Tiger 131

Just making sure i have this correct.............. this was the Tiger that the Brits captured in North Africa.?

Is there a written record available that documents what The Brits said about the tank after they studied it.?

I have heard very little discussion about it. What little i have heard on a few videos has been......odd.
Again, i have heard VERY little about what was determined.
But the small amount i have heard was, almost like they were not super Impressed/Worried by The Tiger.

This cannot possibly be the case, can it.?
I would think, in summer of 1943, The Allies would have been terrified of The Wehrmacht producing tanks that were so far ahead of theirs in armor and fire-power.
They must have been quite concerned..... right.?

 

Do a forum search for "tiger" by forum member "gerry chester".
He was a Veteran who fought against them.
He has many posts about it.

https://ww2talk.com/index.php?search/24959254/&q=Tiger&o=relevance&c[user][0]=97

Edit. Plenty on the Bovy website.
The Myth of Tiger 131 - An Update - The Tank Museum

I'll quote Adam now , " it is just another tank."

 

Along with Owen's excellent recommendations, the thread for you

Tiger Tiger...?

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

People should look at this in context, read of the men that were there at the time.
Yes the tiger was feared by the Allies but in the mountains of Tunisia the Churchill scared the enemy more than the Tiger worried them.
The Churchill, whilst having less firepower was able to negotiate the tracks over the hills to provide infantry support over high ground .
Exactly what it was designed for.

 

There is an exhaustive compendium of what the British thought of the Tiger tank here.

It's well worth getting.

 

The price of the book mentioned above reflects how the media still holds the fascination for Tiger mindedness.
Even on Kindle.

 

What its like on the receiving end of one of these tanks and the end result.
"I visited my observation post which was a small trench scraped in the rock about 2ft 6 inches deep and
about 7 feet long. Unfortunately it had been sited to face one way but owing to a change in the front the enemy were able to fire up the length of it, making it extremely unhealthy.
It was in full view but had to be used as being the only possible viewpoint.
They fired at it continuously so that I had three good people shell shocked out of it on Good Friday.
On Easter Sunday they started when I was there, as there was not enough room in the main hole, I lay in a subsidiary part at the end.
The fire came I think from a tank and from my knowledge of artillery fire
I realised that they had us taped.
It was quite terrifying and I became convinced it was the end.
My spectacles were blown off and buried and my map and glasses, by one which landed on the edge.
I had called for a smoke screen from my own guns to cover us but the telephone wire to the wireless had been cut and it was impossible to do
anything about it. I felt terrible and almost unconsciously I prayed and once I became quite careless and detached and at peace and could wait quite callously.
Thanks to the good common sense of Tom Averill who realised the position from a scrappy wireless message, smoke arrived in great quantities and all was well".

Photo taken two days later.


(Shepherd Family Collection)

 

It's a big chunky book.

But generally, I don't think people realise how cheap most books are compared to the amount of work and money that goes into them. If most military history authors awarded themselves the hourly national minimum wage and then put their accumulated wages into the price of each book, then the books would probably cost about £250 each.

If you spend six to twelve months putting together a book that might sell a few hundred copies with an average £4 royalty, while also expending money travelling to archives and paying £25 plus for single photos, you are effectively making negative income. Even if you sell a few thousand books, you are still making less money than a McDonalds burger-flipper.

That's why people tend to do this kind of thing when they are retired.

 

"you are still making less money than a McDonalds burger-flipper"

Well said sir, and indeed, If any at all!

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

I'm going to the Tiger Day at Bovy in April with my 2 chums .
We all did the raffle to get a ride in it.
Maybe one of us will win .
I doubt it.


Tiger Day Spring - The Tank Museum

 

It's a compilation of both already-seen and new stuff, and indeed some of the stuff in it I've got copies of from the archives myself. Its value lies in the fact that it's all concentrated in one place, so if you're new to the Tiger, you can get pretty much all the British examinations of the Tiger in one place. You also don't get David Fletcher's voice in your head, which for me personally is a massive bonus.

 

Oh Wow............. Thanks for all the replies and info
Yes, i always enjoy David Fletcher

 

I got this email from Bovy earlier this week, I didn't win the raffle.
Are these 3 raffle winners any of you lot ?

Congratulations to Eric from Deal, Richard from Kent, and Jude from London for winning rides in Tiger 131, Panzer III, and Sherman Fury respectively.

They have accepted their prizes and we look forward to seeing them on Tiger Day.

 

Good luck to the winners, wear yer toe'tectors.

Kind regards, what tank? always,

Jim.

 

Some pics from today taken on my phone.

 

Your pic of the Tiger from below is 1000% more creative than any photo I took on my visit to the museum!

 

Meccano Tiger 131 with Nerf gun main armament at STEAM, Swindon yesterday.

 

Beats those Dockside Cranes we used to make as kids!

Below: Tiger 101(?) behind hill 144 Medjez April/May 1944 taken by Major David Shepherd BC 266 bty

(Now see I have posted this before on #7)