This tank saw action in 1 Kompanie of SS Panzer Battalion 101 (SS Pz.Abt.101.) Commanded by SS Obersharfuhrer Sepp Franzi. On 29th August 1944 it was involved in a tank battle with British Sherman tanks to the west of Magny-en-Vexin.

German King Tiger II Ausf. B Heavy Tank 104 at the Tank Museum Bovington

Location

This Surviving King Tiger Tank is on show at the Tank Museum, Linsay Road, Bovington, Dorset. The nearest train station is Wool Railway Station. You can walk the 2 miles to the Museum but there are not pavements along the country road and if you are travelling with children it can be dangerous. It takes 45 minutes by foot. There is an irregular bus service from Wool Station that will get you to the museum but they only come once an hour in the morning starting after 9.30.

The last bus back to the station from the Tank Museum is just after 13.45 which is really silly. There is no Sunday bus service. The easiest way to get to the museum from the train station is by taxi. They can be pre booked with Garrison Cars to meet you when your train arrives and pick you up for the return trip from outside the museum. Their phone number is 01929 463395

The German King Tiger II Tank had very wide tracks because it was so heavy. It looks more like the Panther tank than the Tiger I tank.

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.

German King Tiger II Ausf. B Heavy Tank 104 at the Tank Museum Bovington

This Tanks History

Its chassis number is 280093 and saw action in 1 Kompanie of SS Panzer Batalion 101 (SS Pz.Abt.101.) Commanded by SS Obersharfuhrer Sepp Franzi. On 29th August 1944 it was involved in a tank battle with British Sherman tanks to the west of Magny-en-Vexin. It suffered track damage and left the road and limped into a field that was planted with beet where it started to shell a farmhouse occupied by British troops. The driver made a too violent turn which damaged the final drive. It could not move. The crew abandoned the tank. Two of the crew were killed by French resistance fighters later.

A British Sherman tank of A Squadron, 23rd Hussars, 11th Armoured Division, commanded by Sergeant Roberts fired two 75mm armour piercing AP rounds into the right side of the tank just in case there were any crew members still inside and capable of fighting the tank. If you look along the right hand side you can see the damage about two thirds of the way along where two shots have stuck the lower hull. They do not appear to have perforated the lower hull.

The overlapping road wheels and wide track of the German King Tiger II Ausf. B Heavy Tank 104 at the Tank Museum Bovington

The King Tiger 104 stayed in the field for a few months. It was taken back to England for evaluation arriving in January 1945. It was transported to FVPE at Chertsey. It was decided to attempt to get the vehicle back into working order. Unfortunately all the internal automotive parts (engine, transmission, gear box and turret traverse) had been sold as scrap by Chertsey only six months before this decision was made.

The overlapping road wheels and wide track of the German King Tiger II Ausf. B Heavy Tank 104 at the Tank Museum Bovington

It appears it was stripped out for automotive inspection but the war ended before trials could be completed. It has carried a variety of colour schemes, including at one point British Army Deep Bronze Gloss Green. The gutted body eventually found its way to Royal Military College of Science, which is now called the British Army Defence Academy at Shrivenham. It was used as a teaching exhibit before being moved to the Tank Museum at Bovington.

German King Tiger II Ausf. B Heavy Tank 104 at the Tank Museum Bovington

German King Tiger II Ausf. B Heavy Tank 104 at the Tank Museum Bovington

German King Tiger II Ausf. B Heavy Tank 104 at the Tank Museum Bovington

German King Tiger II Ausf. B Heavy Tank 104 at the Tank Museum Bovington

German King Tiger II Ausf. B Heavy Tank 104 at the Tank Museum Bovington

German King Tiger II Ausf. B Heavy Tank 104 at the Tank Museum Bovington

German King Tiger II Ausf. B Heavy Tank 104 at the Tank Museum Bovington

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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