February 2017
Tank Times
Published by THE TANK MUSEUM, Bovington, Dorset, UK, BH20 6JG
Tel: +44 (0) 1929 405 096
TIGERS ASSEMBLE FOR NEW EXHIBITION
www.tankmuseum.org
FROM THE
CONTENT MARKETING MANAGER
Roz Skellorn
Seventy-two years after it fell into Allied hands, one of the largest combat vehicles to see action in the Second World War has arrived at The Tank Museum. The 70 ton Panzerjäger Tiger (P), commonly known as Elefant, has undergone an historic 3,500 mile return journey across the Atlantic. It was captured near Anzio, Italy, by US troops in June 1944 and quickly shipped stateside for military evaluation. Tank Museum Curator David Willey said: “Tiger tanks have a powerful reputation which was underpinned with Nazi propaganda at the time. “This reputation has persisted beyond the war itself into books, films and video games.” The tank is being loaned from the US Army Ordnance Training and Heritage
Center at Fort Lee, VA, by The United States Army Centre of Military History, and is one of just two surviving examples of the 91 Elefants that saw service with German forces.
“Tigers are large and impressive by contemporary standards – but there is a moral responsibility to remember what they were used for and the regime who created them,” said David.
It will be the first time that an Elefant has ever been seen in the UK.
“Representing less than 7% of their wartime tank production, Tiger tanks failed to have a real impact and our exhibition will be presenting a more balanced account of these vehicles, along with views of veterans.”
“This mythical reputation, coupled with their rarity, is what makes them of such great interest. But in truth, the myth has elevated them to be greater than the reality.” David added. Its final destination is The Tank Museum, where it will feature in ‘The Tiger Collection – the Tanks, the Terror & the Truth’, a new exhibition sponsored by World of Tanks.
supported by
Inside… ● TIGER DAY ● WILHELM FISCHER - TIGER VETERAN
Set to open in April 2017, the exhibition will bring every member of the Tiger tank family together in one space for the first time in history. However, one example that has eluded the Museum will be appearing virtually, courtesy of exhibition sponsors World of Tanks.
As a charity and a military museum, we are always looking for ways to effectively engage our audiences and reach out to new ones on the subject of armoured warfare. In an age of social media and increasing access to the internet across the globe, we can now hope to reach audiences that may never have been to the Museum and indeed may never have a chance to visit. With this in mind my role in the Marketing team has been re-focused to concentrate solely on the generation and distribution of content. The Museum’s YouTube series, Tank Chats, has introduced hundreds of thousands of people to tanks in our collection, with David Fletcher and David Willey leading the short talks.
“We’re taking our experience of creating historically accurate models for our World of Tanks video game and using this to create an exhibit to complete the collection,” said Richard Cutland, World of Tanks European Head of Military Relations.
The Matilda Diaries series has shed a light on the goings-on at the Workshop, where they have been overhauling the Matilda II with funding from the Art’s Council. Audiences have followed the Workshop staff as they have overcome the challenges faced on such a complex project.
“Using the latest digital technology, visitors will be able to see a full-sized Sturmtiger in the exhibition with the use of Augmented Reality technology. We’re pleased to be supporting an exhibition of such international significance.”
Each stage of the restoration has been well-communicated and has opened up a fascinating project to the public, which would have otherwise been done behind closed doors.
The Tiger Collection exhibition will run for two years from Spring 2017.
Continued on page 2…
● TANKFEST 2017 NEWS ● WHAT’S ON
THE TANK MUSEUM - THE WORLD’S BEST COLLECTION OF TANKS An Independent Museum and Registered Charity No 1102661
THE TANK MUSEUM - FEBRUARY 2017
CONTENT MARKETING MANAGER In the past year we have more than doubled our YouTube subscribers from 16,000 to over 36,000 and more than doubled our video views to over 2.6 million in 2016. Facebook also continues to be an ideal way to reach a large national and international audience with archival images, Museum news and videos. As well as The Tank Museum’s main website, which features news and event updates, the Museum has launched two new blogs over the past year. The first, tank100.org, features a wealth of information on tanks in the First World War, with articles on objects, vehicles and personal stories as well as pieces from renowned tank historian, David Fletcher. In order to mark the upcoming Tiger Tank Collection exhibition, we have also published a new Tiger related blog, tiger-tank.com.
