due to technical problems.
So far that accounts for 46 of 50
s.H.Pz.Abt.503 (503rd Heavy Tank Battalion (Army)) was renamed s.H.Pz.Abt.FHH (Feldhernnhalle Heavy Tank Battalion (Army))
September 1944
s.H.Pz.Abt.FHH (Feldhernnhalle Heavy Tank Battalion (Army)) - 43 (Serien-Turm), 2 (Porsche-Turm).The two Tiger IIs (Porsche-Turm) are the same tanks left behind by the unit in August. Both of these tanks ended up in 3rd company (Tiger 314 and 334) and were shipped to Hungary with the rest of the unit in Oct. 1944. I believe these are likely the only two Tigers with the Porsche turret to receive whitewash.
s.H.Pz.Abt.506 (506th Heavy Tank Battalion (Army)) - This unit was in the process of refitting with 45 Tiger II (Serien-Turm) when it was ordered to deploy to the Arnhem area to deal with the Allied operation there. It borrowed a number of Tiger II (Porsche-Turm) from the Paderborn training facility during this time.
So we are left with 4 Tiger II (Porsche-Turm) unaccounted for. My suspicion is they ended up with Wa.Prüf 6 and/or the Ersatz-Heer (replacement army).
The Porsche turret was mounted on the first 50 Tiger II chassis (Fgst.Nr. V1-V3 and 280001-280047). Fgst.Nr. 280048 was produced in June 1944 which means all Tiger IIs shipped prior to June had the Porsche turret.This includes:
Fgst.Nr. V2 is the Tiger II (Porsche-Turm) currently on display at Bovington. This tank does not have zimmerit and was found by the British at Henschel's test area in Haustenbeck.
I don't have information on what happened to Fgst.Nr.V1 and V3.
March 1944
Pz.Lehr.Div. - 5 (Fgst.Nr.280001-280005). These Tigers all had zimmerit.
April 1944
Waffenamt Prüfwesen 6 (Weapons Proof Department 6) - 3 (Porsche-Turm)
Ersatz-Heer (Replacement Army) - 4 (Porsche-Turm)
May 1944
Waffenamt Prüfwesen 6 (Weapons Proof Department 6) - 3 (Porsche-Turm)
Ersatz-Heer (Replacement Army) - 4 (Porsche-Turm)
That's 22.
June 1944
1./s.H.Pz.Abt.503 (1st company 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion (Army)) - 12 (Porsche-Turm). These all had zimmerit.
July 1944
3./s.H.Pz.Abt.503 (3rd company 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion (Army)) - 12 (Porsche-Turm), 2 (Serien-Turm). These all had zimmerit. Two of the Tiger IIs (Porsche-Turm) were left behind when the unit deployed to the front due to technical problems.
So far that accounts for 46 of 50
s.H.Pz.Abt.503 (503rd Heavy Tank Battalion (Army)) was renamed s.H.Pz.Abt.FHH (Feldhernnhalle Heavy Tank Battalion (Army))
September 1944
s.H.Pz.Abt.FHH (Feldhernnhalle Heavy Tank Battalion (Army)) - 43 (Serien-Turm), 2 (Porsche-Turm).The two Tiger IIs (Porsche-Turm) are the same tanks left behind by the unit in August. Both of these tanks ended up in 3rd company (Tiger 314 and 334) and were shipped to Hungary with the rest of the unit in Oct. 1944. I believe these are likely the only two Tigers with the Porsche turret to receive whitewash.
s.H.Pz.Abt.506 (506th Heavy Tank Battalion (Army)) - This unit was in the process of refitting with 45 Tiger II (Serien-Turm) when it was ordered to deploy to the Arnhem area to deal with the Allied operation there. It borrowed a number of Tiger II (Porsche-Turm) from the Paderborn training facility during this time.
So we are left with 4 Tiger II (Porsche-Turm) unaccounted for. My suspicion is they ended up with Wa.Prüf 6 and/or the Ersatz-Heer (replacement army).