Help Required - Tiger I 334 of SS-Pz.Abt. 101 1944

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khanmak
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Location: Chichester England

Help Required - Tiger I 334 of SS-Pz.Abt. 101 1944

#1

Post by khanmak » 29 Nov 2010, 14:17

Hi,
I am researching the fate of Tiger 1 334 of SS-Pz.Abt. 101 1944, which I believe was commanded by Rolf von Westernhagen during June 1944 in Normandy. I have scanned the net and the content of this forum but am hoping to find the details of how this tank was lost. I'm aware that von Westernhagen (if he was the commander when the vehicle was lost) survived the war. I am also aware that this vehicle was captured by the British. Does anybody know where and when it was lost with any details. Any pointers to any documentation or reference would be great. Also any info on Herr von Westernhagen and any associated photos of the tank or crew!
Yours Hopefully!
Khanmak

j keenan
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Re: Help Required - Tiger 1 334 of SS-Pz.Abt. 101 1944

#2

Post by j keenan » 29 Nov 2010, 20:40

28.6.44 was knocked out in Rauray picture on page 285 tigers in combet volume 2 Wolfgang Schneider


j keenan
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Re: Help Required - Tiger 1 334 of SS-Pz.Abt. 101 1944

#3

Post by j keenan » 29 Nov 2010, 20:54

or 24.6.44 distroyed by Seargeant Dring of the Sherwood Rangers ? page 107,108 Tiger I on the western front Jean Restayn

khanmak
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Re: Help Required - Tiger 1 334 of SS-Pz.Abt. 101 1944

#4

Post by khanmak » 01 Dec 2010, 20:22

Excellent - Many thanks - I'll see and if I can get copy of both these titles!
Many thanks again!

SchnellMeyer
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Re: Help Required - Tiger 1 334 of SS-Pz.Abt. 101 1944

#5

Post by SchnellMeyer » 01 Dec 2010, 22:45

Rolf von Westernhagen is still alive I believe , I had conact with him some years ago and he was most helpful .His older brother Hein von Westernhagen was C.O. of SS-Pz.Abt 501 until he was killed .

Michael Kenny
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Re: Help Required - Tiger 1 334 of SS-Pz.Abt. 101 1944

#6

Post by Michael Kenny » 02 Dec 2010, 03:30

Below is the nearest you will get.




Appendix 'E' to
21stArmy Group RAC
Liaison Letter No.2

Extract from a Report to HQ Second Army from Col.A.G.Cole, DD of A
(No. 20 WTSFF)


The extract is of tank actions near RUARAY between 27 Jun. and 1 Jul.

SHERMAN - 75 MM GUNS.


4. Lt. Fearn angaged a PANTHER side on with his 75mm and APC
It was moving about 12mph at 80 yds range and he brewed it up with
one hit through the vertical plate above the back bogie

He saw his Squadron Commander engage a Tiger ( previously
examined by us) on the road. At 120 yds the Tiger was head on.
The 75mm put 3 shots on it and the crew bailed out without firing.
He put in 3 more. The tank brewed up. Four shots had scooped on
front plates.One had taken a piece out of the lower edge of the mantlet
and gone into the tank through the roof,and one had ricocheted off the
track and up into the sponson.

At another Panther he fired 5 shots with HE. The enemy
made off without retaliation.


5. Sgt Dring started out south from FONTENOY LE PESNIL with
his 75mm and fell in with a MK IV which he shot through the drivors
visor. It brewed up and the crew baled out.

Next he fell in with a Tiger at 1000 yds. The Tiger fired whilst Dring
was traversing but missed. Dtring then pumped 5 shots in without further
retaliation. The last one hit the drivers periscope and the crew baled out.
(this tank is believed to have been recovered for shipment to the UK.)

Next he came on a Panther at the cross roads, This he got with one shot
with APC in front of sprocket and the crew baled out. Hit at normal and at
about 500yds range. It brewed up

Next he took on a Tiger at 1400 yds just outside Rauray. He fired 6
shots of which 4 hit and the last one brewed it up. Tp. Cmdr. thought he had
missed it and only hit the wall behind. Sjt. Dring's next shot brought the
sparks and the remark "You don't see a brick wall spark like that".
This tank has been seen and is much shot up. It now has one scoop in front
vertical plate, five penetrations in rear, four strikes with no penetrations in rear,
plus a scoop and one plate of engine hatch smashed

Finaly to the east of RAURAY he took on a MK IV at 1200 yds, fired two
HE ranging round and then one AP through the tracks, which went in and
finished it.




