Hi Marco

I think you've got an unique chance to find out a few things not only about the Tiger B, but also about somebody who has survived quite a lot of arduous fighting througout the Second World War.

As for the questions I'd like to know more about his "own" Tiger's tweaks like what part of the tank broke down most frequently or what failures they usually could fix without the help of mechanics.

Another question would be, whether he ever rode on a command tank or if he has got tanks in his platoon which were converted from command tanks into normal tanks on the field.

Maybe he knows something about the internal layout of the command tanks like whether the layout was the same in the Tiger I and the Tiger II.

Furthermore it would be interesting to know if they modified the Ammo racks in the Tiger B to carry a larger load of ammunition (as it was done for example in the LSSAH Tiger I's or in StuG's)

You could ask him maybe about the tactical use of the tank and what had absolutly to be avoided for not to risk the loss of a Tiger B from his personal point of view.

Last but not least I'm wondering how many Tiger B's he rode on and whether he can recollect the numbers.

I hope there's a question or two which you might ask to Mr. Rubbel.

Cheers

Arun Bauer

Enjoy this opportunity. Back in high school (1974) delivered Xmas Cookies to an Old folks home. I met a Germany Army Capt, who later served with the French in Indochina; He had great stories and pictures from both WWII and the French Foreign Legion. He passed before I got to learn all I would have liked to know...

One of my High school Students did a PowerPoint on her Grandfather who was WWII Medal of Honor winner. We combined Audio, Video and old pictures to make up a great storyboard. She presented it to him on his 95th Birthday in my Classroom... We all applauded and there were more then just a few tears. Great history.

Save all the info you can...

Neill

What became of this interview? I'm curious to hear more.

Will come soon.

I am very busy since months as is Mr. Rubbel who has been involved in recently published book(s) which are based on his knowledge.

Both me an even him are looking forward to this meeting as he also wants to clarify some things which are simply wrong and have become "historical facts" like amounts of tanks in certain battles etc.

He told me about an unfortunate meeting he had got with some foreign publishers/authors in Bremen who continually tried to make him confirm those "facts" which were influenced by both sides' propaganda and rumors.

The focus of my conversation will be the daily life of a Tiger II commander.

He already dealed with my questions and the others stated here and gonna answer many of them like Pawels command tank Mr Rubbel remembers very well (its commander was "the last Prussian" he said) or how to climb on a Tiger to get in to.

But he also clarified that he is not very familar with technical details.

Marco,

awesome getting this interview man... I don't really have a quesiton, just looking forward to hearing or seeing this interview... I hope all goes well with it and congrats!!!

Great News - one very important question about Tiger B:

What colours were the the ambush-scheme/Henschel-Werkstarnung 1944/45 if he was in one with that "feature" or if he did see some in service?



We believe, the green and yellow were lighter than older standard threetone-scheme, if you compare all the pics of it, so =>

Green: was it a) the darker RAL 6003 Olivgrün or b) like the lighter unknown one on this Jagdpanther, as we think?






Yellow: was it a) the brown-beige RAL 7028 (canister) or more a suggested b) creme-colour (like Taxicolour f.e. RAL 1015) or also c) like the Jagdpanthers one?






Brown: was it dark standard a) RAL 8017 (see Jagdpanther) or b) a lighter unknown brown or as often (wrong to me) stated c) RAL 8012 Rostschutzrot (canister)?



Maybe you can show him those pics, what could make it easier to remember. An answer of a veteran would be very, very helpful here!

I'd be very interested to know about the reliability/availability percentage issues of the Tiger II...

I know initially they had trouble with fuel fires, as there were fuel tanks issues, and the joints were not always perfect or shock-resistant...

I'd be curious to know about the tank's ability to climb an incline without breakage, cool down in hot weather, travel between maintenance stops, or turn sharply without breaking the transmission, as that would be more significant info on its limitations than all those pointless colour questions (colour memory is notoriously unreliable)...

I know engine life was short because of oil circulation problems, so ask about that too...

