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Turret ring
The joint between the Tiger's turret and hull was a ring, attached to the inside turret walls. This diagram, from the Turret Manual, is a profile of the ring. I have added some dimensions to the diagram. The center of the ring is a ball-bearing race.
This is a cutaway model of the early turret ring. I am not sure if the internal components were painted or not; in a Panzer 4 the corrresponding space was filled with grease, but this may not have been true of the Tiger. I know from examining the Bovington vehicle that exposed parts were freely sprayed with the turret internal colour, and gear teeth were oily and black.
At the top left of the picture is a steel ring that is suspended just above a rubber ring. The steel ring rotated with the turret, and the rubber ring was fixed to the hull. This steel ring could be screwed down to form a continuous seal all around the turret. There is also an inflatable rubber ring at lower right.
The Tiger's turret was redesigned in July 1943. According to the Turret Manual, the inner sealing ring was deleted at that time. A slanted cowl was put in its place, yielding this new cross-section.
This model shows the ring in the new turret. The inflatable sealing tube is still present. At top left of the picture you can see that the screws both above and below the turret ring are now placed in 'impact sleeves' that hold their heads 10mm clear of surface. This was the solution to the problem of screw heads breaking off when the Tiger was hit by enemy projectiles. These metal sleeves could absorb an impact by distorting, and after the battle the crew could simply tighten up the screws.
All screws on the Tiger had metal tabs or rings to prevent them coming loose; in this case, because of the impact sleeves, the tabs are very prominent. They are flat rectangular strips of metal, 40mm by 175mm, looped over each pair of screws with their corners bent upwards to engage one side of the screw heads.
In September 1943, the Tiger's design was changed again. The ability to travel underwater was eliminated. This involved the deletion of the inflatable rubber ring, but no externally visible changes.
This is a model of the turret ring, showing the underside. The colours are correct. As shown in the drawings, a small rubber seal is embedded in the bottom of the turret ring (the part that does not move).
Sources
[1] Survey of vehicle 250122, Bovington, by David Byrden
[2] Survey of vehicle at Saumur, by Hilary Louis Doyle
[5] Survey of vehicle 251114, at Saumur, by Jean-Charles Breucque
[6] DW to Tiger 1
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