Map of shipwrecks from WW2

Dont you just love this map? I mean-we all know about the Bismarck, the Yamato, the Roayl Ark and the other big and famous ones- but just look at this map!  If anyone wondered whats makes a war a World War-look at this map! You got the heavy casualties in the Pacific scene, the convoylosses in the North Atlantic, your Graf Spee outside Montevideo in Uruguay.....


Click the map to make it bigger and think of the stories behimd every yellow star......the courage, the sacrifices.....

Map used with permission (c) copyright R.Monfils "2015".

Nashorn -Panzerjäger excellente

After the fighting in Russia hade shown the Wehrmacht that the russians also could build heavy tanks, the need for å better and heavier tankdestroyer became clear.

The solution-take an excellent ant-tank gun like the 88cm PAK 43/1 L/71  and place it on a tank chassis. Of course. So the Nashorn (also called Hornet- the 8,8cm Pak43 (L/71) auf Geschützwagen III/IV (Sd. Kfz. 164) was made by a chassis Alkett made  using their recently developed Geschützwagen III/IV which as its name indicated used components of both the Panzer III and Panzer IV tank and a well known 8,8 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 43/1 L/71. (Same gun that was used on the King Tiger later in the war by the way).

1943-1945 almost 500 were built. The Nashorn was a great tool for its job- taking out enemy armoured vehicles from a distance. Due to its weak armour, it was useless in close combat, but with that gun it didnt need to get in close either.... As a mobile version of the 88mm Anti tank gun it was very effective.

 The Hornisse/Nashorn was issued to the heavy antitank battalions (schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilungen), with which six would eventually be equipped: schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 560, 655, 525, 93, 519 and 88. Each battalion was equipped with 45 Nashorns.
 

It is reported that in early March of 1945, Lieutenant Beckmann from sPzJagAbt 88 destroyed Soviet IS-2 at the range of 4600 meters near Marzdorf.

 The most notable Nashorn ace was platoon commander of 1st company of sPzJagAbt 519, Junior Lieutenant Albert Ernst. On December 23rd of 1943, he destroyed  14 Soviet tanks in a single day using only 21 round of ammunition. The engagement took place near Vitebsk and Albert Ernst received a nickname "Tiger of Vitebsk". In December of 1943, Ernst destroyed total of 19 enemy tanks and on January 22nd of 1944, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross.




Mainsources:
 Wikipedia , achtungpanzer.com

Kettenkrad - the WW2 german ATV

The German "Kettenkrad" - or Sdkfz 2 or in short-german (lol!!!) " Kleines Kettenkraftrad HK 101" was a light half-track gun tractor originally designed for civil use but in 1939 the manufacturer NSU got a military order. It was used on all battlefields during the war, especially on the Eastern front. It could carry 3 crewmembers and a small trailer. Its big advantage was its capacity to go over difficult and soft terrain, like mud and sand, It could also fit into a Junker 52 transport plane.It main use was to transport small amount of ammo and fuel, as well as being used on airfields to tow airplanes to reduce use of planefuel which was in short demand. Many of them were used by airborne troops, but it was not dropped in parachute. Over 8000 was made during the war, and after the war the production for agricultural use continued until 1948/49. Its a fun little vehicle isnt it, and its easy to draw lines from this vehicle to more modern ATV`s and also to some degree the modern snowmobile.

Junker 88 some photos

I recently visitied the Technical Museum in Berlin and toke a couple of photos of the restored Junker 88 they have on display there.

The Junker 88-Ju 88- was a bomber and nightfigher used by Germany in WW2 and it was a very succesfull aircraft. As many as 15 0000 was manufactured, and it is along with the Heinkel 111 the most known german bomber from WW2. It was used in all battlefields where the germans fought, but it is especially as a nightfighter we remember it.  One version even had cannons pointing upwards so it could shot at bombers while hiding under them!

The photos show a nightfighter, take notice of its nose with the radar standing next to the plane.

Messerschmitt bf 110 some photos

The Messerschmitt bf 110 , usually just called ME 110 was one of the most known and used of the german fighters during WW2. It was produced from 1937 and when production stopped in 1945 over 6100 had been produced.  It was originally used as a fighter, but during the Battle og Britain it proved to hard to manouver against smaller fighters like the Hurricane and Spitfire so it was gradually used more for high-altitude escort and as a night-fighter, the last role being the most succesfull. The most notorious of all german night-fighters, Major Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer flew only ME 110 and claimed 121 victories in only 164 combat missions. It was also, with some success, used as a fighter-bomber, mainly on the Eastern Front.

These photos were taken by me in teh Technical Museum in Berlin that have a very nice restored ME 110 on display.

