Ok, we are now going to look in a bit more detail at some of the finite bits of Tiger I.
First thing starting off on the left there obviously the Track Guards.
The interesting thing about the Tiger I was
that both the track guards left and right, actually lifted up,
to gain access there.
And also you'll note that everything is hinged on the side.
The reason being, of course, Tiger I had a transit track
so when it was to go on a railway i.e. because of the width of some of the tunnels
you couldn't actually get in on there with the normal track on
so they put a transit track on there and everything then hooked up
and the splash guards etc. were removed to allow it to gain access.
Another thing to note on there you have got an eyelet.
The reason for the eyelet was it just means that a lifting frame could be fitted in there.
When the lifting frame was in there, there was a hook and weight on the end
and it means they could assist when changing the sprockets on the track.
Moving our way across to the right.
The first piece we come across is of course where the bow gunner / radio operator,
as they were one in the same person, actually was positioned inside.
You can see on the outside there the mounting for the MG34.
Interesting thing obviously about this was that movement wise
it had 15 degrees of movement left and right laterally
and also -10 to +20 degrees of movement in the vertical.
Now obviously Tiger I,
one of the things about Tiger I was,
it was capable of doing deep wading.
However, records show they never actually carried out any deep wading,
but because of that it made it quite expensive in the design process was,
on the outside there is a rim
and also you can see there's two eyelets there with butterfly screws.
When it was preparing for deep wading
it just means that a cover could go on there
obviously to protect the bow mounted gunner there
and also to prevent any ingress of water going in.
Moving away across the right hand side
we now really come across to the driver’s station.
Armoured drivers hatch which could be closed from the inside as well.
A couple of interesting points,
if you notice on the top there you have got two weld marks,
this was initially where the early version of Tiger I
would have had the binocular type periscope fitted
but this was replaced, later on in the design stage.
And of course finally finishing off really with the other side,
identical to the left hand side of the track and again
elevating up or can be moved up as well.
Okay moving down the side of the Tiger then,
you can see more clearly the track configuration
and again we've got the driver later on
to give us some much more detailed thing on there.
I want to mention about the transit track,
just a point to note on the transit tracks
is when they were fitted all the outer road wheels were taken off,
obviously to make it easier to fit.
Couple of things to notice on there.
On top you can see we've got a tow rope.
And also although not the original of course,
you would also have a track rope located on the side here as well.
Moving our way back down you can see very clearly there at the moment,
a good position of it is the mantlet, which actually housed the 88mm gun.
Interesting point about this is we know
this is one of the first hundred production models of this particular mantlet.
The reason we know that is because it has the cut away portion in this side.
The reason being of course, at one stage,
when Porsche thought that he was going to actually have the contract,
to produce all of the chassis etc. for the Tiger I,
produced these turrets because the raised engine decks at the rear,
on the Porsche Variant,
meant it would snag unless it had a raised portion on there.
So we know by that, that this was one of the first hundred production models.
Now of course the thing that really made the Tiger I very distinctive
and very impressive on the battlefield was the use of the 88mm.
This was based on the anti aircraft gun, the Flak 36
and actually Hitler himself insisted that the Flak 36 was mounted on to a tank chassis.
This of course caused huge problems
because the recoil was absolutely intensive.
And what you will find on the Tiger I
is use of a hydropnematic buffer
and a recuperator
very similar to what you get on modern main battle tanks.
And we will see that a bit later on as we get inside the turret.
Again, another thing that made it very distinctive at the time
was of course the armour protection.
The armour protection made it almost in the initial stages of the war,
almost impervious to anything that the allies could throw against it.
At its thickest part it is 100mm.
It used rolled homogenous armour.
Again the rolling process actually made it toughened
and made it stronger than anything else the allies had at the time.
And another thing while we are talking about the recoil that was produced by the 88mm,
also you will find at the end of the barrel there,
very distinctive, is the double baffle muzzle brake.
