Jagdtigers of 2/s.Pz.Jg.Abt.512: Demolitioned Near Letmathe

Source: Author's collection.

     The remains of two Jagdtigers of 2nd. Kompanie, Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 512 (2/s.Pz.Jg.Abt.512) sit alongside a road near the German town of Letmathe. On April 11, 1945, 2/s.Pz.Jg.Abt.512, commanded by Hauptmann Walter Scherf, was part of Kampfgruppe (Battle Group) Ernst and set up in hidden positions to check U.S. advances to the Ruhr River. That day, the Jagdtigers fired high explosive ammunition out to 3 miles and the group was able to cause enough havoc to force the U.S. forces to retreat. Despite the victory, 2/s.Pz.Jg.Abt.512 was ordered to withdraw and so during the night, Scherf positioned his Jagdtigers on high ground outside the village of Kalthof. The next day, the Jagdtigers shot up U.S. tanks, again halting the advance of U.S. forces. Nevertheless, 2/s.Pz.Jg.Abt.512 continued to withdraw and by April 14, was in the village of Ergste. 

     The Jagdtigers were situated in a wooded area near Letmathe where mechanics worked to effect repairs. Scherf could see that his men had no fight left and when word came that 1/s.Pz.Jg.Abt.512 was all but finished, that was the final straw. 2/s.Pz.Jg.Abt.512 was ordered to destroy their Jagdtigers and on April 15, 1945, 2/s.Pz.Jg.Abt.512 surrendered. 

     Thus, when the Allies passed through, they found these two Jagdtigers. The second one is difficult to make out but it is parked immediately behind the Jagdtiger in the foreground and it is believed that this Jagdtiger had towed the other after it suffered a mechanical breakdown.

Jagdtiger: Victim of U.S. Air Power

(Source: pics_of_warfare @ Instagram)

     On October 14, 1944, both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) launched Operation Hurricane against German targets. The intent of the operation was to show the Germans that both British and American bomber forces could exert their dominance at will in German airspace. In addition, the intended targets were designed to pummel German communication lines, demoralize the German populace, further inhibit German industry, and attempt to impart the futility of continued resistance. The bombing was mainly done by the RAF, flying 2,589 sorties in twenty-four hours, with some crews flying both daylight and nighttime missions. 10,210 tons of bombs were dropped on several targets in addition to incendiary munitions to cause as much destruction as possible. For the USAAF's part, the VIII Bomber Command (8th. Air Force) worked in conjunction with RAF Pathfinder squadrons to attack German military infrastructure in several cities.

     This brings us to October 16, 1944. On this date, the Nibelungenwerk was struck by Allied bombers. The facility, located in St. Valentin, Austria, was not only the largest tank producer for the German military, it also had the most modern assembly equipment and processes of any other manufacturer. The factory officially opened in 1942 and commenced to producing Panzerkampfwagen IV medium tanks and later, added assembly tasks for Tiger I heavy tanks. The PzKpfw IV and Tiger I tanks were not the only armored vehicles produced and assembled at the Nibelungenwerk through the years and by September 1944, the Jagdtiger commenced to being produced at the factory. This, then, is the subject of the photograph.

     Exactly who struck the Nibelungenwerk on October 16 isn't given in most sources on the Jagdtiger, only that 143 tons of bombs struck the factory, causing an obvious disruption in production. This shouldn't be too surprising as the aerial campaign against German military industry isn't the subject of those books. Still, we can hazard a guess that the most likely candidates were USAAF bombardment groups under the 15th. Air Force that were conducting bombing raids in Austria at the time. For example, on that date, squadrons from the 451st. and 461st. Bombardment Group hit the Hermann Göring benzol (meaning, benzene) fuel additive plant in Linz, Austria which was only some 18 miles from St. Valentin. On the same date, squadrons of the 484th. Bombardment Group targeted munition works in Linz. All three of these groups belonged to the 49th. Bombardment Wing. With the 15th. Air Force having operations in the vicinity of the Nibelungenwerk on October 16, 1944, it is almost certain that one of the twenty-one bombardment groups under the 15th. Air Force was assigned to strike the plant that day.

