Tiger ausf. E : Starter handle

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The Tiger had a manual starter crank handle that broke into two parts for storage. Quite early in the tank's history, two clips were added to the lower rear hull wall, where the straight shaft of the handle could be stored.

But it was not intended for the complete handle to be stored there. No clip was provided to hold the angled part of the handle, and without a clip it would surely have dangled below the level of the hull. Then, as soon as the Tiger pushed through foliage, the entire handle would have been torn off.

There is no known photograph that shows the entire handle stored in the rear clips.

Takom starter handle

But Takom's CAD images of their forthcoming kit, sampled here, show the entire handle stored in the clips, dangerously exposed as I described. It's a strange mistake to make, because Takom's "Late" and "Mid" Tiger kits correctly put only the shaft here. I am aware of no German diagrams, photographs or other material to suggest that this handle would ever be stored in this way.

 
 

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