Ritterkreuz Award Ceremony for Michael Wittmann and Bobby Woll

Image size: 1281 x 1600 pixel. 406 KB
Date: Friday, 14 January 1944
Place: Vinnitsa, Ukraine, Eastern Front
Photographer: Unknown

On 14 January 1944, panzer ace Michael Wittmann was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross) along with his gunner, Bobby Woll, for their achievements which have so far destroyed 88 enemy tanks. The presentation was made at Vinnitsa, Ukraine, by his divisional commander SS-Oberführer Theodor "Teddy" Wisch, who also nominated him for the Eichenlaub to his Ritterkreuz. This picture shows Wittmann with his crew, from left to right. SS-Panzerschütze Werner Irrgang (Funker), SS-Rottenführer Bobby Woll (Richtschütze), SS-Untersturmführer Michael Wittmann (Zugführer in 13.Kompanie (schwere) / IV.Abteilung / SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 / 1.SS-Panzer-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler"), SS- Panzerschütze Sepp Rößner (Ladeschütze), and SS-Sturmmann Eugen Schmidt (Fahrer). Behind them is Wittmann's Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I Ausf.F "S04", with 88 victory rings on its barrel. Actually the Ritterkreuz recommendation sent by Divisionskommandeur Wisch to the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) on 10 January 1944 "only" included Wittmann's winnings as 66 tanks, but something incredible happens: in the four day span between the submission of the proposal to the official approval notification, this tank master went berserk and destroyed no fewer than 22 additional tanks to hoist his winning score to a total 88!

Source :
https://panzermaenner.blogspot.com/2019/02/ritterkreuz-award-ceremony-for-panzer.html

Heinz Guderian Visiting Tiger Company of SS Leibstandarte

Image size: 1600 x 1150 pixel. 292 KB
Date: Tuesday, 27 April 1943
Place: Kharkov, Ukraine, Soviet Union
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Wiesebach

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian (Generalinspekteur der Panzertruppen) made an inspection visit to Tiger company of SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 / 1.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" (LSSAH) at Kharkov, April 1943. Officer wearing Sonderbekleidung Der Deutschen Panzertruppen is SS-Hauptsturmführer Heinrich "Heinz" Kling, Chef of 18.Kompanie / SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 / 1.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division LSSAH, and he is shows one of the Panzerkampfwagen VI Panzerbefehlswagen Tiger I Ausführung E (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 181) to Guderian. The coaxial machine gun was removed to make more room in the turret for the extra radio set and the hole in the gun mantlet was plugged. Ammunition stowage was also reduced and the vision block on the right side of the turret and the turret periscope were not mounted. Records show that 89 Panzerbefehlswagen Tiger I were produced during the war.

Source:

Book "Panzer Divisions in Battle 1939-45" by Tom Cockle 

http://audiovis.nac.gov.pl/obraz/3158/2a130b90ca3f32a148f6728273fedb4a/

http://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/archives/barchpic/search/_1377011867/?search[form][fulltext]={Wiesebach}+within+FOTOGRAF&search[form][sortorder]=DCDATA_CREDATE+ASC

http://www.bridgemanart.com/asset/350367/German-Photographer-20th-century/General-Heinz-Guderian-inspecting-the-troops-of-th

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=637234679634339&set=gm.506346472787297&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/41818881@N06/8776121513/

Tiger Commander of Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503 Confers With "Totenkopf" Panzergrenadiers

Image size: 1600 x 1152 pixel. 723 KB
Date: Friday, 13 August 1943
Place: Khruschevo, Nikitovka Line, Belogrod Oblast, Soviet Union
Photographer: SS-Kriegsberichter Willi Merz

In most publication (also on the internet), this famous picture (which was taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Willi Merz) always attributed to the German offensive in the Kursk battle (5-16 July 1943), but actually it is AFTER that (the Soviet counterattack, 12 July-23 August 1943). It shows Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I ausf.E (Sd.Kfz.181) Turmnummer (Turret Number) 313, 3.Kompanie, 1.Zug (Platoon) 3rd Vehicle, leads another Tiger of Schwere Panzer Abteilung (Heavy Tank Battalion) 503 that has stopped to confer with panzergrenadiers of III.Bataillon/SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 6 "Theodor Eicke"/3.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Totenkopf" (Death's Head) as they attack during a commanders' roll-call, ironing out the details of co-operation during the advance along the Khruschevo - Nikitovka Line, August 13, 1943 (part of the Battle of Belogrod on August 13-14, 1943). The Panzergrenadiers are wearing the distinctive SS camouflage smocks, the Tarnschlumpfjacke. Note that the one in the center has a matching pair of trousers. Note also the type of improvised turret stowage bin, distinctive for the s.Pz.Abt.503! After the failure of Operation Zitadelle (Citadel) to take the city of Kursk in July 1943, substantially reduced German divisions withdrew to their previous positions around the town of Belogrod. Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503, over the commander's protests, was ordered to attach its three companies to three SS Panzergrenadier Divisions. This had the effect of blunting the Tiger force available and left the tanks without mutual armored support. Outnumbered ten to one, the Tigers, Panzers and Sturmgeschütz assault guns used their superior training and tactics, and the heavy armor of the Tigers, to assist Totenkopf's drive on the Merla River to link up with elements of the 4. Panzerarmee. Despite forcing the Germans to withdraw from Belogrod on August 6, the heavy Soviet tank losses prevented the total destruction of the German forces. Between July 5 and August 7, 1943, schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503 claimed to have destroyed 385 tanks, 4 assault guns, and 265 antitank guns. On August 13 alone, Tiger 332 knocked out three T-34 medium tanks, two KV-1 medium tanks, one SU-122 assault gun and five antitank guns! The Battalion lost one tank and Leutnant Konrad Weinert was wounded.

