The Sonderverband 288 was formed on 24 July 1941 in Potsdam. It was transferred to North Africa and fought together with 90. Leichte Afrika-Division.
It was redesignated Panzergrenadier-Regiment Afrika on 31 October 1942 and made part of the 90. Leichte Afrika-Division.

Commander

Oberst Otto Menton

Order of battle

Stab
Sonderkompanie (from Lehr-Regiment z.b.V. 800)
Gebirgsjäger-Kompanie
Schützen-Kompanie
MG-Kompanie
Panzerjäger-Kompanie
- Sturmgeschütz-Zug
Flak-Kompanie
Pionier-Kompanie
Nachrichten-Kompanie

Insignia

The unit had a special insignia showing a palm tree, a rising sun and a swastika.

Sources used

Roger James Bender & Richard D. Law - Uniforms, organization and history of the Afrika Korps
Gregory Douglas - Sonderverband 287 & 288 (in The Military Advisor, Vol 4, No 3)
Andrea Molinari - Desert Raiders: Axis and Allied Special Forces 1940-43
Antonio J. Munoz - Lions of the desert
Antonio J. Munoz - The East came West: Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist Volunteers in the German Armed Forces 1941-1945
George F. Nafziger - The Afrika Korps: An organizational history 1941-1943
Adolf Schlicht & John R Angolia - Die Deutsche Wehrmacht: Uniformierung und Ausrüstung 1933-1945, Band 1 Das Heer
Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945
Gordon Williamson - Afrikakorps 1941-43

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -