Heinrich Kling
Encyclopedia
Heinrich Kling was a Sturmbannführer
(Major) in the Waffen SS, his SS number was 39 402 and he was a member of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler..
In Autumn of 1942, the 1st SS Motorized Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. was upgraded to the status of a Panzer Grenadier Division and an additional 13th Company was added equipped with the Tiger tank
. The command of the 13th Company was given to Hauptsturmführer
(Captain) Heinz Kling.
Training on the new tank took place at Paderborn
in Germany and then at Ploermel
in France.
In the end of January 1943, LSSAH was transferred back to the Eastern Front.
While in command of the II./Battalion, SS Panzer Regiment 1 on the 29 December 1943 he was awarded the German Cross in Gold
He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
on the 23 February 1944
He later went on to command the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
of the LSSAH
and ended the war still in command of the 101st Heavy Panzer Battalion with a total of 51 tank kills to his credit.
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
(Major) in the Waffen SS, his SS number was 39 402 and he was a member of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler..
In Autumn of 1942, the 1st SS Motorized Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. was upgraded to the status of a Panzer Grenadier Division and an additional 13th Company was added equipped with the Tiger tank
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
. The command of the 13th Company was given to Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
(Captain) Heinz Kling.
Training on the new tank took place at Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
in Germany and then at Ploermel
Ploërmel
Ploërmel is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-Character of the town:It is a growing and developing community with a thriving economy and a lively atmosphere. The town is modern rather than romantically mediaeval, but it is clean and attractive and offers a...
in France.
In the end of January 1943, LSSAH was transferred back to the Eastern Front.
While in command of the II./Battalion, SS Panzer Regiment 1 on the 29 December 1943 he was awarded the German Cross in Gold
German Cross
The German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
on the 23 February 1944
He later went on to command the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
101st SS Heavy Panzer Detachment
SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 101 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 101 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 101 (in German Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101, commonly abbreviated as s.SS-Pz. Abt. 101 was one of Waffen-SS's elite armored units, acting as a fire brigade and a crack assault unit on all fronts...
of the LSSAH
and ended the war still in command of the 101st Heavy Panzer Battalion with a total of 51 tank kills to his credit.
Tiger Knights
While under Kling's command the men of 13s.Company had more Knights Cross recipients then any other company:- Hauptsturmführer Heinrich Kling
- Untersturmführer Michael WittmannMichael WittmannMichael Wittmann was a German Waffen-SS tank commander during the Second World War. Wittmann would rise to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer and was a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross holder....
(Destroyed 138 tanks and 132 anti tank guns) - Unterscharführer Franz StaudeggerFranz StaudeggerFranz Staudegger was a Oberscharführer in the Waffen-SS and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.As a Unterscharführer Franz Staudegger was the first member of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Tiger tank commanders to win the Knight's Cross On 7 July 1943, a single...
(the 1st Tiger commander to be awarded the Knights Cross,destroyed 22 tanks on 8 July 1943) - Rottenführer Balthasar WollBalthasar WollBalthasar "Bobby" Woll was a Oberscharführer in the Waffen SS who was also awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was born in Wemmetsweiler on 1 March 1922, ....
(Tank gunner for Michael Wittman) - Obersturmführer Helmut WendorffHelmut WendorffHelmut Max Ernst Wendorff was an Obersturmführer in the Waffen SS. He was issued with the SS number 365 017 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.Wendorff was born on 20 October 1920 in Gauwinkel...
13.s Company tank commanders 2 November 1943
- Company Commander
- HauptsturmführerHauptsturmführerHauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
Heinz Kling
- Hauptsturmführer
- Company HQ Squad Leader
- OberscharführerOberscharführerOberscharführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1932 and 1945. Translated as “Senior Squad Leader”, Oberscharführer was first used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership...
Krohn
- Oberscharführer
- I.Platoon
- UntersturmführerUntersturmführerUntersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
Helmut WendorffHelmut WendorffHelmut Max Ernst Wendorff was an Obersturmführer in the Waffen SS. He was issued with the SS number 365 017 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.Wendorff was born on 20 October 1920 in Gauwinkel... - Unterscharführer Hans Höld
- Unterscharführer Hans Rosenberger
- OberscharführerOberscharführerOberscharführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1932 and 1945. Translated as “Senior Squad Leader”, Oberscharführer was first used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership...
Otto Augst - Unterscharführer Kurt Hühnerbein
- Untersturmführer
- II.Platoon
- Untersturmführer Michael WittmannMichael WittmannMichael Wittmann was a German Waffen-SS tank commander during the Second World War. Wittmann would rise to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer and was a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross holder....
- Unterscharführer Ewald Mölly
- HauptscharführerHauptscharführerHauptscharführer was a Nazi paramilitary rank which was used by the Schutzstaffel between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank was the highest enlisted rank of the SS, with the exception of the special Waffen-SS rank of Sturmscharführer....
Hans Höflinger - Oberscharführer Jürgen Brandt
- UnterscharführerUnterscharführerUnterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...
Kurt Kleber
- Untersturmführer Michael Wittmann
- III.Platoon
- UntersturmführerUntersturmführerUntersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
Eduard Kalinowsky - Oberscharführer Eduard Stadler
- Oberscharführer Georg Lötzsch
- Unterscharführer Günther Kunze
- Unterscharführer Willi Sadzio
- Untersturmführer
- IV.Platoon
- Untersturmführer Walther Hahn
- Unterscharführer Kurt SowaS
- Unterscharführer SchwerinSchwerinSchwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
- Hauptscharführer Erich Langner
- Unterscharführer Herbert Stief
- V.Platoon
- Untersturmführer Fritz Hartel
- Unterscharführer Otto Bard
- Scharführer Behrens
- Unterscharführer Heinz WernerHeinz WernerHeinz Werner was a Sturmbannführer in the Waffen SS who was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves during World War II. The Knight's Cross was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II...
- Unterscharführer Cap
External links
- http://www.angelfire.com/goth/bobtank/kling.html