Early Tigers without Feifel air cleaners

[wibblywobbly]

I seem to recall reading that the Feifel's were sand filters, hence 131 that was in Tunisia had them. Bear in mind that out of all of the Tigers produced, there are few photographs, hence what we see is a small representation of what was in service. Tanks got damaged, got sent back to the factory for repairs etc, so any new parts would be fitted to older tanks. I have no doubt that by the end of the war there were all manner of mongrel Tigers out there.

The Fiefels would have served no purpose in Europe or on the Eastern Front, so anything that was brought back from somewhere like Tunisia and put into service elsewhere would very likely have had them removed. On that basis, any Tiger that doesn't have them would be a perfectly reasonable representation of a legitimate tank.

A tell tale sign would be the remaining existence of the mounting brackets on an early Tiger which didn't have them.

I prefer the naked look, even without the exhaust shrouds, they look much better in my humble opinion.

[jarndice]

Thank you Wibbly, You make a point that I intended to note but forgot, although there is at least one picture of a Russian Front Tiger 1 with the early twin pot Feifal air cleaners in place,
Perhaps because in a Russian Summer the Dust can be as abrasive to engine internals as the Tunisian desert ?
Shaun.

[43rdRecceReg]

Yep, the Tiger was subject to constant evaluation and modification. One thing I didn't know until today, is that the Tiger's steering system (which allowed it to turn on the spot) was probably based on a British prototype double differential system and seven-speed gearbox. According to the 'Haynes Tiger tank-owner's workshop manual'. The Brits, as represented by the Department of Tank design, and Dr Merritt, came up with the system in conjunction with the British arm of the Maybach company. Shortly before the war started, one of the Maybach directors, Ernst Schneider, skipped town, and probably took the design plans with him to his beloved Fatherland. Clearly, they didn't need Wikileaks in those days!

The importance of being Ernst, eh?

[jarndice]

Talking of Ernst,
In the post war world of Motorcycle racing the "MZ" company of East Germany were very successful with the Reed Valve two stroke, it took on and beat all comers until ERNST Degner jumped ship at the Japanese Motor Cycle Grand Prix,
He turned up at "Suzuki's" works and guess what they started winning
I quote "The importance of being Ernst"
Shaun.

[sassgrunt]

On a Tamiya (early) Tiger, I have had luck gluing all of the related Feifel parts together, all the way to the engine hatch, which I did not glue down, (I also cut off the hinge pins for the hatch, so that the hinge halves set down into the hinge halves on the hull top). I put magnets in the Feifel cannisters and also in the rear of the hull, (I believe I used the existing screw holes to align them). That way when I want to open up the tank, I just pull off the whole Feifel system, and then I can lift off the upper hull.

[43rdRecceReg]

Talking of Ernst,
In the post war world of Motorcycle racing the "MZ" company of East Germany were very successful with the Reed Valve two stroke, it took on and beat all comers until ERNST Degner jumped ship at the Japanese Motor Cycle Grand Prix,
He turned up at "Suzuki's" works and guess what they started winning
I quote "The importance of being Ernst"
Shaun.

yes, Shaun, as the old adage goes; "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery', but these days- especially in the USA- it can lead to the sincerest form of patent litigation. The Brits, by contrast, were only too happy to give their secrets away, gratis, like the jet engine and all-flying tailplane etc.. here's an article on one aspect of our generosity:
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-ar ... ons.html/2

[43rdRecceReg]

On a Tamiya (early) Tiger, I have had luck gluing all of the related Feifel parts together, all the way to the engine hatch, which I did not glue down, (I also cut off the hinge pins for the hatch, so that the hinge halves set down into the hinge halves on the hull top). I put magnets in the Feifel cannisters and also in the rear of the hull, (I believe I used the existing screw holes to align them). That way when I want to open up the tank, I just pull off the whole Feifel system, and then I can lift off the upper hull.

Sounds well thought out, Sassgrunt. If you have any pics of your arrangement, I'm sure they'll be of interest, especially to newcomers

[DavidByrden]

No Tigers returned from Tunisia.

Feifel attachment points were present on all Tigers after the first 10, up to October 1943, which is during the "mid" period.

These Tigers would often operate with the whole system removed, except for the duct on the engine hatch. They were more likely to use Feifels in summer than winter.

David

[Jimster]

How early? Here’s my initial production Tiger representing one the very first Tigers headed to Leningrad in mid 1942. I used many photos to produce this look.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jarndice]

There was a total of 8 Tiger 1s initially sent to Leningrad none of which were equipped with Feifal Air Cleaners or the necessary fittings,
As David says the first 10 Tiger 1s which included the 8 Leningrad Tigers were without many fittings including Feifal Air Cleaners that were standard on later Tiger 1s.