I was reading the post about what color was under the tiger 1 skirts. There was a post with links to many Tiger photos and I was surprised at how many were devoid of any markings at all. I don't know if many have noticed that before.

I noticed that too and was wondering if it was the quality of the film from back then not showing the markings.

Hi, People!

THIS time, I'm going to hazard an educated guess, meaning that I can't refer back to the notes that I took back in the 1970s when my Mom's Onkel Ludwig came to visit us back when we lived in NYC... Onkel Ludwig served in France from May, 1940 until he was captured by US Forces, (more like "gave up" with his fellow Crew Members), in Germany in February of 1945. He served in various Pz.IVs throughout. As to the "numbers and markings"; that was before things started getting "hot", in France, 1944-'45. Many times, THERE WASN'T TIME ENOUGH to apply fancy markings, numbers, divisional symbols, etc. This was because in the West, many Panzer Units were kept moving, even before the actual D-Day Invasion took place. If and when "numbers and markings" were applied, sometimes they could be pretty sloppy in their appearance. Photographic evidence shows this to be true...

I DID however, have the chance to ask Onkel Ludwig about the "general situation" in France in the months leading up to the Allied invasions in Normandy, and subsequently, in the South of France:

Again, Onkel Ludwig's "testimony"-

"German Military units were kept moving because of all of those 'Verdammte' British and American JABOS flying around, looking for us, (in our English parlance, "targets of opportunity"), starting roughly in mid-Summer of 1943, and on to the end of the War in Europe..."

I also asked him about German camouflage, and he told me, (my rough translation from our Southern German dialect),

"Yes, when we had the time, but mostly no. We made use of a LOT of the available foliage, especially in the Bocage. We really didn't have the time for anything fancy..."

You will notice that I'm staying AWAY from the Eastern Front, simply because NONE of my Mom's three uncles served there, so I cannot and will not in any way even venture a guess.

So "numbers and markings"..? My guess is, in the West anyway, sometimes "yes" and sometimes, "no"... I've seen photos of WWII German equipment with and without numbers and markings... If you want to take the time to apply "numbers and markings", go ahead. I don't think that anyone would fault you if you did. Likewise, if you don't, you would be JUST AS CORRECT, NOT TO... Take it for what it's worth...

Have FUN!!!

Tiger battalions were pretty consistent about applying vehicle numbers, unless the tanks had just been delivered. Later in the war, most units stopped applying unit insignia to tanks, or reduced them in size (apart from the 505th, with its enormous charging knight insignia), though rear echelon vehicles continued to carry full markings.

If a tank appears to have no markings, it may simply be dirty. The 653rd Schwere Panzerjager Abteilung lost a Jagdtiger in an urban action in 1945 and the vehicle ended up with its gun spiked into a store window. It appeared to be overall Dark Yellow, with no markings. However, it sat there for two years, getting rained on, and being a novelty, was photographed many times. Later photos reveal a textbook three-color, hard-edged scheme, with ambush spots, a Balkenkreuz, and a standard three-digit number.

Dragon did extensive research on "unknown unit...Eastern Front" markings.

LOL! Good one, have a DS track as a reward...
Take care,
Don "Lakota"

Gerald, some of the tiger photos were without numbers or crosses. The vehicle has to be amazingly dirty for both the turret numbers and the cross to be covered beyond notice. The 502 in both France and Russia had reasonably good photos and there were no visible markings in the photo links. I remember seeing photos of Otto Cairous's tank and I could easily see the cross on the hull but there were no turret numbers.