Tiger tanks in action at Kursk during the Summer of 1943

Along with the Tigers rolling about the Russian steppes, interesting mix of Soviet armor appears in this footage. Most of the former featured are likely Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503 vehicles, the unit served well during the Battle of Kursk suffering relatively few combat losses and claiming over twenty Soviet tanks destroyed for every Tiger lost. At 1:00 the vehicle near the camera is likely a Befehlspanzerwagen III command tank with a “sternantenna“ aerial for its long range radio, with these lighter tanks frequently working in concert with their heavier counterparts. At 1:17 the troops sheltering near the Tiger’s tracks appear to regret their choice of location as they are hit by the powerful muzzle blast from the tank’s 88mm gun. Among the casualties the T-34/76 unsurprisingly features heavily including the then-current Model 1943, an example of which is seen burning at 1:08. The two open hatches are typical of the variant and are also the feature they led it to be nicknamed th