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

TURRET 2

Turret locking system

A new traverse lock for the turret is fitted on the right of the loader. Screwing a circular hand wheel pushes a tooth into the turret gear, preventing the turret from moving during travel.

Click to enlarge

TURRET LOCKING SYSTEM

PHOTOS

DESCRIPTION

We see here the new turret locking system; as a matter of fact, with the considerable weight of the turret, this must be locked on every journey, otherwise the traverse gear box or the hydraulic unit may be dammaged. It's the loader's task to lock or unlock the turret. On the Tiger at Bovington the locking system is in front of the gunner and the design is totally different, as you can see here. One can see on the left a part of the Bock bolted on the turret wall, one can also see a part of the loader's rack .

Drawing of the new locking system: screwing a circular hand wheel pushes a tooth into the turret gear. This system is really more simple and reliable than the previous one.

Turret floor :

The floor didn't change its design but some of its accessories were modified

Click to enlarge
TURRET FLOOR

PHOTOS

DESCRIPTION

View of the rear part of the turret floor. In the early version, a holder for three jerrycans was fitted to this place. This holder is deleted and instead there are two frames for boxes (tool boxes ?). The hydraulic unit (on the right ) didn't change during production .

In the Tiger at Saumur, electric power comes from the center of the floor, goes to the front, the fuse box is fixed to the Brücke and to the front support tube, and the wire follows the tube of the Brücke giving power to the gunner's fire control box. Once in the turret, the wire is divided for the different circuits. In the early and middle production Tigers, power came from the center of the floor then went to the rear, climbed the rear support tube, the fuse box was bolted at the right of the loader's escape hatch, the wire followed the turret ring's curve to the CO compartment, and then it was divided .

View of the front part of the hydraulic unit. One can see the turret power cable coming out. On top, there is a little strip on the floor, it's a stop for the floor trapdoor.

View of the rod between the hydraulic unit and the pedal system.When pushing on the pedals, the gunner spins the rod and traverses the turret. In the background we can see that a bracket was added between the two ammunition bins (for a gas mask or extinguisher ).

Another view of the floor which displays the different elements. In front of us, the horizontal rod on the floor is the linkage for the coaxial MG. The rod is linked to the little firing pedal that we can see on the right.

View of the pedals of the gunner. On the late Tiger a manual lever was added, one can see this lever on the right. This lever goes to the left hand of the gunner and according to the post-war evaluation reports, aiming is much more precise with this lever than with the pedals. The rhombus bored with two holes and fixed on the pedals by a tube is used to hold a shield which protects the gunner's foot during rotation of the turret. This shield is also fixed to the horizontal line of bolt holes which one sees on the right of the photograph and in top of the pedals.

Large view of the right side of the pedals. One sees in the center the two broad pedals for the rotation of the turret. On right-hand side, the pedal of the coaxial MG with its linkage and its return spring. The red color is also obvious here.

Two views of the underneath part of the turret floor. The construction of the trapdoor is visible (strip and anti sliding plates), also the red colour. Under the turret floor there is one more ammunition bin. One can discern a part of the drive from the gearbox which give power to the turret rotation. Another gearbox, bigger and invisible here, is behind and transmits power from the engine to the main gearbox. The electric equipment is one of the transformers of the radio (from its size and the shape, it's the transmitter transformer) .

Storage :

Storage is now reduced to the minimum

Click to enlarge

STORAGE

PHOTOS

DESCRIPTION

In the early versions, the turret walls were overloaded with boxes and metal strips for the tank's accessories. All these elements were deleted and instead long holdall bins have been installed all around the turret ring.
The little box in the middle is for the radio headset, the two locations on the right are for spare episcope blocks.

Another view of the same bin , another one is on the loader's right side, the gunner also has a bin but of a small size. A MP40 bracket should be bolted on the vertical strip on the left .

Commander's compartment :

Click to enlarge

COMMANDER'S PLACE

PHOTOS

DESCRIPTION

Top view of the CO's seat, this one is a little bit different to the early one and its location is also different , for these modifications see Byrden.
This seat can have several positions and the backrest can be used as a seat, which provides a higher place to sit, the lever on top of the seat is to lock the backrest in the desired position .

View of the CO's traverse gear, this provides help for the gunner when manual traverse is used. This gear is painted with ivory, in the Tiger at Bovington it is black. One can see the gunner's seat with his little rack on which three electric sockets are fixed (function unknown). The azimuth indicator which tells the turret's position is top right.

