RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Don't do book reviews as I know my literary limitations but this book has recently been released "telling the story of tiger 131" and how the UK came about aquiring it in North Africa, good so far? Well for some reason the authors have written it as a novel of sorts with characters galore and a fair bit of poetic licence.

Perhaps I've been married too long but I want the nuts and bolts of how 131 was aquired and its capabilities, even though I've read them half a dozen times before in other publications. To be fair to them, they do describe it a fair bit but there's a love interest with female spies and a supposed cross dressing British spy and it all gets a bit much. I don't want to hear about Doug Lidderdale's relationship with his wife to be, thier "courting" or thier honeymoon either! What is it? Fifty shades of panzer grey?

Whether it was poetic licence or fact ( I haven't read it elsewhere, it may be a famous incident) in this book they actually fire on a U boat with it whist the Tiger was lashed to the deck of a ship off the coast of North africa ( like to see that kill ring on the barrel). Knowing what I know now I certainly wouldn't have wasted £17.99 on buying it, some here may think its the dogs nuts but to me its all a bit meh!

Not my favourite book about my favourite subject so it won't be going on the bookshelf with all my armour books, it just wouldn't feel right!

Abo.

I was given the Haynes Owners' Workshop Manual on the Tiger as a birthday present. It effectively is about 131 and has sections on how it was aquired, its travels and battle damage as well as its restoration. Try that as an alternative. As ever the reality is better than fiction. The major who wrote the report on 131 in the UK was injured in the action in which 131 was abandoned when his Churchill was hit! And the paint scheme that looked so authentic before it was rewstored and which I remember photograping as a kid as guide for my models was painted in the UK and was not the correct colours.
Regards
Doug

Thanks Dug, I have that book, its very good and I suppose I expected this one to be similar. In this book there's no mention of Lidderdale being injured or his Churchill being damaged, it was pretty much described as they were hanging round waiting for any damaged tiger to crop up, they see 131, approach it then hand to hand fighting. As you say the truth appears better. Thanks again.