Tiger 1 - Panzerkampfwagen Progress Report IV [Final]
Tiger 1 - Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H Basic Description:- Tiger 1 is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf.E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, particularly the T-34 and the KV-1. The Tiger I design gave the Wehrmacht its first tank mounting the 88 mm gun, in its initial armoured fighting vehicle-dedicated version, which in its Flak version had previously demonstrated its effectiveness against both air and ground targets. During the course of the war, the Tiger I saw combat on all German battlefronts. It was usually deployed in independent tank battalions, which proved to be quite formidable. While the Tiger I was feared by many of its opponents, it was over-engineered, used expensive and labour intensive materials and production methods, and was time-consuming to produce. Only 1,347 were built between August 1942 and August 1944. The Tiger was prone to certain types of track failures and immobilizations, and limited in range by its huge fuel consumption. It was, however, generally mechanically reliable but expensive to maintain. It was also complicated to transport, and vulnerable to immobilization when mud, ice and snow froze between its overlapping and interleaved road wheels in winter weather conditions, often jamming them solid. In 1944, production was phased out in favour of the Tiger II. The tank was given its nickname Tiger by Ferdinand Porsche, and the Roman numeral was added after the later Tiger II entered production. The initial official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H ( Panzer VI version H, abbreviated PzKpfw VI Ausf. H), but the tank was re-designated as PzKpfw VI Ausf. E in March 1943. It also had the ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 181. Today, only a handful of Tigers survive o u t o f t h e 1, 3 4 0 s o b u i l t, in museums and exhibitions worldwide. The Bovington Tank Museum's Tiger 131 is currently the only one restored to running order. (See YouTube video of Tiger 1 hand-crank & initial startup, at the Bovington Tank Museum, UK)
VI Ausführung H Technical Specifications:- In service: 1942 1945 Wars: World War II Production history Designer: Henschel &Son Designed: 1941 Manufacturer: Henschel Unit cost: 250,800 RM Produced: 1942 1944 Number built 1,347 (6 Surviving today Specifications: Weight: 56.9 tonnes (62.7 short tons) Above: Early production Tiger 1 in Sicily, Pzkfw Aus E Length: 6.316 m (20 ft 8.7 in) 8.45 m (27 ft 9 in) (gun forward) Width: 3.70 m (12 ft 2 in) Height: 3.0 m (9 ft 10 in) Crew: 5 Armour: 25 120 mm (0.98 4.7 in) Main armament: 1 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 92 rounds (106 and 120 rounds for some modifications) Secondary armament: 2 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 4,800 rounds Engine: Maybach HL230 P45 (V-12 petrol) 700 PS (690.4 hp, 514.8 kw) Power/weight: 12.3 PS/tonne Suspension: torsion bar Operational range: 110 195 km (68 121 mi) Speed: 38 km/h (24 mph)
Field of Armor is a US based Company that specializes in 1/6 th Scale model tanks and half-tracks, and can be found on URL http://www.fieldofarmortanks.com/ Field of Armor strive to make 1/6 th Scale garage kit tanks at affordable prices & lightweight for the more discerning modeler, and which can be converted easily to full Radio Control if required. Each Tank kit comes with ABS molded sheeting cut to the correct scale and size design patterns, and are slotted together and then super-glued. Other components are molded in a yellowish resin but some items [parts/sections] have to be scratch built or upgrade parts ordered from various outlets in the US. Field of Armor s 1/6 th Scale Tiger 1 kit is of the late production Tiger 1 which was on the battlefields from 1944 onwards and which had lesser road wheels than its earlier production Tiger 1 counterpart which sported as many as three bogies per axle hence 48 road wheels. As steel and rubber became hard to supply as the war progressed, 32 X Road Wheels of all-steel; construction were fitted from June 1944 onwards. It is this version that is portrayed by Field of Armor s 1/6 th Scale Tiger 1 Tank kit. 0 Above: A completed Example of one of Field of Armor s Tiger 1, in 1/6 th Scale, in tri-colour camouflage typical of the Ardenne s Campaign, based on the overall dark sand yellow production paint. At the time of writing this article, FOA were retailing the 1/6 th tiger 1 for US$680.00 against usual MRRP of US$849.95. After paints & materials however, building one of these colossal kits would exceed US$1,500 probably if built properly and this is without installing Radio Control which could cost upward of US$3,000 or more. Some fully equipped R/C models can cost as much as US$8,000.
Construction: (April-August 2013) B y By Simon Hill: Two views of early hull assembly turret test-fitting etc, note final drive front sprocket in white ABS Hmmm, not too keen on those piano hinges way too heavy and out of scale so affixed for now and will amend later See later progress photographs.
