During the Second World War German crews of Panzerkampfwagen, Sturmgeschütze, Panzerjäger, Pak guns and Flak weapons frequently applied unofficial Abschussringe, known in English as victory or kill rings, to the barrels of their main armament as visible records of confirmed successes against enemy armour or aircraft. These white or alternating black-and-white rings, each normally representing one verified destruction of a tank, self-propelled gun or comparable target, were painted after the kill had been reported by the vehicle commander and confirmed by the Kompanie-, Bataillons- or Regimentsführer; damaged vehicles or soft-skinned targets did not usually qualify for a ring. On highly successful barrels the thin muzzle rings were later replaced by broader Abschussbalken or numbered bands, often carrying a tank silhouette or a numeral such as ten, twenty or higher to keep the marking clear once the count exceeded a dozen. The practice, which originated as a spontaneous ritual among Heer and Waffen-SS crews and later spread to some Luftwaffe Flak units, served primarily to raise morale and foster competition between crews rather than as an official decoration. It was especially widespread on the Eastern Front, where Sturmgeschütz-Abteilungen and Panzer-Divisionen faced large numbers of Soviet tanks, and photographs of vehicles such as the StuG III of Leutnant Walther Oberloskamp of Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 667 show long rows of white rings commemorating forty or more Abschüsse. Although never regulated by the Oberkommando des Heeres, the markings became a recognised feature of German armoured and anti-tank units and were occasionally copied by Axis allies, remaining one of the most distinctive visual expressions of combat achievement on German guns throughout the conflict.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARMORED VEHICLE
Oberleutnant der Reserve Walther Oberloskamp (1920-1944) was born on 27 January 1920 in Friedeberg/Löwenberg in Silesia, Germany, and served as an officer in the German Heer during the Second World War. As a Leutnant der Reserve he became Zugführer of the 3./Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 667, a unit later redesignated Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 667, operating on the Eastern Front. In March 1943, while attached to the sector of the 98. Infanterie-Division near Djuki, Oberloskamp distinguished himself through both personal bravery and effective leadership of his assault gun platoon. Over the course of only a few days of intense fighting he personally accounted for the destruction of forty enemy tanks, an achievement that demonstrated exceptional skill in the employment of Sturmgeschütze against superior Soviet armoured forces. For these successes he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 10 May 1943. Contemporary photographs show him seated on the barrel of his StuG III, which bore forty white kill rings commemorating the feat. He continued to serve with the same formation and was subsequently promoted to the rank of Oberleutnant. Oberloskamp was killed in action on 26 June 1944 near Minsk in the USSR during the heavy defensive battles that followed the opening of the Soviet summer offensive, ending a brief but highly distinguished career as a tank-destroyer ace whose most celebrated action remained the rapid elimination of forty armoured vehicles that earned him the Knight’s Cross.
Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2015/03/foto-baris-kemenangan_25.html
No comments:
Post a Comment