Interesting fact:
The famous and quite impressing "peace-flight" by Rudolf Hess from Germany and far into Britain in 1940 took place in a ME 110

German Panzers in WW2 with numbers

Even if Germany made some of the best tanks in WW2, they (luckily) never stood a chance against the combined production rate of allied tanks and anti-tank weapons. Russia alone produced far more T-34`s than Germany produced tanks all together. I think its interesting to see what tanks Germany had- and maybe even more-how many they had of each type. The list starts with the earliest tank and ends with the last produced

1. Panzer 1 

Produced: 1934-1937

Number built:1493 

In service: 1934-1945

2. Panzer 2

Produced: 1935-1943

Number built: 1856

In service: 1936-1945

3. Panzer 3

Produced: 1939-1943

Number built: 5774

In service: 1939-1945

4. Panzer 4

Produced: 1936-1945

Number built: 8553

In service: 1939-1945 (Germany) up til 1967 other countries

5. Panther

Produced: 1943-1945 (some sources include up till 46- for British forces)

Number built: 6000

In service: 1943-1945 (Germany) also post-war by other countries

6. Tiger

Produced:1942-1944

Number built: 1327

In service: 1942-1945  

7. King Tiger

Produced: 1943-1945

Number built: 493 

In service: 1944-1945

Sturmtiger - the bigger the better?

Sturmtiger or to be more precise - the "Sturmmörserwagen 606/4 mit 38 cm RW 61" was a assault gun built on a Tiger chassis and equipped with a rocket launcher. It was designed to be used as infantry support, especially in urban areas. It looks absolutely insane with that launcher, kinda like a tank that where the cannon is cut of.... The need for such a weapon was clear to the germans after the loss at Stalingrad, the main purpose of it being destroying buildings and fortifications. The gun is actually taken from the Kriegsmarine- and was a depth-charge launcher...the shells are rocket-propelled!

Only 18 was produced, and they was mainly used in the defense of Germany in the late part of the war, being produced from late 1943 until the end of the war.

It was mainly used in three battles- the Warzaw uprising, the Battle of Bulge and the Battle of the Reichswald.


Numbers:
Weight: 68 tons
Length: 6.28 metres
 Width: 3.57 metres
Height: 2.85 metres
Armour: up to 150 mm of steel....
Armament: 380 mm RW 61 rocket launcher L/5.4
Speed: 40 km/h (road)

Surviving units:
There are three Sturmtigers in museums today, located in Kubinka Tank Museum in Russia, Bovington Tank Museum in the UK and one in Germany currently at loan to Deutsches Panzermuseum in Munster.


Sturmtiger firing, I belive this is in the Warzaw uprising.

Captured Sturmtiger

Sturmtiger at museum-look at that insane projectile!!!

Jagdpanther -killer from afar photos and info

Jagdpanther-the "hunting Panther" as it was nicknamed was another one of Germanys big tankdestroyers towards the end of the war.  Its original name in german was ""8.8 cm Pak 43/3 auf Panzerjager Panther" but even though that really rolls of your tongue....Hitler himself changed it to Jagdpanther. The Jagdpanther was based on the Panther chassis and the Tiger gun-a fierce combination indeed....

Production started in february 1944 and lasted pretty much until the end of the war, the total number built being around 415.  It never had any significant impact on the war, but if you were in a tank- that 88mm gun was not something you wanted to see pointing at you...

Survivors:
There are actually three running Jagdpanthers today, two in Germany at Deutsches Panzermuseum in Munster and at Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung (WTS) at Koblenz, the third is in England at the SDKFZ Foundation in the UK-who are currently working on getting a second one running as well!

Besides these four there are at least 7 other surviving Jagdpanthers in the largest tank/war museums around the world like Kubinka in Russia and Bovington.



Numbers:
Weight: 45 tons
Length: 9.87 metres
 Width: 3.42 metres
Height: 2.71 metres
Armour: up to 100 mm of steel....
Armament: 88 mm PaK 43/3 or 43/4 L71
Speed: 46 km/h (road)

Thats just massive isnt it?

Two Jagdpanthers back-to-back  in a street in Normandy 1944

This uniqe photo shows the production of Jagdpanthers next to the Panther whos chassis it used.

Jagdpanthers up to no good....

The crew with umbrellas..thats just bizarre....

Jagdpanthers destroyed, probably at the Battle of Bulge

Jagdpanther today-notice the damage on the side

Jagdtiger -hunter of the plains

The Jagdtiger-or as the Germans so easily called it "Panzerjäger Tiger Ausf. B" was a tank destroyer that was based on a lengthened King Tiger chassis. It was the heaviest armoured vehicle used in combat in WW2. It had a MASSIVE 128mm gun that could flatten any allied vehicle from a distance of over 3500 metres!  The Jagdtiger was only produced in small numbers-around 80 was built, and many of them was destroyed by one crew due to mechanical failure or loss of fuel supplies.

