About this detail of the Tiger
The Tiger had a ventilator at the front of the hull roof. It consisted of a hole in the roof plate, covered by a steel mushroom cap.
This is the ventilator of the Tiger at Saumur museum.
This diagram quotes original German measurements for the location of the cap. Note that it is 10mm to the right of the tank's center line [3] .
This profile shows how the cap was located almost up against the front armour plate of the tank.
This is the cap from the Tiger at Bovington museum [1] . There is a machined notch on the inner surface of the central tower; this was probably for a sealing valve. All openings in the tank could be sealed for deep wading.
Underneath the cap was a duct made of sheet metal. This transverse view shows the cap, the hull roof and the duct.
The duct took air down the inside front superstructure plate, and vented it at two places above the gearbox.
The radio rack was suspended under this duct; the instrument panel was attached to it.
The duct split in two to avoid the glacis plate dowel. (This is the tank in Saumur museum; green paint was sprayed inside it postwar.)
[1] Survey of Tiger 250122, at Bovington museum, by David Byrden
[2] Survey of vehicle 251114, at Saumur, by Jean-Charles Breucque
[3] Factory drawing 2526 K1, HSK 3432: Decke (hull top plate)
[4] Survey of Tiger 251114, at Panzermuseum Munster, by Rob Veenendaal