Did Panther/G and/or King Tiger tanks carry spare drums of petrol during the Battle of the Bulge? If so, where were they most likely carried? How were they attached to the tanks?
Thanks!
Leddy
In the well known German newsreel footage of sSSPzAbt.501’s Tiger IIs filmed moving through the town of Tondorf, on their way to the assembly area of Kampfgruppe Peiper, a single fuel drum can just barely be seen resting on it’s side, behind the turret of one of the Tigers. Other than this single occurrence, I am unable to find any other photos showing fuel drums being carried on the tanks themselves.
At exactly 2:31 into this movie clip, you can see the barrel, for all of about one second…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_So3BaeBgB0&feature=related
Most of the photos one sees of German tanks during the BotB are photos of wrecks and abandoned tanks taken after the battle. Photos of German tanks moving to their assembly areas before the battle are rare, and this is really the only time one would find them carrying fuel drums, and even so, this would not be a common sight. When the need arose, they would carry fuel drums, as shown in this shot of a Panther D Pzbflswg. guarding a railroad bridge on the Eastern Front;
If you look carefully, you can see a piece of wood stuffed under the drum to wedge it against the unditching beam and plank stowed on the rear deck.
On a related note, on pages 343-346 of Tigers in Combat II, you can find 4 photos of Tiger Is from sSSPzAbt 502, carrying fuel drums on their engine decks, both standing upright and laying on their sides, during their travels through the Normandy countryside. They don’t appear to be tied down at all!