SS Visor from SS Wiking Div veteran

[zozole]

Stunning Cap Ben!

congrats to your find,

Have a great 2017!

Best

Emil

[Ludwig]

An excellent cap! Congratulations!

[norge]

Super cap!Nice to meet you at Kassel Ben. Pitty it was short time. Happy new year!
Gisle

[Jelle M.]

Excellent visor, wonderfull addition to end the year

[Paris Gun]

Great hat with amazing history; Happy New Year my dear friend to you and yours!!

[Reichsword]

Interesting cap and story, thanks for sharing.

[Hilton]

Very nice cap, and history. But such a tragedy that the original grouping was split up.

[Bob Hritz]

Wonderful find, Ben. How nice to put a name and face to a hat.

Bob Hritz.

[Rene Chavez]

Great historical item congrats.

Rene Chavez
www.foreignvolunteerlegion.com

[Remy Spezzano]

Ben I totally forgot there is a photo of Dr. Renz on page 55 of my book "Kampfgruppe Mühlenkamp."

That's a really nice visor cap! Thanks for sharing it with us and I also like the tribute graphic you made for him.

[BenVK]

Awesome, thanks Remy!

There's no mistaking that's Renz with his long nose and big grin.
Love the camo jacket and Officers M43 cap!

[Paris Gun]

I don't understand your comments Ben; frankly, I think it is a gorgeous hat! Congrats my friend.

[Doug Nash]

Renz

Renz is an interesting character - he ended the war as the Operations Officer (Adjutant) of the Wiking's Panzer Regiment (what was left of it, that is) but what his file doesn't mention, and what Ben alludes to, is that after serving as the Ordonnanz Offizier (OO) of II./SS-Pz.Rgt. 5, he served briefly as the platoon leader of the battalion's reconnaissance platoon, which consisted of 5 Panthers - but by mid-July 1944, he had been promoted, somewhat, to become the platoon leader of the Regiment's reconnaissance platoon - only odd thing about this platoon is that is consisted of 5 Panzer IVHs - and not Panthers! I still cannot find out the reason, but I think it was because they were following the KStN issued by the Heer - and the issue of vehicles to armored units was controlled by the Heereszeugamt, and overseen by the Inspectorate of Panzer Troops (i.e., Hans Guderian), so if that was what the KStN called for, then that's what they were issued. But it did expose Renz to working at the Regimental level, and that probably had a lot to do with him being chosen to become the regimental Adjutant by its commander, Fritz Darges.

[BenVK]

An interesting character indeed, thanks Doug!

And thanks also for sharing these marvellous images of Renz that I was previously unaware of. Published within and the copyright of ""Fotoarchiv Truppenkameradschaft Wiking e.V."

I'm no expert but this definitely looks like the cupola of a Panther including a big radio antenna consistent with it being a command tank and with known photos of Panther II011. Also, in every published account of the action at Kovel that I've read, it's stated that Renz was platoon leader of a recon platoon consisting of 5 Panthers.

One example:

"Tanks numbered from II011 to II014 were all assigned to the reconnaissance platoon commanded by Manfred Renz who, in his account of the Kovel fighting in March, clearly states that his platoon contained five Panthers"

Ref.
Viking Summer. 5.SS-Panzer-Division in Poland, 1944 (Firefly Collection Series, No.1)
ADH & The Oliver Publishing Group; First Edition edition (2012)

[BenVK]

I would have loved to meet this guy, he's always got a grin on his face.

Check out the binoculars, they're huge!