www.tankmuseum.org
TIGER DAY 29 April & 16 September TIGER DAY 2017
A day for Tiger 131 fans! Tiger 131 will make only two appearances in the arena this year, Tiger Day VII (29 April) & VIII (16 September), making Tiger Day an event not to be missed. Owing to the growing popularity of Tiger Day, this year there will be two! This means twice the opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of Tiger 131 and its contemporaries. Although Premium tickets have sold out for Tiger Day VII in April, there are still at the time of writing Premium tickets available for September’s Tiger Day. Find out more on our website.
BUY YOUR TIGER DAY TICKETS ONLINE AND SAVE!
Tel: +44 (0) 1929 405 096
IN BRIEF
TIGER-TANK.COM The Tank Museum has launched a new Tiger Blog to celebrate the upcoming Tiger Collection exhibition. The blog will feature vehicle histories, veteran interviews, videos and other stories that were uncovered during research for the exhibition. Contributions from experts like David Willey and David Fletcher, make this an excellent resource for Tiger fans and Second World War enthusiasts alike. The Museum has also launched a Tiger Tank Facebook page, where you can stay in touch with new blog posts and other Tiger related news. Visit tiger-tank.com for more information.
Visitors to Tiger Day can now book tickets online for a reduced rate. Another big event in 2017’s calendar is the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Cambrai. As one of the most important anniversaries in the Royal Tank Regiment’s history, it is crucial that we engage and inform audiences as widely as possible on this historic battle. The Museum holds key artefacts in its collection, including the Cambrai flag, as well as historic images and accounts, which we can use to generate stories and bring people to the subject.
TIGER DAY
Both Tiger Days will feature a full programme of talks and tours, including one on the King Tiger and a chance to handle items from the Archives associated with the Tiger. Tiger Day will also provide fantastic opportunities for visitors to see the new Tiger Collection, which in early April. The Tiger Collection will reunite the entire Tiger family for the first times since the Second World War. The new exhibition features Tiger 1, two King Tigers, Jagdtiger, Elefant and a virtual Sturmtiger alongside artefacts and unseen crew testimonies, from both Allied and Axis veterans.
INTRODUCING DADFEST! The perfect way to spend Father’s Day – 18 June.
In 2017 we will look to build on last year’s engagement successes, enabling The Tank Museum to tell the story of the Royal Tank Regiment to an ever-growing audience. To keep up-to-date with The Tank Museum, subscribe to YouTube, Facebook and don’t forget check our blogs.
Content Marketing Manager Roz Skellorn
For the first time, The Tank Museum is offering a special Father’s Day Experience! On 18 June you can treat your Dad to an exclusive day out at The Tank Museum.
WIN A RIDE IN TIGER 131
The Tank Museum is running an ebay auction and a raffle for your chance to win an exclusive Tiger Day experience at Tiger Day VII, 29 April 2017 – a ride in Tiger 131. The ebay auction also includes two Premium tickets. Check the website for details. Standard tickets for both Tiger Days are still available. Buy online today to save £’s and guarantee your place!
THE TANK MUSEUM - THE WORLD’S BEST COLLECTION OF TANKS An Independent Museum and Registered Charity No 1102661
He will be given a guided tour of the Vehicle Conservation Centre, including a ride in an Armoured Personnel Carrier, as well as a tour of the Museum itself. Finally he will have the chance to go behind the scenes of the Museum’s Workshop. The morning will be completed with a delicious carvery lunch. There are limited places available and will need to be booked in advance - see The Tank Museum website for details and prices.
THE TANK MUSEUM - FEBRUARY 2017
www.tankmuseum.org
WILHELM FISCHER Second World War Veteran, Wilhelm Fischer, shares his memories of being a tank driver on the Eastern Front.
