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The 'Fury' Sherman tank 'faces off' against Tiger 131 in a face to face confrontation during Spring Tiger Day 2023 at The Tank Museum, Bovington. This is the only working original and complete Tiger 1 tank in the World. Known to the Allies as a Tiger I, the German model designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI, Tiger I (H1), . 181. It was built in Kassel, Germany with the hull constructed by Henschel and the turret made by Wegmann A. It was completed in early 1943 with chassis number 250122 and shipped to Tunisia, assigned to the 504th Schwere Heerespanzerabteilung (German heavy tank battalion) in Tunisia during the North African Campaign. It was the commanders tank of No.1 Company, No.3 Platoon, giving it tactical number 131 as shown on the turret, by which it has become known. It was captured during an engagement by the 2nd Battalion Sherwood Foresters on 24th April 1943 in the advance towards Tunis. The tank was sent to England in October 1943 where it was displayed as a trophy before it was subjected to testing and evaluation by the School of Tank Technology who produced detailed reports on its construction. The captured tank was transferred to The Tank Museum on 25 September 1951. In 1990, it was removed from display at the museum for restoration. This involved an almost complete disassembly. The Maybach HL230 engine from the museum's Tiger II was installed, as the Tiger's original Maybach HL210 had been cut into cross sections for display. A modern fire-suppressant system was added to the engine compartment. In December 2003, Tiger 131 returned to the museum with a working engine, making it the only working Tiger tank in the world. Further work and repainting in period colours completed the restoration in 2012, for a total cost quoted at £80,000. This tank was used in the 2014 film 'Fury', the first time a real Tiger has appeared in a feature film since They Were Not Divided (1950). The Sherman tank used in the Fury Film is an M4A2E8 (76)W believed to have been built by the Fisher Tank Arsenal between January and May 1945 - there is a very small possibility it was built by the Press Steel Car Company between May and June of 1945, but they only built 21 of this type. It has the armoured exhaust deflector fitted to vehicles from January 1945, which helps narrow the date of production slightly. A2 indicates that the vehicle is powered by the General Motors 6046 12-cylinder twin in-line engine. E8 means it has the Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension, abbreviated as HVSS and nicknamed the ‘Easy Eight’ suspension. It's also armed with a long 76mm gun and fitted with ‘wet’ ammunition stowage. The main armament ammunition was stored in ammunition boxes with a fluid jacket to prevent ammunition fires. Had the vehicle entered British service it would have been known as a Sherman IIIAY. ‘III’ as that was the British Army designation for the M4A2, ‘A’ for the 76mm gun and ‘Y’ for the E8 suspension. Britain only received five M4A2(76) vehicles, with the vast majority of the 2915 built sent to the Soviet Union who received 2073. Not all of these were fitted with the HVSS suspension as production of the E8 equipped tanks only began in December 1944. It is believed that only the Soviet Union used the M4A2 (76)W HVSS in action during WW2 and it’s not clear if they were used in Germany or solely against the Japanese in Manchuria. In 1946 the Canadian Army received some M4A2 HVSS vehicles to replace their wartime equipment that was worn-out. These tanks had some post-war modifications such as an infantry telephone fitted to the rear hull and a first aid box carried on the left side of the hull. The US Army Registration Number carried by ‘Fury’ does not belong to any make or model of Sherman Tank. In the film ‘Fury’ it is playing the part of the far more common M4A3E8. Video and Audio content is Copyright © High Flight
