German Armored Forces & Vehicles

Abandoned Elefant

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German self-propelled gun "Elefant" of the 653rd battalion of tank destroyers, abandoned by the Germans in Rome, Italy; Summer of 1944. The 653rd Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion (Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 653.) was a tank destroyer unit of the Wehrmacht active during World War II. It was equipped with Ferdinand and later Jagdtiger tank destroyers. Elements of the battalion served on the Eastern, Western, and Italian fronts between 1943 and 1945. Elefants - the new name for the added defensive hull-machine gun mount armed version of the Ferdinand - and was sent south to Italy where it fought at the Battle of Anzio in February 1944.