02 - Brief history of Tunisian Tiger 142 in images

Tiger 142 backs onto a "Marinefährprahm" ferry in Reggio, Italy. 27 Nov 1942. 

Landed at the beach at La Goudette, a small port outside of the Bay of Tunis. 

 

This is Tiger 142 soon after its arrival in Tunis. We can read its chassis number, 250015, on the muzzle brake cover. The building in the background is the Municipal Theater of Tunis. 

This photo of Tiger 142 was printed in German newspapers and became the Western public's first glimpse of a Tiger. The German censor has erased the muzzle brake, which at the time was a new technology.  

This photo shows the numbers painted on turret. It has a lighter colour inside than outside. It seems he was painted with the tropical brown colour, numbered, then overpainted or camouflaged with tropical green which is more suitable for northern Tunisia. 

North Africa, Tunisia - Jan / Feb 1943 

 

North Africa, Tunisia - Jan / Feb 1943 

North Africa, Tunisia - Jan / Feb 1943 

North Africa, Tunisia - Jan / Feb 1943 

North Africa, Tunisia - Jan / Feb 1943 

This photo was probably taken during Operation Eilbote on 20 January 1943. 

Tiger 142 must cross the Oued Maarouf and climb a ridge before it can enter the pass through the hills at the Karachoum Gap. This is Operation "Eilbote 1" on 20 January 1943. 

Tiger 142, part of Kampfgruppe Lüder, has just crossed the Oued Maarouf and climbed into the hill pass at the Karachoum Gap. Operation "Eilbote 1" is under way and the date is 20 January 1943. 

 

On 26 February 1943, early in the morning, Tiger 142 is heading to Beja. The town is already being bombed by the Luftwaffe, while only 3km from this spot (behind the ridge in the photo), German troops are attacking the British observation post on Hill 609 

The condition of Tiger 142 suggests that this is Operation Ochsenkopf. The torrential rain began on the 26th February, and the Tigers had to cross deep mud to reach Sidi N'sir. 

 

Tiger 142 is part of Kampfgruppe Lang who are setting out to capture Beja, on the morning of 26 February 1943.  

 

Turret of Tiger 142 (Fgst.Nr. 250015), previously arrived in Tunisia on November 27, 1942 part of 1./s.Pz.-Abt. 501 and blown-out  

 

What's left of Tiger 142 (Fgst.Nr. 250015) arrived in Tunisia on November 27, 1942 and blown-out by Americans in 1943, East of Ksar Mezouar (on the road to Beja) 

 

American engineers prepare the electric wiring for the explosives under Tiger 142. 

American combat engineers wire up explosives for remote detonation. They are dealing with German wrecks left by the battle of Hunt's Gap some weeks before. 

An American combat engineer hacks at the hard ground beside Tiger 142 in Tunisia, April 1943, intending to dig under it and plant explosives there. 

The signature "Totoraitis F." is scratched into the balkencross on the left side of Tiger 142. The Tiger is a turretless wreck. This may be the name of commander. The photo shows clearly the two-part construction of the Tiger first type of side mudguards 

Tiger 142 had a strange affinity for the camera. From its appearance in the newspapers when it arrived in Tunisia, to its destruction by Americans, it got a disproportionate amount of photographic coverage. It may have been an unusually reliable tank 

Tiger 142 lies wrecked on the Hunt's Gap battlefield, American engineers prepare to destroy it. The turret bin lies on the hull top, beside the opened engine hatch. 

 

 

 

US Army Corps of Engineers solider packs 1/2 pound tins of TNT under a Tiger tank in preparation for detonation An American combat engineer prepares to explode the hull of Tiger 142, although it was already blown apart in the Beja battle weeks before. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TUNISIA - JANUARY 01: American soldiers looking a burning wreckage of a German tank after a battle against Axis forces in the El Guettar Valley. (Photo by Eliot Elisofon/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images) 

Tiger 142's hull is upside down after demolition by American engineers. - Tunisia - 01-04-1943 

TUNISIA - APRIL 01: View of burning German armor abandoned during the desert fighting between American and German forces in the El Guettar Valley, Tunisia, early 1943. (Photo by Eliot Elisofon/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images) 

TUNISIA - APRIL 01: German armor destroyed during the battle of El Guettar. (Photo by Eliot Elisofon/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images) 

TUNISIA - APRIL 01: wreckage of destroyed Tiger during the desert fighting in the El Guettar Valley, Tunisia, early 1943. . (Photo by Eliot Elisofon/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images) 

TUNISIA - APRIL 01: Burning German vehicle after the battle of El Guettar. (Photo by Eliot Elisofon/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images) 

TUNISIA - APRIL 01: Burning German vehicle after the battle of El Guettar. (Photo by Eliot Elisofon/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)