Researching the Saumur Tiger I

[MrChef]

Been doing some Tiger I research and found this link to the Saumur Tiger I which shows pictures of it after capture without the weird front and rear fenders/mud guards. The ones on display before the renovation are not stock and they were an often discussed oddity.

https://www.tankarchives.ca/2017/10/exh ... story.html

Something else I was looking at is the current camouflage paint original? I've had a hard time getting a conclusive answer but had been comparing these pics in the link to the Tigers camo and it seems pretty close but not not perfect. My guess is the French who are known artists may have done some touch ups over the years but it still looks like a field painted scheme that definitely would have been original for its theater of action.

[Kaczor]

Great that they'll make it a runner, the engine is being restored.

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[kernewek]

I took my lads over to Saumur a couple of weeks back and we were fortunate enough to spend 20 minutes at the entrance of the workshop where their Tiger was standing in several large pieces. We weren’t permitted to take photos, as several large signs reminded us. One of their mechanics took the time to explain that the original Maybach engine was now in complete running order, having been rebuilt by Panzer Farm in Poland. He admitted that a second Maybach motor had undergone a rebuild in France, destined for use in the museum’s running Panther, but there’d been some problems with the quality of the locally re-made parts (rocker components I believe) and they’d just managed to stop this second motor from seizing solid when it had been run in the Panther. This motor was now waiting for a partial rebuild.

We enquired when it was expected that the Tiger, know as ‘Bretagne’ during its time with the French tank regiment, would likely make its debut as a running vehicle? The original prediction when the project started was sometime in 2026, but it looks like the date is almost certainly going to be a year later.

[MrChef]

I took my lads over to Saumur a couple of weeks back and we were fortunate enough to spend 20 minutes at the entrance of the workshop where their Tiger was standing in several large pieces. We weren’t permitted to take photos, as several large signs reminded us. One of their mechanics took the time to explain that the original Maybach engine was now in complete running order, having been rebuilt by Panzer Farm in Poland. He admitted that a second Maybach motor had undergone a rebuild in France, destined for use in the museum’s running Panther, but there’d been some problems with the quality of the locally re-made parts (rocker components I believe) and they’d just managed to stop this second motor from seizing solid when it had been run in the Panther. This motor was now waiting for a partial rebuild.

We enquired when it was expected that the Tiger, know as ‘Bretagne’ during its time with the French tank regiment, would likely make its debut as a running vehicle? The original prediction when the project started was sometime in 2026, but it looks like the date is almost certainly going to be a year later.

Well color me the slightest bit jealous. It's awesome that you went and even better that you shared it with your boys. I've read and studied that Tiger quite a bit. I do wonder what paint and camouflage scheme they will return it to. And how many details they may correct that were preformed by the French either while in service or in a museum. But it's great to hear that it's getting rebuilt. It really deserves it especially with it's unique history and special connection to the free French defense forces. Good Share BTW

[kernewek]

Thanks for the comment Mr Chef, Saumur museum was actually better than we’d anticipated, they have a serious amount of German armour on display and their aim is to return most of their complete running tanks to original state, including using the engines that they left the factory with. Definitely worth a visit if you’re ever on this side of the Atlantic

Craig