Panzerwrecks 8: Normandy 1

FEATURES: German field guns on lorraine Schlepper. 15cm

Panzerwerfer 42.

pz.lehr wrecks during 'Operation Cobra.'

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Meticulous planning got the Allies to the Normandy beaches, and brute force carried them inland : Panzerwrecks 8 follows the British, American, Canadian and Polish forces in the summer of '44 as they rolled up German held territory, and the photos here are grim reminders of the high cost of doing so. Had the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe of 1940 vintage backed forward positioned German land forces, the Kriegsberichter would have been taking pictures of Allied wrecks.

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M;my ollllC'II11,J/w',ln I hi" !)noll wen' taken by servicemen using basic equipment; they arf' inclIH14'd IOJ 1111'11 illlpI4".1 "lid historical value, not necessarily their photographic qu ..llily. for II J(' II'.,' (" 111I (I'. W

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Two Canadian soldiers look over a Lg.s .F.H.13(Sfl.) auf Lr.S at a collection point for towed and SP artillery "somewhere in Normandy" on 15 July 1944. The vehicle has a wavy sprayed camouflage pattern and no discernible unit or tactical markings. The angle iron across the width of the vehicle is an unusual addition. 2x LAC

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A Ie. F. H.18/4 (Sfl .) auf Lr.S that, according to the graffiti on the gun barrel , has been "tamed

by the RAF". With the 10mm thick armour around the fighting compartment gone, it is clear to see just how big the weapon was in relation to the chassis . A total of 24 of these

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vehicles went into action with Pz .Art.Rgt.155 of 21.Panzer-Division in June 1944.

how one set of tracks has been put on backwards.

I, I II 18/4 (Sfl.) auf Lr.S, complete with an eye catching 'splinter' camouflage scheme. III lid,

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photo on page 10, this vehicle has the muzzle brake as seen on the 'Wespe'.

Although it is a partial view, we can see that the track has broken and the exhaust shroud has been shredded . The photo comes from a Canadian wireless intelligence unit. MIM

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1,11" 11 ca me across this unusual armoured vehicle abandoned between Trun

, .dl ed a 'Gross Funk und Beobachtungspanzer auf Lorraine Schlepper' by the II I" 'I onged to PZ.Art.Rgt.155 of 21.Panzer-Division. The regiment had 4 Beob. . 111 0 it is believed they were assigned to the Abteilungsstabe of 11./ and 111./ IWI) per Abteilung. The vehicle was fitted with four wireless antenna bases and

carried additional bow armour, which has been cracked. The large engine access hatch (behind the driver's position) is missing . A tactical symbol for a self propelled artillery unit and a crisp 'Balkenkreuz' appear on the well sloped side armour, which has the addition of graffiti (courtesy of Force Fran~aise d' interior) reading "FFI Resistance Fram;aise." 2x LAC

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This view shows the empty radio racks a the left wa II, with the front of the vehicle on right. Rubber buffers acted as vibration dam to keep the vacuum tubes inside the rad from breaking. Cables snake upwards, possib to the antenna bases outside the vehicle. would appear the occupants had plenty of to remove the radio gear and anything else value before abandoning the vehicle.

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III s.H.Pz.Abt.503 lays with its turret II I In orchard at La Fauvetiere, just 1111 1 01 \l ll lIoutiers on the road to Trun . This I lill ,·" ILld been used by the Werkstatt of i I I', Iii ',()3. The tank is in a bomb crater and !a d I" II di\d bled by the men of the Werkstatt UI IINI II II , ,Ind 18 August. The turret was one of j i ll III I l ill y designed to be put on the Porsche ,llown by the protective armour guard 1'1111" 1 11,,, lurret ring. II

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11 11 11 ", 111(er, probably s.H.Pz.Abt.S03 at the same location, the camouflage netting ZlCrosS the road is a tell-tale sign of a Werkstatt . The demolition charge ha s iii I", I ., ·, 1I he turret, blowing its roof off in the process and buckled the hull roof around III Ii",·, '\ position. The turret ring is now visible and we get to see how it was fixed to 1111 I" til I very vehicle carried a pre-set demolition charge . When abandoning the vehicle, III' ", w would pull a ring to set off the charge that would disable it, thus preventing the 11 ,1 "" " I a usable item . The upper left photo is of a different vehicle and was taken by I 1' 1' " ,. 'l lgst er to show the cleats on the track link. 4x LAC II I " ,,, I,'(I

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, HIIiI .1, I, 'I y beheaded Tiger 1111 I 101, Iy .mother from the I' ~ I 'I .11 ; Werkstatt at La 1'111 '. of the hull roof 111I'" ing, notably the "I' l l the driver's and ' 'i '' , d'lI \ positions and ilil I, II 11111 l ear of the turret

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for trials in UK. An 8.8cm shell can be seen behind the gun mantlet on the turret roof.

Tiger '334', of s.SS-Pz.Abt.101 was knocked out on the road between Rauray and Tilly-sur­ Seulles on 27 June 1944. These two photographs probably show the machine the next day, after it had been dragged in from the battlefield by the British. It was subsequently used

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Major Sangster: "Tiger J has been with steel bogey wheels. These have steel tyres & we believe resilient rubber mountings in incorporated in the wheel. Efforts being made to recover this tk & despat( it to OTO. The cupola had been dam previously & repaired by welding shown. Apparently a shot had Crrll'll'''' . the top plate & gouged the removing the periscope guard & AA The repair welding was very porous appeared to be poorly done". In this ca the weld was adequate for a field re Note the extra 25mm plate in front the commander's cupola .

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'''I 1" 1'.. observations could ", , II " I, as this pithy caption ., I lie

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tk received several

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',haws three hits on the the mantlet sheared "//,,, Ilf llq bolts & must have ,I fI ' II II , into the loader's face". " "

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II1 I1 I. ' nl' of s.SS-Pz.Abt.lOl, I Ii ,,, ,I .iI I'otigny and is unusual in Ii 111 ' " 'l lIrbished turret fitted to di II I " " III .SS-Pz.Abt.l0l, was knocked out by a Cromwell tank from the Polish 1st ",v l" ion in the area of Ernes, Sassy and Jort on IS August 1944. The Cromwell's III , '" " '" 'l1f'trated the turret rear escape hatch . The two poor quality photos on the

opposite page show the terrain well . In the background of the photo on this page is a Crusader AA tank . 3x PISM

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A US motion picture cameraman films a knocked out le.Pz.SpWg. (2cm) (Sd .Kfz.222) Ausf.B Southwest of Carentan on 12 July 1944. The vehicle belonged to 1./SS-Pz.AufkI.Abt .17 of 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division, as this was the only unit equipped with the Sd .Kfz.222 in the area. The entire armoured rear end has been blown away exposing the engine.

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The foreground is littered with the detritus of war and a GI picks his way through it. armoured car is devoid of any markings and just has a loading stencil applied to the side the hull. On page 27, a GI compares a 2cm shell with an empty case. Note the p 'cage' around the 'Notek' blackout driving lamp on the front fender. 4x

II III ' "'w of the wreck, as photographed by a US Army stills cameraman, Here we can II I Ii , 11 1 explosion has occurred in the fighting compartment, as part of the 2cm Kw,K 11 11 1111: into the air and one of the mesh screens over the turret is somewhat bent Both sides of the engine compartment are lying to the right of the photo,

With the back end gone we can see that the fenders were fixed to the armoured hull with brackets , Another vehicle from this unit, a le ,Pz,Sp'wg, (Fu) (Sd ,Kfz ,223}, is shown in Panzerwrecks 1, US Army

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careful look at the photo on page 30 reveals daylight through the side engine hatch and scorching to the paintwork. An unreadable name is written on the nose of the vehicle and it carries the old style tactical marking for a PZ.AufkI.Abt. on the 'Zusatzpanzerung' at the front of the vehicle.

(I ll) (Sd.Kfz.232) photographed on the roadside between Trun and Chambois .IIIJ :'.l cr, whose caption says that it was "apparently burnt out by aircraft Itll\ /111''' . [3oth photos show that the weld seams have opened and the armour III Ii (II I ." Jove the second wheel. The frame antenna has gone, complete with the I I 111" . 111 ;) t supported it on the hull, those on top of the turret remain intact. A

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This SturmgeschUtz III Ausf.G was knocked out 300 metres north of the Hotel de Ville in Sainte-Mere-Eglise by M4 tanks of Co . C, 746th Tank Battalion supporting the 82nd Airborne Division on 7 June 1944. The StuG most likely belonged to Pz .Jg.Abt.709 of the 709.lnfanterie-Division, although this is not entirely clear. It has received a significant number of hits blowing the roof off of the superstructure and the front off the mantlet among other things, but did they specifically target the muzzle brake? 3x NARA

