IMPORTANT: the Tiger photos are courtesy of Musée des blindés at Saumur, copy or publication are prohibited whitout the authorization of the museum.

TURRET

This is the most modified item, and to simplify we can say there were three versions of turret during production:

Early production : the Tiger of Bovington's turret.

Middle production : remodelling with simplification of the structure but many of the interior fittings remain..

Late production : maximum simplification of the interior

The turret at Saumur is a late model, however it's not a final model: the muzzle brake is still the large size, the loader's hatch is not the cast model like in the Tiger II, the Tiger at Saumur is not fitted with a fume extractor bin (described in the page "other info" ) .

1)STRUCTURAL CHANGES:

From July 1943, turret construction is heavily modified in order to delete some weaknesses, to simplify construction , and to add some elements. At this time appears the turret with 7 episcopes, and the central ventilator.

All the construction of the front part of the turret is simplified , this change is not visible inside , those who want to know more about this should study the superb Byrden Tiger site.

The mounting of the turret on the hull was also modified , here again , David Byrden's site gives the details.

The thickness of the roof increased to 4 cm, consequently, the two long struts which were welded along the ceiling are deleted .

Brücke and Bock: for these elements I keep on using the German words because they are hard to describe with one English word .

The Bock is a massive box-like support bolted in the turret (at the right front ), on this support the following elements are fixed :

The transmission box for the gun elevation
The loader's seat
The Brücke

The Brücke crosses the turret and supports the gunner's seat and the elevation wheel.

In the early version the Brücke was also designed as protection for the elevation mechanism, it was made of several pieces welded to each other.

The simplification of the Brücke in the late turret was notable: now it's just a tube , and there is no protection for the elevation mechanism .

This drawing and the photos below shows better what it is.

click to enlarge

TURRET : STRUCTURE

PHOTOS

DESCRIPTION

Brücke and Bock : top left , cutaway of an early turret. One can see the square ring , the small Bock, the non-reinforced ceiling with the horizontal strut. Below, the complex structure of the Brücke is clairly seen. On the right, cutaway of a later turret (end of middle model ?), the Bock is longer and its mounting is stronger, the Brücke is just a tube now, but the ceiling is still not reinforced on this drawing (and the ceiling strut is still there ).

Ring: On the left , a cutaway of the square turret ring on an early Tiger .
On the right , a cutaway of the simplified turret ring of the late model .

Front view of the Bock : top the gear box for the gun elevation , in the middle the steering gear of the elevation handwheel .
Lower , the mounting of the Brücke on the Bock and one of the support tubes for the floor (vertical) which is bolted on the Brücke, lower right, the fuse box .

Rear view of the Bock , the gearbox for the gun elevation is more visible from this side. On the late Tiger the Brücke is just a tube; in the early version it was made with welded parts and was also used as a protective housing for the elevation mecanism. Although the Bock is painted in ivory, the Brücke stays in red

2) OTHER CHANGES:

The gun balance system:

This one was moved .

click to enlarge

BALANCE SYSTEM

PHOTOS

DESCRIPTION

Overall view of the balance system in the fighting compartment . This system is to balance the considerable weight of the gun and to make aiming easier. On the early Tigers this system was fitted horizontally on the right of the loader, so there was a complex mechanism on the right side of the coaxial MG. According to the post-war reports this new system gives very easy and precise aiming .

This picture gives a good view of the position of the balance cylinder between the CO's seat and the gun. One can see behind the big tube the frame bolted to the turret wall .

Other view of the balance system, here we can also see the gunner's seat. Inside the tube there is a big spring that pushes down the cam with the bike-style chain.

Close-up view of the balance system's mounting on the turret roof : a steel block is welded to the roof and to the wall . The head of the balance cylinder goes in a hole drilled in the block. The little strip with a hole matches another one behind the ventilator . Between these two strips, a thick cloth curtain was held by a metal rod . The curtain protected the CO from the gun; after firing, when the large shell casing was ejected, it could contain some leftover explosive which could ignite and send flames upwards for a moment.

