Tiger Operational Status
Tiger Strength and Status
The table below lists the number of Tiger tanks listed as combat ready and undergoing short-term maintenance with the independent heavy tank battalions on the first of every month. Short-term maintenance was defined as lasting up to three weeks. These numbers are based on the monthly reports submitted by the units. Not all reports are available.
In addition to the Tiger tanks that were combat ready and were undergoing short-term maintenance, some units appear to have had additional vehicles. For some months, some battalions also submitted [word=link¤¤expl]Kriegsgliederung[/lang] organizational drawings specifying the number of vehicles and weapons in each company. These numbers sometimes specify the number of authorized Tiger tanks when at full strength (45), sometimes the number of operational tanks, and sometimes a third number different from both:
| Date | Status report | Kriegsgliederung | Notes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat ready | Maintenance | Total | Staff | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total | ||
| schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502 | |||||||||
| 1943-11-10 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 41 | 8 tank surplus |
| 1944-01-01 | 17 | 6 | 23 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 33 | 10 tank surplus |
| 1944-02-01 | 20 | 21 | 42 | 3 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 55 | 13 tank surplus |
| 1944-03-01 | 24 | 4 | 28 | 5 | 23 | 21 | 22 | 71 | 43 tank surplus |
| 1944-04-01 | 29 | 14 | 43 | 3 | 23 | 19 | 22 | 67 | 24 tank surplus |
| 1944-05-01 | 25 | 8 | 33 | 3 | 20 | 17 | 20 | 60 | 27 tank surplus |
| 1944-06-01 | 34 | 4 | 38 | 3 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 58 | 20 tank surplus |
| 1944-07-01 | 41 | 3 | 44 | 3 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 54 | 10 tank surplus |
| 1944-08-01 | 12 | 8 | 20 | - | 4 | 3 | 5 | 12 | Matches operational number |
| 1944-09-01 | 19 | 8 | 27 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 19 | Matches operational number |
| schwere Panzer-Abteilung 509 | |||||||||
| 1943-12-01 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 45 | Matches authorized strength |
| 1944-01-01 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 45 | Matches authorized strength |
| 1944-02-01 | 26 | 2 | 28 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 45 | Matches authorized strength |
| 1944-07-01 | 33 | 11 | 44 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 46 | 2 tank surplus |
| 1944-08-01 | 10 | 10 | 20 | - | 5 | 4 | 11 | 20 | |
| 1944-09-01 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 40 | 10 tank surplus |
Those units that did have Tigers, but whose reports are not available, are listed as NA. Those units that did not have Tigers at a given month have no data.
| Month | Status | s Pz Abt 501 | s Pz Abt 502 | s Pz Abt 503 | s Pz Abt 504 | s Pz Abt 505 | s Pz Abt 506 | s Pz Abt 507 | s Pz Abt 508 | s Pz Abt 509 | s Pz Abt 510 | s Pz Abt 301 (Fkl) | s SS Pz Abt 101 | s SS Pz Abt 102 | s SS Pz Abt 103 | Total | Reporting units | Operational rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jul | Combat ready | NA | 40 | NA | NA | 40 | 25% | 89% | ||||||||||
| Maintenance | 5 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Aug | Combat ready | 21 | 9 | NA | NA | 30 | 50% | 42% | ||||||||||
| Maintenance | 16 | 26 | 42 | |||||||||||||||
| Sep | Combat ready | 12 | 18 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 30 | 33% | 45% | ||||||||
| Maintenance | 12 | 24 | 36 | |||||||||||||||
| Oct | Combat ready | NA | - | NA | 14 | NA | NA | 14 | 33% | 26% | ||||||||
| Maintenance | 27 | 12 | 39 | |||||||||||||||
| Nov | Combat ready | NA | NA | 10 | NA | 6 | NA | NA | 16 | 29% | 41% | |||||||
| Maintenance | 14 | 9 | 23 | |||||||||||||||