Thanks for this opportunity!

Gaston

As a tank commander, I'm sure he will have a good recollection of the interior and exterior conditions of the tanks. We as modelers tend to sometimes dirty up interiors to show use. Exteriors are modeled with heavy oxidation, paint fading and chipping. Can he describe conditions as he remembers them. I'm sure that crews were required and expected to keep eveything clean, tidy and serviceable.

What allied tank was feared the most by him?

How often did the tanks get cleaned?

Any further updates?

Ernie,

for sure during the WFC nothing new will happen...

As an update I have uploaded this teaser which still needs to be edited as it has been taken from the raw tape.





For the comprehensive interview which I have completey on video I gonna need some time to edit (e.g. cutting and subtitles for non-German speakers).


This teaser is about the white washed King Tiger of the Feldherrenhalle where Mr. Rubbel was on duty and which is depicted on DML's instruction sheet of kit 6303.

He strongly doubts the correctness of this DML color scheme cause he did not see a single white washed vehicle within his battailon. Additionally the application of the white camo is too proper.

Marco;
looking forward to hearing what he has to say. I am not a fan of German WWII vehicles, but the German people were always kind and welcoming to me when I lived there. Congratulations on the completion of the interview. Cheers.

Great stuff Marco! I look forward to seeing the final cut of your interview, many thanks to you for sharing this with us, and also of course to Mr. Rubbel for giving you the interview!!

Best regards,
Mike

Marco,

that is unbelievable stuff, to meet the man in person.

Do you think he would sign a book for me, please? I've "Tigers on theEastern front" and would be honored if he were to sign if for me. Not to glorify war, but to recognise the soldiers' struggle and record the history of it. I also have "God, Honor, Fatherland", and would love to have that signed by a vet as well, if anyone knows where I could get that done?

thank you, and with respect

Kylie

I realize this is a bit of a bump, but did you post the finished interview somewhere? It would be really interesting to see!

Thanks for that bump! I didn't know about this interview. I am very hopeful the rest of the talk will be available.
You can't get a better source to help wade through all of the BS about the war.
I wish I had taped a sit down conversation I had back in the 80s with a gentleman from the 1SS PzK assigned to a 170mm gun battery. They ended up driving their guns into the Enns before the surrender.
Please post the rest of this!!
J

This is fantastic. I am very much looking forward to watching the interview when you're done editing it.

Thanks for doing this!

--Subscribed!

-T.Mike

Hi...so did you ever completed the edition?
I really look forward to see the interview :-)

Best Regards

Henrik

I am truly envious. The man is a hero, one of the defenders of Germany and Europa.

Thank you in advance for sharing with us that information and for giving us the opportunity to participate.

Since Mr. Rubbel was a colleague of Kurt Knispel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Knispel), personally I would like to know more about this panzer-ace, his deeds, the circumstances of his death and the characteristics of the tanks that he used.

Although I'm not a WWWII modeller, I confess I have an interest in this ethical, humble and intuitive soldier since I read the articles about him published in the French magazine "Batailles & Blindées").

I always wondered why we modelers never discovered this guy.

Thank you again and all the best!

Just realized that I found this too late ....

Hello,

and thanks all for your interest in this thread.

Currently I have been pretty busy and it will still take some more time - a year at least.

The mills grind slowly but surely

Thanks again.

Germany yes, Europe... don't really think so, oh yes the Hitler's one...

I agree a great tanker he was (for the bad cause however)

spit

I had a similar but shorter experience in my job at a military museum here in Arizona USA. Met a 5th SS Pz Div. vet who was a gunner on a King Tiger. Served on the Eastern Front. (he spoke English with a Scottish accent because that's where he was a POW!).
The two basic points that I could relay to Armorama members was that his crew never put victory rings on th barrel. He said that if the Russians captured them they would have been killed. (They had knocked out 35). And I asked him what was the camo scheme on his tank. He said that it was basic Pz yellow. No red brown or Olive green.
He had been about 18yr old at the time of his service.