Close-up view of the other side of the balance system, the mechanism with the bike chain is clairly visible here. Behind , on the engine bulkhead , one can see the starting primer .

Ceiling :

The ceiling of the late Tiger is thicker (4cm) and the two long struts are deleted . Many accessories are modified or moved .

click to enlarge

TURRET CEILING

PHOTOS

DESCRIPTION

From top to bottom: the "Nahverteidigungswaffe"or close defense weapon, for those who want to know more about this weapon check this site. Below the loader's hatch with his submarine-style locking system. Below, a metal strip which hides the 4 bolts of the hatch, then a head protection cushion; the episcope position; the individual light. On the left of the hatch, a bolt to lock the hatch in the open position with the circular strip welded in the lower left corner of the hatch (more visible below ). The two tubes on the photo don't have the same function, the left one is a breathing tube canister, the right one holds a balance spring to allow opening or closing the hatch easily.

The ventilator is now over the breech, this gave better fume extraction when shooting. It's a late-model ventilator like the one in Tiger II. The ventilator is "flanked" by the big locking system for the gun when travelling. This system is of a totally new design. To the extreme left in the middle, we can see the other strip for the cloth curtain we described here.

In the middle top, the bracket for the anti-aircraft MG . On the cupola edge a little piece is welded with an U shape, with a little lever screwed on it . This is to hold a binocular periscopic sight.

Another view of the ceiling on the loader's side which give a better view of the positions of the different elements .

In this close-up view, one can see that the canister was black inside and ivory outside; the red paint is still visible on the gun locking system . We can also see the electrical wiring with a socket in the midddle and an individual light on the extreme right .

Close-up view of the loader's episcope and his individual light . The episcope is fixed with butterfly nuts.
The bracket in the lower middle is for the coaxial MG, or, when the MG is not fitted, for the tool which plugs the MG hole (dichtstopfen).

Two photos from the gunner's place where one can see the support of the binocular TZF 9b sight . To fit the monocular TZF 9c sight which is usually carried on this tank, there was a little junction piece because the mounting of the two sights was different . On the Tiger at Saumur, the gun mantlet is drilled at the factory with two holes for the TZF 9 b, but the left one is plugged and welded; it's impossible to know if it's a factory or field modification .

Two other photos of the gunner's compartment; one can see the breathing tube canisters, the gunner's light, and his lateral turret sight .

Global view of the cupola and the surrounding elements. The cupola is fitted with 7 episcopes which are of the same model of those fitted in Panther or Tiger II (measurements in mm: 192 X 107 X 52).

Two views of the cupola, one can see the hatch closing system, the boxes to connect the radio equipment (headsets and microphones ) of the gunner and commander, the electric wire (vertical) which gives power to the ceiling accessories (sockets, lights ), and the breathing tube canisters.

BACK

IMPORTANT: the Tiger photos are courtesy of Musée des blindés at Saumur, copy or publication are prohibited whitout the authorization of the museum.

click to enlarge		TURRET : STRUCTURE
PHOTOS		DESCRIPTION
		Brücke and Bock : top left , cutaway of an early turret. One can see the square ring , the small Bock, the non-reinforced ceiling with the horizontal strut. Below, the complex structure of the Brücke is clairly seen. On the right, cutaway of a later turret (end of middle model ?), the Bock is longer and its mounting is stronger, the Brücke is just a tube now, but the ceiling is still not reinforced on this drawing (and the ceiling strut is still there ).
		Ring: On the left , a cutaway of the square turret ring on an early Tiger . On the right , a cutaway of the simplified turret ring of the late model .
	Front view of the Bock : top the gear box for the gun elevation , in the middle the steering gear of the elevation handwheel . Lower , the mounting of the Brücke on the Bock and one of the support tubes for the floor (vertical) which is bolted on the Brücke, lower right, the fuse box .
	Rear view of the Bock , the gearbox for the gun elevation is more visible from this side. On the late Tiger the Brücke is just a tube; in the early version it was made with welded parts and was also used as a protective housing for the elevation mecanism. Although the Bock is painted in ivory, the Brücke stays in red