Due to its enormeous weight, it ha problems with gear, engine and of course-just simply driving forward on most terrain types...

Only two heavy antitank battalions (schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung), numbered 512 and 653 were equipped with Jagdtigers, with the first vehicles reaching the units in September 1944. One Jagdtiger was even destroyed by the handheld Panzerfaust by own Volkssturm (Volkssturm was at the end of the war often involved in battles they werent ready for) , as the Volkssturm have never seen a Jagdtiger before...

The Jagdtiger never saw much of the action it was bulit for- tankbattles where it could take out enemy tanks from a distance, but at one occasion it proved that at least the gun worked properly- During April 1945, s.Pz.Jäg.Abt.512 saw a great deal of action, especially on 9 April, where the 1st company engaged an Allied column of Sherman tanks and trucks from dug-down positions, and took out 11 tanks and over 30 soft-skins,  some of the enemy tanks having been knocked out from a distance of more than 4,000 m. The combat unit only lost one Jagdtiger in this incident as Allied ground attack P-47appeared

 Numbers:
Weight: 72 tons
Length: 10.65 metres including gun
Width: 3.6  metres
Height: 2.8 metres
Armour: up to 250 mm of steel....
Armament: 128 mm PaK
Speed: 34 km/h (road)

Surviving units:
There are 3 Jagdtigers in museums today- these ale located at the museums in England (Bovington Tank Museum), USA (National Armor and Cavalry Museum) and Russia (Kubinka Tank Museum)




That jeep looks like a toy doesnt it...

Massive gun...

Jagdtiger captured by the americans

Another spoil of war (Sorry for  the swastika...)

Jagdtiger today at Bovington Museum 

King Tiger - best of the beasts

 Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B or as most know it- King Tiger (also called Royal Tiger by some allied forces) was the "improved" version of the Tiger-and what a tank it was.... It came in production in 1943 and saw action from summer 44 and til the end of the war. Only 492 was built, and this was of course way to few to have a real impact on the outcome of the war. By summer 44 Germany had already lost all air-controle and was also weakend by supply shortage, low quality in production and not enough time to train crew.

The King Tiger "Königstiger" took the best from the Tiger and the successfull Panther and combined them into an even bigger and better tank. The armour and armament was still bigger and better than any allied tank, and the successfull curves on the Panther was used to some degree on the King Tiger, making it harder to destroy with tank/anti-tank shells. It had two types of turret- the early "Porsche" turret wich was very sloped, and the Henschel-turret. Henschel&Son/Krupp was the producer/manufactorer of the tank, and we should all be glad this tank didnt come int production until late in the war-the kill/death ratio of the King Tiger agains enemy tanks was impressive, even with severe challenges on all fronts from production, training and supplies. For example, the 103d SS Heavy Panzer Battalion in the period january-april 1945 on the eastern front  had about 500 kills with their King Tiger tanks, with a loss of only 45, most destroyd by own crew to avoid the enemy capturing them after they had had damage/mechanical problems.


 Numbers:
Weight: 69 tons
Length: 7.38 metres
Width: 3.75  metres
Height: 3.09 metres
Armour: up to 180 mm of steel....
Armament: 88 mm Kwk
Speed: 41 km/h (road)

Surviving Units:
There are several King Tigers in museums today, in all of the big countries winning the war- Russia, France, USA and England to name some-there is also on i Germany, in Deutches Panzermuseum in Munster. The only operational is in France in Musee des Blindes.

A King Tiger in Budapest 1944 part of 503d Heavy Panzer Battalion

King Tigers lined up for German Newsreel footage

King Tiger in Budapest, I like the way this photo shows how massive the gun really is...

King Tiger in a museum

Panzerfaust - the poor mans anti-tank

Panzerfaust was a german anti-tank weapon for infantry, its  was cheap, had a single shot and was recoilless. It consisted of a small, disposable preloaded launch tube firing a explosivr anti-tank warhead, and was operated by a single soldier. They had a range from 30m (Panzerfaust klein) up to 150m for the Panzerfaust 150.

The Panzerfaust was used in great numbers from 1942, but we often think of the last defence of Berlin when we see it. I must admit it breaks my heart to see women and young boys holding a close combat anti-tank weapon because one maniac deep under ground wouldnt surrender...


These are the versions of the Panzerfaust that was produced and used in WW2 in some numbers, Panzerfaust 150 barely saw any action as it was put into production only two months before the war ended.

Its quite brilliant with its simlicity actually...

