Tiger I Allocations/Losses at Kursk

[KG_Panzerschreck]

At the start of the Kursk offensive on 5th July 1943, the following units had the following allocation of Tiger Is. Losses are also given.

1. Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503 had 45 Tiger Is. It lost just 7 Tigers totally during the whole of July plus 7 in August.

2. Schwere Panzer Abteilung 505 had 45 Tiger Is. It lost 6 Tigers in July and 12 in August.

3. Grossdeutschland had 15 Tiger Is. It lost 6 in July?(though more likely it was during August that these were lost) and 5 in August.

4. Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler (SS) had 14 Tiger Is. It lost 2 Tigers in July and handed the rest over to Das Reich and Totenkopf in late July.

5. Das Reich (SS) had 14 Tiger Is. It lost 1 Tiger in July and 3 in August.

6. Totenkopf (SS) had 14 Tiger Is. It lost 3 Tigers in July and 1 in August.

All losses include knockouts, self destruction and factory maintainence (canibalization etc).

The above figures go totally against the Soviet claim that 70 Tigers were destroyed on 12th July alone at Prokhorovka. The Germans only had 43 Tigers in total in that entire sector and only one Tiger was totally destroyed on 12th July.

Sources are Tigers In Combat volumes I and II by Wolfgang Schneider.

[KG_ThorsHammer]

yes, there were no tigers involved in the fighting at prokorovka, although there were some closeby that stopped a flanking attempt. There is an article I found that should be in our file site or downloads section called "Kursk, Germanys' lost victory" that is a very good read.

[KG_Swampfox]

Originally Posted by KG_Panzerschreck

Sources are Tigers In Combat volumes I and II by Wolfgang Schneider.

That particular series by Schneider is a first class piece of work....