     The effects of the bombardment were not as damaging as they could have been for one reason or another. For example, the bombs from the 484th. dropped long and to the left of the munition targets, causing little damage to the target itself while cloud cover affected the effectiveness of the bombing against the benzol plant. The bombing of the Nibelungenwerk facility caused a shutdown of production while the damage was cleaned up and repaired and reduced the output by some 55% for the month which, as a consequence, delayed the completion of Jagdtiger vehicles destined for the German military (namely schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 653; 653rd. Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion). The incomplete Jagdtiger in the photograph shows the damage wrought on the chassis by the bombing, to include part of the building on the rear of it. It is said that the factory workers were rather surprised at the extent of the damage to the vehicle. Since the chassis had not yet been put onto the production line, repair was considered impractical and so it was simply scrapped. Because of this, the chassis in the photograph was never assigned a production number. The wheeled device next to the Jagdtiger is a electric arc welder. Another well-known photograph of this same Jagdtiger shows workers with shovels having cleaned up the debris into piles on the factory floor.

Sources:

Davis, Richard G. Bombing the European Axis Powers (Montgomery: Air University Press, 2006)

Devey, Andrew Jagdtiger, Volume 2: Operational History (Atglen: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1999)

Spielberger, Walter J., Doyle, Hilary L., and Jentz, Thomas L. Heavy Jagdpanzer (Atglen: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2007)

Jagdtiger Chassis No. 305054: Final Fate Unknown

(Source: Panzertruppen via Flickr)

     Sitting on the assembly line at the Nibelungenwerk located near St. Valentin, Austria, is the fifty-fourth Jagdtiger, chassis 305054. Chalked on the side of the Jagdtiger is the date January 16, 1945. This could be the expected completion date and so this photograph could be dated to early January 1945 or November or December 1944 given the extent of the assembly.

     No. 54 is mostly finished except that the torsion bar suspension has yet to be fully installed. The holes for the suspension were drilled into the lower hull on the completed chassis, prior to the fitting of other components such as the gun, engine, and drive train. The torsion bars (drehstäbe) have been fitted and attached to them are the suspension arms (schwingarme). Each torsion bar had a plastic seal where it entered the hull (schwingarmsiegel). The suspension consisted of two shock absorbers (schwingungsdaempher), one per side, connected to the forward and rearward suspension arms, the apparatus for the shock absorbers on the interior of the hull. The first and last torsion bars were built stronger than the others but all had the same ends to which the sheet steel roadwheels were affixed. Each roadwheel consisted of two discs with two rubber rings between them and each was placed on a hub on the suspension arm. It was doctrine that if a roadwheel was damaged and had to be replaced, the hub had to remain on the suspension arm. Work on No. 54 was finished sometime in January 1945, being completed along with nine other Jagdtigers; chassis 305052, 305053, 305055, 305056, 305057, 305058, 305059, 305060, and 305061. All ten of these Jagdtigers were earmarked for assignment to a new unit, schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 512 (s.Pz.Jag.Abt.512; 512th. Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion). Documents show that all of the Jagdtigers were released for shipment on January 30, 1945.

     s.Pz.Jag.Abt.512 began to build up starting late in January 1945 with the intent to field three companies of ten Jagdtigers with the headquarters having three Jagdtigers for a total strength of 33 machines. The bulk of the personnel for the unit came from the remains of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 424 while the staff was filled out with men from schwere Panzer-Abteilung 511. Replacement personnel were to come from Panzer-Ersatz-Abteilung 500 as needed. In command of s.Pz.Jag.Abt.512 was Hauptmann Walter Scherf with 1. Kompanie being commanded by Oberleutnant Albert Ernst and 2. Kompanie was commanded by one of the most successful German tank commanders of World War Two, Oberleutnant Otto Carius. Ernst cut his teeth as a panzerjäger officer while serving with s.Pz.Jag.Abt.519 which operated Nashorn and later Jagdpanther tank destroyers. Carius had been the commander of 2. Kompanie, schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502 that operated Tiger I tanks. Carius had been severely wounded on July 24, 1944 while serving with s.Pz.Abt.502 and after a very long convalescence, was transferred to s.Pz.Jag.Abt.512. As a side note, while he recovered from his injuries, what remained of his old unit was redesignated s.Pz.Abt.511 on January 5, 1945. The final company, 3. Kompanie, was commanded by Oberleutnant Schrader.