Below: Test-fitting the tracks and axles, aligning the axles and track integration with drive sprocket. Note copious amounts of body putty and filler. Bottom: Front hull assembly - front mantle plate, & note Resin parts for ball-mounted machine gun mounting, Driver s window with deflector shield. Also see engine compartment top-decking access hatches rearmost of hull top decking. Hull parts fitted together well with few gaps or problems except for the amount of sanding and surface preparation. Resin parts however need lots of sanding and cleaning up prior to fitting. Interestingly, FoA have reduced costs on the front final drive sprockets as they are inaccurate in that the inside half isn t coned & solid as on the original design but this can be rectified with some scratch building, and something I will address later as a retrofitting after completion.
Below: the part combined scratch-built detailing & resin molded Loader s hatch, topside and interior which was scratch built using photographic references & blueprints. (Unpainted, - only primed inside) Driver and Machine Gunner s hatches are below plus engine main access panel/hatch: (I re-worked and made a new engine access hatch later.
Below: Sitting on its assembled & painted running gear. Notice the front driver & Gunner s hatches are hinged as are rearmost engine access panels/vents. I firstly camouflaged by wheels and running gear, exterior road-wheels only, but when it came to making Wittmann s Tiger 1, photographs suggest that the late production variants did not normally have camouflaged tri-colour wheels so these will be converted back to overall dark yellow with some weathering after the models completion.
Main hull on chassis & running gear with camouflaged wheels with some weathering added. Axle stubs are not yet dressed with stoppers only fitted as yet. NB: At this point I had not decided which version or actual tank to portray so began painting in the overall dark yellow (Tamiya Dark Sand TS-3) as I did an earlier Bandai 1/15 th Scale modei had before. Note: Caterpillar tracks are superbly molded and refined, - I painted mine in overall silver with filled in rust brown as seen above to make them look weathered as many appeared when in use.
Fitting the 'battle damaged" skirts X 4 per side... Also, securing turret cupola to hull decking.
Work begins on rear bulkhead and exhaust mufflers. The kit s resin mudguard s have been removed and discarded in favour of making scratch-builds later from plastic card sheeting and parts. At this point, I took off the rear resin Mudguards as I didn t like them and decided on Scratch Building them later, but then omitted this and only built their mounting brackets as Wittmann s Tank serial 007 seemed to be devoid of them at the Battle of Vilas Bocage, unless they were blown off or taken by salvage hunters, but this seems less likely. NB: The two metal Muffler Shrouds were omitted from my model after researching Wittmann s Tiger Serial 007 as they were absent NThe two Exhaust Mufflers with Rain Caps atop each, set in place using the 6 in nails provided in the kit & PVC Tubing already cut-to-length.
Exhaust Muffler foundation being scratch built with plastic card sheeting & ABS tubing. Note 6 X holes for mounting bolts. I later replaced these bolts with larger ones as per the real thing and in scale.
Below, Zimmerit cladding after initial application on left side looking forward of tank hull Below: My dear friend Wiliam Bill Anchors of Alpha Control Press sourced and sent me these two Dragon 12 figures so it was decisive in making Wittmann s Tank after that and so I began retrofitting and making modifications to that particular tank that was Michael Wittmann s last Command, - serial 007 in fact
Field of Armor s Tanks cannot be completed without a plethora of Technical Publications and books to assist in construction and Squadron Signal s publication as seen below is highly recommended in helping to complete the Tiger Tank properly and with Technical Descriptions and drawings to assist construction and detailing. Below: The turret sanded and primed with Zimmerit anti-mine paste cladding applied to turret box and sides Note offset handle on Loader s Hath [turret right side] as per late production spec s. NB: The Zimmerit cladding around the Turret Storage Bin was later removed, and I resurfaced the Turret Bin with smooth Plastic Card 1.5mm sheeting as per Tank Serial 007 showed clean surfaces on Turret Storage Bin only. (See inset of reworking with latches fitted for the Padlocks to be fitted later.
Below: Turret test fitting showing Zimmerit detailing on turret sides and aft mantle. Turret is currently painted in alight sand primer here Below, painted in base undercoat of Dark Yellow sand (Tamiya TS-3)
Rear hull decking showing cooling grills fitted with Anti-Grenade Screens, which varied in patterning and could be diamond shaped or squared, seen here with Fire Extinguisher in position on rear decking, right side at an angle. Also note Towing Cable brackets, made here from small nuts and bolts for added strength. (Cables not yet fitted) Inset left: Rear hull plate showing Jack Mounting brackets and area of Zimmerit removed for the aft decal and 101 st Panzer Div. Badge just above the Jack. (See inset below of decal) Also note area reserved for mounting the rear mudguards and Exhaust Muffler side details. SH
Re-worked aft engine access panel and decking, primed and ready for camouflage painting.
Zimmerit now covers front upper mantle without tools as on Early Versions and most tools are now placed on upper main decking. Note space in Zimmerit for Unit Badge decal to be applied later. Below smaller insets showing added details to hatches, tools, mudguards etc etc.
Reworked front mantle progressing with added track links added following their delivery from Field of Armor via Gunghotoys Todd Bunch in U.S.A. Below: Closeup of track links on front mantle - and masked Machine Gun reading for spray painting later. I took my Machine Gun (Panzer MG-34 using one from the Dragon 12 figures as it s much more detailed than the one provided.
The Tiger is taking shape, seen here after priming and sanding, test-fitting of the Turret and tools etc, opening of driver & machine gunner s hatches etc. Note left front side decal inset of the 101 st Panzer Division. Below: Gun muzzle of that formidable 88mm Gun, and inside view of opened Machine Gunner s hatch with periscope and opening handle, plus torque bars for securing.
While my Tiger isn t Radio Control, it does have at its heart, a Harmon Kardon Sound System that plays the sound of a Diesel Maybach engine pre-recorded and played on a small Sony Walkman CD player which gives an awesome sound effect when played Seen here, the engine bay with two HK speakers facing upwards, supported by sponges to reduce vibration & resonance.. Below: The Harmon s Subwoofer an essential ingredient sits within the turret space and beneath the turret itself. Note Turret armoured protective ring surround.
Antenna mountings fitted here, note side-mounting for tri-pole main antenna as seen on Wittmann s Tank 007 and frequently modelled. Below: Two views of internal crewmember Johann Meiling from Dargon s 12 series, of which I bought three to crew my Tiger as well as Wittmann & Voll s figures. I have two crew figures in the front section, Driver & Machine Gunner.
Below: Two closeups of the Cooling Grills fitted with their Anti-Grenade screening in a diamond shaped mesh wire. SH The Anti-Grenade screens would have been relatively effective against dropped in Grenades or Mines from stalkers, but would not have stopped a projectile such as from another Tank, as what happened to Wittmann s Tank whereby a shell from a Sherman penetrated the aft left hand side front grill, detonating the Fuel Tank and in turn, the internal Magazines
Below: Rear mantle showing rearrangement of tools and utilities as per on Wittmann s Tank serial # 007 at the time of his demise. Seen here are the Inertial starter Crank receptacle, Antenna Storage tube and Shackle, mounted on opposite sides to some published documents. (Painting unfinished) I also replaced the Exhaust Muffler mounting bolts with 5mm ones, larger than earlier bolts I used. Looking Forward, the Tiger s left side with Tow Cable mounting brackets fitted and ready to receive the Cable sold separately from FOA, but the Working Jack is assembled and in place, notably on the Tank s rear left side instead of the right as per FOA s instructions and unique to Wittmann s Tiger 1.
Below: The Turret in the paint shop getting its overall Dark Yellow (Tamiya TS-3) over-coating, along with my re-worked main Engine access hatch, seen left in which I incorporated a circular breather grill for the Carburettor and air cleaner dome. Wire mesh was the same as I used for the Grenade screens on the aft decking cooler grilles.
The nearly fully assembled and ainted turret [except camouflaging] with added details such as hatch internals, dead-bolts for Escape Hatch [removed here for painting] and Turret Loader s and Commanders seats which I scratch built from Plastic Card and scraps.
Stage II, - the almost completed painted turret topside, - showing my added internal hatch details and Commander s Cupola and re-worked Turret Storage Bin on rear, which I still have to make the small scaled Padlocks for!... Note the Anti-Grenade meshing covering the rear deking cooling grilles This was simply cut from a cooking utensil for frying but is nicely in scale and looks right. It is unknown if Wittmann s Tank was similarly fitted, but is assumed. Above insets (Taken with Flash) show the Decalling which I made simply from stickers per say, of the 101 st SS Panzer 2 nd Company Abteilung Crests which were painted onto areas devoid of Zimmerit. A smaller Oakleaves decal is situated on the aft plate also, as per the cross keys emblem but smaller on the Tank s rear left side above the Jack. (See overleaf)
Turret Storage Bin serial are decals in fact and not sprayed on. Rear Mudgards were omitted on Wittmann s Tank but the mountings still have to be added in this photograph showing the placements. S e e n Seen here, Dragon s Wittmann figure and Balthatzar Bobby Voll, - who was not actually aboard 007 at the Battle of Vilas Boage in which Wittmann was killed, but is shown here for posterities sake only standing from his Loader s Hatch Note printed Decal sheet bottom right corner. h e r e
Serials 007 was sprayed on over the Zimmerit cladding as seen here as decaling was ineffective and didn t look right, - the only way is to mask and spray on the serials in matt white as was used. Note extra Track Links as mounted. Towing Cables have been fitted here, and lightly weathered or rusted so as not to be to shiny. Looking from the Gun s massive muzzle, looking towards the turret and figures a sposed, but note battered and issing mudguard skirting along the right side here, and side mounting for the main antenna, yet to be made but secondary aerial is seen mounted just in front of rear cooling grille on rear decking.
