About this detail of the Tiger
Every Tiger was equipped with a brush to clean the inside of its gun barrel. For storage, the brush broke down into a head and a segmented shaft. The segments of the shaft were stored on both sides of the hull roof, in welded holders.
This is a holder on the Tiger in Bovington Museum. There were 2 holders on each side of the Tiger. It holds three segments of the cleaning rod shaft, as well as the doubled-back towing cable.
Neither the rods nor the cable shown here are original German equipment. This photo of the same vehicle shows a holder before restoration.
The holder had a welded base with notches. The smaller ones on the outside were intended for the tow cable. A metal clamp could be fastened down over them with a wing nut. This clamp is often seen swinging loose in photos of Tigers in service.
In most Tigers, the cleaning rod broke into 6 segments, with 3 stored on each side of the tank. But the first hundred or more Tigers had a cleaning rod that broke into 5 segments. These tanks had shorter holders on their left side, with positions for only 2 rod segments.
