Tiger I

During the Second World War Tiger tank crews had to be trained as quickly and effectively as possible. To assist in this process General Heinz Guderian authorised the publication of the Tigerfibel, the illustrated manual which was issued to Tiger I crews from 1943 onwards. This highly unorthodox publication was full of risquŽ drawings and humorous illustrations and was designed to convey complex battlefield instructions in a simple and memorable manner.??This unique primary source has now been translated into English by Emmy Award winning historian Bob Carruthers. It makes for indispensable reading for anyone interested in tank warfare in World War II. The manual contains everything the reader could ever wish to know concerning how the crews were instructed to handle the Tiger I under combat conditions. The Tigerfibel contains the original German publication with a complete English translation and a new overview and introduction. The Tigerfibel contains detailed instructions on aiming, firing, ammunition and close combat. There are extensive sections on maintenance, driving, radio operation and the essentials of commanding a Tiger I in combat.??This priceless information is now being made available to a wider English speaking audience as an electronic publication for the first time. Interesting and highly accessible, the Tigerfibel is essential and rewarding reading for all readers interested in the history of this famous tank.??This book is part of the 'Hitler's War Machine' series, a new military history range compiled and edited by Emmy Award winning author and historian Bob Carruthers. The series draws on primary sources and contemporary documents to provide a new insight into the true nature of Hitler's Wehrmacht.??The series consultant is David Mcwhinnie creator of the award winning PBS series 'Battlefield'.

A pictorial history and analysis of the infamous World War II German tanks. The German Tiger I and Tiger II (known to the Allies as the King Tiger or Royal Tiger) were the most famous and formidable heavy tanks of the Second World War. In their day, their awesome reputation inspired such apprehension among Allied soldiers that the weaknesses of these brilliant but flawed designs tended to be overlooked. Anthony Tucker-Jones, in this illustrated history, tells the story of their conception and development and reconsiders their operational history, and he dispels the myths that have grown up around them. The Tigers were over-engineered, required raw materials that were in short supply, and were time-consuming to manufacture and difficult to recover from the battlefield. Only around 1,300 of the Tiger I and fewer than 500 of the Tiger II were produced, so they were never going to make anything more than a local impact on the outcome of the fighting on the Western and Eastern fronts. Yet the myth of the Tigers, with their 88mm guns, thick armor, and brutal profiles, has grown over time to the extent that they are regarded as the deadliest tanks of the Second World War. Anthony Tucker-Jones’s expert account of these remarkable fighting vehicles is accompanied by a series of color plates showing the main variants of the designs and the common ancillary equipment and unit markings. His book is an essential work of reference for enthusiasts.

A guide blending the history behind the two World War II German tanks with resources for military vehicle modeling enthusiasts. In spite of the relatively small numbers produced, the Tiger I and Tiger II tanks are arguably the most famous armored fighting vehicles of the Second World War. This book, the first in the TankCraft series, uses archive photos and extensively researched color illustrations to examine the tanks and units of the German Army and Waffen-SS heavy panzer battalions that attempted to hold back the Red Army during 1944. A large part of the book showcases available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined providing everything the modeler needs to recreate an accurate representation of the tanks that fought from the snow-covered fields of Byelorussia and the Ukraine, through the Baltic States, and into Poland and Hungary. “From a technical standpoint the book is a winner. Throw in all of the unit histories and then add the modelling, and it is a superb book on the Tiger I-II tanks. . . . The book is really a showcase of the [modelers] and their builds, and gives the rest of us a shot in the arm to up our game on our next Tiger tank.” —A Wargamers Needful Things

Probably the most famous tank of World War II, the Tiger I was originally conceived in 1941 in response to the German Army's experience in fighting British tanks and anti-tank guns in Western Europe and the North African desert. Following the invasion of Russia, the appearance of the Soviet T-34 and KW tanks lent a further impetus to the programme and 1,350 Tigers were produced between August 1942 and August 1944. The Tiger has proved to be one of the most popular modelling subjects of all time, with a vast and ever-increasing range of kits, aftermarket products and references available. This title is a detailed modelling guide on the '121', s.Pz.Abt. 501, Tunisia 1943 in 1/35 scale. This guide forms part of Osprey Modelling 37 Modelling the Tiger I also available as an ebook.

Probably the most famous tank of World War II, the Tiger I was originally conceived in 1941 in response to the German Army's experience in fighting British tanks and anti-tank guns in Western Europe and the North African desert. Following the invasion of Russia, the appearance of the Soviet T-34 and KW tanks lent a further impetus to the programme and 1,350 Tigers were produced between August 1942 and August 1944. The Tiger has proved to be one of the most popular modelling subjects of all time, with a vast and ever-increasing range of kits, aftermarket products and references available. This title is a detailed modelling guide on the '1331', 13./SS-Panzer Regiment I, Kursk 1943 in 1/35 scale. This guide forms part of Osprey Modelling 37 Modelling the Tiger I also available as an ebook.

An in-depth overview of these fearsome heavy tanks, including photos, illustrations, and modeling information. Tiger tanks were among the most-feared fighting vehicles of the Second World War. They gained almost legendary status—yet they never fulfilled their potential, because they were not produced in sufficient numbers and the tide of the war had turned against the German army by the time they were introduced. Often they were deployed in difficult circumstances and in defensive battles, struggling against the odds. Nowhere was this truer than in western Europe during the Allied advance across France and into Germany, and it is the Tigers of this phase of the war that Dennis Oliver portrays in his third volume on the Tiger in the TankCraft series. Using archive photos and extensively researched color illustrations, he examines the Tiger tanks and units of the German Army and Waffen-SS heavy panzer battalions that struggled to resist the onslaught of Allied armor and air attacks during the last days of the conflict. A key section of his book displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined, providing everything the modeler needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic tanks.

“Will be of great interest to modelers that plan to build a Tiger tank and to military historians alike.” —AMPS Indianapolis By the first weeks of 1945, the Eastern Front had been pushed back to the Carpathian mountain passes in the south and Warsaw on the Vistula River in the center, while in the north, the German army was fighting in East Prussia. The Wehrmacht’s armored and mobile formations were now employed exclusively as fire brigades, rushed from one crisis to the next as the Red Army pushed inexorably westward. Critical to the German defense were the army’s heavy Panzer battalions, whose Tiger tanks, with their 8.8 cm guns, were almost invincible on the open plains of central Europe. In his latest book in the TankCraft series, Dennis Oliver uses archive photos and extensively researched color illustrations to examine the Tiger tanks and units of the German Army and Waffen-SS heavy Panzer battalions that struggled to resist the onslaught of Soviet armor during the last days of the conflict that culminated in the battle for Berlin. A key section of this book displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined, providing everything the modeler needs to create an accurate representation of these historic tanks.

The Tiger I tank, probably the most famous German armoured vehicle of the Second World War, might have been a war-winning, break-through weapon if it had been produced in sufficient numbers and if it had been introduced earlier on the Eastern Front, before the balance of strength had tipped towards the Soviet Union. At the Battle of Kursk there were not enough Tigers to make a decisive difference and thereafter the Tiger was forced to play a mainly defensive role as the Wehrmacht struggled to withstand the advances of the Red Army. And it is this period in the Tiger tank’s short history that Dennis Oliver concentrates on in this, his third book on the Tiger in the TankCraft series. He uses archive photos and extensively researched colour illustrations to examine the tanks and units of the German army’s heavy panzer battalions. A large part of the book showcases available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of the Tigers of 1943.