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The Formation of the 101st (Heavy) SS Panzer Battalion

Following its return from the Eastern Front the 13th (Heavy) Company saw a number of radical changes as it was provided with newer 'late production' Tigers and increased to battalion strength. The battalion was divided into three companies, each of which consisted of three platoons of four Tigers; in addition to these dozen vehicles each company was also assigned two command vehicles, with further tanks being assigned to the battalion commander, his adjutant and signals officer. In total, the number of Tigers in the battalion totalled forty-five, almost doubling the armoured strength of the 13th Company. The new formation was designated the 101st (Heavy) SS Panzer Battalion.

The turret numbering system was also revised - the battalion commander, adjutant and signals officer were assigned 007, 008 and 009 respectively, while the company commanders and HQ squad leaders were assigned vehicles numbered 05 and 04 prefixed by the single number of the relevant company (e.g. 104 for the HQ Squad Leader of the 1st Company, 305 for the Commmander of the 3rd Company). Each regular vehicle was given a three-figure turret number - the first signified the company, the second the platoon, and the third the individual vehicle number - for example the third tank of the third platoon of the third company was designated Nr. 333, while the fourth vehicle of the third platoon of the second company was assigned the number 234. The lead tank for each platoon was given the vehicle number 1 - do the lead vehicle of the 3rd platoon of the 1st Company would have been 131.

The 101st (Heavy) SS Panzer Battalion as at 06.06.1944

When the formation was initially created, Michael Wittmann was assigned Tiger 205, the command vehicle of the second platoon. During the course of the Normandy campaign this vehicle broke down, and Wittmann was to commandeer a number of different vehicles, including 222 - which saw action at Villers-Bocage - and 231, in which he was filmed after soon after receiving the Swords to his Knight's Cross. Following the injuries to batallion commander Heinz von Westernhagen in July, Wittmann assumed command of the battalion and with it the battalion commander's Tiger 007. It was in this vehicle that Wittmann was killed on 8 August 1944. All of these vehicles were painted with summer camouflage, with the 'Zimmerit' anti-mine paste being applied to the turret and upper hull.

Ist Company

IInd Company

IIIrd Company

Notes

In addition to the three Tiger Companies, there was also a fourth (light) Company commanded by SS-Ostuf. Wilhelm Spitz, which consisted of Pioneer, Armoured Reconnaissance, Scout and Anti-Aircraft Platoons. The strength of this Company was some twenty-nine vehicles, including motorcycles, Kubelwagens and smaller tracked armoured vehicles. There were also two support companies, the Workshop Company commanded by SS-Ostuf. Gottfried Klein and HQ and Supply Company, headed by SS-Ostuf. Paul Vogt.

The 101st battalion saw one final reformation, when prior to the Ardennes offensive in December 1944 it was renamed the 501st SS Panzer Battalion and equipped with the new PzKpfw VI Tiger II, or Königstiger ('King Tiger'). Although slightly more cumbersome and prone to mechanical problems than the the Tiger I, the King Tiger was a far more powerful machine. One can only wonder what Michael Wittmann might have achieved had he survived to be given command of one of these vehicles.

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