| Dec | Combat ready | NA | NA | 9 | NA | 4 | 20 | NA | 33 | 43% | 46% | |||||||
| Maintenance | 8 | 4 | 20 | 38 | ||||||||||||||
| 1944 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan | Combat ready | 17 | 17 | 4 | 10 | 18 | NA | NA | 15 | 9 | 90 | 78% | 63% | |||||
| Maintenance | 13 | 6 | - | 11 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 53 | ||||||||||
| Feb | Combat ready | 19 | 20 | 13 | 17 | 10 | NA | NA | 26 | NA | 105 | 67% | 60% | |||||
| Maintenance | 10 | 21 | 22 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 70 | |||||||||||
| Mar | Combat ready | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | |||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||||||
| Apr | Combat ready | NA | NA | NA | ||||||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||||||
| May | Combat ready | NA | NA | NA | ||||||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jun | Combat ready | NA | ||||||||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jul | Combat ready | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | ||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||||||
| Aug | Combat ready | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | ||||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sep | Combat ready | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | ||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||||||
| Oct | Combat ready | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | ||||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nov | Combat ready | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | ||||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dec | Combat ready | NA | NA | NA | ||||||||||||||
| Maintenance | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1945 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan | Combat ready | NA | 18 | 10 | 16 | 34 | NA | 51 | 12 | NA | 18 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 159 | 50% | 85% |
| Maintenance | 2 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 27 | ||||||||||
| Feb | Combat ready | NA | NA | NA | NA | - | - | 13 | 11 | 12 | 12 | NA | NA | 48 | 50% | 40% | ||
| Maintenance | 26 | - | 2 | 25 | 9 | 11 | 73 | |||||||||||
| Mar | Combat ready | NA | NA | 26 | NA | NA | 25 | 5 | 5 | NA | NA | NA | 61 | 41% | 64% | |||
| Maintenance | 10 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 35 | |||||||||||||
| Apr | Combat ready | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | - | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | - | 7% | 0% |
| Maintenance | 9 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||
Sources
- Panzerlage : 28.2.1943. 1943. 2 p. BArch 10/60.
- Panzer-Lage : 20.6.1943. 1943. 6 p. Gen.Qu./Gruppe V(K)III - Nr. I 31 686/43 g.Kdos.. BArch 10/60.
- Panzer-Lage : 30.6.1943. 1943. 6 p. Gen.Qu./Gruppe V(K)III - Nr. I 31 780/43 g.Kdos.. BArch 10/60.
- Tiger Abteilungen (Nach Gen. Qu. Pz-Lage 29.2.1944). Der Panzeroffizier Beim Chef Gen St d H, 1944. 1 p. Der Panzeroffizier Beim Chef Gen St d H Nr. 342/44 g.Kdos.. BArch RH 10/71.
- Tiger Abteilungen (Nach Gen. Qu. Pz-Lage 31.3.1944). Der Panzeroffizier Beim Chef Gen St d H, 1944. 1 p. Der Panzeroffizier Beim Chef Gen St d H Nr. 401/44 g.Kdos.. BArch RH 10/71.
- Tiger Abteilungen (Nach Gen. Qu. Pz-Lage 20.4.1944). Der Panzeroffizier Beim Chef Gen St d H, 1944. 1 p. Der Panzeroffizier Beim Chef Gen St d H Nr. 524/44 g.Kdos.. BArch RH 10/71.
- Tiger Abteilungen (Nach Gen. Qu. Pz-Lage 20.4.1944) Neue Zahlen Rot. Stand 30.4.1944. Der Panzeroffizier Beim Chef Gen St d H, 1944. 1 p. Der Panzeroffizier Beim Chef Gen St d H Nr. -/44 g.Kdos.. BArch RH 10/71.
- Tiger Abteilungen (Nach Gen. Qu. Pz-Lage 31.12.1943). Der Panzeroffizier Beim Chef Gen St d H, 1944. 1 p. Der Panzeroffizier Beim Chef Gen St d H Nr. 117/44 g.Kdos.. BArch RH 10/71.
- KLAGES, Ron. Trail of the Tigers. Mukilteo, WA : Lyonsbrook Publishing, 2002. 134 p.