501st Heavy Tank Battalion (Germany)
The 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion (German: Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 501) (Schwere: heavy, Panzer: tank, Abteilung: battalion) was a German World War II independent armoured battalion equipped with heavy tanks. The battalion was the second unit to receive and use the Tiger I (Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. E) heavy tank, changing to Tiger IIs in mid-1944.
It fought and surrendered in Tunisia, reformed in September 1943, then fought on the Eastern front; destroyed, it reformed with Tiger IIs in July 1944, then mostly deactivated on 11 February 1945. Over its history, the battalion lost 120 tanks and destroyed 450 enemy vehicles one of the lower ratios for a German heavy tank unit during World War II.
Read more about 501st Heavy Tank Battalion (Germany): Formation, Commanders, Medals
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