Does anyone have any pic refs of any of his mounts?
Well, so much for the myth of “no facial hair” on German WWII combat soldiers in the field!
Sorry, Manny; I don’t have any more information about him. What’s his tally and type of tank?
He transfer over from U-Boats?
Dont know if this helps at all
I think we all saw him command a Uboat in the past! If not; then he’s got a double
gary
From Wikipedia (can you believe he didn’t win the Knight’s Cross???):
Kurt Knispel (20 September 1921 - 28 April 1945) was a Sudeten German Heer panzer loader, gunner and later commander, and was the highest scoring tank ace of World War II with a total of 168 confirmed tank kills [1] with the actual number of tanks destroyed, although unconfirmed, being as high as 195[1]. He is counted with Johannes Bölter, Ernst Barkmann, Otto Carius and Michael Wittmann as being one of, if not the, greatest tank commanders of all time.[2]With 168 (all confirmed, possibly as high as 195) kills,[1] Knispel was by far the most successful tanker of the Second World War[1] and is even credited with knocking out a T-34 at 3,000 m. He fought in virtually every type of German tank as loader, gunner and commander. He was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class after destroying his fiftieth enemy tank and the Tank Assault Badge in Gold after more than 100 tank battles. When Knispel had destroyed 126 enemy tanks (with another 20 unconfirmed kills) he was awarded the German Cross in Gold. He became the only non-commissioned officer of the German tank arm to be named in a Wehrmacht communique. As commander of a Tiger I and then a King Tiger Knispel destroyed another 42 enemy tanks. This raised his total to 168 enemy tanks destroyed, more than any other tank ace. Though he was recommended for it four times Knispel never received the coveted Knights Cross, a standard feature of most other WWII German tank aces.
Unlike other commanders, Knispel was not consumed by the pursuit of decorations and did not suffer from a “sore throat”, Heer slang for those who lusted after the Knight’s Cross. When there were conflicting claims for a destroyed enemy tank, Knispel always stepped back, always willing to credit success to someone else.[1]
I wonder what petty politics kept him from receiving his due?
Maybe the beard?! lol!
From the Armchair General forums:
Apparently Knispel had a knack of knowing where the enemy was and coupled with that, an uncanny ability as a gunner to hit first time, even when it was a snapshot.
He was a tough soldier. He died somewhere near a place called Wostitz on 29th April 1945.
Knispel trained earlier as a locksmith. This came in handy when he picked a lock on a train one night which was part of a consignment going with the and guarded by the SS Wiking division. Inside was a treasure trove of chocolate, coffee, tobacco, alcohol and so on. As much as possible was ‘borrowed’ and hidden in the Tiger tank air filters of Knispels unit. Bottles of Schnapps were wrapped in cloth and placed in the tank barrels which were then capped. No one realised anything was missing so they got away with Army rules 1 and 2 ( I think these are universal rules for any soldier).
1. Do what you like - just don’t get caught.
2. If it isn’t nailed down - take it.
This happened on a train journey to the Russian front. Knispel was involved in an incident - I think on the same trip - with a prison guard who was kicking a prisoner. Knispel slapped the guard an broke his rifle before giving him a kick up the backside. Everyone up to and including his battalion commander approved and when the military police turned up they were told to “look somewhere else” by the company commander who threatened to shoot them all!
Knispel was such a good gunner he could deal with the T34 using a short barreled 75mm gun (early Panzer IV). He then progressed to the Tiger I and II.
His total of kills as gunner/commander was officially 168 but may have been higher ( some allow up to 195 ). This does not count other vehicles, emplacements, or guns.
he was always held in awe by his fellow tankers for his gunnery and was highly respected as a fair person.
He was never awarded the knights cross although he was reccommended four times. It does seem strange that he wasn’t since he was the highest scoring tankman of the whole war.
And:
Kurt Knispel had troubles with military law. He assaulted an einsatzgruppen officer whom he saw mistreated soviet POWs and apparently looted a wrecked supply train and luzury stole items (Wine, champange, fresh meats) belonging to an AG staff officer (unamed). The commander wanted him shot but his record saved his life. This commander was later sent upstairs to the OKH or OKW (not sure which) as a general staff officer and determined to block promotions, recind field promotions (Knispel served as a platoon C O for several weeks due to injuries and his senior status) and blocked his access to the Knights Cross.
And:
After refit Knispel et al was returning on train to front , when incident occurred in Cracow. While waiting to resume trip Kurt Knispel noticed a striped clothed figure being beaten by a armed soldaten. Knispel ran to scene and corrected the guard by force, and destroying the soldatens rifle, and giving hope to the prisoner.
Upon return to train most of his Komeraden were embarassed by his actions and their lack of, but they warmly welcomed him back. Further along the journey the train was stopped by the military police and his commander was ordered to turn him over.
His commander replied that unless they were willing to take his place, drawing his weapon, Kurt would not be leaving.
He was a marked man for this incident. There are hero’s.
Don
There is a great chapter in “Panzer Aces II” that covers Kurt Knispel.
Bucking the system, saving unarmed prisoners at the risk of his life and the highest scoring tanker. Jeez why isn’t this guys story being told on the big screen?
Hmmmm…looks sorta like a bearded Sean Penn or Nick Cage, or the newly bearded Phoenix character…
Only problem is their to old Kurt was only like 24 when he was killed.
Its all in Russian but this might be of some help.
Here’s another link
Probably because we can’t have sympathetic, laudatory movies about “Nazi” war heroes, now, can we? [sigh]
Pretty interesting info on him there, Don. I figgered he musta pi**ed somebody off!
What about ‘Cross Of Iron’?[:-^]
And I kinda doubt Kurt was a Nazi.
I wasn’t actually inferring that he was; I’m just pointing out that the public perception of it would probably be such. That greatly reduces the marketing focus for a film like this, and would dissuade a company from a major investment in it.
Could you imagine if they did a “Saving Private Ryan”-type treatment of it?! Wouldn’t that be awesome?!
“Cross of Iron”–I think I saw that years and years ago…it wasn’t an American company that put it out, was it?
I see what your saying Karl and you might be right but after the success of Valkrie who knows.
Check this out it may jog the memory [;)]
BTW, for all you copyright lawyers who have sent me PM’s–this image was on WIKIPEDIA…sheeesh…
Thats why I just posted the links and not any pics [;)]
WIKIPEDIA is public domain…
…for now…