Destroyed German heavy tank Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. B “King Tiger” №321 from the 502nd Tank Battalion, armed with a gun from the “Panther” medium tank.
On the morning of March 28, 1945, during a German counterattack near the village of Küstrin-Kietz, this tank hit a mine, lost its ability to move, but continued to fire from the gun. As a result, the tank was destroyed from a captured “Faustpatrone” rocket launcher, and only one person was left from its crew.
The unusual tank armament is associated with the difficulties of supplying the Wehrmacht in the last months of the Third Reich. Instead of the damaged original gun during repair, the gun was mounted from the Panther medium tank.
Source of King Tiger photo information:
1. Wolfgang Schneider “Tiger II in Combat”
Location: Küstrin-Kietz, Germany
Date: 1945