     No. 54 was included in a shipment of five Jagdtigers (chassis 305050 through 305054) from Nibelungenwerk to Döllersheim on February 2, 1945. This was the location of Carius' unit where they would commence training with the Jagdtiger in addition to using the gunnery ranges located at the facility. Upon the arrival of the Jagdtigers, training began at once, to include range firing. However, this quickly came to a halt when, on February 16, 1945, s.Pz.Jag.Abt.512 was notified by the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH; High Command of the German Army) of severe manufacturing defects in the Henschel L801 steering unit housing. All Jagdtigers that had yet to be shipped out were to have the steering units replaced before being dispatched to units and all Jagdtigers that were already in the hands of troops had to be returned to Nibelungenwerk for the repairs to be done. It is here that Jagdtiger No. 54 appears to disappear from the combat record of s.Pz.Jag.Abt.512.

     Mainly, this is because it is not known what tactical number was assigned to Jagdtiger No. 54. Upon the order to return the Jagdtigers to Nibelungenwerk, the chassis numbers for the vehicles were lined through on issue reports. It can be surmised that they did arrive back at Nibelungenwerk and reports from February discuss the timeframe to effect repairs. It would take approximately five days for factory workers to replace the steering units on all eleven vehicles originally earmarked for s.Pz.Jag.Abt.512, including No. 54. However, priority was given to those Jagdtigers already on the assembly line. Also, the factory had to set up another line to receive the returned Jagdtigers parallel to the main assembly line in order to effectively make the steering unit changes. From March 3, 1945 to March 26, 1945, s.Pz.Jag.Abt.512 received a total of 27 Jagdtigers, and we can hazard a guess that No. 54 was included in that number. Due to the mixture of chassis numbers because of the recall, it is not known on what date No. 54 shipped from Nibelungenwerk and to what company it was assigned. Initial shipments were given priority to 2. Kompanie followed by 1. Kompanie and then 3. Kompanie. It should be noted that in a listing of chassis numbers and assigned units given in Janusz Ledwoch's “Jagdpanther Jagdtiger” (Wydawnictwo Militaria No.207), he does not give a unit assignment to No. 54.

     On April 15, 1945, 2. Kompanie destroyed its last six remaining Jagdtigers near Ergste, 1. Kompanie surrendered in Iserlohn on April 16, 1945 with three operational Jagdtigers, while 3. Kompanie ended the war with no Jagdtigers operational (two had been in transit to them but never arrived). The few documented Jagdtigers of s.Pz.Jag.Abt.512 include 305058 (tactical number X7) which was part of 1. Kompanie and commanded by Leutnant Sepp Tarlach. It was abandoned on April 1, 1945 in Obernephen. Another was 305068 and belonged to 3. Kompanie and was scuttled on April 2, 1945 in Paderborn. A third was 305004 and was captured at Sennelager, likely used as a training vehicle. 305057 (tactical number X5) belonged to Leutnant Kubelka of 1. Kompanie and was blown up on April 11, 1945 near Hagen. Finally, the last known chassis number was 305074 and the Jagdtiger suffered a broken track near Offensen. It belonged to 3. Kompanie and was blown up.

Jagdtiger "234": Scuttled in Zeiskam

GIs pose with the remains of "234" (Author's Collection)

      Leutnant Kasper Geoggler commanded three Jagdtigers from 3rd. Kompanie, Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 653 (3/s.Pz.Jg.Abt.653). Geoggler’s mount was “331” while “323” and “234” made up the remainder of the unit. The kampfgruppe was situated outside Neustadt and on March 22, 1945, the unit engaged an armored column from the U.S. 3rd. Army. As was a common tactic, the Jagdtigers shot up the lead and rear tanks, sandwiching the remainder of the tanks between the wrecks. In the chaos, the Jagdtigers picked off the U.S. tanks with relative ease. In all, Geoggler’s three Jagdtigers claimed a total of 25 tanks destroyed, including M4 Shermans and M10 Wolverine tank destroyers. “331” and “323” suffered a total of 10 hits from U.S. tank rounds but not a one penetrated the thick armor of the Jagdtigers. 

     Geoggler withdrew the kampfgruppe into Neustadt proper. There, “323” broke down while attempting to get into a firing position within a garden. “331” was situated along Landauer Strasse, across from the immobilized “323,” which gave it a dominating field of fire along the road. In time, “331” was down to its last round and so Geoggler ordered the recoil cylinders drained and had the final round fired. This jammed the gun in full recoil, rendering it useless to the Americans. The crews boarded their SdKfz 251 half-tracks and along with Jagdtiger “234”, abandoned Neustadt and made for Zeiskam. 

     There, “234” went into action at a railway crossing until a shot penetrated the right front fender and broke the track. With no chance to repair the track or recover “234”, it was abandoned and blown up by its crew. The photograph shows “234” following the U.S. Army entry into Zeiskam. The internal fire caused the suspension to drop which is why the Jagdtiger appears to be “sitting” so low. Curious GIs, such as these men, spent many a moment clambering up onto “234” and taking photographs with it.

Jagdtiger "102": Demolition Outside Rittershoffen

     By 1900 hours on March 16, 1945, the 3e Division d'Infanterie Algérienne (3rd. Algerian Infantry Division; 3e DIA) had wrested control of the towns of Oberhoffen and Schirrhein from the Germans and solidified their positions. In the vicinity was Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 653 (Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion 653; s.Pz.Jg.Ab.653) who was preparing to evacuate damaged Jagdtigers by trains out of Soultz with their destination being the repair works in Bellheim. All three of the battalion's companies, 1./653, 2./653, and 3./653, were converging at Soultz with the hopes that the two trains positioned at Soultz could be loaded up and then dispatched under the cover of darkness. As work got underway with loading the Jagdtigers onto the rail cars, it was decided that a kampfgruppe (battle group) remain behind to provide a covering force to ensure the trains departed for Bellheim without incident. Put in charge of the kampfgruppe was Oberleutnant Werner Haberland, the commander of 1./653. The unit was made up of the remaining Jagdtigers from 1./653 and 2./653, seven Jagdtigers in all, plus those of 3./653 which was at its full strength of nine Jagdtigers. The kampfgruppe moved out and took up a position in the forest near Biblisheim and it did not have to wait very long before elements of the U.S. 36th. Infantry Division ran into the Jagdtigers during their push towards Gunstett. Haberland's Jagdtigers were able to punish the advancing U.S. troops enough to stall their advance. During the night, the 257th. Volksgrenadier Division launched an attack against the 3e DIA but failed to beat the Algerian troops. However, the trains departed from Soultz unimpaired and so their job done, Haberland had the kampfgruppe withdraw towards Wissembourg.

     Along the way, Jagdtiger “102” broke down near the town of Rittershoffen. It was decided that “102” could not be repaired nor taken with the kampfgruppe and so demolition charges were set and the Jagdtiger was blown up. The detonation blew a portion of the roof off the vehicle as well as blasted the gun mantlet clean off. The photograph here, though, depicts the remains of “102” after the end of the war. It was in the process of being scrapped in situ and one can see the Maybach HL 230 P30 engine has been completely removed along with the tracks, much of the rear hull and superstructure has been cut away along with a portion of the 128mm PaK 44 L/55 gun. The photograph does show the large breech block to good effect. Of note, some publications caption the post-WW2 photographs of “102” as evidence of the destruction caused by the demolition charges but this would be incorrect.

     As for s.Pz.Jg.Ab.653, by mid-March 1945, the unit's commander, Major Rudolph Grillinberger, issued a report to the Oberkommando des Heeres (Army High Command) which stated he had eighteen operational Jagdtigers with sixteen total needing repair, all of which had been dispatched by rail to Bellheim. Thus, the war was not yet over for s.Pz.Jg.Ab.653.

Jagdtiger "131": Signpost in Schwetzingen

One of the many photographs of Jagdtiger "131". Author's Collection.