Tel: +44 (0) 1929 405 096
ELEFANT PANZERJÄGER TIGER (P) (SD KFZ 184) ELEFANT When Ferdinand Porsche’s design for Tiger I was cancelled in October 1942, he had already produced a hundred hulls. It was decided that these should be used and converted for use on a tank hunter or heavy assault gun. This new design would become known as a Panzerjäger Tiger and was first demonstrated in March 1943. Ninety-one of these new vehicles were produced in total. After suffering with some design flaws during the Battle of Kursk, August 1943, the Panzerjäger were modified and re-issued in 1944 as ‘Elefant’.
Wilhelm Fischer - 7th Panzer Division In 2015, Wilhelm Fischer, a German Second World War veteran, visited TANKFEST with his family. During the visit, he kindly agreed to record an oral history interview about his service for the upcoming Tiger Collection exhibition. Growing up in 1920’s Germany, Wilhelm Fischer’s early years were hard for him and his family, which included 6 brothers. “It wasn’t rosy there was a time of unemployment and we were bean stalk thin.” When war came all the brothers enlisted. Wilhelm joined later in 1941, aged 17 and was assigned to the 7th Panzer Division. Here he trained as a driver on Panzer II, Panzer III, Panzer IV and later retrained on the new Tiger I. After training Fischer was deployed to the Eastern Front, where he would spend the next four years. Initially excited to be posted, Wilhelm soon experienced
first-hand the perils of war. Conditions were brutal and in the winter of 1941/42 temperatures reached depths of -40°C. Wilhelm recounts, “I have been knocked out in tanks 6 times. One of these times the tank exploded, I was in the front and got out and then the tank exploded behind me. It was in a Tiger, a Tiger was also vulnerable with the engine in the back and where the fuel is.”
“I have been knocked out in tanks 6 times” Wilhelm spent three years as a driver on the Tiger I, which he recalls being in awe of and certainly preferring to the Panzer IV. Being stationed on the Eastern Front inevitably meant that in his Panzer IV, and later Tiger I, Fischer would come up against the Russians and their T-34’s. “The T34 was good. When we still had the Panzer III and IV we had to retreat because our barrels weren’t long enough, when we had the Panzer IV 75mm short barrel, but when they were modified to the 75mm long barrel, that was a good weapon to fight back and then of course we got the Tiger which was even better.”
As the war came to an end and the Germans retreated, Wilhelm was captured and held as a prisoner of war by the Americans and later the French. During the retreat Fischer had sustained a number of wounds, which were left untreated during his time in the internment camps. He describes the shrapnel in his body becoming infected and, as suppuration occurred, exiting through the open wounds. Wilhelm was to be held captive for four years after the end of the war. When he was eventually released he worked as a labourer in France, before meeting his first wife. On his visit to TANKFEST Mr. Fischer said, “Today I spoke to comrades, English comrades, I also got tears in my eyes. It is always a pleasure to find former comrades even though we used to be enemies, it was a real pleasure also the way we were welcomed last year and this year again by the museum was also very impressive.”
The Elefant on display in The Tiger Collection was loaned to The Tank Museum by The United States Army Center of Military History. The vehicle fought at the Battle of Kursk and was captured by the American’s in Italy during the campaign at AnzioNuttuno in May 1944. After some mechanical problems, the vehicle was abandoned, but not before its crew had secured the Elefant with hand grenades and mines, to prevent it falling intact into enemy hands. It was later shipped to Aberdeen Proving Ground in the United States for examination and is now only one of only two Elefants to have survived the war. The vehicle no longer runs, but was restored to display condition by the team at Fort Lee, in 2007-2008. The Elefant is now on loan to The Tank Museum until the end of 2018, and will feature as one of the Tiger family in the new Tiger Collection exhibition – running April 2017-April 2019.
The Tiger Collection exhibition, featuring Mr. Fischer’s account, will run for two years from Spring 2017.
An Elefant undergoing mechanical checks
German tank crews during training
THE TANK MUSEUM - THE WORLD’S BEST COLLECTION OF TANKS An Independent Museum and Registered Charity No 1102661
THE TANK MUSEUM - FEBRUARY 2017
FROM THE
EDITOR
www.tankmuseum.org
PRESENTS
2 4 a nd 2 5 JUNE 2 0 1 7
Tel: +44 (0) 1929 405 096
EVENTS
Nik Wyness 100 years ago this year, the Tank Corps came into being when the Heavy Branch was separated from the rest of the Machine Gun Corps. 1917 began inauspiciously for the tanks. Following their promising debut, high expectations were soon dashed as tanks sunk in thick mud. At Arras in April, poor ground and the unreliability of these early tanks exposed their weaknesses. At the Third Ypres (commonly known as Passchendaele, July-November), the improved Mk IVs were deployed in numbers but conditions here were also appalling. Losses were high, and Tank Corps morale hit rock bottom. Having failed to create impact, the rest of the army had all but lost confidence, and the future of the fledgling Corps was in question. But 20 November gave the Tank Corps the opportunity it badly needed. The Battle of Cambrai was to be a limited but radical attack on the Hindenburg line, where the tanks could finally operate in suitable conditions.
TANKFEST 2017 (24 – 25 June) sponsored by World of Tanks will feature an unrivalled display of historic vehicles, entertainment and an explosive display from the British Army. Two rare Second World War German tanks are the first guest tanks to be confirmed for TANKFEST 2017. There are only three running Jagdpanthers in the world and TANKFEST 2017 is your chance to see one on the move, loaned by the Weald Foundation. As if that wasn’t enough, a newly restored Sturmgeschutz will be making its TANKFEST debut at TANKFEST 2017. With only a handful still running in the world, this beautifully restored vehicle will make an exciting addition to the arena. As well as these German visitors, there are confirmed guest appearances from Sherman tanks, a Churchill and more still to be confirmed.
MODEL EXPO
See models from across the modelling spectrum! Including boats, planes, cars and of course tanks. Jagdpanther
Sturmgeschütz
11 - 19 February 2017
Churchill
TANKFEST CREW DAYS
FEBRUARY HALF TERM
Discover the biggest day out at The Tank Museum with a range of family friendly activities.
The TANKFEST Crew Day offers you the opportunity to ride in a vehicle during a live TANKFEST display. This will include the chance to explore the vehicle and spend time with the crew of your chosen vehicle during TANKFEST. You can choose from iconic vehicles including the Sherman, Comet, Panzer III and T-72.
Haig would write that the “great value of tanks in the offensive has been conclusively proved”.
One hundred years on, as we mark another important First World War tank centenary, we look forward to sharing some of the stories and artefacts in our collection from the Battle of Cambrai at tank100.com, which is home to a range of fascinating content relating to tanks in the First World War.
THE TANK MUSEUM
GUEST ARMOUR
They led the offensive in large numbers and on good ground, smashing through the German lines up to a staggering seven miles securing their place in history, and tantalisingly swinging open the door to the ‘green fields beyond’.
Since then, 20 November has been observed as an important day of commemoration by the antecedents of the Tank Corps, the Royal Tank Regiment.
11 February 2017
25 March 2017
SIMON WESTON LECTURE TANKFEST PREVIEW DAY
The Tank Museum is delighted to announce that, for the first time, an exclusive preview day is on offer, giving access to TANKFEST vehicles and special displays on 23 June - the day before TANKFEST! Take a look at our Guest Vehicles and gain exclusive access to the Arena Vehicles and Tank Park, featuring vehicles like Sherman and T-72.
Guests on the Preview Day experience will also be able to explore the Museum out-of-hours allowing access to the new Tiger Collection without the crowds.
The famous Falklands Veteran shares his experiences of triumphing over adversity. Tickets available now.
Please see our website for more information. At the time of going to press there are spaces available, however tickets are selling fast.
8 – 23 April 2017
KEEP IN TOUCH Nik Wyness Editor
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THE TANK MUSEUM - THE WORLD’S BEST COLLECTION OF TANKS An Independent Museum and Registered Charity No 1102661
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