A little box was added on top of the CO's gearbox, from this box comes the small linkage rod for the azimuth indicator. In the early Tigers, the azimuth indicator was linked to the main turret ring. Also visible , the locking system of the cupola and the wing nuts for the mounting of the episcopes .

Gunner's place :

Click to enlarge

GUNNER'S PLACE

PHOTOS

DESCRIPTION

View of the gunner's compartment, his seat is fixed on the Brücke, there is a foldable backrest which is in the folded position on the photo. Behind the gunner's seat there is the CO's seat and his traverse gear .
Also visible, the bolts which fixed the turret to the hull, and the main electric wire which runs along the Brücke .

On the left again: one sees the elevation handwheel which is bolted to the Brücke, the hand firing lever is just behind, the little box under the wheel is the electrical fire switch box. The main electric wire is still visible. Over the handwheel there is the bottom of the breech .

Still on the left, there is the fuse box (which is also a dispatch box ), which is fixed to the Brücke and to the leg of the turret with metal strips. If we keep on going to the left, we will find the Bock (see the begining of the turret page ).

Behind the gunner's seat there are two tubes, the biggest one (in the middle of the seat) is the protective cover for the power shaft between the hydraulic unit on the floor and the CO's gearbox. The second one (smaller) is one of the three supporting legs for the floor. The traverse hand lever of the gunner is visible (coming out the pedal gear).

Rear view of the gunner's handwheel, the firing lever and the firing switch box are here clearly visible. Although the support of the hand wheel is painted with ivory, the Brücke stayed in red .

Here we can see the two gunner's handwheels (traverse and elevation). One can also see the azimuth indicator which indicates the turret's position on the hull. Also noticable, the late turret ring with its distinctive shape .

In front of the gunner is the electric emergency firing trigger. In case of a problem with the main firing circuit, the gunner would connect this system to the gun with a jack plug (the wire and the jack are missing here ). Striking the top of the system will give power to the firing circuit. When this emergency system was used , the other gun safety devices were disconnected. On this photo we can also see the linkage rods of the coaxial MG.

Close-up view of the gunner's seat; the late Tiger seat is simplified, it's just a stamped plate. Before, the seat was made with a plate with a welded border. The shape was also modified; on the early models the front part of the seat was much more round . Behind the seat a footstep which is almost enbedded in the protective cover I described before .

Top view of the gunner's seat: lower left, another footstep (folded ), this allowed the gunner to climb quickly to the commander's hatch . In case of an emergency evacuation, the gunner is the most unlucky crewman because he's the only one who don't have an individual hatch .

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 LOCKING SYSTEM
PHOTOS	DESCRIPTION
	We see here the new turret locking system; as a matter of fact, with the considerable weight of the turret, this must be locked on every journey, otherwise the traverse gear box or the hydraulic unit may be dammaged. It's the loader's task to lock or unlock the turret. On the Tiger at Bovington the locking system is in front of the gunner and the design is totally different, as you can see here. One can see on the left a part of the Bock bolted on the turret wall, one can also see a part of the loader's rack .
	Drawing of the new locking system: screwing a circular hand wheel pushes a tooth into the turret gear. This system is really more simple and reliable than the previous one.

Click to enlarge	TURRET FLOOR
PHOTOS	DESCRIPTION
	View of the rear part of the turret floor. In the early version, a holder for three jerrycans was fitted to this place. This holder is deleted and instead there are two frames for boxes (tool boxes ?). The hydraulic unit (on the right ) didn't change during production .
	In the Tiger at Saumur, electric power comes from the center of the floor, goes to the front, the fuse box is fixed to the Brücke and to the front support tube, and the wire follows the tube of the Brücke giving power to the gunner's fire control box. Once in the turret, the wire is divided for the different circuits. In the early and middle production Tigers, power came from the center of the floor then went to the rear, climbed the rear support tube, the fuse box was bolted at the right of the loader's escape hatch, the wire followed the turret ring's curve to the CO compartment, and then it was divided .
	View of the front part of the hydraulic unit. One can see the turret power cable coming out. On top, there is a little strip on the floor, it's a stop for the floor trapdoor.
	View of the rod between the hydraulic unit and the pedal system.When pushing on the pedals, the gunner spins the rod and traverses the turret. In the background we can see that a bracket was added between the two ammunition bins (for a gas mask or extinguisher ).
	Another view of the floor which displays the different elements. In front of us, the horizontal rod on the floor is the linkage for the coaxial MG. The rod is linked to the little firing pedal that we can see on the right.
	View of the pedals of the gunner. On the late Tiger a manual lever was added, one can see this lever on the right. This lever goes to the left hand of the gunner and according to the post-war evaluation reports, aiming is much more precise with this lever than with the pedals. The rhombus bored with two holes and fixed on the pedals by a tube is used to hold a shield which protects the gunner's foot during rotation of the turret. This shield is also fixed to the horizontal line of bolt holes which one sees on the right of the photograph and in top of the pedals.
	Large view of the right side of the pedals. One sees in the center the two broad pedals for the rotation of the turret. On right-hand side, the pedal of the coaxial MG with its linkage and its return spring. The red color is also obvious here.
		Two views of the underneath part of the turret floor. The construction of the trapdoor is visible (strip and anti sliding plates), also the red colour. Under the turret floor there is one more ammunition bin. One can discern a part of the drive from the gearbox which give power to the turret rotation. Another gearbox, bigger and invisible here, is behind and transmits power from the engine to the main gearbox. The electric equipment is one of the transformers of the radio (from its size and the shape, it's the transmitter transformer) .

