Tiger tank replica

Next month I'm going to take a look at the Tiger near Vimoutiers in Normandy. I last saw it 28 yrs ago. It's a bit of a wreck and most probably beyond restoration, but there just aren't that many left around. Not too far away you can see a preserved Sherman at the Polish monument on Hill 262 where the Polish Armoured Div became the cork in the bottle to prevent the German breakout from the Falaise Pocket. This was a very critical piece of terrain with excellent panoramic observation and fields of fire. You can understand why the Germans made the efforts that they did to wrest it away from the Poles.

I see a preserved Sherman almost every day. Right in Winnipeg too
 
It's strange, the fixation that Russians have with the Tiger tank, even to building a full-size working replica for the movie 'White Tiger' a few years back, using an AT-T as a basis.

...

I had to look that vehicle up. It turns out to be an ugly truck cab on a T55 chassis that the Soviets used as an artillery hauler, engineer vehicle and all-around mule.
 
Why so few tigers operational? Around 1350 made. Surely some were still intact when the germans surrendered or were captures by the allies.
"Field Marshal Walter Model reported to Hitler that his panzer divisions had remaining, on average, five or six tanks each."

ht tps://books.google.ca/books?id=Fxt_HD0ehusC&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=Walter+Model+%22six+tanks%22&source=bl&ots=fjqRE5bO7V&sig=uI8sAnoEdSCbUQpkFKUODRQqErA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8JcgVaqWCMn2oATYiYKgBg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Walter%20Model%20%22six%20tanks%22&f=false

Essentially, Germany had precious little squared by the time Adolph threw his pencil down.

The Russians kept panzer IV's but regarded most of the heavier German vehicles as scrap metal.
 
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There are at least two Tiger 1s in the Russian museum of armour at Kubinka - there may well be another five there, if rumours are true.

The Tiger II at Saumur in France is a runner, as is one in Germany. This is at Saumur.......moving somewhat faster than its outing in Paris -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGNV_zEGXxY

Back in the late 1970s the Russians made a WW2 movie involving a German military train - on which were eight tigers - ALL real, as well as four Panthers, again, all real. There are a few Panthers around that are capable of independent motion - as a look on Youtube would show. Over in the USA, the late Jacques Littlefield had a rebuilt Panther in his collection - again the project of the restoration is on Youtube - but not a mention of the $3M+ it cost to do, and here in UK he was shadowed by Kevin Wheatcroft, doing the same thing.

tac
 
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Why so few tigers operational? Around 1350 made. Surely some were still intact when the germans surrendered or were captures by the allies.

the French army was a big benefactor at the end of the war. They took over many Tigers and Panthers to rebuild their Armour units. The French 75mm in the 50s is a direct copy of the Panther 75mm. or 7.5cm as the Germans call anything over 15mm
 
There are at least two Tiger 1s in the Russian museum of armour at Kubinka - there may well be another five there, if rumours are true.

The Tiger II at Saumur in France is a runner, as is one in Germany. This is at Saumur.......moving somewhat faster than its outing in Paris -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGNV_zEGXxY

Back in the late 1970s the Russians made a WW2 movie involving a German military train - on which were eight tigers - ALL real, as well as four Panthers, again, all real. There are a few Panthers around that are capable of independent motion - as a look on Youtube would show. Over in the USA, the late Jacques Littlefield had a rebuilt Panther in his collection - again the project of the restoration is on Youtube - but not a mention of the $3M+ it cost to do, and here in UK he was shadowed by Kevin Wheatcroft, doing the same thing.

tac

the Russians are secretive buggers they could have a lot more then what's thought I know they gave panther's to Bulgaria and Romania
 
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I see a preserved Sherman almost every day. Right in Winnipeg too

Sherman monuments as well as running tanks are quite common. I've seen many of them across Canada and the US, in the Middle East, S. America, Europe and even in Finland. In this case the story is more about commemorating the actions of the 1st Polish Armoured Div, rather than the tank itself. 50 yrs ago I even learned to drive one.:)
 
Used to be a Sherman on display in front of the MP shack at Gagetown and one at The Citadel in Quebec way back when; don't know if there're still there.
 
Used to be a Sherman on display in front of the MP shack at Gagetown and one at The Citadel in Quebec way back when; don't know if there're still there.

Sherman's are quite more common then German tanks and can be had on the open market some vehicles based on the Sherman chassis are still in military use around the world
 
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I see a preserved Sherman almost every day. Right in Winnipeg too

Chances are the engine, transmission, drive shafts, gas tanks, breechblock and anything else even slightly valuable or greasy was removed when it was put up on blocks. A few years ago the Sherbrooke Hussars was able to get Bomb, its WWII DDay to VEDay survivor tank cleaned up and delivered to a new set of concrete blocks in front of the armoury. The techs at 202 Workshop had to certify that it was hydrocarbon-free and environmentally safe.

BTW, a well-restored running Sherman tank will set you back US$400,000; less if it needs more than a little work. Interestingly, most of the running Shermans these days are Canadian-made Grizzly tanks which went from Canada to Portugal then to the US where they were sold to collectors about 20ys ago. ht tps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_I_cruiser
 
I see a preserved Sherman almost every day. Right in Winnipeg too
Me too! Not in Winnipeg and not every day but a couple of times a week..
My mates ongoing restoration project.
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Engine should be back soon after a total rebuild.
 
That looks like a fairly early Sherman hull, but it has the intermediate style one piece cast final drive and transmission housing. Is it an M4 with the radial engine, an M4A2 with the twin GM diesels, or an M4A4 with the Chrysler multi-bank engine? Quite a challenge to get it up and running again. Is there a turret and gun for it.
 
I will try and answer some of the questions but I am by no means an expert on the subject, just a very enthusiastic helper doing some of the grunt work on the Sherman to help out my mate. I am like a kid in a sweet shop whenever I go over to help and my 10 year old son has now been roped in to make tea and give moral support as well. We have been promised a ride as soon as she is up and running again and traditionally all the vehicles that are finished are taken to the local village pub to have a bottle of beer smashed/poured over them (the official launch!)
As far as I am aware the Sherman will be, once complete, one of the oldest working examples in existence and the ultimate goal is to take it back to Normandy / France were it saw active service.
It was a sorry state when purchased about 5 years ago as it had been partially buried, filled with concrete and used as a target on an military range. It was riddled with AP holes on one side, on the turret and front transmission housing, hence the new panels and holes in the first photo. The top of the tank was buckled around the turret, due to some heavy hits, smashing the turret gear ring but luckily a replacement ring was found in a barn in France in an unissued condition. The turret and original gun (75mm?) have been restored and are one of the last fitting jobs to be undertaken but have had a trial fitting after the new panels were welded in.
The engine is a GM Detroit diesel, of which there was a choice of 2 lying around in the workshop-the original was in such a bad state that it was deemed impossible to resurrect so now sits in the corner of the workshop. It should be back soon as it has had a complete rebuild but is being investigated at the moment as it is slightly under performing (I think it has to produce 400+hp before it can be accepted)

Some more pics.
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LRDG stuff.
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Another previous project.
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And some more!
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When I took this these two had just returned from the Normandy 70th commemorations. My mate has 4 DUKW's and the one in the photo took some Veterans back out to sea and ran back up one of the D-Day beaches (sorry, dont know which one)
Very moving for all aboard.
 
@ Silfield - does your friend follow the Maple Leaf Up forum? There are a few other guys with rebuilding projects but the main effort seems to be Universal Carriers and CMP trucks.

That half-Sabre squadron of LRDG Jeeps is interesting. (Not my storage, but I'd consider tarps over the Jeeps to keep them clean-er.)
 
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