Doesnt this break your heart? Hitlerjugend member shown how to use the Panzerfaust...

German woman learning to use the Panzerfaust

Landkreuzer 1000 Ratte - Were gonna need a bigger tank... photos video info

The Landkreuzer 1000 "Ratte" (Rat) was another one of Hitlers "I get madder-tanks get bigger" strategy as an answer to the heavy russian tanks the germans encountered on the eastern front. We have already seen how this led to the quite succesfull(at least performance wise) Tiger and the absurdly Maus but the madness didnt stop there, at least not on the drawing board. In 1942 Krupp (yes-they did make money of everything that needed steel!) suggested an even bigger tank. Or lets be honest-this is a warship on land!

Numbers:
Weight: 1000 tons
Length: 35 metres
Width: 14 metres
Height: 11 metres
Armour: up to 250mm of steel....
Armament: 2*280mm canons (yes-the same as the triple 28cm on light german battleships...)
Crew: 20-40
Speed: 40km/h (I think this is optimistic...)

There was also plans for two compartments with a BMW motorcykle for scouting.


Albert Speer stoppet the project i 1943, probably seeing the madness in it all, before a prototype was constructed. Seeing these drawings of its size, I can understand why-this thing would have been impossible to use in mobile warfare, its as easy as that, and its a hell of an expencive gun turret....

Theres some debate as to what the secondary armament would have been, suggestions are either flak-guns or 50-128mm anti-tank guns.


Its so big its beyond funny...

One suggestion on what it might have looked like

Heres another suggestion to what it might have looked like

Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf.E -ruler of the battlefield info photos and video

The Tiger Tank as it is most known as, or in the usual light german language "Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf.E" , is one of the most known tanks from WW2-if not the best known. The reason of course is that it was an absolutely masterpiece of engineering, and head to head swept all other tanks away from the moment it began hitting the battlefields of Europa in 1942.

Brief background history:
The Tiger was the german response to russian tanks-especially the great T-34- giving up a much better fight than expected in the inasion of Russia fra 22.june 1941. The germans soon realised they needed a bigger tank. Actually they needed a bigger gun-but to hold a bigger gun-you need a bigger tank-and the Tiger was the answer. The best gun against the russian big tanks was the 88gun, wich was actually a flak gun but proved for a fantastic anti-panzer gun as well.  The Tiger was the first tank equipped with the 88mm gun. Production began in 1942 and ended in 1944, when it was faded out for the Tiger 2-or the King Tiger as most call it. (more on that beast in another article!)

Fun fact: 
The Bovington Tank Museum has a running Tiger tank, the only one in the world! The tank numbered 131 was captured in Tunisia in 1943. See video and the bottom of this article

Fun fact 2: 
 Because of its weight naturally the Tigerhad problems with sinking into...well-mostly everything. The recomended test for the crew was this: TAke one of the other crewmembers on your back and stand on one fot. If your fot sinks in, so will the Tiger

Numbers:
Weight:56.9 tons
Length:6.3 metres
Width:3.7 metres
height: 3.0 metres
Main armament: 88mm
Secondary armamaent: 2*7.92 MG
Speed: 38km/h
Armour: Up til 120mm at the turret, 100mm in the front-this was strong enough to resist a direct hit frem the american Sherman tanks 75mm guns, its main opponent at the western front.

About 1300 Tigers were produced from 1942 til 1944.

Problems:
Even a Tiger have problems- for the Tiger tank this was mainly related to the fact that it was timeconsuming and expencive to produce. While russian factories were pouring out T-34`s many of the Tigerparts had to be handmade, it also used a lot of fuel (which became a big issue for Germany as the war starting going poorly) and there was also some problems with traction and transportation.

Despite this problems, the Tiger was the most feared sight on the battlefields in 1942-1944, a fully working Tiger tank was almost impossible to destroy for enemy tanks, and it kill-.death ratio on the battlefield was legendary. In the largest tank battle in history-the battle of Kursk in russia, the Tigers fell as often to mechanical problems as they did to enemy fire.

Tiger Ace:
Michael Wittman is the most famous tank commander from the Tigers, involved in panzer battles from the invasion of Poland (not in a Tiger then of course) and until 1944 when he was killed in France. He is most known from the Battle of Villers-Bocage, when he from a Tiger tank destroyd 14 enemy tanks, 15 personel carriers and 2 anti-tank guns. In 15 minutes-with a little help of course....

This is how this column of british vehicles looked after Wittmann had a go at them from a single Tiger...

Tiger assembly line

Tiger destroying a russian tank at the battle of Kursk

A Tiger battalion has the right of way. Always.

Tiger tanks in russia 1943 (Probably the Grossdeutschland division)

The only running Tiger tank today-cool video