Click to enlarge	STORAGE
PHOTOS	DESCRIPTION
	In the early versions, the turret walls were overloaded with boxes and metal strips for the tank's accessories. All these elements were deleted and instead long holdall bins have been installed all around the turret ring. The little box in the middle is for the radio headset, the two locations on the right are for spare episcope blocks.
	Another view of the same bin , another one is on the loader's right side, the gunner also has a bin but of a small size. A MP40 bracket should be bolted on the vertical strip on the left .

Click to enlarge	COMMANDER'S PLACE
PHOTOS	DESCRIPTION
	Top view of the CO's seat, this one is a little bit different to the early one and its location is also different , for these modifications see Byrden. This seat can have several positions and the backrest can be used as a seat, which provides a higher place to sit, the lever on top of the seat is to lock the backrest in the desired position .
	View of the CO's traverse gear, this provides help for the gunner when manual traverse is used. This gear is painted with ivory, in the Tiger at Bovington it is black. One can see the gunner's seat with his little rack on which three electric sockets are fixed (function unknown). The azimuth indicator which tells the turret's position is top right.
	A little box was added on top of the CO's gearbox, from this box comes the small linkage rod for the azimuth indicator. In the early Tigers, the azimuth indicator was linked to the main turret ring. Also visible , the locking system of the cupola and the wing nuts for the mounting of the episcopes .

Click to enlarge	GUNNER'S PLACE
PHOTOS	DESCRIPTION
	View of the gunner's compartment, his seat is fixed on the Brücke, there is a foldable backrest which is in the folded position on the photo. Behind the gunner's seat there is the CO's seat and his traverse gear . Also visible, the bolts which fixed the turret to the hull, and the main electric wire which runs along the Brücke .
	On the left again: one sees the elevation handwheel which is bolted to the Brücke, the hand firing lever is just behind, the little box under the wheel is the electrical fire switch box. The main electric wire is still visible. Over the handwheel there is the bottom of the breech .
	Still on the left, there is the fuse box (which is also a dispatch box ), which is fixed to the Brücke and to the leg of the turret with metal strips. If we keep on going to the left, we will find the Bock (see the begining of the turret page ).
	Behind the gunner's seat there are two tubes, the biggest one (in the middle of the seat) is the protective cover for the power shaft between the hydraulic unit on the floor and the CO's gearbox. The second one (smaller) is one of the three supporting legs for the floor. The traverse hand lever of the gunner is visible (coming out the pedal gear).
	Rear view of the gunner's handwheel, the firing lever and the firing switch box are here clearly visible. Although the support of the hand wheel is painted with ivory, the Brücke stayed in red .
	Here we can see the two gunner's handwheels (traverse and elevation). One can also see the azimuth indicator which indicates the turret's position on the hull. Also noticable, the late turret ring with its distinctive shape .
	In front of the gunner is the electric emergency firing trigger. In case of a problem with the main firing circuit, the gunner would connect this system to the gun with a jack plug (the wire and the jack are missing here ). Striking the top of the system will give power to the firing circuit. When this emergency system was used , the other gun safety devices were disconnected. On this photo we can also see the linkage rods of the coaxial MG.
	Close-up view of the gunner's seat; the late Tiger seat is simplified, it's just a stamped plate. Before, the seat was made with a plate with a welded border. The shape was also modified; on the early models the front part of the seat was much more round . Behind the seat a footstep which is almost enbedded in the protective cover I described before .
	Top view of the gunner's seat: lower left, another footstep (folded ), this allowed the gunner to climb quickly to the commander's hatch . In case of an emergency evacuation, the gunner is the most unlucky crewman because he's the only one who don't have an individual hatch .