Are there any working Tiger tanks left?
Tiger 131 is the world's only running Tiger I tank. It was captured on 24th April 1943 on Point 174 on the way between Medjez el Bab and Montarnaud in Tunisia, by 142nd Battalion RAC and 2nd Sherwood Foresters. It runs at the Museum's annual Tiger Day events.
Today, only seven Tiger I tanks survive in museums and private collections worldwide. As of 2021, Tiger 131 (captured during the North Africa Campaign) at the UK's Tank Museum is the only example restored to running order.
The 68-tonne behemoth is one of only eight King Tiger tanks remaining from the roughly 490 built during World War Two.
This Tiger II's engine was removed for use in the restoration of Tiger 131, the only working example of a Tiger I. This item is currently on display at Nationaal Militair Museum, in Soesterberg, Netherlands. A production turret Tiger II is on loan from the Defence Academy, Shrivenham, UK.
Tiger Tanks Could Withstand a Dozen Sherman Tanks…
It could knock out with ease any Allied tank at considerable range, and its armor was so thick (1.58 inches to 7.09 inches) that few British or American weapons could destroy it.
Preserved at The Tank Museum in Bovington in Dorset, England, it is currently the only operational Tiger I in the world.
Its main weakness was its Maybach engine which was underpowered when compared to the size of the vehicle. The Tigers wide tracks and Torsion bar suspension, however, provided for good cross country performance, but the overlapping wheel design proved a heavy maintenance overhead.
There are just over a dozen Panthers currently on display in the world. The MVTF Panther is one of six in working order and the only one in the United States.
Although 150 were ordered, only around 80 were produced. Due to an excessive weight and an underpowered drivetrain system, the Jagdtiger was plagued with mobility and mechanical problems. Three Jagdtigers survive in museums.
Germany's Tiger tank, whether in the form of the Tiger I or later Tiger II (King Tiger), was the most feared tank of WWII.
How many Tiger 131 are there?
Powered by a massive Maybach engine, the Tiger was a complex tank, and only 1,354 were ever produced. The Tiger 131 was deployed to Tunisia in 1943, where it destroyed two Churchill tanks before being captured by the British when a lucky shot incapacitated the turret ring and the tank commander.
In total there are only 6 known surviving tiger tanks, one of which has was pieced together from parts found in various scrap yards across Europe. The only way to answer that is to say “put it to auction”. The highest estimate on a 105mm Sherman was 500K USD.
The F-5N/F variants are in service with the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps as adversary trainers. Over 400 aircraft were in service as of 2021. The F-5 was also developed into a dedicated reconnaissance aircraft, the RF-5 Tigereye.
Known variously as the Tiger Ausf. B, Tiger II, King Tiger or Königstiger (the British also referred to it as the 'Royal Tiger'), 489 Tiger IIs, were produced at the Henschel assembly plant, between January 1944 and March 1945.
Only 10 Tiger II's (King Tigers) survive today around the world.
The 17-pounder gun, mounted on the Sherman Firefly and some M10 tank destroyers, was the British answer to the Tiger problem and could effectively penetrate their armor. Over 2,000 were produced, while the 90 mm guns of the American M36 tank destroyer—later of the M26 Pershing—also demonstrated a capable counterthreat.
Notable tanks of the time included the German Panzer tanks, the famous Soviet T-34 tank (that proved so highly effective at the Battle of Kursk) and the US M4 Sherman tank. However, it was the German Tiger tank that frequently ranked among the finest, being superior to British and American tanks for most of the war.
The top ten tanks today are the German KF51 Panther, the American Abrams M1A2, the Russian T-14 Armata, the Korean K2 Black Panther, the Chinese T-99, the German Leopard 2, the French Leclerc XL, the British Challenger 2, the Israeli Merkava V, and the Japanese Type-90.
Both tanks used in the film — the Sherman M4A3E8 and the Tiger 131 — are real, and belong to the Tank Museum in Bovington, England. The Tiger 131 was built in Kassel, Germany, in February 1943 and was shipped to Tunisia to join the 504th German heavy tank battalion, according to the Tank Museum's website.
The T-34 tanks used in the film are real. The German 'White Tiger', however, is a replica.
Where is the Cobra King tank?
Cobra King's display at the National Museum of the United States Army.
The Panther was a compromise. While having essentially the same Maybach V12 petrol (690 hp) engine as the Tiger I, it had better gun penetration, was lighter and faster, and could traverse rough terrain better than the Tiger I.
The Bob Semple tank (sometimes referred to as Big Bob) was a light tank designed by New Zealand Minister of Works Bob Semple during World War II. Originating out of the need to build military hardware from available materials, the tank was built from corrugated iron on a tractor base.
They saw limited service on the Western Front in 1918, and today only one survives – number 506, “Mephisto”. These newly invented war machines were hot, noisy, and cramped.
In theory Russia has thousands of tanks waiting in giant warehouses and vehicles parks which can be reactivated. According to the Military Balance 2021, quoted in Kyiv Independent, Russia has over 10,000 battle tanks in storage, mainly T-72s and T-80s.
