Hi all,
Over the past few weeks I've been looking for pictures of the SdKfz 251/12, 13, 14 and 15 as used by the artillery observation batalions. The results were a few fuzzy pictures with hardly any details visible.
Could anyone provide me with good quality fotos or links?
And the proper german name and abreviation for these batalions?
thanks in advance
cheers, Paul
SdKfz 251/12, 13, 14 and 15
Moderator: sniper1shot
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Tanker Mike
- Supporter
- Posts: 125
- Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2002 7:18 pm
- Location: USA
Panzertracts
Try this link.Paulus II wrote:102 views and no answer?
No wonder I had trouble finding anything worthwhile!
Scale drawings, models, book titles, anything will do.
http://panzertracts1.tripod.com/
"It is well war is so terrible, we should grow too fond of it."
-Gen. Robert E. Lee
-Gen. Robert E. Lee
Hi guys,
I'll get a copy of the Panzer Tracts dealing with the 251, should be useful. Thank you Tanker Mike!
As for Googling bdtj1815 well, of course you couldn't know but I always check my library and the internet when I want to know something and only post here when I really can't find what I'm looking for.
Although there is a lot to be found on the 251 in general through Google I haven't found any good pictures of the 251/12-15. Mostly bad quality ones that don't show the difference between the variants and none of the interiors that show the way the equipment was stowed.
At your suggestion I tried it again and got 224 sites. I checked 55 but got very fed up with pictures of models and the same old list of variantdescriptions.
Maybe you're a better Googler than I am.
Cheers, Paul
I'll get a copy of the Panzer Tracts dealing with the 251, should be useful. Thank you Tanker Mike!
As for Googling bdtj1815 well, of course you couldn't know but I always check my library and the internet when I want to know something and only post here when I really can't find what I'm looking for.
Although there is a lot to be found on the 251 in general through Google I haven't found any good pictures of the 251/12-15. Mostly bad quality ones that don't show the difference between the variants and none of the interiors that show the way the equipment was stowed.
At your suggestion I tried it again and got 224 sites. I checked 55 but got very fed up with pictures of models and the same old list of variantdescriptions.
Maybe you're a better Googler than I am.
Cheers, Paul
I am sorry my google suggestion wasn't that helpful but maybe you can help me! This is the text of a message I posted on another part of the forum:
"I was hoping someone could give me an insight into artillery OP methods, particularly during the Ardennes campaign. Information as to how OP/FOO officers were deployed, whether there were higher level units at Corps or Army level for instance etc. Any infomation would be helpful."
Your comments above refer to Observation Bns which partly answers my question that they existed but I would be grateful for anything you can help me with, or if you can point me in the right direction for information on the web. I am particularly interested in how, and if, coordination at divisional and higher level would have been managed particularly after the start of the operation. I am a former artillery officer who mainly served with an armoured brigade in BAOR during the 1980s so would not be frightened by technicalities!
"I was hoping someone could give me an insight into artillery OP methods, particularly during the Ardennes campaign. Information as to how OP/FOO officers were deployed, whether there were higher level units at Corps or Army level for instance etc. Any infomation would be helpful."
Your comments above refer to Observation Bns which partly answers my question that they existed but I would be grateful for anything you can help me with, or if you can point me in the right direction for information on the web. I am particularly interested in how, and if, coordination at divisional and higher level would have been managed particularly after the start of the operation. I am a former artillery officer who mainly served with an armoured brigade in BAOR during the 1980s so would not be frightened by technicalities!
Hi bdtj 1815,
I don't think I can you help you much but I'll do what I can.
My primary interest is the German campaign in may and june of 1940. Only very recently, as I was looking over an OoB of the German forces deployed along the Dutch frontier on 10 may 1940, did I find out about the existance of the artillery observation batallions.
So far I have found the following two sites (or rather: one is made by Christoph Awender on this forum and the other he pointed out to me):
http://www.beobachtungsabteilung.derkessel.de/OOB.html
This one is exclusively about the observation batallions, very informative and has a rather large section on books about artillery.
http://www.wwiidaybyday.com/
This one deals with orders of battle for almost every type of unit the German army had. It is in German but the graphics speak for themselves.
Look under OOb's, Gliederungen, KStN then 3) KStn then Artillerie. A little over halfway down the list you will find: Schallmessbatterie (mot)
On neither will you find any specifics about the Ardennes offensive but they both give a good insight in the business of German artillery observation. I'm still searching for other sources but so far without finding anything of good quality
No way can I get technical on this subject. As a former NCO in the Medical Corps I've never even touched an artillery piece. I served during the 1980's and once stayed overnight in one of the barracks of the BAOR but I can't even remember the town it was in, let alone the name of the barracks. We had been manouevers for a week. You know how it is.
Another site that may be of interest is this one:
http://orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/000_admin/000oob.htm
It has a LOT of OoB's. Again not (yet) of 1944 but you can see how artillery was incorporated into Corps and Armies from 1939 till about 1942.
I hope this has been helpful to you.
Cheers, Paul
I don't think I can you help you much but I'll do what I can.
My primary interest is the German campaign in may and june of 1940. Only very recently, as I was looking over an OoB of the German forces deployed along the Dutch frontier on 10 may 1940, did I find out about the existance of the artillery observation batallions.
So far I have found the following two sites (or rather: one is made by Christoph Awender on this forum and the other he pointed out to me):
http://www.beobachtungsabteilung.derkessel.de/OOB.html
This one is exclusively about the observation batallions, very informative and has a rather large section on books about artillery.
http://www.wwiidaybyday.com/
This one deals with orders of battle for almost every type of unit the German army had. It is in German but the graphics speak for themselves.
Look under OOb's, Gliederungen, KStN then 3) KStn then Artillerie. A little over halfway down the list you will find: Schallmessbatterie (mot)
On neither will you find any specifics about the Ardennes offensive but they both give a good insight in the business of German artillery observation. I'm still searching for other sources but so far without finding anything of good quality
No way can I get technical on this subject. As a former NCO in the Medical Corps I've never even touched an artillery piece. I served during the 1980's and once stayed overnight in one of the barracks of the BAOR but I can't even remember the town it was in, let alone the name of the barracks. We had been manouevers for a week. You know how it is.
Another site that may be of interest is this one:
http://orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/000_admin/000oob.htm
It has a LOT of OoB's. Again not (yet) of 1944 but you can see how artillery was incorporated into Corps and Armies from 1939 till about 1942.
I hope this has been helpful to you.
Cheers, Paul