"Panzer Companies: 22 Tanks?" Topic

So I'm finally getting around to organizing my MicroArmor. I have a shed load of Germans to organize (and lots of holes to fill will turn up I'm sure).

Question: ON PAPER did German Tank companies ever have more than 22 tanks (2 HQ + 4 Platoons of 5 each)?

If I organize around companies of 22 I can always field less, but I just want to make sure I won't discover they went to 6 somewhere and end up a few tanks short!

What time period? German organization varied considerably depending on the year of the war. Early companies might have 2 plt of medium tanks (i.e. Pz III, Pz 38t or Pz 35t) and 2 plt of light tanks (Pz 1 or II), but late war it could be 3 plt + command sec of 4 tanks/plt (unless they are Waffen SS, then it would be 5 tanks/plt). In short, what time period are you looking at?

A good reference for this is Panzer Truppen by Thomas Jentz, vol 1 & 2. This will give you organization for just about every German armored formation of the war, depending on the time period. Interesting to see how the evolution of German armor organization happened…

Damon.

As far as I can recall (not an early war period person), 22 is the max.

Saw that listed for some early Tiger I units, once.

Not sure they ever really had that many, but it was a plan.

17 tanks was the usual max. for an SS company.

+1 re Jentz.

B

22 certainly an absolute maximum with a lot less more typical. 8-12 seems average in action. Just breakdowns and repairs would keep it under the theoretical maximum nearly all the time.

I certainly wouldn't buy/paint 22 except for early war up to say 1941. Besides, at that scale you're not going to be painting numbers on the sides are you? I guess you might want to label them underneath but I'd go with paper/card labels and an adhesive that is temporary.

The 43 organisation for ss and whermact pzrs is identical.
22 tanks in the pIV btn and 17 in the panther coy.
Tiger btns had 45 tigers.
All theoretical of course..numbers will vary massively on even a daily basis going down and up all the time as vehicles are released from short term repair.
Check out zetterlings Normandy book which gives the wild flucuations in tank availability.

Thanks all.

22 per company it is.

Since these are already bought and painted no harm in not building to the full TO&E tho if I'm short a tank type or two I'll just "short" the company as needed….

The Jentz book looks great but at that price I can live without it….

In the field nearly 1/3 to half always broken down or already lost. Just do a dozen, enough.

From what I've read, the 4th platoon was usually just spare crews, with no tanks.

In 1942, IIRC, companies often had scout platoons of 5 Pz IIs, in addition to their three platoons of Pz IIIs or Pz IVs. Later these were replaced by the battalion scout platoons.

I'm playing Flames of War so platoons are always full strength