Must Be In The Genes

[Deleted account rno]

I often work in Glasgow and Edinburgh with an Advocate who's really interested in German WW2 memorabilia and who has a reasonable collection himself. In recent conversation with him, I told him that my Dad had been in a Panzer regiment and was taken prisoner by the Americans at the Battle of the Bulge. He was almost salivating to find out more as German tank regiments/battles are of particular interest to him.

I phoned my old man tonight to get the info and learned that he'd been under the command of General Heinz Guderian and had been in the 114th Jäger Division of the Panzer Regiment.

It all makes sense now...

 

[flash of the gap]

tanks for that

 

[Deleted account rno]

tanks for that

 

[Uinneag]

Thank fuk we got tae the Jager factory afore they Russian coonts

Yir auld man wis way up in my estimations, noo he's nearly on a par wi yir mar
Origin of the name
The designation "Panzerjäger" is derived from the branch of service going by the same name. "Jäger" (German "hunter") was the common labeling for highly mobile infantry troops in German armies. Units designated to fight tanks were named "Panzerjäger" and so were their vehicles. Comparable to their tasks were the allied tank destroyers, though their design was quite different.


Development
The Panzerjäger (abbreviated to Pz.Jg. in German) were anti-tank vehicles produced by taking an existing anti-tank gun complete with gun shield from its carriage and mounting it on a tracked chassis to give a mobile anti-tank gun.

Development of the Panzerjäger idea started before the start of the war and continued until about 1943 when the better protected Jagdpanzer ("Hunting tanks") designs took over. Panzerjäger continued to serve until the end of the war.

The chassis used were mostly from obsolete tank designs or captured tanks. This made them cheap to build and put otherwise old and worthless equipment to use. Despite the resulting shortcomings of light armour and high silouette they were successful in their intended role.


Combat use
Panzerjäger vehicles were often deployed as a whole Abteilung within Panzer and Panzergrenadier divisions in both SS and Heer. This Abteilung would operate alongside their Panzer forces, helping to quell the usually overwhelming numbers of Allied Armour.

Typed this intae ebay tae see if I could get ye some memorabilia, and yi'll never guess whit it came up wi

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_...14th+jager+division&_sacat=See-All-Categories

 

[Dahoum]

One of my Dads favourite stories:

He was a driver in the Royal Engineers and one day an officer got him to drive him on a recce trip - they crested a hill only to find a very lot of German tanks facing them.

With typical british aplomb the Rupert said "I think we better be getting back now Corporal Day" my Dad said he was already turning round

 

[Deleted account rno]

Afore any WW2 buffs pu' me up, I know that the 114th Jäger Division were an infantry division but in late 1944, they were given a few tanks to help them oot and my Dad was elected driver.

Nae wonder they got captured...

 

[Deleted member TF]

Does your dad often dress up as Max Moseley?

 

[Deleted account rno]

Does your dad often dress up as Max Moseley?

Only when he pays your mum to take her up the arse...

 

[Deleted account W]

Only when he pays your mum to take her up the arse...

 

[garfield]

my uncle used to shoot at german tanks....6 degrees of separation I think they call that.....

 

[Klanky]

I spent years thinking the "SS Jagermeister" were a fighting unit of the German Army until I joined UKGSer.

It does have a certain ring to it, though....