John Kettler Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 Don't know what the outcome of this find was, but it does offer some marvelous game chrome, at least potentially. The six Tiger 1s committed to battle at Sinyavino during the Leningrad campaign, per the article, consisted of both Henschel and Porsche versions, and this one is not just a rare Porsche version but of great historical significance. But not only is is rare in those senses, but it was also the tropical version! The above said, I believe there are some disconnects in here, specifically, a conflation of Tiger 1 history and Tiger II models. As best I can tell, no Porsche Tiger 1 ever saw battle. Indeed, the Ferdinand was made of the chassis of the planned Porsche Tiger 1. What I believe the Russian are reporting is indeed one of the first Tiger 1s ever to see battle, but the writer got crossed up on the details. In any event, I believe one of our clever reskinners could make a Tiger 1 (Trop.) if desired.https://english.pravda.ru/history/8978-tank/ Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornGinger Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 (edited) It looks like the tank in that article is a Tiger II. But maybe those who wrote it don't know much about the difference. Edited November 19, 2021 by BornGinger 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckdyke Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 (edited) Two versions of the Tiger II came with a Porsche or a Henschel turret made in 1944-1945 and have nothing to do with the Leningrad Battle of 1942. Edited November 19, 2021 by chuckdyke 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 (edited) 17 hours ago, John Kettler said: As best I can tell, no Porsche Tiger 1 ever saw battle. Wrong: sPz.Jg.Abt. 653 used one as a command tank, along with a Panther with a Pz.IV turret (it's on the next rail car).....These two are very well known amongst modellers. I've just done some checking and the 'Leningrad Tigers' were ALL initial production Henschell types:"When the first production Tigers rolled out of the Henschel factory, they were sent to the training grounds at Fallingbostel to equip the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion. Although their tanks were still unreliable, they were sent to reinforce the siege of Leningrad after only 3 days of practice. Immediately on arrival in Mga they were ordered to the front line. A total of 9 Tigers were sent to this battalion, filling out its 1st company, before events in Africa diverted new Tiger production to that theater. The 502nd fought in forests and swamps south of Leningrad and achieved only limited success. Technical problems with the tanks caused as much trouble as the terrain, and so the more reliable Tigers, notably "111", were given the best components. On 18 January 1943 a breakthrough by the Soviets cost 5 Tigers, including numbers "121" and "100" which were captured intact. Only 2 of the original 9 Tigers remained in February, when they were joined by 3 new ones. These first 9 Tigers had a unique appearance. They had no fenders or storage on the hull sides. Their mudguards at front and rear did not project beyond the hull side (these were also used in Tunisia). They were issued with "mirrored" tracks, i.e. the right and left tracks were different, unlike those of any other German tank; the crews disliked the inconvenience and eventually put just a single type on each Tiger." This image allegedly shows the first Tigers arriving at Mga station: PS - Typical Tiger oddities on display in these images.....The tank in the first image is still wearing its transport tracks, yet the Tigers appear to have been delivered with their combat tracks fitted, based on what we are seeing in the final image. Edited November 19, 2021 by Sgt.Squarehead 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky_Strike Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 Also to add to Sgt's excellent info ... the Tiger in the museum mentioned in the article appears to be a late variant in a very sorry state: Though I think it's been repainted a few times since this pic. According to what I've seen/read online there were a couple of Tigers at the range where this one was used as a target but the other one was completely wrecked beyond all help. All the surviving Tigers are pretty much known apart, perhaps, from some hotchpotch rebuilds from parts. There are a couple of useful lists, here for instance and a useful pdf with lots of good info about the survivors. I wonder if the author of the original article got a bit excited when they saw the value of these wrecks and conflated a few stories to make it a bit more interesting, certainly doesn't seem to know what one looks like ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckdyke Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 Here is a nice project, maybe next year I can visit. A son helping his dad along the road. Tiger I towed by a Leo. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 (edited) Beautiful Tiger.....They really need to get rid of that abomination from 'Fury' now. PS - In retrospect I'm a bit dubious about the Tigers in the first and third images in my earlier post.....They're certainly very early variants, but I'm not convinced they are from the initial batch. Edited November 20, 2021 by Sgt.Squarehead 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletpoint Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 12 hours ago, Lucky_Strike said: Also to add to Sgt's excellent info ... the Tiger in the museum mentioned in the article appears to be a late variant in a very sorry state: Though I think it's been repainted a few times since this pic. According to what I've seen/read online there were a couple of Tigers at the range where this one was used as a target but the other one was completely wrecked beyond all help. All the surviving Tigers are pretty much known apart, perhaps, from some hotchpotch rebuilds from parts. There are a couple of useful lists, here for instance and a useful pdf with lots of good info about the survivors. I wonder if the author of the original article got a bit excited when they saw the value of these wrecks and conflated a few stories to make it a bit more interesting, certainly doesn't seem to know what one looks like ... Ow. Looks like this one was thoroughly flanked. Any idea what it was shot with? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 (edited) Suspect it may have been used for testing/target practice.....There are several penetrations on the glacis and possibly one on the mantlet too. Edited November 20, 2021 by Sgt.Squarehead 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletpoint Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said: Suspect it may have been used for testing/target practice.....There are several penetrations on the glacis and possibly one on the mantlet too. It doesn't look like the targets I've seen for testing before though. Those are completely shot up. This one just has a couple of hits on each side. But yes, could be. Also, it looks like every single shot went through. I guess for testing, you want to find out at what range shots start to bounce. Edited November 20, 2021 by Bulletpoint 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 David Bryden's site is an excellent place for all things Tiger I: https://tiger1.info/ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky_Strike Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 3 hours ago, Bulletpoint said: It doesn't look like the targets I've seen for testing before though. Those are completely shot up. This one just has a couple of hits on each side. But yes, could be. Also, it looks like every single shot went through. I guess for testing, you want to find out at what range shots start to bounce. You want it to look more like this one ... This is actually one of the earliest Tigers captured by the Russians, turret number 121, serial number 250004 from 502nd battalion captured January 1943. Very informative article about this poor wreck and it's sister 100 #250009 here with lots of juicy pepperpot pics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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