Hi everyone, newbie to the site here, & I'm hoping someone can help me with a couple of questions regarding the Tiger B.

I am about to start a project using Dragons "King Tiger c/w Zimmerit" Kit no. 6303.

I would like to set it either in the battle of the Ardennes, or mabe in Normandy 44'.

As I am new to "Accurate modelling" I could really use advice on as much as possible eg. Track type, Track Hangers etc...etc... But my first question is regarding track guards & anti-grenade mesh.

Did the track guards differ at all through the war, or were they pretty much standard? I know that some crews removed them altogether when going into combat, & that some got damaged/lost through the life of the tank.

As for the anti-grenade mesh. Did that remain the same? Were they only used from a specific date etc...?

Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Actually, the side skirts were removed when the vehicle was transported by rail. The wide battle tracks had to be switched to narrow transportation tracks, so the tanks could be loaded onto railway flat cars. The skirts were removed at the same time for the same reason. Otherwise, the tanks would risk striking oncoming trains on opposing tracks. The procedure had to be reversed upon arrival at the destination.
The skirts were sometimes lost during this process, particularly if the unit had to rush from the railhead directly into action. Unlike the Tiger I (Tiger Ausf. E), the King Tiger's skirts were thin armor plate, intended to degrade the performance of Soviet antitank rifles. They might also have had some standoff value against hollow charge bazooka or PIAT projectiles.
The design remained much the same throughout production. At the very end, in March, 1945, a reinforcing rib was added to the curved front mudguard, where it attached to the curved outer skirt part (which was removable). Academy's recent King Tiger depicts one of these tanks. It also has transportation tracks, as supplies of battle tracks had been interrupted by the war situation. This kit is also offered by Eduard.
The raised mesh sections under the turret overhang were there to prevent satchel charges from being inserted between the turret bustle and the engine deck. The original, so-called Porsche turret required a larger metal frame for the mesh. The later, production turret (the so-called Henschel type), had a smaller frame, and it remained the same throughout production.
For Normandy, July-August, 1944, you could depict the first or third company of the Army's 503rd battalion. By historical accident, this was the most-photographed King Tiger unit of all. Only one or two tanks in each company had the new turret, though.
The battalion was re-equipped with 45 new King Tigers in September, most of which had Zimmerit, and the unit was rushed to Hungary in October, spending the rest of the war in the east.
For the Ardennes, you'd have to do a tank from the Army 506th battalion, about two-thirds of which was equipped with tanks with Zimmerit coating (the SS 501st battalion was equipped entirely with newer tanks without Zimmerit). Unfortunately, photos of the 506th are few and far between.

Hi Dave ..Welcome to the site... Good questions .. Okay so first question is yes there were differences in the side skirts ..first ones had the key hole type holes to attach the skirts ..they only had to loosen the bolts and the the skirts would come off .. later these key holes were eliminated and the bolts had to be unscrewed all the way to get them off.. Be careful not to bend these too much as they were 5mm armor plate and would really not bend that much. The final version KTs had reinforced front fenders.
The grenade screens ..The very very early KTs did not have the screens and then there were different screens for the different types of turrets .. But once the Henschel turret became standard it looks like the screens stayed the same .
As for the Henschel turreted KTs in Normandy....There were 2 with the 503rd 300 and 301 ..300 had the track hangers while 301 didn't..
There might be a third one but I haven't seen pictures of it,but it would have been in the 1 company.
As for the Ardennes the 506th had a few KTs with zimmerit (some were testing a new track with a 18 tooth sprocket.

Hope this helps a bit and hope you stick around and enjoy your stay here on Armorama.

Rick
Took too much time researching... lol looks like I was beat out but hey ..welcome!

Hi Gerald.

Thanks for the information. I am still undecided as to the area that I will be setting my KT in as yet, but all of the information is really useful.

I had heard/read about the 506th in the Ardennes & that the SS battalions had been re-equipt with brand new KT's, which had no zimmerit due to the order being issued to discontinue its application, but wasn't sure about Normandy.

I will keep you posted as to how things go & post a photo or two, if the finished model is up to scratch of course.


Cheers

Dave

Hi Richard.

Thanks for replying, & for your welcome to the forum.
The information that you shared is really useful, it will help in what I intend to do re: the side skirts & which units & even which individual tanks I could model for the Normandy campaign.

I did read about the 506th being the only unit in the Ardennes with KT's that had zim' but wasn't sure about Normandy.

If I do decide on the French connection, I will have to research which of these lovely beasts had the track hangers.

One question that I do have about the KT's in Normandy, & that is in the Tank museum in Bovington UK, they have a KT with zim' with the number 104. If my memory is right, this vehicle was abandoned by it's crew in a cabbage field in Normandy & subsequently was captured by the British Army. This has track hangers. Could this possibly be one of the other KT's you have heard were in Normandy with the hangers?

I will keep you posted as to how things are going & maybe even add a photo or two.

Thanks again

Dave

I believe 104 belonged to the 101SS and was captured in a town called Magny-en-Vexin which is 192km from Normandy, I would have to say it was more on the drive across France than during the "Normandy Campaign". It suffered from final drive failure and was destroyed by its crew on the 29th of August 44.