I believe the first 2 Tigers mentioned are actualy the same vehicle (Tiger 114).


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Stuart Hill, By Tank Into Normandy. page 108/109

Meanwhile A Squadron had begun moving up from Fontenay, the
plan being that they would come through us and thrust towards Rauray.
John Semken was Squadron Leader and he had already heard from C
Squadron that there were tanks about, so his gun loader put an AP shell
up the spout, just in case. As they cleared Fontenay, they were suddenly
confronted by an enormous tank coming round the bend in front. It
was hard to khow who was more surprised, but John shrieked, 'Fire,
it's a Hun', and they loosed off about ten rounds into the smoke. As
this cleared away, it was observed that the crew were baling out as small
flames came from inside the tank. It was a Tiger of 12th SS Panzer, the
first Tiger to be captured in Normandy, and made an impressive sight at
close quarters as both its size and the thickness of its armour became
apparent. Although the range had been only sixty yards, not one Sher-
man shell had penetrated that armour. The fire in the Tiger, we discov-
ered, had instead been caused by a shot hitting the side of the driver's
observation visor and showering white-hot splinters into the tank. The
driver had screamed that he had been hit and the commander had oblig-
ingly ordered his crew out.



The 'third' (second Tiger) is a 2 kp. tank but nothing else in known about it.

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Now we get to the Tiger you are interested in. There are no major hits/penetrations visible.

334

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The only thing I notice is the marks/chipping on the rear r/h hull and turret which to me indicates some form of fire.


There are German accounts about these three Tigers.

Agte's Wittmann book (page 377 hardback or the Operation Epsom Chapter for the paperback)




SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Mobius of the 1st Company of the Tiger
Battalion recalled those days of constant action: "It was impos-
sible to employ the Tigers in concentration, the demands from
all sides were too great. We were in action constantly; I was
forever en route from the Hitlerjugend Division to the Panz.er-
Lehr or later to the 2nd Panzer Division. Between the 25th and
30th of June I was ordered with all the battalion's Tigers - I
had eighteen serviceable tanks - to the command post of the
Hitlerjugend Division for a briefing.
The division headquarters had just been moved and I set off at
my discretion. I had no major combat orders, but the situation
was clear: the enemy could not be allowed on the main road
(Caen - Villers-Bocage, the author). My tanks and I had been
in action between the fronts for three days. I lost one tank after
another to enemy action and had three left, one of which had its
barrel shot away. I myself stopped an advance by the English
through a defile by destroying six tanks. I then attacked an
armored column with another tank (Ustuf. Amselgruber) and
knocked out three tanks; my gun jammed and I was shot up by
ten tanks. I bailed out; Amselgruber had already done so."
SS-Untersturmfuhrer Belbe of the 2nd Company was wound-
ed near Verson. In Verson was the command post of the
Hitlerjugend Division, which was later moved to Louvigny.
Manning defensive positions ready to prevent a further break-
through in the direction of Verson and Grainville were ele-
ments of the 2nd and 3rd Companies of the Tiger Battalion,
together with a handful of tanks belonging to the 7th Company,
12th SS Panzer Regiment, a company of Panthers, a Panzer IV
company from the 21st Panzer Division, grenadiers from the
regimental units of the 26th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment
Hitlerjugend, and the 15th Company, 26th Regiment. The
English successfully crossed the National Highway from Caen
to Villers-Bocage and reached Baron.
The Tigers were constantly in action, attempting to stop
enemy attacks, bringing relief to the hard-fighting panzer-
grenadiers, and launching counterattacks to eliminate incur-
sions by the enemy.
SS-Unterscharfiihrer Warmbrunn of the 2nd Company
described the events of that day: "On 27 June I drove through
the enemy lines to assess the situation, which was uncertain. I
had volunteered for this mission with the concurrence of my
crew. When I drove over a hill I found myself facing a group of
thirty Shermans. They showered me with a hail of shells and all
systems went out. We owe our lives to the self-control of my
driver, who did what we had always practiced, namely placed
the Tiger at an acute angle to our armored foe. The crew and I
then made our way back through the enemy to our departure
point. The mission was worthwhile in spite of the loss of the
Tiger.
" This type of operation was typical, for the Tigers had to
take care of almost everything themselves, even their own
reconnaissance. Now and then the Schwimmwagen crews of SS-
Untersturmfiihrer Henniges' scout platoon guided the Tigers
into their positions, having scouted them earlier. But the scout
platoon could not be everywhere, nor could the armored recon-
naissance platoon. SS-Untersturmfuhrer Hahn was wounded in
the head by shell fragments and the bone in his left forearm
was shattered.
The mission of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend on
28 June 1944 was to prevent the loss of Hill 112 and a further
breakthrough by the enemy toward the Orne. The Tigers saw
action near Verson, while the tanks of the Hitlerjugend Panzer
Regiment fought near Hill 112. Every English attack was
answered by an immediate counterattack, often by scraping
together the last reserves, as was noted by the English VIIIth
Corps. The British 11th Armoured Division was halted on its
way to the Orne and on orders from the corps remained in the
bridgehead position, since the situation north of the Odon was
still uncertain.
The 1st SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment of the 1st SS Panzer
Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler intervened in the fight-
ing on the Normandy Front for the first time that day. It had
taken the division that long to arrive and not until 6 July would
the entire division be assembled there. Together with several
Tigers, two understrength companies of the 22nd Panzer
Regiment, and a company of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment
Hitlerjugend, the 1st Regiment attacked toward the west from
the area of Verson.
The aims of the attack were to stop the enemy from breaking
through to the Orne and simultaneously capture favorable
jump-off positions for a counterattack by the Und SS Panzer
Corps. In heavy fighting Mouen was taken from the
Monmouthshires holding the town. SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer
Frey and his panzer-grenadiers advanced to Colleville. From
there they halted an attack by three armored battalions and a
reconnaissance battalion. Later enemy artillery pounded the
German units holding out in the town. The number of Tigers
lost in this operation is not known. The 2nd and 3rd Companies
reported minor losses.
In another part of the front was SS-Untersturmfuhrer
Amselgruber of the 3rd Company. The following is taken from
a combat report: "28 June 1944. Amselgruber remained in his
old location during the night and the entire day, repelled prob-
ing English infantry, and was attacked by a superior number of
English tanks. Amselgruber was able to knock out two
Shermans before his tank was disabled by several hits.
Amselgruber's left leg was badly injured as he abandoned the
tank; however this failed to prevent him from pulling his gun-
ner, who had been seriously wounded in the belly by shell frag-
ments, from the tank and taking him with him. Under very
heavy machine-gun and cannon fire, Amselgruber headed
back with the gunner in the direction of our lines, which he
came upon after dark. This determined stand by
Amselgruber undoubtedly helped give our infantry suffi-
cient time to settle into a new, although only makeshift,
position. Amselgruber returned to the battalion, said noth-
ing about his injured leg, and returned to action the follow-
ing day." Amselgruber had been attacked from Colleville by tanks
of the 9th Camerons; he knocked out two of three tanks and
thus stopped the attack. After his tank had been knocked out
and Amselgruber was forced to leave his position, the
enemy, with strong artillery support, succeeded in taking
the town of Grainville-sur-Odon. 28 June 1944 was the last
day of Operation "Epsom."

beardyProf
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Re: Help Required - Tiger 1 334 of SS-Pz.Abt. 101 1944

#7

Post by beardyProf » 24 Jul 2016, 20:09

I had the privilege of talking to Stuart Hill and John Semken, the Tiger shipped back to the UK was the one Major Semken engaged. It was in the boccage in an embanked road so cannot have been the one engaged by Sgt Dring as he would not have been able to see it.

Michael Kenny
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Location: Teesside

Re: Help Required - Tiger I 334 of SS-Pz.Abt. 101 1944

#8

Post by Michael Kenny » 24 Jul 2016, 21:33

2 of the Tigers were shipped back to the UK.

This is the one that was not sent to the UK and the exact location is unknown http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/2299/aaaaaaaaab2.jpg

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