Swiss museum restores German 1944 'King Tiger' tank to working order
Send a link to a friend
[March 31, 2021]
By John Revill and Arnd Wiegmann
FULL, Switzerland (Reuters) - A Swiss
museum is restoring a rare King Tiger tank used by Nazi Germany's 506th
Heavy Tank Battalion on the Western Front and
hopes it will become the second driveable King Tiger left in the world.
The tank was probably given to the Swiss army by French forces in the
years after World War Two and may have fought at the Battle of Arnhem
and the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.
"It was in horrible condition, it has been exposed to the open climate
for decades. It was full of water and rusted," said Bernd Kubicki, who
is leading the restoration at the Swiss Military Museum.
Eventually those who made substantial donations towards the restoration
will be allowed to ride in the 700 horsepower V12 machine on a nearby
field.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Mar/31/images/ads/current/farmers_grain_sda_daily_farm_2016.png)
The 68-tonne behemoth is one of only eight King Tiger tanks remaining
from the roughly 490 built during World War Two.
"The Tiger is probably the most famous German tank from the war, but the
King Tiger was even heavier, better armoured and had a bigger gun," said
Kubicki.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/033121pics/news_a61.jpg)
The turret is seen beside the hull of a German World War II Tiger II
"King Tiger" tank during restoration works at the Swiss Military
Museum Full in Full, Switzerland March 22, 2021. Picture taken March
22, 2021. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Mar/31/images/ads/current/atlantabank_lda_SFARM_2019.png)
"Everyone wants to see a Tiger, they are legendary, so to get one
for this museum and to restore it is like hitting the jackpot in the
lottery," he added.
The tank, which has armour up to 18.5 cm (7.3 inches) thick in
places, was built in September 1944.
Precisely how it came to Switzerland is not known.
"After the war many of the tanks were distributed among the Allies
for evaluation. We think this one may have been given to the Swiss
army by the French"
The museum in Full, northern Switzerland, got it in 2006.
(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |