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Bridge
Under the Tiger's gun there was a structure called the 'bridge'. It supported the gunner's seat, the elevation handwheel and the floor.
There were two designs for the bridge; one is associated with the drum cupola, and the other with the ring cupola. The diagram above shows the first kind.
The first kind of bridge was made of two tubes, joined in the middle. The right-hand tube was attached to the 'box'. This diagram shows a view from above.
The tube ended in a sleeve, and this sleeve was opened up on one side. This photo shows the opening. The elevation gearbox enters the opening, and the drive shaft runs inside the tube. At lower left, you can see the top of a leg that supports the turret floor.
The sleeve was welded to a curved metal bar, and this was bolted to the 'box' as shown in the diagrams and photo above.
At the other end of the tube was the gunner's elevation handwheel and firing trigger. The bearings for them were welded to the end of the tube.
The left-hand side of the bridge was a 50mm tube. It was made of two parts, joined by a welded ring. One end was flattened and welded to the upper 90mm tube. The other end was welded to a small plate, and that plate was bolted to the top of the turret ring.
This photo shows how the tubes were joined. Notice that the flattened section is made of two castings welded together.
The design of the bridge was greatly simplified when the turret was redesigned. The 90mm tube was eliminated, the other tube was extended all the way to the box, and the handwheel was left uncovered.
This is a partial model of the second kind of bridge and box.
Sources
[2] Survey of vehicle 250122, Bovington, by David Byrden
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