Hello Everyone, A few years ago i was reading a book about the tank battles in Normandy and it said that a Tiger Tank had been captured and had been shipped to Bovington Camp, now the accompanying photo' had British officers standing on top of it in a field and the text said this was to be transported to the UK for evaluation as it was late type tiger! It was to be transported to the Uk via a American ship. Does anyone know what happened to this Tiger? - did it get to Bovington Camp?, I also read that a Sturmtiger was sent there??? Could Bovington Camp really lose two Tiger tanks? It seems odd that a late type Tiger never got to the UK. Have you got them in your back shed?
Rings a faint bell, but will need to trawl some books. Maybe someone has more info at their fingertips? As an immediate aside - One interesting reference in Forty's History of Bovington Camp to Three Panthers and Seven Jagdpanthers arriving there in 1946 at the D&M wing - all but two preserved at the museum, the rest seemingly used up as targets (I guess the Gibb Jagdpanther restoration might have been one of these).
At least one made it to Chertsey as seen in the top photo. It is one of 3 Tigers captured at Rauray. This is it being inspected by SFY I was told (by Stewart Hills) that the man second from the left was the Commanding Officer of SFY. 2nd Tiger Jentz says it was used as a range target in Germany after the war. 3rd Tiger Both 1 and 3 are steel wheel models
I think a lot of the film used Tigers of recent years are copies like this one at Duxford. They are all built on T34 chassis I believe?
Yes, they're T34s. Which makes them look a bit odd, and usually has me shouting "But it has waffle tracks!" at the TV, much to the other half's consternation. The Duxford example was used for Saving Private Ryan. It's a bit smaller than a real Tiger as well.
Which makes them look a bit odd, and usually has me shouting "But it has waffle tracks!" at the TV, much to the other half's consternation. Ryan. I have the same problem. The mrs just looks at me and say "why don't you just watch the film, and not think about it".
I confess to knowing little or nothing about individual tanks, but when I went to Bovington in about 1983 I was shown a tank by the attendant and told it was a tiger. Whether it is still there I have no idea! Unfortunately they were all crammed too close together to get a photograph.
There is a Tiger featured in the film 'They Were Not Divided' - any idea whose that was? This is one of the Tigers from the film. I believe the other one is just footage taken from the Arnhem film. This is the same Tiger on a British transporter photographed in Koln after the war. It is presumed that it is the Tiger on its way to be used in the film. Here it is again. Note it is a hybrid Tiger, an old style turret (with pistol post) on a steel wheel hull
I must shamefacedly admit I now want to watch this film... We can't forget that these old dears, once evaluated and milked of possible ideas, were nothing more than scrap for a long while, and unwelcome scrap in many cases. The impetus to preserve & restore is a recent one. The E100 hulk that came to England wasn't always seen as a fascinating piece of history - at some point someone thought "that'll make a lot of razor blades". What else was lost? Mr Roper & his gang spending the late 20s breaking up WW1 tanks around Bovington for a start... Pz IVs & Jagdpanthers must have been relatively common sights on the postwar ranges. Got a strange little book on Range Targets that has German Artillery, Churchills, Sextons, LVTs, Stugs, etc. etc. all being shot to pieces postwar. Think of the state of the Larkhill Schmalturm - these days it'd have been filed away immediately:
Ugly blasted things. Even today they seem to be a nasty chilling reminder of an attempt at world domination (Perhaps that's necessary, although each survivor seems to be a magnet for those who wish that the other lot had won). I'm not surprised that those with the wherewithal in the 1940s and 1950s blew them to pieces or took a torch to them.
Van Poop. You could have a look here if you are tempted by the film They Were Not Divided DVD | Classic Movies | Films by Movie Mail UK you can see a review and buy a copy if you want to! Dee
I last visited Bovington in 1980 and they had a nice Tiger 1 on static display. In subsequent years I checked back with them to read about and look at videos of their Tiger restoration project. It has even been on the Military Channel in the US showing it up and running. If you go to YouTube you will see many pictures of it in motion. While it was undergoing restoration it may have been out of the public eye. Check these out: YouTube - bovington tiger tank Gaines
Hi M Kenny, could you put the photo's back on or have they been disabled? didn't get time to see them.... Regards, Peter
