Mike's snow shovel.

Adrian Harris · Post by **Adrian Harris** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:21 am

Can anyone say whether this snow shovel was a standard fitting on all Tigers, or only those destined to see snow ?

I'm building a Tunisian Tiger and although there was a lot of mud there I doubt there was much snow ...

Adrian.

colin fairweather · Post by **colin fairweather** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:05 pm

hi adrian

your right they were standard fitting but on late war tigers they were disgarded you can say yours is a mud/sand shovel

colin

Martin Cohen · Post by **Martin Cohen** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:21 pm

Hello Adrian,

At first glance there seems to be little rhyme or reason to having it or not. A shovel, if installed, is usually on the platform just forward of the Glacis plate. I usually see the snow shovel installed face up, but at times it appears stored face down. Since few Tigers were photographed in detail from all angles, it is possible that a shovel was attached elsewhere so that we do not see them in the images at hand.

Early in the war some companies in Tunisia show a spade or no shovel in sight, while some do not. Many Tigers early in the war to the eastern front had an almost flush fitting flat shovel or the snow shovel, but later in the war most of these no longer have them - even in winter photos.

Shovels are rarely seen on western front combat veteran Tigers, and by July/August most of these have disappeared from view. Most images of Liebstandarte 3rd Co Tigers taken in 1944 before D-Day show the shovel, and with spade down. A popular series of photos in May 1944 shows Tiger I of Lieb. No 311 with Westerhagen with its shovel in place, and with the spade pointed up. Yet photos taken after D-Day show it (and most other Lieb. Tigers) without the shovel. Maybe these interfered with some operation?

A modeler who wants to be accurate needs to find and study images of the Tiger (or at least the Tiger's company), ideally taken the period which his Tiger represents.

Hope this helps solve any confusion by adding to it

Adrian Harris · Post by **Adrian Harris** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:43 pm

Clear as mud Martin

Or should that be snow

I forked out quite a bit on Tiger books a month or so ago so I'll have a look through the Tunisian pictures and see what the Tigers were carrying at the time.

Adrian.

Martin Cohen · Post by **Martin Cohen** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:59 am

'Tiger I On The Western Front' by Jean Restayn is among the titles that can be helpful at picking out these details on the various Panzer outfits. I read about very few Tigers in that region with any shovel in sight, and most of the Tigers that have a shovel store one that fits fairly flush to the deck.

regards,
M

Mike Stannard (toyrific) · Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:54 pm

Hi Guys

That's all interesting, the only pictures I have in my books show the shovel with the angled blade which is why I made it that way, could someone post or e-mail me a good picture of the flatter one. Once I see the picture I might be able to work something out once I cast a few of them in white metal. My pictures also show the shovel fitted both ways, even one with the blade in front of the driver slit. I think the fitting method is a crew or unit preference.

Mike

Martin Cohen · Post by **Martin Cohen** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 12:33 am

For one example look at the image of a Tiger I Early with sPz Abt 501, 2nd Co in Tunisia. Note the short handle spade, with almost a flat profile.

Mike Stannard (toyrific) · Sat Jul 26, 2008 2:07 am

Hi Martin

That's what I thought it might be, this shovel is the regular rounded spade shovel that is normally mounted on the Tiger 1 deck. However it does about scale out to be the long handle version not normal on the Tiger 1.

Mike