Abandoned Königstiger of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 506

Image size: 2126 x 1663 pixel. 1.2 MB
Date: Thursday, 18 January 1945
Place: Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, Luxembourg
Photographer: Unknown

An Abandoned Panzerkampfwagen VI ausf B (SdKfz 182) Tiger II or Königstiger (Bengal Tiger) of Schwere Panzer Abteilung (Heavy Tank Battalion) 506, Sixth Panzer Army, is inspected by American soldiers of the 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division. Note the Tiger II's 88mm (3.46 inch) locked in the recoil position, destroyed by the retreating crew. The 35th Infantry Division was rushed into the area to stop the German offensive around December 20, 1944. On December 28, the Division had fought their way to Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, near Bastogne, attempting to relieve the 101st Airborne Division and elements of the 10th Armored Division. By December 31 the 137th Infantry had lost two companies captured by the 1st SS Panzer Division, attempting to retake the village after Bastogne's relief. The 137th had lost 200 men killed or captured. On January 10, the 137th retook Villers. The 506th was the only Heer (Regular Army) unit equipped with the Tiger II, as opposed to the Waffen SS Abteilungs in operation in Belgium. The unit had only operated Tiger tanks, and for the Ardennes Offensive, a fourth company, Schwere Panzer Abteilung Hummel, was attached operating Panzerkampfwagen IV ausf E Tiger Is. On January 17, 1944, as the Sixth Panzer Army retreated from American breakthroughs around Bastogne, the 506th was forced to abandon two Tiger IIs and one Tiger I. While individually superior to any Allied tank, the Tiger II consumed considerable resources and was yet another tank type that a strained German quartermaster corps had to supply with fuel, ammunition, and spare parts. The Tiger II had a range of only 90 miles (145 kilometers). In its rush to combat it suffered from mechanical reliability defects; most Americans saw abandoned, not destroyed, Tiger IIs. This was a blessing for the Americans, whose M4 Sherman medium tanks and M10 Wolverine tank destroyers, both armed with 3-inch guns, could not penetrate the 180mm (7 inch) thick frontal armor. Only the M36 Jackson, with a high velocity 90mm gun, could stop a Tiger II, and only at a range within that of the German tank. All of the American tanks and tank destroyers had armor that was easily defeated by the Tiger II's 88mm KwK 43 L/71 main gun. The Americans counted on their superiority in artillery and air power to destroy Tigers.


Source :
https://ardennes-breakthrough-association.com/tiger-ii-03-abteilung-506/
https://worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii0149

Abandoned "Porscheturm" Königstiger of s.Pz.Abt.503 in Normandy

Image size: 1600 x 964 pixel. 462 KB
Date: Wednesday, 30 August 1944
Place: Amiens, Normandy, France
Photographer: unknown

Panzerkampfwagen IV ausf B (Sdkfz 182) with turret designed by Krupp for the Tiger II designed by Professor Doctor Ferdinand Porsche (September 3, 1875 – January 30, 1951). This Tiger II of Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503 was abandoned by Leutnant Rambow's crew during the Normandy Campaign. Rambow was leading two Tigers through Beauvais when one threw a track on the Rue Antoine Caron. The crew of the other Tiger started repairs when the British 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards of the 8th Armoured Brigade entered the town and fired on the disabled Tiger. The crew fled and made it back to German lines. Leutnant Rambow fought the British to Amiens, where he ran out of fuel and ammunition. His crew set fire to the vehicle, causing the suspension to settle. Note missing outer road wheels.

In 1941, Doctor Porsche was contracted, along with Henschel und Sohn, to design the Tiger II tank. Porsche's design used more copper wiring, which led to the adoption of the Henschel design as the production Tiger II on November 11, 1942. Porsche was so sure that his design would be accepted he had ordered Krupp to begin production of their turret for his design; fifty were completed when the contract was canceled. Henschel began designing the new Tiger II, but to move the project along, the Porsche turrets were fitted to the new Henschel design. These tanks were issued first to Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503. Twelve Porscheturm (Porsche Turret) Tiger IIs and two Henshelturm (Henschel Turret) Tiger IIs were issued between May 1944 and June 1944, when Panzer Abteilung 503 left for Normandy. The Porscheturm Tiger IIs had a stronger turret because of the curved surface deflecting anti-tank rounds, but a shot trap caused rounds that hit under the curved gun mantlet were deflected into the driver's compartment, killing the driver and the radio operator. However, most Tiger IIs were not lost to Allied tanks; artillery and fighter-bombers were the chief combat losses of Tiger IIs. More than that, the Tiger II suffered from poor road performance and its heavy weight caused French and Belgian bridges to collapse. More Tiger IIs were lost to mechanical breakdown than in combat. Of the twenty-six Tiger IIs Panzer Abteilung 503 was issued during the Normandy Campaign, only two survived.

Source :
https://maquettes-missiles.blogspot.com/2018/04/le-char-super-lourd-maus.html
https://www.modellismopiu.it/modules/newbb_plus/print.php?forum=8&topic_id=24606
https://worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii0152

Flight Deck of USS Yorktown After Being Hit by the Japanese

Image size: 3000 x 2107 pixel. 1.1 MB
Date: Thursday, 4 June 1942
Place: Pacific Ocean
Photographer: unknown

Looking forward on the flight deck of USS Yorktown (CV-5) shortly after she was hit by two Japanese aerial torpedoes, 4 June 1942. Men are preparing to abandon ship. Island's port side is at right, with the curved supporting structure for the Primary Flight Control booth at top. Knotted lines in the foreground were apparently used to evacuate the island's upper platforms. The planes which scored torpedo hits were shot down either in passing the Yorktown or in attempting to pass through the fire of her escorting vessels. Not one of the attacking squadron returned to its carrier. By 1447 firing ceased. The Yorktown, listing heavily to port, was losing speed and turning in a small circle to port. She stopped and white smoke poured from her stacks. The screening vessels began to circle. Inside the Yorktown all lights had gone out. The Diesel generators were cut in, but the circuit breakers would not hold and the ship remained in darkness. The list gradually increased to 26 Degrees. Without power nothing could be done to correct it. The Commanding Officer and the Damage Control Officer thought it probable that the ship would capsize in a few minutes, and at 1455 orders were given to abandon ship. Inside, men clambered over steeply sloping decks in total darkness to remove the wounded. After an inspection on which no living personnel were found, the Commanding Officer left the ship. Destroyers closed in to pick up survivors.


Source :
United States Naval Historical C
https://worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii1301

A-20G Havoc Attacks Japanese Taiei Maru Ship

Image size: 1600 x 1344 pixel. 473 KB
Date: Sunday, 19 March 1944
Place: Wewak, Papua New Guinea
Photographer: unknown

Douglas A-20G-30-DO Havoc "Tobias the Terrible" serial number 43-9477 of the 89th Bomb Squadron, 3rd Bomb Group, 5th Air Force, pulls out after skip bombing Taiei Maru off Wewak. Pilot Lieutenant John Soloc's engine was shot out as he came around to attack; losing power, he elected to continue the attack. As he delivered his bomb amidships, his wingtip and propeller struck the ship's mast. The hydraulics were shot out and the bomb bay doors could not be closed. Unable to gain altitude or speed, the A-20 crashed a few miles away. Soloc survived; his gunner, John L. Bradley, went down with the plane. After seventeen hours in the water, he was spotted by Lieutenant John P. "Jock" Henebry of the 90th Bomb Squadron. A US Navy Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina flying boat picked him up. Soloc was given a week's leave and returned to combat; he flew 61 missions by the end of the war. Taiei Maru, a 3,221 ton freighter operated by the Kuribayashi Shosen Kisen Kaisha (Kuribayashi Competitive Steamship Lines) was part of Wewak convoy Number 21 with Yakumo Maru and auxiliary subchasers Cha-47 and Cha-49. Two Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the 63rd Bomb Squadron, 43rd Bomb Group, 5th Air Force sank Yakumo Maru at 0230 Hours by radar; after sunrise nine A-20Gs of the 89th, with over 70 other Allied aircraft, attacked the convoy. An intercepted message from Imperial Japanese Army General Headquarters on March 28 reported all four ships sunk and notified 8th Area Army on Wewak that their supply convoys were suspended indefinitely because of Allied aerial supremacy. Wewak fell to the Australians on May 10, 1945.


Source :
https://sofrep.com/news/battle-of-the-bismarck-sea-skip-bombing-headhunters-and-swimming-lessons/
https://worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii1562
https://www.yokota.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1913795/100-years-of-3rd-wing-service/