The Schwere Panzer Abteilung 507 was formed in September 1943 around a cadre from 13. Panzer-Division. It arrived at the front in March 1944 and fought the red army at Vitebk and Narev.
It was refitted with Tiger II (Köningstiger) tanks in February 1945 and surrendered to the Red Army at the end of the war after a failed attempt to reach the American troops.

The US 3rd Armored Division commander General Maurice Rose (1) was killed on 31 March 1945 when he was captured by men from this unit as he withdrew his gun, it was been suggested that the killing was a war crime but likely the German soldiers misunderstood the gesture and assumed that he was not willing to surrender. It was been suggested that a large number of Waffen-SS soldiers (though the Germans involved were Heer and not Waffen-SS) were killed in retaliation by US forces but that has not been supported by any evidence. (2)

Commanders

Major Erich Schmidt (? Sep 1943 - ? Aug 1944)
Hauptmann Fritz Schöck (? Aug 1944 - 15 or 16 Jan 1945) (WIA)
Oberleutnant Maximilian Wirsching [Fhr.] (15 or 16 Jan 1945 - 19 Jan 1945)
Hauptmann Fritz Schöck (19 Jan 1945 - 8 May 1945)

Area of operations

Eastern front (Sep 1943 - May 1945)

Holders of high awards

Holders of the Commendation Certificate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army (1)
- Pfeuffer, Bernhard, 17.10.1944 (4191), Leutnant, Zugführer i. d. 3./Pz.Abt. 507
Holders of the German Cross in Gold (4)
- Breitfeldt, Fritz, 06.03.1945, Oberfeldwebel, 3./s.Pz.Abt. 507
- Diez, Heinrich, 20.09.1944, Fahnenjunker-Oberfeldwebel, 3./s.Pz.Abt. 507
- Gebhardt, Rolf, 28.04.1944, Feldwebel, 2./s.Pz.Abt. 507
- Neumeyer, Friedrich-Wilhelm, 28.05.1944, Oberleutnant, 3./s.Pz.Abt. 507
Holders of the Honor Roll Clasp of the Heer (5)
- Beilfuss, Rudi, 25.02.1945, Oberleutnant, 1./Pz.Abt. 507
- Ebner, Friedrich, 25.02.1945, Feldwebel, 2./Pz.Abt. 507
- Placzek, Josef, 05.03.1945, Unteroffizier d.R., 3./Pz.Abt. 507
- Scheuerlein, Ludwig, 05.03.1945, Feldwebel d.R., 2./Pz.Abt. 507
- Wirsching, Maximilian, 07.07.1944, Oberleutnant, 2./Pz.Abt. 507
Holders of the Knight's Cross (6)
- Gebhardt, Rolf 30.09.1944 Fahnenjunker-Feldwebel Zugführer i. d. 2./s.Pz.Abt 507
- Koltermann, Wolfgang 11.03.1945 Oberleutnant d.R. Chef 3./s.Pz.Abt 507
- Ratajczak, Edmund 10.02.1945 Oberfeldwebel Zugführer i. d. 1./s.Pz.Abt 507
- Schmidt, Erich 09.06.1944 Major Kdr s.Pz.Abt 507
- Schöck, Fritz 05.09.1944 Hauptmann Chef 2./s.Pz.Abt 507
- Wirsching, Maximilian 07.02.1945 Oberleutnant Chef 2./s.Pz.Abt 507

Propaganda & Culture

Lyrics to the "Das Tiger-Lied der schweren Panzer-Abteilung 507".

Footnotes

1. General Maurice Rose was the only US armored division commander to be killed in action during the war.
2. "Himmler's crusade: the Nazi expedition to find the origins of the Aryan race" by Christopher Hale.

Sources used

Christopher Hale - Himmler's crusade: the Nazi expedition to find the origins of the Aryan race
Ron Klages - Trail of the Tigers
Wolfgang Schneider - Tigers in combat (2 vol)
Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945
Gordon Williamson - German Army Elite Units, 1939-45
Steve Zaloga - Remagen 1945
Steven J. Zaloga - US armored divisions: the European theater of operations, 1944-45

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -