Tank Aces and their Tanks

[Vanguard]

How come a Panther throws a spanner in the works tomhugill ?

[jackalope]

Cool that's at least that gives me some kind of an idea.

[Vanguard]

Jackalope I just put into Google a search Kurt Knispel in his tank just to see what would come up and clicked images and low and behold a few pics in found a KT with 334 on the turret and the same camouflage as previous picture of regimental picture. Can't post a link but hope this helps, Steve.

[jackalope]

Thanks! Searching now!

[HengRong]

Nothing about the '334' KT pics prove that it is actually Kurt Knispels tank but it is typical of the way s.Pz.abt.503 painted and marked their King Tigers. The numbers are medium sized black with white outline, not red and white as printed on some decal sheets. As for the link above to the War thunder forum it is quite inaccurate. Those pics are stills from footage taken when s.Pz.abt.503 had been refitted after being decimated in Normandy and were heading to Hungary in September 1944. These are by no means the last pics taken of the battalion. Also Knispel was killed some 7 months after this footage was shot. I have the unit history and a couple of photo albums of s.Pz.abt.503 and there are a couple of pics of Knispel but unfortunately none of him with a King Tiger. As far as I know there are not any late war pics available of him but who knows what is still out there in private collections. I can say though at one time he commanded a Tiger I with the turret number '101'. I hope this helps a little.

[jarndice]

What a quagmire are the colours and markings of vehicles of the German armed forces between 39/45 to a researcher,
When I began this lunacy I slapped on the ready supplied decals, only then did I decide to read up on the subject of "Armour",
New research showed that the quoted "Red numbers with White edging" was wrong the colours were "Black with White" edging" which I imagine got right up the noses of the decal makers BUT Wait, a few years pass and along comes another "Authority" Who tells us yes the "Red edged by White" really was the proper scheme.
My worry is that a lot of our Photographic sources are from Mr Goebbels "German Propaganda ministry", those words of themselves provoke doubt, after all if you are paid to promote the glorious technical and military developments of the day, which looks better to Herr Joe Public,
Black and White or a retouched Red and White ?
Bearing in mind the cost of Colour film stock at that time most pictures were not made in colour at all.
The other source is all but dead given that the youngest crewman of a serving Panzer unit of that time is about 90 years old today.
My Tunisian Tiger 1 carries its numbers in "Red and White" but that is because I like it that way and that is the colours the decals came in, But from a Military point of View (sic) Camo and bright red do not go well together.
I doubt that at such a long period since those events and the doubtful veracity of some sources that I will believe any of it
Shaun.

[HengRong]

Just to reply Jarndice, I am no authority but was just mentioning what I know of s.Pz.abt.503. I once read an article from a guy who knew Leutnant Richard Freiherr von Rosen who served with this battalion. He went on to say that Von Rosen enjoyed looking at model tanks but the one thing that bugged him was seeing red turret numbers on tanks from the 503rd as they were always black with a white edge regardless of where they were serving, eastern or western front.
Cheers.

[jarndice]

Thanks HR that reinforces my view of the military foolishness that would allow a heavily camouflaged Tiger 1 to be displaying bright red Turret numbers on a paint scheme specifically designed to make the Tank hard to spot
Your updates on Kurt Knispel are most informative.
Shaun.

[jackalope]

So they weren't red refective paint with 200w spot lights shinning on them? Huh, who woulda thunk the Germans knew how to camouflage a tank? LOL!

[43rdRecceReg]

You wouldn't have to be much of a hero to knock out one of these (Belgian T13) ...au contraire..you'd have to be something of a hero to get in one; or a fool. I also wonder how many tank heroes we would have had if the Comet had been available.-as the Tiger was- from 1942? Still, with our (then more than ever) British culture of modesty, and not bragging..VC winners and MC/MM winners would not have been lauded like the Panzer boys, I think. Anyway, cop this crock:-