List of Knight's Cross recipients of the SS Heavy Panzer Battalions
Encyclopedia
The SS Heavy Panzer Battalions were battalions of Tiger tanks
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...

 and were originally intended to have been one Tiger tank Battalion for each SS Panzer Corps. The plans for the formation of the 1st SS Panzer Corps and its heavy battalion were put into effect at the end of July 1943. They were formed by expanding the three Tiger tank
Tiger tank
Tiger tank may refer to:*Tiger I, or Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, a German heavy tank produced from 1942-1944*Tiger II, or Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, a German heavy tank produced from 1943-1945, also known as Königstiger, King Tiger or Royal Tiger...

 companies of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd SS Panzer Regiments.
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments
Coming into force
Coming into force or entry into force refers to the process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have legal force and effect...

. The first enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573 of September 1, 1939 instituted the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....

 and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. As the war progressed some of the recipients distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of June 3, 1940. In 1941 two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of September 28, 1941 introduced the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. At the end of 1944 the last and final grade, the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 of December 29, 1944 concluded the variants of the Knight's Cross.

Prerequisites

To qualify for the Knight's Cross, a soldier had to already hold the 1939 Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....

 First Class, though the Iron Cross I Class was awarded concurrently with the Knight's Cross in rare cases.
Unit commanders could also be awarded the medal for exemplary conduct by the unit as a whole.

Grades

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was divided into five grades, excluding the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was a decoration intended for victorious generals of the Prussian Army and its allies. It was the highest class of the Iron Cross. Along with the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, the Grand Cross was founded on March 10, 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars. It was...

:
  • Knights Cross
  • Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and swords
  • Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
  • Knights Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds

Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords

  • Michael Wittmann
    Michael Wittmann
    Michael Wittmann was a German Waffen-SS tank commander during the Second World War. Wittmann would rise to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer and was a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross holder....

    , Hauptsturmführer
    Hauptsturmführer
    Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...

    , 101 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, 22 June 1944

Knight's Cross with Oakleaves

  • Michael Wittmann
    Michael Wittmann
    Michael Wittmann was a German Waffen-SS tank commander during the Second World War. Wittmann would rise to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer and was a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross holder....

    , Untersturmführer
    Untersturmführer
    Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...

     13 (Heavy) Company, 1 SS Panzer Regiment, 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 30 January 1944


SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 102

  • Paul Egger
    Paul Egger
    Paul Egger was a German pilot in the Battle of Britain and a Obersturmführer in the Waffen SS during World War II who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded by Nazi Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War...

    , Obersturmführer
    Obersturmführer
    Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...

    , 1 Company, 502 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, 28 April 1945
  • Kurt Hartrampf
    Kurt Hartrampf
    Kurt Hartrampf was a Obersturmbannführer in the Waffen SS during World War II. Who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II.-Early life:Kurt Hartrampf was born...

    , Sturmbannführer
    Sturmbannführer
    Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...

    , 502 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, 28 April 1945
  • Alois Kalss, Obersturmführer
    Obersturmführer
    Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...

    , 1 Company, 502 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, 23 August 1944

SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 103

  • Karl Brommann
    Karl Brommann
    Karl Brommann was a Untersturmführer in the Waffen SS during World War II. Who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, for the destruction of 66 tanks along with 44 anti tank guns and 15 vehicles in the battle for Danzig...

    , Untersturmführer
    Untersturmführer
    Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...

    , 1 Company, 503 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 29 April 1945
  • Friedrich Herzig
    Friedrich Herzig
    Friedrich Herzig was a Sturmbannführer in the Waffen SS during World War II who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II.Friedrich started the war in the 3rd...

    , Sturmbannführer
    Sturmbannführer
    Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...

    , 503 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, 29 April 1945
  • Karl Körner
    Karl Körner
    Karl Körner was a Hauptscharführer in the Waffen SS during World War II and one of the most successful Panzer-Commander Aces who had a score of 102 tanks within only 3 months and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or...

    , Hauptscharführer
    Hauptscharführer
    Hauptscharführer was a Nazi paramilitary rank which was used by the Schutzstaffel between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank was the highest enlisted rank of the SS, with the exception of the special Waffen-SS rank of Sturmscharführer....

    , 2 Company, 503 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, 29 April 1945
  • Oskar Schäfer
    Oskar Schäfer
    Oskar Schäfer was a Untersturmführer in the Waffen-SS during World War II, who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II.-Early life:Schäfer was born on 16...

    , Untersturmführer
    Untersturmführer
    Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...

     3 Company, 503 SS Heavy Panzer, 29 April 1945

13s/SS Panzer Regiment 1, 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler

  • Heinrich Kling
    Heinrich Kling
    Heinrich Kling was a Sturmbannführer in the Waffen SS, his SS number was 39 402 and he was a member of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler.....

    , Hauptsturmführer
    Hauptsturmführer
    Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...

    , Commander, 13 (Heavy) Company, 1 SS Panzer Regiment, 23 February 1944
  • Michael Wittmann
    Michael Wittmann
    Michael Wittmann was a German Waffen-SS tank commander during the Second World War. Wittmann would rise to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer and was a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross holder....

     Untersturmführer
    Untersturmführer
    Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...

    , 13 (Heavy) Company, 1 SS Panzer Regiment, 14 January 1944
  • Franz Staudegger
    Franz Staudegger
    Franz Staudegger was a Oberscharführer in the Waffen-SS and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.As a Unterscharführer Franz Staudegger was the first member of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Tiger tank commanders to win the Knight's Cross On 7 July 1943, a single...

    , Unterscharführer
    Unterscharführer
    Unterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...

    , 13 (Heavy) Company, 1 SS Panzer Regiment, 10 July 1943
  • Balthasar Woll
    Balthasar Woll
    Balthasar "Bobby" Woll was a Oberscharführer in the Waffen SS who was also awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was born in Wemmetsweiler on 1 March 1922, ....

    , Rottenführer
    Rottenführer
    Rottenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. The rank of Rottenführer was used by several Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Sturmabteilung , the Schutzstaffel and was senior to the paramilitary rank of Sturmmann.The insignia for Rottenführer...

     13 (Heavy) Company, 1 SS Panzer Regiment, 16 January 1944 (Tank gunner for Michael Wittman)
  • Helmut Wendorff
    Helmut Wendorff
    Helmut Max Ernst Wendorff was an Obersturmführer in the Waffen SS. He was issued with the SS number 365 017 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.Wendorff was born on 20 October 1920 in Gauwinkel...

    , Untersturmführer
    Untersturmführer
    Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...

    , 13 (Heavy) Company, 1 SS Panzer Regiment, 12 February 1944


See also

  • 101 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
  • 102 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
    102 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
    The SS Heavy-Panzer Battalion 102 was a heavy-tank battalion of the Waffen SS during World War II, which fought as part of the II SS Panzer Corps during the Battle of Normandy...

  • 103 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
    103 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
    SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 103 or s.SS-Panzer Abteilung 103 was originally formed on 1 July 1943 as the II.Battalion, 11 SS Panzer Regiment and sent to Yugoslavia to fight as infantry, however, at the end of November, the battalion was converted back to the Tanks.The Battalion was then issued six...

  • German heavy tank battalions
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