King Tiger 332

[Peter Wiking]

This King Tiger was built in September 1944 with hull number 280243. Originally intended for Schwere SS Panzer-Abteilung 509 , it was issued instead to Schwere SS Panzer-Abteilung 501 as part of Kampfgruppe Peiper in preparation for the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Tiger 332 was encountered by Shermans of the 740th Tank Battalion on December 25. King Tiger 332 was commanded by SS-Unterscharführer Otto Blase. 332 was abandoned on the N33 between Coo and Trois-Ponts in Belgium.

It was recovered by the 463rd Ordnance Evacuation Company on December 26, and transported from Bourgoument to Spa railway station in Belgium near US Army headquarters. From there it was shipped by rail to Antwerp and then to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds (APG) in Maryland.

[Peter Wiking]

332 after the war:

[Peter Wiking]

King Tiger 332 these days after spending som time indoors at the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor :

[harrison987]

All that original and beautiful camo paint gone bye-bye...

[Lloyds]

looks like its first repaint was 1945 what a shame

[Willi Z.]

Great photos! I saw 332 at Ft Knox in 1993.

[tony james]

Back in 1978 me and my brother rode the bikes down to Aberdeen to check out the museum . 332 still had the smell of oil , grease and a faint smell of stale gas .

[Greg]

looks like its first repaint was 1945 what a shame

Lloyds, you are correct. 332 was first repainted in 1945, before the turret and hull armor was cut away to show the interior while on display.

This famous color photo has often been said to show 332 indoors at APG in its original paint, but of course it had been repainted by then. Notice the circles around the "cross in circle" marking on the color photo and the black and white photo which was taken shortly after 332 arrived at APG in the summer of 1945; the "cross in circle" marking (which was probably applied by the Ordnance Technical Inspection Team 1 as it prepared the tank for shipment to the USA) was originally on the fender, but was moved to higher up on the hull during the repaint. Also note the circled area farther back on the fender; this appears to be bullet or shrapnel damage that had been painted over during the repaint. The framed tank photo on the wall behind 332 gives a clue to the date of the color photo - the tank is an M41 Walker "Bulldog," which didn't reach full production until 1951.

The details of 332's recovery from Belgium and its time at APG, Fort Knox, and Fort Benning are in the book Tigers in the Ardennes (Schiffer Publishing), most readily available through Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Ardenn.../dp/076434790X

Great photos, Peter!

Best,
Greg

[TK GUY]

332

Hi,

Has a date been set when 332 will be on public display again? I've seen pictures of a Tiger 1, captured in North Africa, that the U.S. Army has along with Panthers, JagdTiger, panzer IV, etc. It would be great to have them all on public display.

Paul

[Geoff Walden]

The bottom line is, sadly ... no-one knows. There is a long story behind why these vehicles were removed from the Patton Museum at Ft. Knox KY and sent to storage at Ft. Benning GA, where there was no museum or space to display them, but suffice it to say that although the Patton Museum was a world-class exhibit of historic armored vehicles, the US Army moved these into storage in 2010 and they have been there ever since, not accessible by the general public.

There are plans for a new National Armor & Cavalry Museum to display these vehicles, and fund-raising is ongoing. They are hoping to open in 2022, but it all depends on funding.

[TK GUY]

Update

Hi Geoff,

Thanks very much for the update on the German tanks in the U.S.
It would be great if Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, was interested in
tanks and would fund the museum. He has quite an aircraft collection, with
displays in the Seattle area.

Thanks,
Paul

[harrison987]

Paul Allen will not give/donate any money to any other museum (private of government). All funds go to his museum only.