Tiger Ausf E “F01” Gruppe Fehrmann

[AlastairCooke]

Hi All,
Update 21 Oct 2024
Curved support…

Support in use drilling locating holes for the track hanger pins…

Note use of shaped bases for G clamps.

Track links for turret sides have been drilled and tapped for M3 so that a fixing can be used from the inside. The hole will be hidden by spare track pins.

One link was drilled from the tread side to align the hole and the others were drilled from the rear as they could be held more firmly in a vice in that orientation.

Turret front plate
I have now reached a stage that I has had me concerned for some considerable time: reshaping the front turret plate ends and including weld detail. I wanted to ensure that the Milliput welds had reasonable purchase around these details. It was not possible to cut slots into the turret wall before assembly as the piece far exceeded the capacity of my mill. I decided to use a Dremel with a router bit and attack the aluminium by hand.

The ends of the bar were filed flush with the turret sides then drilled to accept a capping piece that will be epoxied in place after the turret has been etch primed.

The steel trunnion boss was used as a guide for the circular slot. As you can see, some additional shaping of the slots is required.

Zimmerit
As work progresses on the external details for the turret sides, thoughts turn towards Zimmerit. At this stage I am more concerned with where rather than how. Having established that the turret was taken from a vehicle that was delivered in late May 43, it is safe to assume that it arrived at Pz.Ers.Abt. 500 painted in Dunkelgelb but without a coat of Zimmerit. This means that the Zimmerit was applied at the School’s workshop after the general order was issued in Aug 43.

Careful study of images taken subsequent to the demise of F01, in Apr 45, highlights some interesting issues with the application of the Zimmerit paste. On both sides the paste was not applied forward of the lift lug and did not reach the roof on the left side as evidenced by the sharp ‘demarcation’ lines that suggest intent rather that wear. In addition, the pattern changes just aft of the vision port indicating a different batch of paste or a different hand. The pistol port appears to have had the paste applied when removed from the turret, as the ridge pattern does not align with the surrounding area. As the vehicle was based at the Training School it is possible that the application of the coating was a training exercise or done piecemeal when the opportunity arose.

When the time comes I will do my best to mimic this haphazard application.

That's all for now...