Vimoutiers Tiger tank
| Char Tigre de Vimoutiers | |
.jpg)
Tiger tank on outskirts of Vimoutiers
|
|
| Coordinates | 48°55′25″N 0°12′54″E / 48.9237°N 0.2149°ECoordinates: 48°55′25″N 0°12′54″E / 48.9237°N 0.2149°E |
|---|---|
| Location | Outskirts of Vimoutiers on the D979 |
| Designer | Henschel & Son |
| Type | Tiger tank |
| Length |
6.316 m (20 ft 8.7 in) 8.45 m (27 ft 9 in) (gun forward) |
| Width | 3.70 m (12 ft 2 in) |
| Height | 3.0 m (9 ft 10 in) |
6.316 m (20 ft 8.7 in)
The Vimoutiers Tiger tank is a World War II German Tiger tank on outside display on the outskirts of Vimoutiers in the French departement of Orne, in Normandy. The tank is located on the way out of Vimoutiers heading towards Gacé on Route Départemental D979.
The tank is a Tiger I Sd.Kfz. 181 Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E (late version), serial no. '251 113 AMP' on the turret (AMP refers to the manufacturer Dortmund-Hoerder Huttenverein). The chassis number is currently unknown. The tank, numbered 231 (according to the information board next to the tank) belonged to the 2nd Company of the 102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion (though there is some debate surrounding exactly which unit this tank was attached to, some sources refer to 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion).
On August 21, 1944, along with several other tanks (Panthers, Panzer III & IVs and other Tigers) plus assorted vehicles, it was heading out of the Falaise pocket to a fuel dump at the Chateau de l'Horloge in Ticheville during the last days of the Battle of Normandy. It is thought the tank ran out of fuel on RN 179 between Lisieux and Alençon just before entering Vimoutiers. The tank's crew abandoned the tank after setting two explosive charges (which immobilized the turret and damaged the engine decking).
Sometime later, advancing units of 2nd Canadian Division (the Black Watch) bulldozed the tank off the road and down an embankment.
After World War II, Normandy was littered with discarded military hardware. Local scrap dealers purchased this hardware off the land owner and would then scrap the vehicles. The Tiger was sold to a scrap dealer called Morat who removed easily accessible parts of the tank such as the gear box, hatches, smaller fittings, exhaust cowlings etc. Souvenir hunters over time also removed other items off the tank.
...
Wikipedia