509th Heavy Panzer Battalion The 509th Heavy Panzer Battalion ( abbreviated " s . Pz . Abt . 509 " ) was a German heavy panzer abteilung equipped with Tiger I and later Tiger II " Königstiger " tanks . The 509th saw action on the Eastern Front during the Second World War . As with other German heavy tank battalions , it was never assigned to a single corps ; but shuffled around as needed . History . The 509th was ordered formed on 9 September 1943 , taking most of its personnel from " Panzer - Regiment 204 " of the disbanded " 22 . Panzer - Division " , although some sources claim March 1943 . The battalion was initially issued with forty - five Tiger Is . It was committed to action in Ukraine as a part of " Army Group South " . Reaching the Front in October 1943 , the 509th saw action near Kirovograd and Krivoi Rog , falling back as a part of the overall withdrawal of the front . In early November , the third company was detached and attached to the " 2 . SS - Panzer - Division Das Reich " . In early 1944 , the 509th was involved in the Second Battle of Kiev and was heavily engaged in fighting for the city . After the defeat at Kiev , the detachment saw action at Pavlova during the withdrawal . In late May , the exhausted and severely depleted 509th was pulled back for refitting . After receiving a full complement of Tiger 1s , the detachment was sent back to the front on 1 June 1944 . On 22 June 1944 , the Soviets launched Operation Bagration , and the 509th , attached to Army Group Centre , was in their line of advance . The 509th saw heavy fighting at Novosselki , Shitomir and Chelmik . On 8 September 1944 , the detachment lost sixteen Tigers in under 24 hours near Kielce , Poland . In late September the remnants of the detachment were pulled back to Senneläger to be rebuilt and equipped with the new model Tiger II s . Due to severe disruption in production , Henschel was unable to deliver the new panzers until December 1944 . After it had received forty - five new Tiger IIs , the detachment was sent to join " SS - Obergruppenführer " Herbert Otto Gille ' s " IV . SS - Panzerkorps " , which was preparing an attempt to relieve the encircled garrison of Budapest . The operation , codenamed " Konrad III " , was launched on 18 January 1945 . The 509th had to change its attack plans once the assault was in progress after a major bridge over the Vali River collapsed . The horrible conditions coupled with a ferocious Soviet defence and a solid " Pakfront " resulted in the failure of Konrad III . During the operation , the 509th had lost forty of its forty - five Tiger IIs , however many were able to be repaired and put back into action relatively quickly , with only ten being total losses . On 15 February 1945 , the battalion was mentioned in an army report as having destroyed 203 Soviet tanks , 145 Soviet guns and 5 Soviet aircraft with the total loss of 10 Tiger IIs in the period from 18 January 1945 to 8 February 1945 . The 509th was transferred to " III . Panzerkorps " , where it took part in the fighting supporting Operation Frühlingserwachen in March , and falling back towards Vienna . It took part in the Battle of Vienna in April , before making a breakout towards the American lines . On 8 May 1945 , the 509th destroyed its remaining nine Tiger IIs and the next day surrendered to the Americans near Linz . References . Jentz , Thomas L . " Panzer Truppen , Vol . 2 : The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germany ' s Tank Force 1943 - 1942 " . Atlgen , PA : Schiffer , 1996 ISBN 0 - 7643 - 0080 - 6