This German Royal Tiger tank, Panzerkampfwagn VI Ausf. B Tiger II, can be found at the Schweizerisches Militermuseum, Full, Switzerland. It is being restored back into working order by the dedicated men of "Team Königstiger" .

This photo was taken in 2007 before the tank was taken apart to be restored back to a running condition (Photo - Team Königstiger)

Location

The King Tiger II tank is located at the Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full- Reuenthal, General Guisan-Strasse 1, 5324 Full-Reuenthal, Schweiz in northern Switzerland.

Specifications

The Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. B Tiger, also commonly referred to as the Köningstiger, King Tiger, Royal Tiger or Tiger II tank was armed with a 88 mm (3.46 in) KwK43 L/71, 86 rounds and two or three 7.92 mm (3 in) MG 34 machine guns, 5800 round. Its armour ranged from 25mm to 180mm. It had a crew of five: commander, driver, gunner, loader and radio operator/machine gunner. It was powered by a V12 Maybach HL230 P30 690hp petrol engine. It weighed 69.8 tonnes. It had a top road speed of 35km/h (24mph). It had an operational range of 170 km (110 miles). Total production was 492 tanks.

Front view. Notice the damage to the gun barrel and a third towing lug on the front glacis plate. This photo was taken in 2007 before the tank was taken apart to be restored back to a running condition (Photo - Team Königstiger)

The King Tiger's History

This tank has an identity Fahrgestell number 280215. It was built in mid 1944 at Henschel in Kassel-Mittelfeld and delivered to the Heavy Tank Battalion s.Pz.Abt.506 between 3rd and 12th September 1944. After that its operational record is lost. It is known that the Heavy tank Battalion s.Pz.Abt.506 was called into action around Arnheim, then in the battle of the bulge and finally in the Ruhr area.

It is believed that the Swiss Army was given the tank by the French Government. No documentation has been found about this transaction at present but it is known that one was given to the Swedish Army at the same time for military training purposes. After WW2 there were lots of abandoned and knocked out Allied and German tanks waiting to be cut up by the scrap metal merchants blowtorch.

They were considered rubbish that needed to be cleared not historically valuable vehicles. The Swedish Army were not charged any fee for taking their King Tiger to Sweden. Therefore it is reasonable the same arrangement existed with the Swiss Army's King Tiger Tank. Unlike the Swiss Army the Swedish Army used their King tiger as a live ammunition target to test new ammunition. All that was left of their King Tiger by 1950 was a pile of mangled scrap metal.

The tank's documentation began again in the mid 50s at the former Swiss Army training ground in Thun. It was used for recovery exercises. It would act as a heavy disabled or knocked out tank and the Swiss Army soldiers under training would use their recovery vehicles to tow it out of ditches.

This photo was taken in 1956 and shows two Swiss Army recovery vehicles practicing recovering the Tiger II from a ditch as part of a training exercise.

It was later displayed in the outdoor museum on the army base at Thun. Until 1976 the tank was painted only with anti-rust primer. In September 2006, the Swiss Military Museum received the last Tiger II King Tiger as a permanent loan from the Swiss Army. The tank is currently in the process of being restored from scratch. Final goal is to bring it back to a running condition with a moveable turret. This work is being done by the dedicated men of "Team Königstiger"

German King Tiger II Tank Ausf. B on display at the Thun Swiss Army Museum, Switzerland with a poorly researched historically inaccurate camouflage livery (Photo - Team Königstiger)

The same German King Tiger II Tank Ausf. B on display at the Thun Swiss Army Museum, Switzerland with a slightly better camouflage livery but still not historically correct. (Photo - Team Königstiger)

German King Tiger II Tank Ausf. B being restored at the Schweizerisches Militermuseum, Full, Switzerland (Photo - Team Königstiger)

German King Tiger II Tank Ausf. B being restored at the Schweizerisches Militermuseum, Full, Switzerland (Photo - Team Königstiger)

German King Tiger II Tank Ausf. B being restored at the Schweizerisches Militermuseum, Full, Switzerland (Photo - Team Königstiger)

Where can I find other preserved King Tiger Tanks?

• (Porsche turret) – Bovington Tank Museum
• Bovington Tank Museum
• Munster Panzer Museum
• December 44 Museum, La Gleize, Belgium
• Musée des Blindés, Saumur, France
• Schweizerisches Militärmuseum, Full, Switzerland
• Kubinka Tank Museum, Russia
• National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, GA, USA
• Wreck - Fontenay-Saint-Père, France
• Wreck - The Wheatcroft Collection, England
• Source - Pierre-Oliver Buan - http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Panzers.html

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