| | |
VK4501 Tiger (P) : escape hatch
An interesting feature of the turret on this special vehicle is that photographs ([3] page 371-376) clearly show it has an escape hatch. These hatches were introduced to the Tiger 1 in December 1942 ([1] page 83), after cancellation of Tiger (P). It's possible that they appeared in Tiger (P) at an earlier date, or that there simply isn't a neat cutoff date for the features of these turrets; after all, it took months to assemble each Tiger (P).
The above diagram shows the differences between the turrets from the Tiger (P), the first production Tiger 1, and the vehicle obtained by S.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653.
It's difficult to tell from the photos if the hatch is the early type (bevelled sides) or late type (flat disk). I built CAD models of a turret and hatch, reproducing the perspectives seen in the photographs, and compared them. I conclude that this is an early hatch.
Sources
[1] DW to Tiger 1
[2] "Panzer Tracts No.6" Thomas Jentz, Hilary Doyle (Panzer Tracts)
[3] "Combat history of Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 653", Münch (J. J. Fedorowicz)'
| Return to topic index
|
|
|
Copyright © David Byrden 1998-2007 except where indicated.
Mail me at: 
