Oh sorry, I wanted to point out the escape hatch next to the loader, not the hatch above. The 3 bolt version seems to be the earlier one, while the other with 2 bolts is the later version, but here are 3 types of them.
By the way, I just noticed the actual loader’s hatch designed for the Tiger 2 on the third picture, then that variant must be the latest.
Also, is there any info whether the s.Pz.Abt. 503 used the latest Tigers manufactured with the 40mm thick roof? I’m guessing no, but who knows…
i dont have any conclusive information on that. The most i know is that 503 received new tiger 1s in 1944 February and March.
Alright, thanks for the answer.
One more thing… I found these images about the Tigers used by Hungary. Do you recognize the Tiger 2 loader’s hatch on these by any chance?
The third one resembles the Tiger 2 hatch, as the hand-grip rail seems to be on the left side, not in the middle, however most sources state that this picture is from Normany, not Hungary.
its hard to say due to the angle of the photograph. but yes the 3rd one is a late production with the Tiger 2 hatch
Yeah, then I guess the Tigers in Hungary, at least the ones of which we do have photo evidence were all mid-production models.
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=122116661342961453&set=pcb.122116661882961453
Among the war diary appendices of the German 1st Panzer Army is a telegram dated May 4, 1944, in which the Army Group North Ukraine informs the 1st Panzer Army that the Hungarian 1st Army is arranging for the transfer of the Panther tanks (!) that were in the possession of the German armored retraining team operating there. The Panthers (at least two, because of the plural) were ultimately to be taken over by the German 23/II. Panzer Division.
Field Marshal Walter Model, commander-in-chief of the German Army Group North Ukraine, ordered on May 4, 1944, that the division would receive some of the German armored vehicles subordinate to the 2nd Army Panzer Division to replace the lost Hungarian tanks during the spring operations - to increase the firepower of the troops.
Why is this interesting? Because based on these, I assume that the Germans could have partially replaced the tank losses suffered by the Hungarian 1st Army in the battles of April 1944 with Panthers (also) in the 3rd Tank Regiment of the 2nd Armored Division of the Hungarian Royal Army.
It seems to me that someone decided not to hand over the Panthers, so the retraining team did not work with them either and they were handed over before the retraining of the Hungarians began on May 6th.
In the summer of 1944, five Panther tanks arrived in Hungary for retraining purposes. These were assigned to the 2nd Hungarian Armored Division, which had already been redeployed to Transylvania, in early September 1944.
(According to the original date of the attached photo, taken by the war correspondent, we see a Panther with a Hungarian crew, probably in Transylvania based on the terrain.)
Well, It certainly outdated in the Pz 38(t) part. As the Hungarians received some F variant as well with the G-s.