     On March 26, 1945, U.S. forces crossed the Rhine River at Germersheim, 24 miles from Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 653's (s.Pz.Jg.Abt.653) encampment where mechanics worked to repair and refit the unit’s Jagdtigers. On March 30, U.S. Army Air Force fighters and bombers subjected the town of Schwetzingen to an aerial bombardment in preparation for an attack by U.S. infantry and armor. Once the bombardment lifted, troops commenced to advancing into the town. s.Pz.Jg.Abt.653 was ordered to deploy Jagdtigers to assist in the defense and dispatched three Jagdtigers for the effort. Unfortunately, disaster was waiting. The gruppe (group) was led by Leutnant Knippenberg in Jagdtiger “115” and as he attempted to maneuver his vehicle into a firing position, it became bogged down in a field. Unable to extract it, Knippenberg had his crew blow “115” up. 

     “131” entered Schwetzingen and was moving down Heidelberg Road when from a side street (Mannheim Road), a U.S. M4 Sherman spotted the Jagdtiger and fired, hitting the left side of “131” and jamming the track. This caused the Jagdtiger to suddenly veer into what was left of the corner home of the Krebs family. The M4 quickly fired again, striking the Jagdtiger in the weaker side armor (which was 80mm compared to 150mm to 250mm at the front) just above the track. One crewman was killed immediately after the second hit with another severely wounded then “131” began to burn. The surviving crew abandoned the Jagdtiger but the wounded soldier would later die of his injuries. 

     The third Jagdtiger retreated from Schwetzingen, headed towards the town of Eppelheim along the E5 Autobahn. While at speed, the Jagdtiger threw a track (meaning, it came off the running gear). With the rapid advance of the U.S. troops, there was no time to either put the track back on or attempt to move the Jagdtiger into some sort of firing position so it was blown up by the crew.

     The burned out “131” would become the subject of many photographs as well as becoming a sign post to direct U.S. troops. The hole created by the second round from the Sherman can be seen in the fender to the right of the soldier getting his picture taken.

Jagdtiger "332": Thunderbolt Victim near Forstheim

(U.S. Army Signal Corps)

     Jagdtiger “332” of 3rd. Kompanie, Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 653 (3/s.Pz.Jg.Abt.653). 3rd. Kompanie, commanded by Knight’s Cross holder Oberleutnant Franz Kretschmer, on March 14, 1945, were positioned some 12 kilometers away from the U.S. bridgehead over the Moder River. That night and into the early morning hours of March 15, 3rd. Kompanie engaged U.S. M4 Sherman tanks who were caught moving in a column formation. The front and rear Shermans were knocked out by the Jagdtigers who then continued the attack, focusing on the remainder of the Shermans which were trying to get off the road. U.S. artillery was called in to pound the Jagdtigers but the veteran Kretschmer had already ordered the Kompanie to withdraw. Later in the morning of March 15, U.S. forces resumed the attack, pushing towards the town of Morsbronn. Again, they met 3rd. Kompanie who inflicted severe damage to the advancing troops. In the afternoon on March 15, 3rd. Kompanie received orders to go on the offensive and push U.S. troops off a ridge near Forstheim. 

     No doubt Kretschmer thought the orders unwise at best as the Jagdtiger was not a vehicle designed for offensive operations and the attack was in daylight, no less. Nevertheless, he followed orders and after covering less than 2 miles, U.S. Army Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts arrived and unleashed rockets upon the advancing Jagdtigers. “332” was struck on the right side, damaging the running gear and the crew abandoned the vehicle. Overall, s.Pz.Jg.Abt.653 was able to hold the U.S. troops at bay until the unit was withdrawn from the area on March 17, 1945. This time allowed the crew of “332” to return to their stricken vehicle, set demolition charges, and blow the Jagdtiger up as recovery was not possible.

     During the combat, Kretschmer was wounded by artillery fire on March 16 while commanding Jagdtiger “301”. So severe was the concussion suffered that Kretschmer was no longer able to command the unit and was relieved by Leutnant Herman Knack. Kretschmer would survive the war, spending a brief time as a POW. He would pass away on May 28, 1987, survived at the time by his wife and three children.