501st Heavy Panzer Battalion
| 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion | |
|---|---|
| schwere Panzerabteilung 501 — s PzAbt 501— | |
| Active | 1942–1945 |
| Country | Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Heer |
| Type | Panzer |
| Role | Armoured warfare |
| Size | Battalion, up to 45 tanks |
| Part of | independent unit attached as necessary |
| Equipment | Tiger I (1942–1944) Tiger II (1944–1945) |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Insignia | |
| Stalking tiger | |
The 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion (German: "schwere Panzerabteilung 501"; abbreviated: "s PzAbt 501") was a German heavy Panzer Abteilung (an independent battalion-sized unit) equipped with heavy tanks. The battalion was the second unit to receive and use the Tiger I heavy tank, changing to Tiger IIs in mid-1944.
From November 1942 it fought, and in May 1943 surrendered, in Tunisia; reformed in September 1943, it fought on the Eastern front until destroyed in early July 1944; it reformed with Tiger IIs in mid-July 1944, then mostly deactivated on 11 February 1945.