Above: Dragon s superlative 12 Figures seen here aboard the Turret on 007 which is historically inaccurate as Voll was not actually aboard 007 with Wittmann, but at the Kursk campaign earlier, - but shown here for illustrative purposes only. In fact Voll survived the war. Model has been over-sprayed in a flattener acrylic compound to give a nice even flat/matt finish. (Tamiya Surfacer - Clear Flat) Note installed glass panels inserted into Commander s Turret Cupola but devoid of Camouflaging. Which remains in its dark sand factory finish.
A flashback to when the Tiger received its overall primer colour of Dark Yellow sand TS-3 in preparation for the Camouflage to be overpainted onto.
Death of German Tiger Ace, Michael Wittmann, In the beginning of August, Wittmann along with ssspzabt 101 was transferred to Cintheaux area. At the time Germans tried to recapture Caen which was completely destroyed by ongoing fighting. On August 8th of 1944, a new battle began near Cintheaux. It was Wittmann's final battle. Independent Armored Brigade. At 12:55am (as reported by SS-Hauptscharführer Höflinger - Tiger #213 which was positioned in the same field at the rear, right of Wittmann's Tiger.) in a field near the road to Caen-Cintheaux, at Gaumesnil, Wittmann's Tiger was destroyed and its entire crew killed. After t h e b a t t l e, the remains of Wittmann and his crew were buried beside what was left of their Tiger, without any markings until 1983. The destruction of Wittman's Tiger 007 was an mystery even for crews of ssspzabt 101 st Group. Many sources say that it was destroyed by the ( S h e r m a n ) "Firefly Ambush", but different units claimed to ambush and destroy Wittmann's Tiger, including those of the either 1st Polish Armoured Division, 4th Canadian Armoured Division (Canadian Sherman s supposedly surrounded and shot Wittmann's Tiger to pieces) or 33rd British In the memoirs of a former member Mr.F.R of ssspzabt 101, official version at the time stated that Wittmann's Tiger was destroyed by an airplane bomb. Both presented a picture of Wittmann's Tiger without its turret with the gun barrel placed on the hull which in fact is the picture of SS- Untersturmführer Alfred Günther's Tiger destroyed by an airplane bomb at Evrecy. Along with those two versions, some claims were made that units which were not even present in the area at the time, were responsible for destroying Wittmann's Tiger. Both versions were proven wrong in 1945, by Mr.Serge Varin who found Tiger #007. Mr.Varin was interested in this tank. (NB: This is apparently the sole surviving photograph of Wittman s Tank serial # 007 in existence)
because its turret was torn away from the hull. Mr.Varin examined Wittmann's Tiger and noticed that it was not penetrated by any shells fired at it during the fighting. The only damage to the hull was a big hole in the rear, near the engine deck. further examination Mr.Varin concluded that the impact came from the air. The rocket hit Tiger's rear deck (made of 25mm thick armour), penetrated the air intakes and exploded causing the explosion in the engine compartment and fighting compartment which ignited the stored ammunition. The second explosion instantly killed the entire crew and blew off the turret into the air. Wittmann's Tiger was reputedly destroyed by a rocket fired from a Royal Air Force Hawker "Typhoon" MkIB - attack aircraft. Typhoons were armed with HE (High-explosive) rockets and took heavy tow of German tanks during the Normandy battles (for example on August 8th of 1944, Typhoons destroyed 135 German tanks. It cannot be ascertained with certainty that a Typhoon s Rocket destroyed Wittmann s Tank as a later more recent TV Documentary claims new evidence suggests it was indeed a Canadian Sherman Firefly that most likely claimed Wittmann s tank that fateful day. Its shell penetrating the left hand side [forward] engine cooler grill. Above: Photograph of the wrecked Tiger 007, (?) taken by French civilian Mr. Serge Varin in 1945, still in the field near Gaumesnil where it had been destroyed a year before. Wikipedia writes however:- The killing shots have long been thought to have come from a Sherman Firefly of 3 Troop, A Squadron, 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry (commander - Sergeant Gordon; gunner - Trooper Joe Ekins), which was positioned in a wood called Delle de la Roque on the advancing Tigers' right flank[47] at approximately 12:47. It appears the shells