Lil' Green Tiger...
At last, here are a couple of pictures of my completed Tiger I, of the Mad Tiger Day fame...
This particular Tiger, of the 501S.Pz.Abt., landed in Tunisia on 23 November 1942, and was sent into combat on the 27th of the same month. Its commander, Baron von Nolde, was killed on 1st December, but the vehicle will soldier on and will eventually become part of the 10th Panzer Division from February 1943.
The 22 Tigers of the 501 S.Pz.Abt. will have profound tactical and psychological effects in Africa, with a tally of c.150 destroyed targets against the loss of 11 vehicles (of which only 3 were destroyed by the enemy). But without air supremacy from the Luftwaffe, they will not change the outcome of the war in North Africa.
The first Tigers to arrive in africa were reportedly painted 'pea green' and this was quickly changed to a slightly darker green colour that better suited the rather lush vegetation found at that time of the year in Tunisia. Tiger #142 is often seen with red/white numbers but it is thought that the numbers were in fact originally 'pea green'/white and that the darker olive colour did not cover them. By the time Tiger #142 joined the 10th Panzer Division, its colour scheme had been changed to desert sand with red/white numbers.