So I am cheerfully beating my head on a wall trying to figure out which of the various 502's Tigers took part in that very first action in August 28/29 1942. It appears that #100 may have been there and that it may have just been the headquarters and 1st company but the available info I've found is often non-specific or contradictory. Any and all guidance would be welcomed!

Matt

I can say that tiger #223 was there .

Hi Matt have you tried the Axis history forum, there is a page or two on there that might be able to help.

Tom

Edmund, could you tell us where you got that information?

David

Hi Matt!

Maybe one of them was the '112'
(Source: Stackpole Books - Tigers in Combat 1)

Matt, I'm not sure that there was such an action?

"Tigers in Combat 1" has the tanks on a train for the 28th of August.
They unloaded in Mga on the 29th, and attempted a march to take position at the front. But no shots are reported fired.

David

I did a search of Lake Ladoga WWII and one of the pics showed an early tiger #223 on the turret . The uniforms and the vehicles pictured appeared to be historically correct . Now that you mentioned it I might be wrong as to the exact date that was mentioned , maybe the picture was a later time frame .

FWIW, I've found mention of this in a couple of places but not in others that you'd think would cover it. I dunno.

On 23 July 1942, Hitler had ordered the first company of Tigers to be formed quickly and sent to the front at Leningrad. The first unit to receive Henschel-Tigers was the 1. Kompanie of schwere Panzer Abteilung 502, four arriving on August 19 and 20. These Tigers, accompanied by four Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.N, arrived at the front and went into combat on 29 August 1942. Two of the four Tigers were still operational at the end of the day and the other two were recovered and repaired.
On 21 September 1942, the Tigers and Pz.Kpfw.IIIs were sent into action again, with the loss of one Tiger and two Pz.Kpfw.IIIs. This action resulted in the first Tiger that was permanently lost. Having become hopelessly mired, the Tiger was subsequently filled with explosives and destroyed on 25 November 1942.

It's a good thing that I mentioned it, then, isn't it.

The first actions are described in both Tigers in Combat 1" and "Combat Tactics" by Jentz and Doyle. The latter quotes a contemporary account.

Combining them, we get a picture of the Tigers firing at the Russians for the first time on 16 September with no losses; then attacking again on 22 September, with breakdowns and the loss of one Tiger.

As for which Tigers were involved; it may be impossible to say. But it's likely that a Tiger would be assigned to the company commander, i.e. "100".

David

This picture is supposedly two of the Tigers from s.PzAbt 502 at Lake Ladoga, one is 312 and the other 321? Not sure how to verify its accuracy tho'.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kruegerrossi/10868862016/in/photostream/

The 502 battalion spent almost a year near Lake Ladoga. Not all photos of Tigers in the area will be relevant to the question.

David