penetrated the upper hull of the tank and ignited the Tiger's own ammunition, causing a fire which engulfed the tank and then blew off the turret. Michael Wittmann and his crew were killed in action on August 8th of 1944, at Vilas Bocage near Cintheaux. In March of 1983, the hastily prepared & unmarked field grave of Tiger # 007's entire crew was discovered during the construction of the road and was excavated. It was possible to identify the remains by Wittmann's dental records and Heinrich Reimers's (driver) identification tag. Wittmann and his crew was then officially buried in the German Military Cemetery of "De La Cambe" in Normandy, France. That event had fully proven the exact location of Wittmann's Tiger and its fate as previously suggested by Mr.Varin. Ironically, Wittmann s Grave along with his colleagues, remains one of the most decorated of graves in that cemetery to this day. On August 8th of 1944, crew of Tiger # 007 from 2nd Kompanie of schwere SS-Panzer Abteilungen 101 of LSSAH was as follows: SS-Sturmmann Rudolf "Rudi" Hirschel (radioman) 24/1/3-44/8/8 (20 years old) SS- Unterscharführer Henrich Reimers (driver) 24/5/11-44/8/8 (20 years old) SS- Unterscharführer Karl Wagner (observer) 20/5/31-44/8/8 (24 years old) SS-Sturmmann Günther Weber (loader) 24/12/21-44/8/8 (20 years old) SS-Haupsturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann (commander) 14/4/22-44/8/8 (30 years old) He ended up his career as a Commander of 2.Kompanie schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 101 (part of 1st SS Panzer Division "LSSAH"). SS-Haupsturmfuhrer Michael Wittman was the most successful tanker ace of World War II. His friends said that Michael Wittmann was a quiet man even during combat and that he had 6th sense, to know where and how to engage the enemy. Wittmann commanded excellent crews, who were able to fully cooperate with him and anticipated his orders. Wittmann (Pronounced Vitmann ) was highly admired by his comrades and very highly thought of by his superiors.
Addendum: The main source of controversy surrounding Wittmann's demise comes from the claim that he was killed when an RP-3 rocket from a Royal Air Force Hawker Typhoon struck his tank. This myth, originating in German propaganda, stated Wittmann had fallen in combat to the "dreaded fighter-bombers". This was further enhanced when a French civilian, Serge Varin, who took the only known photo of the destroyed Tiger, stated that in his opinion the tank had been destroyed by an air attack. He said he had found an unexploded rocket nearby and could not see any other penetration holes, other than the one on the upper hull. However, some accounts describe this as an exit hole and state the engine was intact and not damaged from any explosion. Historical references for this model, included but not limited to: Tiger 1 (In Action) Squadron Signal Publications Sturm&Drang 1 Tiger - Japan Sensha Co Magazine publication [Vintage rare] Tiger I & II - and their variants (German Armor Spielberger Series) Germany s Tiger Tanks D.W Tiger Design, Production & Modifications (Thomas L. Jentz & Hilary L. Doyle. (Highly recommended SH) Tiger I and Sturmtiger in Detail, - Culver & Feist, (Useful Colour illustrations) Various YouTube videos on Wittmann and his last battle at Vilas Bocage, Nromandy, France - although little description of his actual tank 007 is given or known except in few publications or historical assumptions. Footnote: The tank is built as historically accurately as possible given the rather vague descriptions and one surviving only photograph of Wittmann s actual Tank, serial 007 which I wanted to depict. In fact it was only at the behest of a friend who sourced and sent me the two Dragon Figures that I decided to re-work the model and illustrate Wittmann s mount at the time of his demise for historical posterity. Camouflage patterning is at best vague and I took mine from the book Tiger I and Sturmtiger in Detail (Culver & Feist) which has the only colour views of a Normandy Tiger of the 101 st SS Panzer Group, which I followed but with variations and poetic licence. But the Tank is in standardized three colour patterning of dark olive green and reddish brown overpainted onto the overall dark yellow factory finish. While many models have bene built of Wittmann s Tiger, each model is as individual portrait of the original - each with the maker s own rendition as is mine. Simon Hill, August 2013, Bangkok.