COMBAT HISTORY OF GERMAN HEAVY ANTI-TANK UNIT 653 (Pbk)

Schwere Panzer-Jager-Abteilung 653 was equipped with the heaviest tank-destroying vehicles of the German armed forces. Initially conceived as an assault gun battalion but redesignated in April 1943, the 653 received its first Ferdinand heavy tank destroyers (later modified and re-named Elefants) in May 1943, and went into action on the Eastern Front a month later. In 1944 the unit converted to the massive Jagdtiger. The seventy-five ton, heavily armoured Jagdtiger was the behemoth of the battlefield. It boasted a 128 mm gun with a range of more than twenty kilometres, making the Jagdtiger a highly effective tank killer - despite its limited mobility. Outfitted with these lethal giants, the 653 saw service in Russia, Italy, Austria and Germany. This book is a reprint in paperback of the acclaimed Fedorowicz title.