Lets see your Panzer crew member Soldbuchs

[Erwin L]

Thanks Daniele an EJ I'm glad you both like it.

Well in the mood for making picture compilations, i have made another one from a knock out vehicle from his unit while they were serving in Russia. In front of the vehicle (picture right below) you can see the fieldgraves in front of the vehicle. The vehicle is the same as the one on the big picture.

Close ups from the graves are on the left side. Unfortunately I couldn't find them on the Volksbund. I have 2 pictures, given by a good friend, with fieldgraves from this unit which i could find on the Volksbund.

On the back of the big vehicle picture, the names of the crewmembers were written and these were also the same as the names on the left picture(below). So no doubt about it.

I'm always looking for new material for research purposes so feel free to contact me, if you have information or something to share

I will post more if i can find some time

Regards

Erwin

[Floris]

Very nice 559 photo compilations buddy
And having in mind that this one isn't by far the best you have.

[dennisb]

Thanks for sharing Erwin, what an impressing group you have there. These photos really bring a 'visible' story to the group.

[Panzer Rob]

Well in the mood for making picture compilations, i have made another one from a knock out vehicle from his unit.....
Regards

Erwin

The vehicle is a 8,8 cm FlaK 18 Selbstfahrlafette auf Zugkraftwagen 12t DB 9 SdKfz.8. I certainly would not want to have been standing behind the gun shield when that round impacted

Looks like a very nice '559' grouping you have there. Are there any Kampftage listed for Arnhem in September 1944? As you know I am also collecting Soldbücher and groupings to schwere-Panzerjäger units such as s.Pz.Jäg.Abt.559 and I hope to add one as nice as yours to my collection some day

This group is actually similar to a grouping I have - to a Tiger I crew member from schwere-Panzer Kompanie "Hummel" who fought in Arnhem during "Market-Garden." It also includes a photo album with a few hundred photos of him and the various Panzers he crewed in France 1940 and Russia in 1941 (Panzer III) and then his Tiger I with s.Pz.Abt.502 and then s.Pz.Kp."Hummel"

Congratulations on such a nice grouping and hopefully you'll share more of it here.

Rob

[Erwin L]

Thanks for the compliments

I also discovered it is an 8.8 cm Flak 18, mounted on a DB s8 and DB 9 chassis. The driver's cab was indeed replaced by a lower, armored cupola and a gun shield was provided for the 88, but the gun crew had unfortunately no other protection. Ten were produced and used for anti tank duties. All 10 were assigned to 1/Panzerjäger-Abteilung 8 which participated in the Invasion of Poland in 1939, the Battle of France in 1940 and Operation Barbarossa in 1941. (I think all 10 are pictured on the picture below) The company was redesignated as Panzerjäger-Kompanie 601 in January 1942 and then as the third company of Panzerjäger-Abteilung 559 the following April. It reported that the last three vehicles had been lost by March 1943. I have some more pictures with the crew in front of it.

In this case this soldier was first serving in 1/Panzerjäger-Abteilung 8 starting from Operation Barbarossa, then he joined Panzerjäger-Kompanie 601. After Panzerjäger-Kompanie 601 he came in the 3/Panzerjäger-Abteilung 559 and served with Schwere Panzer Jager Abteilung 559 till the end of the war. The sturmtage list also confirmed it. So this matches perfectly with what is written above. So i think all 10 are pictured on the picture which i have attached. I also have his wartime wallet which has been modified with pz skull and wh eagle with some polish and russian coins in it. So for me as a 559 collector, this is a great group and you won't hear me complain.

According to a good friend of mine the unit also had two panzer prototype vehicles serving in the unit. These were also the only two produced and assigned to the unit. I think they are on the picture. I have written an A and B on it and have enlarged it. In this case i don't know what it is. So if somebody know what it is let me know. Picture attached.

Rob, there are no kampftage from Arnhem in it and i think that will be difficult. To my poor knowledge this unit didn't serve in the Arnhem battle. The unit lost most of it's jagdpanther in Belgium in the beginning of september 1944. The few surviving jagdpanthers fought on an other battlefield then the Arnhem area and were soon taken out or left behind. The jagdpanther pictured in my first post was taken out on the other side of the Netherlands

Perhaps you can share some of the Hummel group when you have time.