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Serious looking GI's pose with the wreck of a Sturmgeschutz III Ausf.G near Caen in July 1944. The front of the vehicle has been holed with a number of closely grouped hits penetrating the lower nose and the box mantlet has been hit too, making the armoured collar slide down the gun barrel. The vehicle was based on a converted Pz .Kpfw.III, which was made with a 30mm plate welded over the width of the front, but it's missing here, which explains why we can see the hole for the brake cooling vent. L.Archer

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II Ii I'" ,II ive GI makes a closer inspection of a Sturmgeschutz III Au sf.G with 'Topfblende' 11 11" 1 .I rmoured deflector in front of the commander's cupola, and a mix of steel and 11111 " "'1 urn rollers . The strong sun makes it difficult to see the waffle pattern 'Zimmerit' ' 111 1'1 : [li e vehicle . The forward section of trackguard and part of the engine deck are

missing, and the roof armour appears cracked ; although unmarked on th e ri ght hand side, a photo of the left side may show massive damage . The vehicle wa s knoc ked out by ae ri i'l l bombing on 11 July on the Ie Homm et-d 'Arthenay to Le Dezert ro ad. It had bee n one 0 1 three StuGs attached to Kampfgruppe Scholze supporting 6./Pz. Gren .Rgt .902. l.Archcr

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Just another overturned Panther? Not so . This was a Panzerbefehlswagen Panther Ausf.A (Sd.Kfz.267) as shown by the armoured pot for the antenna base for the FuG 8 on the engine deck and the antenna base for the FuG 5 on the turret roof. In fact the antenna on the turret is still in position. The turret has been covered in 'chickenwire', but underneath

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this the tank carries a tactical number of '97'. The style of tactical number leads us conclude that this vehicle belonged to SS-Pz.Rgt.2. But was the gun cut off, or is it in the ground?

brewed up but the tyres were intact. It was a long way from the nearest area where rocket "A Panther had an AP hit in the engine and another on the strikes were observed." Point 11 is roughly 300m to the east of the hamlet ofLa Provostiere. It is thought that the wreck was from 2./SS-pz.Rgt.2 or 3 of 2.SS.Panzer-Division. 1''' Icket; the left track was off. The gun had its barrel completely destroyed in L.Archer/W.Auerbach 1111 11 suggested deliberate destruction on the part of the crew. This Panther had

I 1111 111 I I\ IiSf.A was lost between Hambye and Villedieu-Ies-Poeles. It is best summed I

I II I II elil 'w ing ORS report: 1111 1/

IIfl III ,

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A Panther Ausf.A from I./SS-Pz.Rgt.1 at Saint-Barthelemy, lies frozen in time with its gun at 10 o'clock. The hooks on the turret for spare track were very typical of this unit, but, by the time this photo was taken, all tracks, tools, and even the leaves on the trees had been

stripped. This appears to be a Panther from Daimler-Benz, with its roughened 'Zimm 24 bolt roadwheels and monocular gun sight. Damage to its rear hull/suspension may have led to its demise. L.Archer/W.Aue

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Panther. Another Panther Ausf.A of I./SS-Pz.Rgt.l, photographed by a GI

Unusually, the entire side wall ofthe turret has come away at the weld seams. The spon son welds have failed, making us think that the stowed ammunition has 'cooked off'. Note the large hole in the turret roof.

I 11 1 ',.11111 13a rthelemy. The tank was one of a number knocked out by Typhoons of the I

I II I I, Ii /\ ir Force on 7 August 1944 in an attempt to halt 'Operation Luttich'. Between 1111 ' late afternoon, Typhoons made a total of 294 sorties over the battlefield.

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Intelligence teams came , II , " Ma rder II" (Panzejager II fur II I I' I 11 0/2 (Sd ,Kfz .131)) covering a III I , II (l t but gave it only a cursory II .11 1.111 size, potent gun, and open llilll ' ' II II ):« ~,. .........

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caption for this photo is lost, but we know from another that the GI with fixed bayonet is Sgt. Harvey Davis of San Diego, CA.