The Panther KF51 is a German main battle tank that is under development by Rheinmetall Landsysteme (part of Rheinmetall's Vehicle Systems division). It was unveiled publicly at the Eurosatory defence exhibition on 13 June 2022. KF is short for "Kettenfahrzeug", i.e., tracked vehicle.
Tiger I production ran from July 1942 to August 1944, with 1347 built.
The Allies did develop weapons to counter the Tiger's impact on the battlefield. The British introduced the Sherman Firefly which was armed with a 17-pounder super-velocity gun. It was more deadly than the Tiger's 88mm gun.
The powerful PaK 40 was an effective weapon against most types of Allied tanks, including the Soviet T-34 and American Sherman. The weapon, along with the famous 88 mm, was considered one of the best anti-tank guns of the war.
When you discuss tanks of the Second World War, the first one most people think of is the Tiger tank. And the arrival of an actual Tiger on the battlefield could cause some panic, because the fear was it was almost impervious to most allied anti-tank weapons.
Were there Tiger tanks in Africa?
Yes, but only a few. The only Tigers to see action in North Africa did so in Tunisia. Two battalions of Tigers were allocated to Tunisia, one was to be attached to the 10. Panzer Division and the other to the 15.
The Tiger could expect 60 miles from that tank of petrol, or 2.5 miles per gallon.
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Tanks he commanded were knocked out by the Germans no less than 5 times. On one of those occasions, he was the lone survivor. The mans arms and back, which he showed me, still bore the scars from the horrible burns he received. There are two Tiger tanks in the USA.
These aging aircraft will be replaced by low-houred F-5N/F acquired from the Swiss Air Force surplus by United States Navy (USN). Currently, the Swiss F-5N Replacement Program replaces the present high-time Navy F-5Es with low-time F-5Ns allowing the USN/USMC to operate the F-5N aircraft to Fiscal Year (FY) 2015.
Two Super Hornet versions—the single-seat E model and the two-seat F model—are in production today and in service with the U.S. Navy.
The F-20 Tigershark program was abandoned in 1986 after three prototypes had been built (two of which crashed after their pilots blacked out due to excessive g-forces) and a fourth partially completed. The F-20 Tigershark (initially F-5G) was a privately financed light fighter, designed and built by Northrop.
The Tiger carried 92 rounds of Armour-Piercing (AP) and High Explosive (HE) ammunition, usually in the form of 50% Pz. Gr.
Later formations had a standard organization of 45 Tiger Tanks, composed of three companies of 14 Tigers each, plus three command vehicles. Maintenance troubles and the mechanical unreliability of the Tigers posed a continuous problem, so often the units would field a smaller number of combat-ready tanks.
By 1941, the Panzer III was the most numerous of German tank designs. However, during the later parts of 1943, it was largely replaced by later versions of the Panzer IV and Panzer V "Panther".
What will replace the Leopard 2?
While the German government once again blocked the supply of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine (this time from Spain), German gunsmiths presented the latest development at Eurosatory 2022 – the main battle tank Panther KF51 from Rheinmetall, which will replace Leopard 2, produced since 1979.
Only one King Tiger is still drivable, the one in the Musée des Blindés in Saumur.
The main factory of King Tigers lost 95 percent of its production and some 600 King Tigers were destroyed in the middle of production. Not only was production an issue for the King Tigers, but they were also faced with a shortage of fuel. The King Tigers were the heaviest tanks on the battlefield.
Dignitaries tour the assembly line. Tiger I production ran from July 1942 to August 1944, with 1347 built. After this Henschel built 490 Tiger IIs until the end of the war, with the last 13 produced between the 1st and 4th April 1945 and handed directly over to the German forces defending Kassel.
By the end of the war, other tanks had been developed by the Allies that outclassed the Tiger, including the Joseph Stalin II and the American M26 Pershing.
The T-34 tanks used in the film are real. The German 'White Tiger', however, is a replica.
Germany's Tiger tank, whether in the form of the Tiger I or later Tiger II (King Tiger), was the most feared tank of WWII.
Germany's Tiger tank, whether in the form of the Tiger I or later Tiger II (King Tiger), was the most feared tank of WWII.
The 17-pounder gun, mounted on the Sherman Firefly and some M10 tank destroyers, was the British answer to the Tiger problem and could effectively penetrate their armor. Over 2,000 were produced, while the 90 mm guns of the American M36 tank destroyer—later of the M26 Pershing—also demonstrated a capable counterthreat.
The tank. As the film makes clear, a Sherman tank was a lightweight in comparison to a Tiger. The Sherman weighed 33 tonnes and had a 75mm gun, compared to the Tiger's 54 tonnes and a 88mm gun. A Tiger also had 3.9 inch thick armour, so shells from a Sherman literally bounced off it.
Which was better Tiger or Panther tank?
The Panther's 75 mm gun had more penetrating power than the main gun of the Tiger I heavy tank, the 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56, although the larger 88 mm projectile might inflict more damage if it did penetrate.