The Tiger

Professionally built for Film/TV Promotional and reenactor hire. One of the most photographed and publicised tanks around the world and as seen in action at War and Peace shows and Military Odyssey.It is a faithful reproduction and is an impressive vehicle on display or on the move. Built at great expense in approx 1997 for a TV series called "Sams Circus",this vehicle is running and driving on T55 mechanics and has electrical and manual turret traverse and manual gun elevation systems removed from an FV 433 Abbot SPG,the main gun is also now gas powered. The gun barrel is a replica and there are no weapons(live or deactivated)on the vehicle. The Tiger I represented a new approach that emphasised firepower and armour at the expense of mobility. Design studies for a new heavy tank had been started in the late 1930s, without any production planning. The real impetus for the Tiger was provided by the quality of the Soviet T-34. Although the general design and layout were broadly similar to the previous medium tank, the Panzer IV, the Tiger weighed more than twice as much. This was due to its substantially thicker armour, the larger main gun, and the consequently greater volume of fuel and ammunition storage, larger engine, and more solidly-built transmission and suspension. Production of the Tiger I began in August 1942, and 1,355 were built by August 1944 when production ceased. Production started at a rate of 25 per month and peaked in April 1944 at 104 per month. Strength peaked at 671 on 1 July 1944. Generally speaking, it took about twice as long to build a PzKpfw VI than another German tank of the period. When the improved PzKw VI Ausf B Tiger II began production in January 1944, the Tiger I was soon phased out. The Tigers were originally designed to be offensive weapons but by the time they came into action, the military situation had changed dramatically, so other than a few times, their main use was defensively as tank killers.[1] Furthermore, against the Soviet and Western Allied production numbers, even a 10:1 kill ratio would not have been sufficient for the Tigers. Some Tiger units did exceed the 10:1 kill ratio, including 13. Kompanie/Panzer-Regiment Grossdeutschland (16.67:1), schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 103 (12.82:1) and schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502 (13.08:1). These numbers must be set against the opportunity cost of building the expensive Tiger. Every Tiger built, for example, cost as much as four Sturmgeschütz III assault guns. One measure of cost-effectiveness, therefore, would be whether the Tiger's kill ratio was four times as high as the Sturmgeschutz III. The Tiger's armour and firepower, however, were feared by all its opponents. In tactical defence, its poor mobility was less of an issue. Whereas Panthers were the more serious threat to Allied tanks, Tigers had a bigger psychological effect on opposing crews, causing a "Tiger phobia". Allied tankers would sometimes evade rather than confront a Tiger, even a tank that only looked like one, such as the Panzer IV with turret skirts applied. In the Normandy campaign, it could take four to five Shermans to knock out a single Tiger tank by maneuvring to its weaker flank or rear armour; the Soviet T-34s fared similarly against the German tanks, as had the German PzIII earlier against the Soviet heavy tanks. An accepted Allied tactic was to engage the Tiger as a group, one attracting the attention of the Tiger crew while the others attacked the sides or rear of the vehicle. Since the ammunition and fuel were stored in the sponsons, a side penetration often resulted in a kill. This was, however, a risky tactic, and often resulted in the loss of several Allied vehicles. It took a great deal of tactical skill to eliminate a Tiger.

"Driving the Tiger commands a wealth of courage when in the field, to know that I have to ensure & follow the correct instructions from the Panzer Commander, is a responsibility I am proud to be associated with" Duncan - Tiger 1 - Driver