click to enlarge	BALANCE SYSTEM
PHOTOS	DESCRIPTION
	Overall view of the balance system in the fighting compartment . This system is to balance the considerable weight of the gun and to make aiming easier. On the early Tigers this system was fitted horizontally on the right of the loader, so there was a complex mechanism on the right side of the coaxial MG. According to the post-war reports this new system gives very easy and precise aiming .
	This picture gives a good view of the position of the balance cylinder between the CO's seat and the gun. One can see behind the big tube the frame bolted to the turret wall .
	Other view of the balance system, here we can also see the gunner's seat. Inside the tube there is a big spring that pushes down the cam with the bike-style chain.
	Close-up view of the balance system's mounting on the turret roof : a steel block is welded to the roof and to the wall . The head of the balance cylinder goes in a hole drilled in the block. The little strip with a hole matches another one behind the ventilator . Between these two strips, a thick cloth curtain was held by a metal rod . The curtain protected the CO from the gun; after firing, when the large shell casing was ejected, it could contain some leftover explosive which could ignite and send flames upwards for a moment.
	Close-up view of the other side of the balance system, the mechanism with the bike chain is clairly visible here. Behind , on the engine bulkhead , one can see the starting primer .

click to enlarge	TURRET CEILING
PHOTOS	DESCRIPTION
	From top to bottom: the "Nahverteidigungswaffe"or close defense weapon, for those who want to know more about this weapon check this site. Below the loader's hatch with his submarine-style locking system. Below, a metal strip which hides the 4 bolts of the hatch, then a head protection cushion; the episcope position; the individual light. On the left of the hatch, a bolt to lock the hatch in the open position with the circular strip welded in the lower left corner of the hatch (more visible below ). The two tubes on the photo don't have the same function, the left one is a breathing tube canister, the right one holds a balance spring to allow opening or closing the hatch easily.
	The ventilator is now over the breech, this gave better fume extraction when shooting. It's a late-model ventilator like the one in Tiger II. The ventilator is "flanked" by the big locking system for the gun when travelling. This system is of a totally new design. To the extreme left in the middle, we can see the other strip for the cloth curtain we described here.
	In the middle top, the bracket for the anti-aircraft MG . On the cupola edge a little piece is welded with an U shape, with a little lever screwed on it . This is to hold a binocular periscopic sight.
	Another view of the ceiling on the loader's side which give a better view of the positions of the different elements .
	In this close-up view, one can see that the canister was black inside and ivory outside; the red paint is still visible on the gun locking system . We can also see the electrical wiring with a socket in the midddle and an individual light on the extreme right .
	Close-up view of the loader's episcope and his individual light . The episcope is fixed with butterfly nuts. The bracket in the lower middle is for the coaxial MG, or, when the MG is not fitted, for the tool which plugs the MG hole (dichtstopfen).
		Two photos from the gunner's place where one can see the support of the binocular TZF 9b sight . To fit the monocular TZF 9c sight which is usually carried on this tank, there was a little junction piece because the mounting of the two sights was different . On the Tiger at Saumur, the gun mantlet is drilled at the factory with two holes for the TZF 9 b, but the left one is plugged and welded; it's impossible to know if it's a factory or field modification .
		Two other photos of the gunner's compartment; one can see the breathing tube canisters, the gunner's light, and his lateral turret sight .
	Global view of the cupola and the surrounding elements. The cupola is fitted with 7 episcopes which are of the same model of those fitted in Panther or Tiger II (measurements in mm: 192 X 107 X 52).
		Two views of the cupola, one can see the hatch closing system, the boxes to connect the radio equipment (headsets and microphones ) of the gunner and commander, the electric wire (vertical) which gives power to the ceiling accessories (sockets, lights ), and the breathing tube canisters.