Home » Panzer
Category Archives: Panzer
The life for a crew in a Tiger
I jsut have recieved a ton of photos from a friend, among them there was a serie of photos of the SS-Ostuf Waldemar Schütz who after the war and his service in the SS-Pz.Rgt.1 started a publishing company in Germany under the name “K.W. Schütz” I have several of books from that company in my libary.
But the photo I now show is Waldemar Schütz himself in and outside the Tiger (Nr 411) but also his crew. Among them a photo of them cleaning the barrel of the 88 gun that the Tiger was equipped with. It took some men to clean it. 
1 photo – their Tiger I No 411
The view for SS-Ostuf W Schütz in the turret.
The radiooperator and machingun handler in the Tiger
The driver of the Tank
The loader of the gun
The tank commander – SS-Ostuf W Schütz
The Cdr and his crew get info about assignments ahead
Cleaning the gun
The tank is ready for the next mission
Best regards
Georg
Drones a novelty in the military?
Considering the development in a nearby war where Drones get a more active role in the times, one can ask, is this the new way to fight? I have to say, No! During the Second World War, the German army used the Sd.Kfz 302 or 303. A radio-controlled explosive charge that drove with its caterpillar feet to the desired location and then detonated.
It began development in 1940 by the Borgward firm of Bremen who had been approached by the German Army for the design of a “demolition vehicle”.
The engineer Adolphe Kegrésse had built an experimental vehicle that was seized after the collapse of France and it was this that became the basis for the German variant.
A year and a half later, the German model was ready for use, the official name was Leichter ladungsträger Sd.Kfz 302 but also received the additional name “Goliat”.
However, like all new machines, it had some childhood illnesses, among other things. so the fighting troops criticized its weight (365kg) and that the cables with which the Goliat was controlled were too weak.
With this Borgward developed a new prototype, with lighter weight and improved cables the new model was named Sd.Kfz 303 “Goliat”. The first working name for the vehicle was initially David, but that caused the Ministry of Propaganda to have hiccups. You couldn’t name something like that after a heroic Jewish boy who took down Goliath. For some reason, ironically, the name Goliath was adopted.
From 1943 onwards, a total of 4900 Goliaths were produced and they were active in the battles from Kursk to the final battle in Berlin in 1945. It is noted that they were used extensively during the Battle of Warsaw in 1944, where they knocked out houses in which the Polish Home Army was entrenched.
As the introduction said, drones are not a new invention.
//Georg