The reason for this of course it actually reduced almost 70% of the recoil
that you find inside the turret, and actually it was that important
that if it was damaged during a conflict or during operations
the crews were told not to fire the main armament.
Okay we are now going to start moving up onto the turret.
Just a couple of things to point out here,
obviously the crew's positions we are going to have a look at in more detail later on.
But as I'm looking down forwards at the tank there,
at the right hand side you've got where the bow gunner/radio operator actually sat.
Very simple hatches.
And he also had his own periscope fitted there as well.
Notice the rubber seals you have got all the way around.
Working our way across towards where the driver's position is,
you've got a jacking block,
various tools storage positions
and you've also got a breather there for ventilation.
And finishing across to the left hand side there we have got the drivers hatch.
Again we will have a look at that and get inside in more detail in a bit.
But the interesting thing to know and I must admit I didn't know until we came down here,
when you see all the films, the photos etc
of somebody with their head out, driving the Tiger,
it would have been a physical impossibility.
As soon as you look down in there you can see
that both the driver and the bow gunner
are more positioned centrally towards the centre of the tank
so it must have been somebody else sat on the side there,
which is quite an interesting point.
Look at the side of the turret, we have already explained the trunnions,
you can also see the trunnions from out there and the mantlet cover.
We see the first of our smoke grenade discharges.
Tiger I had two banks of smoke grenade discharges,
3 on either side of the turret, one mounted left and right.
And the controls for this are inside the commander’s station, we will have a look at those in a moment.
And also you can see there we are looking at the right hand side of the turret,
you've also got the first of our vision ports there.
This would have been the vision port for the loader's station
and gave him a very very narrow field of view through there.
Okay we are now moving up on top of the turret and a few things to point out.
The first thing I want you to notice there is the emergency or escape hatch
which is located on the rear right hand side of the turret.
Incredibly heavy and a bit of a design problem there,
that once it was opened it would just drop away,
obviously open from the inside, drop away but it needed someone on the outside
to actually push it back into position again.
And also you can see on a lot of records they actually used that
when they were restoring the ammunition on the Tiger I.
It's quite a quick way to put ammunition through there and straight into the turret.
We will look into the turret in a minute.
Another couple of things to point out.
We have also got the armoured cover for the ventilations fans,
the fans beneath there provide ventilation for the crew inside
and also very very simple design for the loaders hatch.
Two positions on the loaders hatch;
opened or it could be just left a jar as well to allow some air to come in there.
And again notice quite hefty rubber seals around the hatches.
Located on the back of the turret which was the only storage that we can find on Tiger I.
Okay., quite a small bin and you'd find in here
some of the tools and also some of the crews belongings as well.
So you'd find the bin on there.
Quite an interesting thing about the Tiger I31 was
it's actually the original padlocks that came with it
which is obviously very very unusual.
Moving our way across we have got a port here.
This is a small arms port.
And all it meant was obviously the crew had some means there if people mounted the tank,
whether it’s on the turret or the back decks,
they could actually put perhaps one of the small arms
the MP40 through there and fire on them as well.
Okay so just a small port there.
Working our way across and the final thing really,
we've got located on the turret or the final two things we have got located on the turret.
We've got another one of our vision slits.
Okay you find it the periscope or upper episcope was located behind there.
This particular one is where the gunner would sit just behind this wall.
And finally the last of our smoke grenade dischargers.
Okay looking at the commander’s station then,
very very simple conical design
and again with a very simple commanders hatch there
with a very heavy duty rubber seal located round the outside.
A few of the key things to point out now.
You can see there are a number again of vision slits
behind there are located the periscopes which you will see when we get inside the commanders cupola.
And also the azimuth indicator.
Located underneath the rim here numbered 1 to 12
all around the outside and all it was was a very simple way that the commander could lay the gunner,
whose got a similar thing just to the left of him in the gunners station, on to a target.
But again we will have a look at that in more detail in the gunner’s station when we get inside there.
The final thing to note.
The two hollow tubes you can see there,
they were just a means there used to be a sun shield
that could actually go up and protect the crew against the sun.