Tiger ausf. E : Ammunition bins

Technical information on the Tiger and related tanks

 

Scale model kits

Physical index

Ammunition bins

To the home page

The first overall description to be written of the Tiger is a 1943 report from the British Army. But their report contains some errors, one of them substantial.

British ammunition diagram

All of the ammunition rounds in the Tiger's sponsons were facing forward, except for those in the rear right-hand bin. But this British diagram of amminition storage doesn't match the tank. It shows the rear left-hand bin (marked X) pointing its contents backwards, which is wrong. All of the surviving Tigers and all available wartime photos agree on this.

Tiger ammunition bin

The rear left-hand bin had its rounds pointing forwards. This is an extract from a photo of Tiger "131", at the beginning of its 1990s restoration, and we can see that ammunition bin. The forward ends of the rounds align to the solid panel and the supports that are close together (arrowed).

Rye Field ammunition bins

Despite the flood of new information about the Tiger's internals, Rye Field made the same mistake as the draftsman in 1943. They put this ammunition facing the wrong way.

Rye Field ammunition bins

To correct this, you would not only have to reverse the ammunition rounds inside the bin. You would also have to modify the bin's outer wall. As this photo shows, the solid panel (arrowed) is at the rear of Rye Field's wall, whereas it should be at the front. Compare this to the photo of the real Tiger.

 
 

HTML5

Copyright © David Byrden 1998-2021 except where indicated

Follow @tiger1info