Picture Leutnant Eberhard Schmalz

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logibear64
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Picture Leutnant Eberhard Schmalz

#1

Post by logibear64 » 13 Mar 2005, 19:39

Leutnant Eberhard Schmalz was awarded the Knights Cross on 3 March 1945 as Zugführer Panzer Jäger Kompanie 1102, 102 Infanterie-Division.
He received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold in December 1942 for destroying twelve T-34's over a nine-day period with a Marder III (the type that mounted the Russian 76-mm.) The last T-34 he engaged managed to ram his Marder that disabled the traversing mechanism. He aimed the gun at the T-34 by looking through the barrel. His unit at the time was 2 kompanie, Panzer Jäger abt. 43, 8. Panzer-Division. In addition to the DKiG, he was sent to an Officer candidate school in Prague.

After completing the course and placement in the Führer reserve he was allowed to pick his next assignment. Rather than return to the 8 Panzer-Division and it's Marders he chose a vacancy in the 102 Infanterie-division that possessed the Stug III. A weapon he greatly respected.
However, an immediate vacancy in the Sturmgeschütz zug of the 5 Jäger-division delayed his assignment to the 102 Division. While with the 5 Jäger-division he witnessed a demonstration of the new Tiger tank. He was not impressed by it’s size and weight. Schmalz till his dying day swore that Germany would have been better served by mass-producing Sturmgeschütz rather than these overweight monsters. He considered the Stug III mechanically reliable, lightweight and easy to train soldiers to operate and easily loaded onto railroad flat cars. Lt. Schmalz considered the Stug III effective against all types of Soviet Armor.

In the winter of 1944 he finally joined the 102 Infanterie-division and remained with the Sturmgeschütz Abteilung until his final wounding. He received the award while in hospital in Czechoslovakia recuperating from his final wounding. On The 23d of March 1945 near Heiligenbeil, Prussia an IL-2 shot his Kublewagen to pieces. Lt. Schmalz was badly wounded in the legs.

After the war he changed his name to Hardy Svenson and first lived in Brazil and later moved to the United States. He was project manager of the First Stage of the Saturn V rocket system for Boeing until the programs termination.


[img=http://img214.exs.cx/img214/3784/file07281us.th.jpg]

Jan-Hendrik
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#2

Post by Jan-Hendrik » 25 Oct 2006, 16:34

Is the picture still avaiable ?

Jan-Hendrik


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Doktor Krollspell
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#3

Post by Doktor Krollspell » 25 Oct 2006, 20:33

Hello!

Is it another photograph of Leutnant Eberhard Schmalz than this one..?

Image
http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de


Regards,

Krollspell

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logibear64
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#4

Post by logibear64 » 25 Oct 2006, 22:48

Image

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logibear64
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HC Svenson Officer candidate 1943

#5

Post by logibear64 » 25 Oct 2006, 22:51

I believe the pic was taken in Prague.

Image

Jan-Hendrik
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#6

Post by Jan-Hendrik » 26 Oct 2006, 09:11

Thank you very much !

Jan-Hendrik

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