Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

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jimd211545s
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Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by jimd211545s »

jims 002.jpg
jims 002.jpg (106.24 KiB) Viewed 13090 times
Ok so when I try to research Women in the Wehrmacht or waffen SS I get some quite stong conflicting opinions!

So what is the case with this lady? It doesn't look to me like shes just wearing her partners uniform, the fits to good and the belt and holster look to fit so what unit? and what role?

Cheers Jim.
mconrad
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Re: Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by mconrad »

I think the combat award badge on the tunic is proof that she's just borrowing the uniform.
jimd211545s
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Re: Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by jimd211545s »

is that to say that combat reward badges were never awarded to women?
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cordelius100
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Re: Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by cordelius100 »

Note that she has a holster for a gun which is remarkably small and not standard issue Walther. This suggests it is for a woman
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ealdwita
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Re: Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by ealdwita »

The tunic fastens on the 'male' side.
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Tom Houlihan
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Re: Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by Tom Houlihan »

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laurence strong
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Re: Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by laurence strong »

One thing that did occur was the use of male uniforms to disguise Helferin while trying to flee or during the prisoner round ups/forced marches at the end of the war in the east.
jimd211545s
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Re: Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by jimd211545s »

Who/whatever she is? to me there is a look of defience about her, a real Boudicca look going on. The photo doesnt have that casual air that you usually see in photos of women in male uniforms? just a shame there was no inscription on the reverse! but then thats the fun of photos the questions they raise that keep us researching!
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Mike Higgins
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Re: Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by Mike Higgins »

jimd211545s wrote:is that to say that combat reward badges were never awarded to women?
Only if she has been through three seperate panzer assaults. :D Which is how the PAB was earned.
John Winner
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Re: Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by John Winner »

I think I remember something in The Combat History of German Tiger Tank Battalion 503. If I remeber there was mention of a female in one of the tank crews. I will have to look it up. Might take me a while.
John Winner
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Re: Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by John Winner »

Ok, after looking long and hard in the wrong book I picked up my copy of Tigers in Combat by Schneider and on page 45 I found this: 1 May 1944: 29 tanks operational. The battalion is attached directly to the 3. Panzer-Armee.
Oberleutnant Kriepahle is the new commander of the 2./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 501. His "radio operator" is a female Russian! The commander of the 3./schwere PanzerAbteilung 501 is reported missing in action.


I do not know how true this is, or where Schneider got the information. I would hope that he would not print questionable information, especialy something like this, without knowing it was 100% true. I would figure that is one of the first things in the book to be questioned.
Ljotrulf
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Re: Women In Panzer Uniform?? Comments Please!

Post by Ljotrulf »

Whilst it is good to let your imagination run riot once in a while, this is almost certainly a "girlfriend" photo.
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