Davis' outfit knocked out the Tiger tank ... with a bazooka anti-tank gun a few hours earlier." Inset: Another Panther found in I II II t iJ ern Chapelle-en-Junger. 1x US Army, Ix US Airforce '", I.

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"Private David Wise of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, stretches on his motorcycle as the American advance west of st. Lo has halted for a moment. Private Raymond Bennett of Irwin, Tennessee sits on the motorcycle at right and Sergeant Harvey Davis of San Diego, California, stands in the back." Opposite: "A few hours after the battle west of st. Lo,

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Americans examine Nazi armor which they have destroyed. In the foreground is a NU:l troop-carrier, in the background, one of many Mark VI Tiger tanks, knocked aut in tl,/-, breakthrough." This is the Panther shown overturned in the bottom photos on page 711 2x US Army

More views of the mittlerer Pionierpanzerwagen (Sd.Kfz.251/7)' tactical number '1134,' from PZ.Pio.Kp .11 of PZ.Gren.Rgt.901 seen on the previous page. These images were shot by a motion picture cameraman after the vehicle had been pushed off the road and shows the extreme range of the

front axle in rough terrain. The vehicle is virtually intact. Opposite: The interior is clean as a whistle! Note the slight bow in the 'Obergangsschienen.' Artwork courtesy of Barry Crook. The unit insignia is a speculative design. 2x NARA

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I cit: George Greb took the photos on pages " 2·93, but there also exists a 'War Pool' ph oto very similar to the one on page 92, .lId its caption seems more enamoured of th e USAAF than the ground troops Greb IIlt erviewed . We include it here to add .mother dimension to our coverage of ·Cobra.' "8/8/44 US dive bombers destroyed

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1/34 German tanks like this. A battered mass If steel, this German Tiger tank is one of the 184 tanks that U.S. dive bombers smashed III the first week of the great July 25, 1944 uffe nsive in the area south of st. La, France. In addition U.S. flyers demolished 2,287 other l;erman vehicles, many of them armored." I

US Army

Right: Greb: "American soldiers examine a German Mark VI, knocked out ofaction as the Am ericans advanced west ofst. La. The tanks \ uffered a direct hit and sank into its own crater, burying itself level with the road. The Nazi crew apparently expected a smooth run li1rough the war, as they carried a complete ';et of beautiful French dinner-ware amongst lheir loot, which remained intact." From .mother of Greb's captions: "Two soldiers who were taken by the Americans during the (lpening of the offensive west of st. La [were lI ot Germans]. Tartars, Mongolians, Russians fro m the Far East, they had been forced to fi ght in the German Army after their capture. I hey could not speak a word of German, I rench, or English, and Nazis captured with th em said they could speak with their fellow ·.oldiers only through an interpreter."

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American soldiers (at 1/ , ' of the vaunted Nazi Mark 111 11 " where were knocked out as 1/, , " ', advanced west of st. La, on I I' I (i illes. The Americans passed 11/. , I (('gular intervals in this break II I I tanks lay across the fields, '1111 11, ,I, some blown open like tin fI , I "' ir innards scattered in every 'I lle were buried up to their III shell holes. The tiger [sic] It/zis counted on most heavily 'Iy beaten." It is clear that the III " " Ire sitting on a vehicle on the lit ',I, I" of the road. US Army 111 11 .' ('

" , I, " ,l~ up of the rear deck showing Ii I.. 'I lor a stowage box that tankers 111: 1 I, fitted to their Panthers. The II" Idl er strips mounted underneath II ,..' of the tu rret were put there to II ',"'Il eone sticking a hand grenade ., will 'n the turret was traversed over I,· ," I he vehicle. US Army

,,,I ,,j t he 'civilians' George Greb was " d 10 photograph? We have only

I" Ii ' II: "American medical corpsmen

" , l il ly wounded civilian found in st. \vil , II US troops entered the town on , Ih troops entered the town this 11, ',1 out. The man's leg was broken, I, 'lit' I he ankle, by a piece ofshrapnel, '\ lI lt' ricans administered to him, they I ' ',I " 'ok to him in French, but the man 1,'II\ sian . He was captured on the I I/ t! front and brought to Cherbourg , ( ,('rmans as a slave laborer. He 11 ', 1 to escape from them during ,II I,' for Cherbourg. He kissed the " I the Americans, crying 'Tovarish, , /,,1 '"

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