Tiger 121 during Operation Ochsenkopf

Operation Ochsenkopf is beginning, on the morning of 26 February 1943. The battle group are assembling on Route C64 before moving into contested territory. The vehicles are spaced out so that bombs cannot damage many of them at once. This is Tiger 121, commanded by Lt. Vermehren. On roof we can see the submersion seal for the ventilator. The bushes behind the tank are on the edge of a stream, allowing us to locate this photo accurately.

The photographer is walking the length of the column, front to back. He has just snapped a Panzer 3 and his next subject will be an 88mm gun, followed by a flak vehicle

The book "Tiger I on the Western Front" states that this photo was probably taken on 6 December 1942, but that is impossible because the tank has fender damage that happened later.