Guest AbnAirCav Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 With the upcoming and eagerly anticipated inclusion of the Ferdinand and Elefant in CM2, I wanted to share one of my favorite recent Christmas acquisitions, Combat History of Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 653 by Karlheinz Münch, available from J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing. <CENTER></CENTER> Karlheinz Münch has done an incredible job, the entire book is fantastic, especially the numerous Ferdinand & Elefant photos which are amazing! As we all know, 89 of the Porsche chassis that were built, based on the Porsche tank prototype that lost the Tiger production competition to the Henschel prototype, ended up being converted to tank destroyers with the long barrelled L/71 88, resulting in the beautiful, angular, and imposing Panzerjäger Ferdinand. Issued to s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653 & 654 in April & May of 1943, they were tactically misused in the summer Kursk offensive (as the 1st & 2nd battalions of the 656th Heavy Panzerjäger Regiment). Brief synopsis of Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 653 with the Ferdinand/Elefant:<UL> <LI>5-27 July, 1943: s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653 reports 13 "totally destroyed" Ferdinands to "320 Russian tanks, a large number of guns, anti-tank guns and trucks". <LI>August, 1943: s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 654, which had suffered heavy losses, turns its 19 remaining Ferdinands over to s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653 and is sent back to France for retraining with Jagdpanthers. <LI>End result: 50 Ferdinands survive the fighting and withdrawal. <LI>December, 1943: When pulled back for general overhaul in Austria, 42 Ferdinands and 3 recovery Ferdinands survive. <LI>These Ferdinands were modified (and later redesignated in May 1944 as the "Elefant") with the addition of a cupola and bow mounted MG. These vehicles were reissued to s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653. <LI>February, 1944: With the Anzio landing, the 1st Company of s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653 is sent to Italy with 11 completely overhauled and rebuilt Ferdinands (and one recovery Ferdinand). <LI>April, 1944: The 2nd & 3rd Companies of s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653 leave for Russia with 31 Ferdinands (and two recovery Ferdinands). <LI>Due to constant withdrawals, Elefants out of action can not be recovered. Many are destroyed when left behind due to mechanical problems, lack of fuel, and bridges of insufficient capacity. <LI>August, 1944: The 1st Company, s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653, is withdrawn from Italy and its remaining three Elefants (and one recovery Elefant) go to Vienna for repairs. After leave, the 1st Company, s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653, is trained and outfitted with the Jagdtiger. After training in Austria, depart in December to take part in the upcoming Ardennes Offensive. <LI>August, 1944: The remaining 12 Elefants of the 2nd & 3rd Companies of s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653 are combined into the 2nd Company and refitted in Krakow (where they also "received an additional 2 Elefants from St. Pölten"). The 3rd Company joins the 1st Company for training and deployment with the Jagdtiger. <LI>September, 1944: 2nd Company, s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653, (now also called the Elefant Company) is assigned to the 17th Army. <LI>December, 1944: 2nd Company, s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653, is renamed the 614th Army Heavy Panzerjäger Company. <LI>February, 1945: The 614th is in the Stahnsdorf area, west of Wünsdorf, with only 4 Elefants remaining, all in need of serious repairs. <LI>April, 1945: 614th with 4 Elefants in assembly area west of Zehrensdorf. <LI>May, 1945: The last two Elefants of the 614th are involved in the Berlin inner city fighting at the Karl-August-Platz and Trinity Church. Captured there by Polish and Russian troops on 1 May 1945. Corrections are, of course, welcome. <CENTER></CENTER> Achtung Panzer! - Ferdinand/Elephant http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/8662/tankdestroy2.htm#ferdi P.S. I also found the caption on p. 528 for the Jagdtiger photographed in the Kubinka tank museum also entertaining, where "The large driver's spotlight and the Maltese cross on the lower front slope are not accurate. The camouflage pattern is also a product of fantasy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juardis Posted February 4, 2001 Share Posted February 4, 2001 Thanks for posting. The Elefant has to be my all time favorite armored vehicle. I cannot wait to get one or 