Formation
Early formation units experimented to find the correct combination of heavy Tiger tanks supported by either medium Panzer III tanks or scout elements. In 1942 this consisted of 20 Tigers and 16 Panzer IIIs, composed of two companies, each with four platoons of two Tigers and two Panzer IIIs. Each company commander would have an additional Tiger, and battalion command would have another two.
Later formations had a standard organization of 45 Tiger Tanks, composed of 3 companies of 14 Tigers each, plus 3 command vehicles. Maintenance troubles and the mechanical unreliability of the Tigers posed a continuous problem, so often the units would field a smaller number of combat-ready tanks.
The limited number of these heavy tanks, plus their specialized role in either offensive or defensive missions, meant they were rarely permanently assigned to a single division or corps; but shuffled around according to war circumstances.
| Description | vehicle type | 1 July 1943 | 1 January 1945 |
| Flakpanzer IV | Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun | 0 | 8 |
| Sd.Kfz. 7/1 8 ton 4 x 2 cm Flak | Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun | 6 | 3 |
| Sd.Kfz. 251 Schützenpanzerwagen | Armoured half-track | 10 | 11 |
| Bergepanther | Armoured recovery vehicle | 0 | 5 |
| Sd.Kfz. 9 18 ton Zugkraftwagen | Half-track prime mover | 8 | 7 |
| Sd.Kfz. 10 1 ton Zugkraftwagen | Light half-track | 8 | 13 |
| Sd.Kfz. 2 Kettenkrad | Gun tractor | 0 | 14 |
| Beiwagenkrad | Motorcycle with sidecar, e.g. BMW R75 | 25 | 0 |
| Solokrad | Motorcycle | 17 | 6 |
| Kübelwagen Personenkraftwagen | Staff car | 64 | 38 |
| Personenkraftwagen, zivil | Civilian car | 2 | 1 |
| Lastkraftwagen | Truck, e.g. Opel Blitz | 111 | 84 |
| Lastkraftwagen, zivil | Civilian truck | 24 | 34 |
| Maultier | Half-track | 0 | 6 |
| Kran-Kraftfahrzeug | Mobile crane | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 278 | 233 | |
Read more about this topic: German Heavy Tank Battalion
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