The Vimoutiers Tiger tank is a World War II German
Tiger I
The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, France. The tank was abandoned by its crew in August 1944 during the latter stages of the Battle of Normandy. Originally resting in a ditch by the side of the road, it was bought by the local commune and put on display in 1975. It is listed as an historical monument. The Tiger tank is in poor condition after being outdoors for over 75 years.
History
The tank is a ''Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E'' (with ordnance inventory designation ''Sd.Kfz. 181'', late-production version), with serial number "251 113 AMP" on the turret (AMP refers to the tank's manufacturer, Dortmund-Hoerder Hüttenverein). The vehicle's chassis number is currently unknown. The tank, numbered as 231 (according to the information display board next to the tank), belonged to the 2nd Company of the
102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
The 102nd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion (german: schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 102) was a German heavy tank battalion of the Waffen-SS during World War II. It fought as part of the II SS Panzer Corps during the Battle of Normandy and was nearly dest ...
(although there is some debate surrounding exactly which unit this tank was attached to, with some sources attaching it to the
503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion
The 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion (german: schwere Panzerabteilung 503; abbreviated: "s.Pz.Abt. 503") was a German heavy Panzer '' Abteilung'' (independent battalion-sized unit) equipped with Tiger I and Panzer III tanks. In 1944, it was re-e ...
).
Between the 12 and 20 August 1944 the Allies launched an offensive to close the Falaise pocket at Chambois, from where remnants of the German army were attempting to escape. Vimoutiers was near the junction of Anglo-Canadian and Polish forces in the north and US and French forces in the south. On 21 August 1944, along with other German tanks ( Panthers,
Panzer III
The ''Panzerkampfwagen III'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight oth ...
s and IVs and other Tigers) and a variety of military vehicles, the Tiger was heading out of the Falaise pocket to a fuel dump at the Chateau de l'Horloge in Ticheville during the final days of the Battle of Normandy. It is thought the tank ran out of fuel on RN 179 just after leaving Vimoutiers. The tank's crew abandoned the tank and set off two explosive charges on the vehicle, which left the tank's turret immobilized and damaged the engine decking, leaving distinct cracking on the thick armoured plates. Roger, Gérard (June 2008) "Le Tigre de Vimoutiers" Retrieved 23 January 2013. About sixty German armoured vehicles were abandoned in the vicinity of Vimoutiers.
Advancing units of 2nd Canadian Division (the
Black Watch
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regim ...
) later bulldozed the tank off the road (it being an obstruction to road traffic) and down into a shallow embankment beside it.
Post-war
After World War II, much of the Normandy region was littered with discarded military hardware. Local scrap dealers purchased this hardware off the landowner (on whose property the hardware was on) and scrapped the vehicles. This Tiger I was sold to a scrap dealer called M. Morat, who removed easily accessible parts of the tank such as the transmission gearbox, various hatches, among other smaller fittings and exhaust cowlings, etc. Over time, souvenir hunters also removed other small items off the tank.
For the next 30 years, however, the tank remained rusting in its roadside ditch, retrieving it being difficult due to the tank's considerable size and weight. After Morat’s death, ownership of the tank was passed to his sister, who then sold it over to another scrap dealer in
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,After the Battle'' Magazine.
In October 1975, the tank was recovered by Alain Roudeix. The turret was first lifted off to reduce the overall weight and the chassis was then pulled and pushed out of the roadside ditch by bulldozers. The turret was replaced and the tank was placed on a concrete plinth close to where it was originally abandoned in 1944. Having been partially restored, the Tiger tank remains on display on the outskirts of Vimoutiers. It was classified as a French '' Monument Historique'' in December 1975.
The tank is located beside the road heading towards
Gacé
Gacé () is a commune in the Orne department in Lower-Normandy, north-western France.
Population
Heraldry
Administration
Twin towns
* Kinross, Perth & Kinross
Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann ...
on Route Départemental D979.
The Vimoutiers Tiger tank is one of only seven known intact Tiger I tanks remaining in the world. France and Russia both have two, a working Tiger I is at the
Tank Museum
The Tank Museum (previously The Bovington Tank Museum) is a collection of armoured fighting vehicles at Bovington Camp in Dorset, South West England. It is about north of the village of Wool and west of the major port of Poole. The collection ...
in Bovington in the UK and one each can be found in the USA and Germany.
Preservation attempts
Weather and time have caused damage to the vehicle. The tank's current paint scheme was applied by a local volunteer and does not resemble the authentic green, dark-yellow and red-brown camouflage that German Tiger tanks wore during the Normandy campaign. The tank also has its missing hatches replaced with metal plates (sealing off access inside the vehicle) and two
Panzer IV
The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the ''Panzer'' IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161.
The Panz ...
engine deck-covers in place of the original Tiger's radiator deck-covers.
As of 2013, the mayor of Vimoutiers began seeking funds for a restoration project. However, due to the high cost, no decision on whether to carry out this restoration has been passed by the city council.
The tank is owned by the commune of Vimoutiers who have delegated the restoration of the tank to the Association for the Restoration of the Vimoutiers Tiger Tank in Normandy (''L'association pour la Restauration du Char Tigre de Vimoutiers en Normandie'', in French this has the acronym CATIVEN). On the Vimoutiers tourist website it is indicated that following restoration the tank may be moved to a more central location in the town in the hope it draws more visitors to the local shops.
In March 2018, a low fence was erected around the tank to prevent visitors from climbing on it. No further restoration has taken place.
Gallery
File:Char Tigre de Vimoutiers 2012-02 3.JPG, Frontal view of the Tiger tank. The concrete block between the tracks prevents access inside the tank as it has no floor any more.
File:Char Tigre de Vimoutiers 2012-02 4.JPG, The current camouflage scheme does not reproduce that originally found on the tank, but was done by a local volunteer who restored the tankTourist Office of Vimoutiers
File:Char Tigre de Vimoutiers 2012-02 back 1.JPG, Three-quarters backside view. The tracks are the field tracks (the Tiger displayed in Saumur has road tracks).
File:Char Tigre de Vimoutiers 2012-02 dégats 4.JPG, One of the cracked armored plates.
File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-738-0275-10A,_Bei_Villers-Bocage,_Panzer_VI_(Tiger_I).jpg, June 1944 picture showing Tiger 231
