Panther 223 at Stoumont? (1 Viewer)

[dragon53]

Does anyone have any information on Panther 223 that was knocked at Stoumont during the Battle of the Bulge?
I'm looking for artwork, markings, etc.

 

[lancer]

Does anyone have any information on Panther 223 that was knocked at Stoumont during the Battle of the Bulge?
I'm looking for artwork, markings, etc.

You picked a tough tank to find info on. Went page by page through my 3 volume set of 'Duel in the Mist', which is a blow by blow account of the Leibstandarte during the Ardennes offensive, heavily documented and illustrated, and could find nothing about that particular tank other than it was under the command of Uscha. Kurt Baier. This study doesn't even confirm where (or how) it was lost. Tank 221 was lost at La Glieze, 222 lost at Stoumont, and 225 lost at Stoumont. Panther 215 had camo in the dot camouflage, with black numerals thinly outlined in white, but Panther 211 of the same platoon was in standard 3-color camo, so camo types obviously varied within the same platoon. It appears from what photos I have seen that none of the Panthers in question had zimmerit applied. Sorry I can't find any pertinent info for you. -- Al

 

[bradleyl30]

You picked a tough tank to find info on. Went page by page through my 3 volume set of 'Duel in the Mist', which is a blow by blow account of the Leibstandarte during the Ardennes offensive, heavily documented and illustrated, and could find nothing about that particular tank other than it was under the command of Uscha. Kurt Baier. This study doesn't even confirm where (or how) it was lost. Tank 221 was lost at La Glieze, 222 lost at Stoumont, and 225 lost at Stoumont. Panther 215 had camo in the dot camouflage, with black numerals thinly outlined in white, but Panther 211 of the same platoon was in standard 3-color camo, so camo types obviously varied within the same platoon. It appears from what photos I have seen that none of the Panthers in question had zimmerit applied. Sorry I can't find any pertinent info for you. -- Al

Great info. Is it also true that few had winter camouflage?

 

[lancer]

You picked a tough tank to find info on. Went page by page through my 3 volume set of 'Duel in the Mist', which is a blow by blow account of the Leibstandarte during the Ardennes offensive, heavily documented and illustrated, and could find nothing about that particular tank other than it was under the command of Uscha. Kurt Baier. This study doesn't even confirm where (or how) it was lost. Tank 221 was lost at La Glieze, 222 lost at Stoumont, and 225 lost at Stoumont. Panther 215 had camo in the dot camouflage, with black numerals thinly outlined in white, but Panther 211 of the same platoon was in standard 3-color camo, so camo types obviously varied within the same platoon. It appears from what photos I have seen that none of the Panthers in question had zimmerit applied. Sorry I can't find any pertinent info for you. -- Al

Got some corrections on the above post as I continue to investigate. Vol. 3 has some further details. Panther 222 was commanded by Baier, not 223 as stated above. Panther 223 was commanded by Oscha. Walter Ropeter. 223 was part of the assault on Stoumont on Dec.19., 1944. Ropeter was spearheading the attack on Stoumont Station and was knocked out by Battery C, 143rd AAA Gun Bn. in front of the station. US forces removed the tank the next day to a quarry near Remouchamps. Photos of the tank show that it was painted in the Diamler-Benz Classic Factory Pattern and carried the distinctive pattern tactical numbers used by the Leibstandarte. The D-B classic factory pattern was the 3-color brown, green, dunkel-gelb combo, with the dots of contrasting color applied in the case of 223. The German cross insignia is carried on the sides of the tank shell, adjacent to the drivers and radio hatches, and would have been partially obscured by equipment clipped to the side. Photos of 223 can be found on pages 230-231 of Vol.3, Duel in the Mist, but show only the port side, angled front leftfront and leftrear, and are post-battle. As a matter of fact, one of the post-battle pictures of Panther 223 is the cover photo of Vol.3, which I hadn't noticed earlier. -- Al

 

[lancer]

Great info. Is it also true that few had winter camouflage?

I can't speak to all of the units and Panthers in action throughout the entire action of the Bulge, but none of the armor photographed in the 3 volumes 'Duel in the Mist' have anything but regular camo. No snow/winter camo to be seen but these 3 volumes only encompass the actions of Kampfgruppe Peiper in December. -- Al

 

[dragon53]

Thanks for the info. I already knew that the Collectors Showcase winter Panther 215 has whitewash and the real Panther 215 at Stoumont did not have whitewash---now I see the "215" should be in black, not red as on the model.