Regards

Erwin

[Floris]

That's a very rare picture

[jmark]

According to a good friend of mine the unit also had two panzer prototype vehicles serving in the unit. These were also the only two produced and assigned to the unit. I think they are on the picture. I have written an A and B on it and have enlarged it. In this case i don't know what it is. So if somebody know what it is let me know. Picture attached.

Wow, never seen one of those before!!! Is that on a Panzer II chassis?

[Edward]

The vehicle with the 88 on the larger DB 9 chassis is certainly interesting. I have a photo album to a guy who was in Beob Abt. 22 during the France 1940 Campaign. One of the photos shows the exact vehicle with the 88, but knocked out from what looks like a shell hit. He wrote Chemery (spelling? ) below the picture which must be the French town where the vehicle was engaged.


Erwin, could you please tell me what photo application you use? They are very nicely presented. Thanks.

[Panzer Rob]

According to a good friend of mine the unit also had two panzer prototype vehicles serving in the unit. These were also the only two produced and assigned to the unit. I think they are on the picture. I have written an A and B on it and have enlarged it. In this case i don't know what it is. So if somebody know what it is let me know. Picture attached.

Regards

Erwin

Very interesting photo. The two Panzers marked 'A' and 'B' are certainly not the 10,5cm K18 (gp.Sfl.) "Dicker Max" nor the 12,8 cm VK3001(H) "Sturer Emil" - both of which were produced only in pairs. At first glance they can appear to be based off the Panzer.II ausf.D chassis, but a closer look reveals interleaved road wheels, similar to those on the Pz.II ausf.J. It's hard to tell if the turret has an open top, or if the soldiers are standing in open hatches or on the engine deck behind the turret which simply gives the appearance of an open topped fighting compartment. They look a lot like an early "LUCHS" prototype (see below) but I'm not sure it's this, either.

I'll admit, I'm stumped.

Rob

[Panzer Rob]

Rob, there are no kampftage from Arnhem in it and i think that will be difficult. To my poor knowledge this unit didn't serve in the Arnhem battle. The unit lost most of it's jagdpanther in Belgium in the beginning of september 1944. The few surviving jagdpanthers fought on an other battlefield then the Arnhem area and were soon taken out or left behind. The jagdpanther pictured in my first post was taken out on the other side of the Netherlands

Perhaps you can share some of the Hummel group when you have time.

Regards

Erwin

I see I forgot to reply to this part of your post last night...

I have read a few sources which state that 4 Jagdpanthers from 1./s.Pz.-Jäg.Abt.559 - while attached to Kampfgruppe Huber - fought in the Arnhem area towards the end of the battle. Not having seen all of the unit entries, etc. in your group I do not know if your guy might have possibly been one of the soldiers crewing one of those Jagdpanthers. No matter, it's a great group regardless.

Rob

[Akira Takiguchi]

Erwin this is the first photo of 8,8cm gun that can be confirmed as from 1942!! I'm more than happy to see this! Thank you for sharing!!!

[Akira Takiguchi]

And of course, the two prototypes are Pz.Sfl.Ic that was based on VK901. I have only two pictures of the vehicles, another very good view is on the unit history book of s.P.8 but this is new! Thanks again!

[Akira Takiguchi]

Photo #1231 shows the destroyed gun of Meisel that was lost near Witebsk on July 7th, 1941. The graves are of Uffz. Höpfner, Gefreiter Shaaf and Gefreiter Finke.

The destroyed gun Edward is from the Westfeldzug (destroyed by friendly bombing at Chemery sur Bar on May 14th, 1940), its license number was WH-5103.

Erwin, supposedly P.601 had 6 (six) 8,8cm guns. Can you count the number of 8,8cm guns on the original? I'm very interested.

[Erwin L]

That's a very rare picture

Thanks.

[Erwin L]

Erwin, could you please tell me what photo application you use? They are very nicely presented. Thanks.

I use photoshop, a lot of patience + i 'm a font freak

regards

Erwin