Pix - Tiger I at Vimoutiers.

Thanks for the Tiger I pictures.

 

Nice photographs - thanks for posting. How strange to see grass growing out of the back of a Tiger I.

 

great pics of the tiger.one of my favorites

 

this is very nice indeed

 

Really great pics, thanks a lot for them.

 

Thank you for posting those pictures. It is a shame that people had to go and graffiti it though.

 

I was looking through a few pics from last year and taught i'd add to the growing battalion of Tiger tanks in this thread .....are we operational yet?

 

I never get bored of the Vimoutiers Tiger.

I'll probably visit it again when I'm back over there later this month !

Andy, is that you on the turret?

 

Nice pictures!
Looking at the historical record the vehicle does not seem to have deteriorated that much since it reached its current position. Apparently it was bought up by Monsieur Morat, a local scrapmerchant, in 1945, but he never recovered it. When he died his sister sold it on and people turned up to scrap it, making one cut on front right mantlet (crack at back of turret from demo charge laid by the crew). Local people were upset about losing their landmark and so it was purchased again, dragged out of its ditch at the side of the road where French teenagers had been hanging out in it and generally being cool for thirty years (hence poor condition) and into its current position. It's been there ever since (October 1975)

Apparently the paint scheme was designed based on the collection of local expert Monsieur Roudiex and original paint clinging to the hull. Based on wide range of different paint schemes found on German panzers in 1944, and the fact that nobody really knows which unit it came from, it is probably as good as it needs to be.

All information from Panzers in Normandy, Then and Now (After the Battle series). Not exactly scholarly material but, since they organised the recovery, it's good enough!

 

yep

.....tried to hitch it up to the car but its slightly over weight

 

Just a quick note to say that there's a three page photo-article about the Vimoutiers Tiger in the current ( June 2012 ) issue of 'Military Machines International' magazine. OK, it won't tell you anything we haven't discussed in this thread but the mag also covers the Bovington Tiger, and anyway it's nice to see again the Forum's favourite relic !

 

Hoping to get to Bovington this summer as I...er...um...have never been there before.

 

How many tiger ones are there running currently? still tiger 131 from Bovington museum? I'm hoping they restore another running tiger 1, since there's one or two originals that I know could be restored to running order that still has much of its interior left. :afv_crusader2:
Wish the same could be said for the Vimoutiers tiger. I heard its been almost completely gutted from the inside except the original engine. shame :eh: .
I'm still waiting on the new of when ether they will restore the vimoutiers tiger, and if so, hoping even more for a running order project. I think it would be a big attraction, since this tiger seems to have more of a history then the other originals still existing except tiger 131.
Also, glad to see they unsealed the tiger for a quick inspection. Maybe now we can get that inside hull number. Does anyone know for a fact that this was tiger 231 as so many people claim? thanks!




site of picture and news (sorry its in French)... http://www.ouest-france.fr/orne-lavenir-du-char-tigre-de-vimoutiers-interpelle-jusquen-australie-369322

 

Can't believe it's seven years since I started this topic......

Anyhow, driving out of Vimoutiers in the early morning after leaving the Militaria Fair last month...well, I just had to. It's like a moth to a flame.......










Could definitely do with some TLC now...................

 

It actually looks nicer than 2007. The graphitti were removed and the painting doesn't look as bright, even though the cammo is still not what it should be. A Balkenkreuz would be nice to add

 

the german fighting instructions recommend slightly inclined travel against a target.

"...The own shooting takes place, therefore, over the right or left corner of the tank..." H.Dv. 469 3 .. Panzerabwehr aller Waffen

 

Can it really be ten years since I started this thread !?

Well, anyhow, on our last day in Normandy we took the scenic route back from Villers-Bocage, driving right across Normandy in perfect, hot weather. Of course, we'd packed a picnic lunch in the car and I managed to 'schedule' a highly suitable picnic spot to round off our vacation......



Even Mrs B was impressed when I told her that there are only six Tigers left in the World and this is still the only one sitting on the battlefield......

It's still my favourite WWII site in NW Europe !

 

Martin, your last photo is probably the best I've ever seen of the Vimoutiers Tiger. It still looks a menacing beast.

 

What was nice was that, despite being lunchtime on a hot Summer Saturday, we were the only people there. Plenty of time to relax and view the Tiger, and to select some favourable camera angles.

 

Another thread destroyed by Photobucket......