There were two storage bins beneath the fighting compartment floor in the Tiger. They were placed to right and left of the turret axis. They were accessible only by raising the hatch in the turret floor. With the turret facing forwards, only the right-hand bin was accessible. The turret had to be turned backwards for access to the left-hand bin.
Consequently the right-hand bin was a dedicated ammunition bin, while the left-hand bin was used for non-critical storage. The self-demolition charges (first provided in July 1943) were typically kept in this bin. This implied that the crew had to rotate the turret before destroying their Tiger; there is a British report of observing this.
The two bins had somewhat different shapes. Both had a notch at the rear to clear the tank's main batteries. While the left-hand bin was precisely one meter long, the right-hand bin needed an extension because of the rear notch. In this simplified model, we are looking toward the firewall. The bins are resting upon the main floor struts.
The right-hand bin could hold six projectiles. It was equipped with wooden racks and belts to secure them, and it had wooden panels on its end surfaces to cushion them. This photo is from a manual. [2, see Tafel 72]
This is a profile of the left-hand bin, looking forward. The bins were bolted to the floor struts and the floor support U-beams.
This plan view has the outer dimensions of the bins. A reinforcing strip at their top edge, plus the thickness of the bin's walls, reduced the inside dimensions by 5mm per side.
[1] Survey of Tiger 250122, at Bovington museum, by David Byrden
[2] Kraftfahrgerät teil 3, Fahrgestell und Turm Panzerkampfwagen "Tiger", heft 60