Transporting Jagdtiger 331, the largest and heaviest tracked vehicle of WWII

Jagdtiger 331was built in July 1944 and sent to the Sennelager testing ground just north of the city of Paderborn, where it was used for trials.
Towards the end of March 1945 units of the American XIX Corps, including 3rd Armored Division and the 703rd Tank Destroyer Battalion were advancing towards Paderborn. The Germans assembled as many armoured units as they could to try and fend off their attack. One of these was an improvised unit called Panzergruppe Paderborn manned by instructors and equipped with an assortment of vehicles from test units, including Tiger Is, Tiger IIs, Panthers and even an old Panzer III. It is unclear whether the Jagdtiger was also a part of this force, or whether it took any part in the fighting.
Fighting around Paderborn and Sennelager continued for around a week. Although the German forces in and around the training area put up heavy resistance, most American units simply bypassed them to the north or south. By the 5th April it was clear that the forces left had to withdraw or risk being cut off. The Museum’s Jagdtiger was abandoned and captured by the Americans the next day. It was photographed almost immediately afterwards by a photographer attached to XIX Corps.
#panzer #tigertank #military