Tiger ausf. E : Stowage for direct vision blocks

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Stowage for direct vision blocks

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About this detail of the Tiger

The Tiger 1, as initially designed, used seven direct-vision blocks in its turret; five in the cupola, plus two in vision ports in the walls. Four spare blocks were stored in the turret, in two boxes.

Vision blocks box

This is the standard storage box for spare vision blocks, used on the Tiger and other Panzers. This example is in Bovington's Tiger "131" and has its original paint. A decal on the locking bar reads "2 Schutzgläser".

Rear turret wall of Tiger 712

This is Tiger "712" of Fort Benning [2] . It has been painted over, and many items have been lost over the years. The boxes marked (2) are for vision blocks. They are behind the commander's chair.

Vision blocks box

These are the dimensions of a box [1] . The diagram shows the box bolted to metal brackets.

Vision blocks box location

In the Tiger's original design, the brackets were welded to the wall of the turret, up near the roof [3] . Brackets like this were usually made shallow to save space; it's not normal for them to protrude 50mm.

Vision blocks box location

This view from above includes the turret wall and its bearing ring. It shows that the position of these boxes is constrained by a stiffener on the turret roof; refer back to the photo of "712".

Rear turret layout with vision blocks

The reason for the wide brackets can be seen in this diagram of the "unwrapped" turret wall. The Tiger originally had an electrical cable running along the top of the inside turret wall, and these boxes were mounted in front of it.

Vision block brackets

This still from a newsreel shows the wreckage of Tiger "121" of s.Pz.Abt.501 in Tunisia. Much of the turret equipment is blown away but we can see the 50mm brackets (arrowed) and how the cable runs through them.

Rear turret second layout with vision blocks

The turret's electrical layout was changed very early on, while Tigers were still being issued to s.Pz.Abt. 501. The cable was moved down to the turret ring. Several items were shifted around on the walls but these boxes remained in the same place with the same wide brackets; Tiger "712" is an example of this.

Later, at the 56th turret [4, see 3.4.2.10] , a thorough redesign eliminated the brackets.

[1] Survey of Tiger 250122, at Bovington museum, by David Byrden

[2] Survey of Tiger 250031, by Stephan Vogt

[3] A MODERN STUDY OF Fgst. Nr. 250031, by Lloyd, Balkwill and Johnson

[4] DW to Tiger 1

 
 

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