5 in CM2 ------------------ Jeff Abbott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lassner.1 Posted February 4, 2001 Share Posted February 4, 2001 Agreed. Elefant is my favorite German AFV, period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AbnAirCav Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 It is a beautiful heavy ... and I believe there is enough interest that we're not in danger of it getting dropped from the final CM2 vehicle list. (How can you do Kursk without the Ferdinand? And once you do the original Ferdinand, the later version & Elefant only involves a little additional work, right?) For any Ferdinand & Elefant fans who don't yet have this book, if you can afford it I enthusiastically recommend it! While it is expensive, the hundreds of Ferdinand & Elefant photos just blew me away ... I did not know that many existed. The author has done a great job researching official military documents, private war diaries, letters, and interviewing unit veterans. While the unit history itself is excellent, it's the information on the Ferdinand/Elefant, especially the private photo collections from the veterans and their families that they have shared with the author that really makes it worth the money for a Ferdinand/Elefant enthusiast, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mikey D Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 That is the best (and almost the most expensive) warbook I've read. Worth every penny. A very good book for JadgTiger fans too. And for you mod makers, don't forget to notice the building & bridges in the background! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karch Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 Sounds like a great book. I'll have to start saving for it. For you Elefant fans, here is a link with all the Elefant pictures I took at the Aberdeen Proving Gounds this summer. The beast is not in good shape. The front mantlet plate is missing (if it was ever there) lots of missing rivets and the poor old paint job is just wearing out. The thing is massive and they said it is stuck there because they can't move it to be worked on or back to the display field. http://www.karchfamily.com/aberdeen/elefant/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AbnAirCav Posted February 6, 2001 Share Posted February 6, 2001 Originally posted by karch: For you Elefant fans, here is a link with all the Elefant pictures I took at the Aberdeen Proving Gounds this summer. The beast is not in good shape. The front mantlet plate is missing (if it was ever there) ... Karch, thanx for the photos, altho it's sad to see the neglect. The Achtung Panzer! - Ferdinand/Elephant site has a picture at the top of the page of this APG Elefant in happier times, with the protective spalling shield installed in front of the gun mantle. The fact that this is the only surviving post-modification Elefant in the world makes it even worse, if that's possible. The only surviving pre-modification Ferdinand in the world is at the Kubinka museum, where the Russians have the decency to provide indoor storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AbnAirCav Posted February 7, 2001 Share Posted February 7, 2001 Originally posted by Mikey D: That is the best (and almost the most expensive) warbook I've read. Worth every penny. A very good book for JadgTiger fans too. And for you mod makers, don't forget to notice the building & bridges in the background! Good point about the Jagdtiger. I understand that this was one of only two battalions to receive the Jagdtiger (the other being the 512th, where Otto Carius commanded a company late in the war). As for the mod makers, there are also a number of excellent Jean Restayn color illustrations, including insignia, of course. For both the modders & the actual vehicle modelers, when the Ferdinands were modified in December '43, "Many modifications were made to the Ferdinands." From what I see in this book, as well as Culver & Feist's Schwere Panzer in Detail, some of the changes seem to be:<ul>[*]Hull machine gun added [*]Commander's cupola with periscopes added [*]Engine gratings replaced (original ones were a weak area, with Molotov cocktails as well as artillery hits near the gratings setting the vehicle on fire) [*]Driving lights gone [*]The accessory tool box moved from the right hull side to the armored exhaust ventilation box on the rear. Other tool stowage also changed, such as the vehicle jack from the hull front to the rear. [*]Zimmerit applied to half way up the superstructure (photos show Zimmerit also on the rear tool box) [*]Sand yellow primer used [*]Protective shield in front of the gun mantle reversed? Dunno if there are any corrections, questions, or comments, but that's what I see. --Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts