Tiger I-One Tough Cat

[cyberia]

I can't believe how much information you can pull out of these photos. I have a few more "question mark Tigers" to post in next few days. You game?

[LAH 1 SS]

You know i am mate, post them away when time permits

[cyberia]

Well, time actually permits just one more this day...

Not great photo as far a clarity goes. I scanned it out of one of my Waffen SS books and there was no info on the panzer, date or the location.

My guess would be late war, Western Front. The sign on the building suggests France, maybe Normandy. But again, that would be just a guess.

[LAH 1 SS]

A beautiful example of a tiger 1 mid production tiger. The number is 133 and belongs to the 1st company 101 SS LAH during the Normandy invasion. The tiger has base coat of dark yellow with red brown and olive green applied over it in large patterns. The crew are obscuring the turret numbers and the unit symbols on the front glacis plate.

[cyberia]

OK, I have to ask. If the crew is obscuring the turret numbers, how do you ascertain its number as 133?

[LAH 1 SS]

I use the camouflage patterns on the vehicles and out line them over diferent vehicles where the numbers are visible. I also look for other features of the tigers that are visible or aren't visisble it may be from a differnt angle or later shot if i know the number of the vehicle. I also remember this vehicle from my refernces (the books that i told you about in my pm to you) that were stolen so i sort of cheated there with this one. When i was younger i wanted to build a model of each tiger of the entire 101 LAH in 1/35 scale, thats soon changed, but thats when i when i started identifying vehicles. A bit of a weirdo arent i hehehehe. There is also a web site being operated by a friend in france and germany where there goal is to identify every tiger photo avaialble. These two guys make me look silly, i will see if i can remeber it i havent been there in a while so stay with me on that one

[McCoy]

Well, you do in fact admit that you're a bit snowed in on the Tiger I n' that's good 'cos that tells us that you've got a sickness awareness...

[cyberia]

Might have your work cut out for you here, LAH.

Photos are not very clear and not much showing of these Tigers.

I believe both shots are of the same unit and action, but that's just a guess...

[LAH 1 SS]

Lets look at the first tiger. Turret numbers are 342 that is the only identifiable marking on the vehicle i can see however, references i have put this vehicle in the 3rd company of the Heavy Tank Battalion 502 in Russia 1943. It's interesting to note the rear plate of the tiger does not have any fiefel air cleaners or rear mud gaurds, a very battered tiger in deed. If we look closely we can just make out the rear s-mine lanchers which were seen on tigers form January 43 to september 43 when they were deleated from the production run. The rear plate is the 3rd configuration seen on tigers in the spring of 43 and can be recognised by the larger exhaust sheilds which were introduced in January43 The turret is very interesting too. If you look a the rear of the turret, either side of the turret bin, you will see a pistol port on the left side and a loaders hatch on the right side plus there are a set of tack links visible on the side of the turret. This puts the turret production date as a 2nd produstion turret in May 43, the loaders hatch appears to be the bevelled edged hatch which was seen on the 2nd configuration turret until July 43 when it was machined as a flat disc and changed. So to date this tiger, the tiger's hull was produced between January 43 and September 43 and the turret after May 43. Finally to date the entire vehicle, it would have been produced between May 43 and September 43.


The second photo is again a tiger of 502 however, near Newel in the early part's of 1944. It is interesting to see this vehicle. The hull does have the s-mine launcher's but doesn't have the feifel air cleaners at all. The hull is dated as a January 43 to September 43 hull configuration. I have blown this picture up and the vehicle is missing the front road wheel typical of Russian theatre tiger's. The turret is very interesting indeed. It is a combination of two production turret's. If we look at the turret we will see the 2nd version turret in use which was seen from May 43 onwards. This is identified by the use of the individual track links on the side of the turret. The intersting feature is this vehicle has the s mine launchers visible on the front of the turret. This feature was seen on tiger's produced between August 42 and January 43. So at a guess this turret is either a feild modified turret or the vehicle's turret was modified this way from the factory from left over initial version turret's. From this information, it will be hard to date the turret production.

Cyberia thanks for the photo's, the second one is great for the modeller it just shows the variations in tiger production and how careful modeller's need to be when modelling a specific vehicle

[cyberia]

Originally Posted by LAH 1 SS

Cyberia thanks for the photo's, the second one is great for the modeller it just shows the variations in tiger production and how careful modeller's need to be when modelling a specific vehicle

No problem. From now on any Tigers I find that have no information I'll bring them right to you.

Amazing how much you can pull from such photos.