Source:

Book "PzKpfw V Tiger vol.II" by Tadeusz Melleman

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0160

Tiger #332 Stuck in the Mud (Recovery Training)

Image size: 1600 x 1034 pixel. 722 KB
Date: Monday, 4 October 1943
Place: Znamenka, Tambovskaya oblast, Soviet Union
Photographer: Unknown

Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger (8,8 cm L/56) Ausf. E (Sd.Kfz. 181) turmnummer 332 of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503 carefully trying to make it's way out of the mud. S.Pz.Abt.503 was the only German heavy tank battalion to have two Balkenkreuz visible on each side, one on the hull and one on the turret near the identification numeral. The numbering featured black numerals with white outlines by this time. In October 1943, the battalion was in a rest area near Znamenka, where it had time to maintain and repair vehicles and conduct training. This sequence shows recovery training that was conducted on 4 October 1943.

Source:
Book "Tigers In Combat (1)" by Wolfgang Schneider
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6088379/anchors_6095031/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#6095031
http://www.tiif.de/thread.php?postid=3097

Children Playing with Panzer Tiger in France

Image size: 1600 x 1163 pixel. 522 KB
Date: Late 1944
Place: Strasbourg, France
Photographer: Unknown

Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf.E (Sd.Kfz.181) turmnummer 222 of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503 in front of the Palais Rohan in Strasbourg, France, late 1944. This is a very early production vehicle and still wearing transport tracks. The 2.Kompanie/schwere Panzer-Abteilung 504 was sent to Sicily in April 1943. These first 9 Tigers were joined by two replacement Tigers that were supposed to go to the schwere Panzer-Abteilung 501 in Africa and 6 more to reinforce the island. 10 were destroyed by Naval Gunfire and 6 scuttled to prevent capture. Only Tiger #222 escaped to Italy. Details: 17/08/1943: The last operating Tiger, number 222, was ferried across the Stretto di Messina. The unit lost all the other Tigers in Sicily; 22/08/1943: After some days, Tiger 222 had to be abandoned too, due to a mechanical breakdown in the winding roads of Calabri.

Source:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152110867560752&set=o.303273499761263&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

Tiger of Großdeutschland with Two Soldiers and Captured Soviet Anti-Tank Guns

Image size: 1600 x 1140 pixel. 269 KB
Date: Thursday, 10 August 1944
Place: Vilkaviškis (Wilkowischken), Marijampolė, Lithuania
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Pfeiffer from PK (Propaganda-Kompanie) Division Großdeutschland

Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I Ausf.E "B12" from 11. Kompanien/III.Abteilung/Panzer-Regiment 'Großdeutschland', passes close to a Russian anti tank guns 76 mm M1942 (ZiS-3) on the road, while two Obergefreiter watching the sky. Based on the book "God, Honor, Fatherland: A Photo History of Panzergrenadier Division 'Grossdeutschland' on the Eastern Front 1942-1944" by Thomas McGuirl and Remy Spezzano, this picture was taken in the region of  Wilkowischken, Lithuania, in 10 August 1944 (some sources, including Bundesarchiv, places this as 23 September 1943 in Kharkov-Poltava, Ukraine). This vehicle (and the pic below from the same scene, Tiger S01) has got the all-steel (without rubber) road wheels, and this version came into production in february 1944. The Germans captured thousands of ZiS-3 along with captured armored vehicles and modified them into self-propelled guns. Some guns were supplied to the Afrikakorps. The Germans liked the 76.2mm guns for their reliability, durability, and accuracy they found out, it could knock-out light and medium tanks with its armor-piercing round but, against the Tiger and Panther, it made the lives hard for the Russian gun crews. The troops could be looking at the Stukas taking out targets ahead of them. The troop (soldier) on the right looks like he's carrying a MG34 with link belted ammo around his neck, armed with a walther P-38 or Luger 08 pistol in his holster. The other soldier looks like he is a Gefreiter (Lance Corporal or Obergefreiter Corporal) because he's got the field glasses around his neck, sidearm same as the private walther P-38, or Luger 08 Pistol, looks like he's armed with a MP-40 9mm Sub-machine gun. The Tiger behind them, is there for comfort: Don't leave home without it!

Source:

Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-732-0138-14

http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=9731
http://www.network54.com/Forum/47207/thread/1194214865/1194308515/Most+likely+turret+numbers+for+command+Tigers...-

Tiger #222 Taking Tiger #231 in Tow After a Breakdown

Image size: 1600 x 1126 pixel. 338 KB
Date: Wednesday, 14 June 1944
Place: Villers-Bocage, Basse-Normandie, France
Photographer: Arthur Grimm (PK Signal-Einsatz)

Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf.E Tiger I (Sd.Kfz.181) heavy tanks of the 2.Kompanie/schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101 at north-eastern outskirts of Villers-Bocage, France. Standing on Tiger #222 (commanded by SS-Oberscharführer Kurt Sowa) with kradmantel (motorcyclist's coat) is SS-Untersturmfuhrer Georg Hantusch (Zugführer of 2.Zug/2.Kompanie/schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101) taking Tiger #231 (SS-Standartenoberjunker Heinz Belbe) in tow after a breakdown, victim of British anti-tank gun, while small in the background is a captured American Personnel Half-track M5. This photo (by Kriegsberichter Arthur Grimm from Propaganda-Kompanie Signal-Einsatz) were taken just outside Villers-Bocage on June 14, 1944, so just one day after Wittmann's attack there.

Source:

Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-738-0275-10A

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-738-0275-10A,_Bei_Villers-Bocage,_Panzer_VI_%28Tiger_I%29.jpg