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A Tiger tank is on display beside the D979 (N179) road to Gacé, just south of Vimoutiers.
In 1941 an order was given to Henschel, Porsche, MAN and Daimler-Benz for a new heavy tank. At Rostenburg on 20 April 1942, Hitler’s birthday, two competing prototypes, from Porsche and Henschel, were demonstrated before Hitler. The Henschel design proved superior and an order was given to start production in August with the designation Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger.
The very first production Tigers were fitted with a cylindrical ‘dustbin’ cupola with five vision slots. The suspension consisted of eight roadwheel stations each side, each comprising three rubber-tyred roadwheels. The roadwheels were overlapped and interleaved. These early vehicles were equipped with an air cleaner system known as ‘Feifel’, since many of them were destined for North Africa. Late production vehicles had the Feifel system and the smoke grenade dischargers omitted, and they were fitted with a new cupola. This had six episcopes and an anti-aircraft MG mount, and was identical to that fitted to the Panther tank. Very late production Tigers, those after chassis number 250822, were distinguished from earlier vehicles by being fitted with all-steel resilient roadwheels.
Between August 1942 and August 1944 some 1,350 Tigers were built, out of 1,376 ordered. They had chassis numbers from 250001 to 251350. Although it was only in production for two years the firepower and apparent invulnerability of the Tiger made it a legend among the Allied forces.
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