MBK Originals in Detail

New upload ENGLISH SPEAKING!

This is a test for our englishspeaking audience - let us know what you think about the addition of spoken english to our videos - is it worth the work?


In this new video series, we want to show you and introduce you to several originals in detail, one after the other, because there is nothing better than references for model builders.

Today we show you interior and exterior views of the late version Tiger I in the exceptional condition as it was disassembled for restoration!

Today we show you interior and exterior views of the legendary Tiger I Ausf. E late version tank (serial number 251114)
This tiger has a very interesting history, it was built in 1944 in Kassel by Henschel, then came to the schw. Pz.SS. dept. 102 (unfortunately Christian made a mistake with the 101st!) and fought in Normandy with turret number 114.

The Tiger was captured near the town of Cauville by the British Army, the Tiger was then handed over to the Free French Army and was used to liberate France until the end of the war. In fact, the tiger was captured with the transport tracks and was also driven like this when deployed.
After the war, the Tiger was deployed with a few Panthers in the 6th Regiment de Cuirassier Squdron Besnier in occupied Treve/Germany until 1960.
After the regiment left Treve for Indochina in 1960, the tank came to AMX in Satory, where it was handed over to what is now the Tank Museum in 1965.
The "bulge" on the front stems from a collision with another Tiger in the regiment.
In the years 2003-2004 the Tiger could be seen in the tank museum in Munster where it received partly new Zimmerit and the current paintjob.
At the time of 2023, the Tiger is being completely disassembled, restored and is to be brought back into a working condition.

Here is some key data for the Tiger:
A total of 1350 examples were built between 1942 and 1944, and the Tiger was used on all fronts of the war. That is, from the blazing sun of North Africa to the cold Russian steppe.
Many changes were made during production, distinguishing between early, mid and, as shown here, a late variant.
With a crew of 5, the powerful and very effective 8.8cm KwK L/56, it soon gained a good reputation. The Achilles' heel was the vulnerable engine which, with just under 650 hp (later up to 700 hp) for the 57 tons, was far too weak (power-to-weight ratio 12.3 hp/t).
In addition, the Tiger was very thirsty in terms of fuel consumption, bad for a country without sufficient petrol supplies.
Please keep in mind that we unfortunately only received most of the information AFTER the shoot, thank you very much.


We are pleased that the tank museum in Saumur made this shoot possible for us, especially for these unusual insights.
If you would like to see this vehicle (and of course many others) in the original (because no video or photo can replace a personal impression), you should plan a visit to Saumur:

Museum website: https://www.museedesblindes.fr/
Address: 1043 route de Fontevraud, 49400 Saumur, France