Hi Guys
I have here the Academy Tiger 1 early kit which has the option of building Tiger 712 of Schwere Pz. Abt. 504, March 1943, Tunisia.
What I would like to know is were the Tigers of 504 similar to those of Schwere Pz. Abt. 501 in that they had no hinged extension to the front mudguards and curved extensions to the rear ones?
I've had a look round and can find no pics of 712 or Schwere Pz. Abt. 504 tigers showing either front and/or rear shots for that era.
Here's a pic of the back of one of 501's tigers(i think) to show what I mean



TIA
Pete

Oberleutnant Schroter's Tiger 712 of the sPz.Abt.504 is in fact the ex-112 from the 501st. It was taken over by the 504th on March 17th, 1943. The rest of 504's Tigers were normal early model Tigers, without the characteristic changes typical to the 501st's machines.

Paska
thanks for your reply,it's much appreciated. I've ordered an Aber fender set for this kit so I'll see how it comes out.
Pete

While we're on the subject of Tunisian Tigers can anyone please tell me how many tigers were used in North Africa?
TIA
Pete

This is a tricky total. The 501st fielded a total of 20 or 23 Tigers, depending on sources. The 504th fielded 22, but at least 11 of those were taken over from the 501st. That's all I have for numbers.

Guys
Now I've built this kit I think I've made a mistake. The Academy kit comes with 3 smoke candle (or S mine) dispensers on the upper hull and I have a nasty feeling that I shouldn't have put them on this particular Tiger. Can anyone shed any light for me please?
Pete

No doc in front of me, but no, no S-minen seen in any pics of any Tunisian or "Leningrad" Tigers.
Mount points started in Dec 42, but the dischargers didn't start until Jan 43.

S minen are now history.
Thanks Steve
Pete

I'm actually building a model of 112 while it was still with the 501st... This is a very early tiger with many differences in things such as stowage of equipement ..For starters this Tiger had the smaller tow cables which were placed on the tank backwards compared to later tigers...the small shovel and axe were reversed ...the sledge hammer was more in front of the drivers position ...spare tracks were on specially made atachement points on the rear hull. The fire extinguisher was moved slightly because of the tow cables ...There were only 5 cleaning rods for the gun . There were 2 on the left hand side when standing on the tank looking forward and three on the right hand side ...The brackets holding the cleaning rods and tow cables were further forward than the regular position ..There should be no cover to for the engine compartement cover on the left side ..(used to make the tank waterproof) .. The wire cutters should be at a different angle than in the kit. This tiger had 2 pistol ports and no escape hatch on the turret... Also this tank did not have the squares under the round filler caps that look like phillips screw heads..
The side skirts had no supports underneath them and had a differnt shape than the later ones...

I hope this helps you out a bit for your kit ..If you need any info I'd be glad to share any other info I might be able to find ...

All the best Rick

Rick
As I've got the kit 99% done now I have all sorts of problems. It looks as though the Academy turret is totally wrong ( 1 pistol port and escape hatch) for 712. The turrets from the Italeri Tiger 1 and Tamiya Initial production are more correct. I have enough turret no's to do 137 and 138 now so it looks like that's what I'll do
Thanks for the info.
Pete

Are you sure about those numbers ? Usually the highest the last number gets to is 4 unless the division was over strenght ? I haven't pulled out my books to check ,so you might be right.

Rick

Rick
I actually quoted those turret no's because I can put them together using whats left of a Tamiya decal set from their Tiger 1 Initial Production kit. I've since seen the light and ordered the Trax "Tigers in Tunisia" decal set.
Pete

Guys
Just a couple more questions, What turret no's would have been seen alongside #712 in the desert? And were all the turret numbers in red outlined with white or were some just white outlines?

TIA
Pete

Hi Pete from what I can find out ,when the 501st was with the 10 Panzer division the tanks were numbered ..711,712. ,714 were Tigers 713 and 715 were Panzer III N's.
721 ,722 and 724 were Tigers and 723 and 725 were III N's
731 and 732 were Tigers but 733 ,734,and 735 were again Panzer III N's.
811 ,812and 813 were Tigers 814 and 815 were panzer III N's .
821 ,822,and823 were Tigers and 824 and 825 were ..you guessed it Panzer III N's.
831 and 832 were tigers while 833,834,and835 were Pzr III N's .
hope this helps.
Rick