Page 91 - History of War - Issue 10-14

TIGER I

THE TIGER 131

This Tiger model was part of the
504 Schwere Panzer Battalion in
North Africa and was one of the
very few not to have been destroyed
by its own crew. Forensics and
analysis have shown that the Tiger
was hit several times by British
As well as the 88mm and Churchill tanks but none disabled
the MG32 machine gun(s), the tank. The main damage was
the Tiger also had two dealtjustunderneaththebarrel
sets of three smokescreen
canisters to conceal its andwedgedtheturrettothehull.
panzer and cause confusion This stopped the it from working,
but could easily have been repaired
by the crew. This makes it even
stranger that the crew abandoned
it and didn’t destroy it as they were
instructed to. It’s the only working
Tiger currently in existence and was
featured in the 2014 film Fury.
Below The well-engineered Tiger was a box
of tricks and had cables and even a spade
to help retrieve it from sticky situations

The Tiger had a complex exhaust system on its rear to increase power
THE TANK MUSEUM

Situated in the Bovington Army
Camp in Dorset, The Tank Museum
was opened in 1947. It contains
over 300 vehicles from 26 different
countries, from the First World War
Mark I tank to the currently serving
Challenger 2. Tiger 131 was given
to the museum in 1951 and is
one of the most popular tanks in
the entire museum. There is now
a ‘Tiger Day’ every spring, which
explores the history of the tank, as
well as its many contemporaries
from the Second World War.
Visit www.tankmuseum.org
for opening hours, admission
information and more!

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