Corgi PanzerkampfwagenVI TigerAusfE (Early production), Tiger 131′. Military., Brown, CC60516

Product Description Built at thea Henschel tank works in Kassel during February 1943,a Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf E Tiger 131a was destined to be one of only a small number of Tiger tanks sent by Hitler to bolster the increasingly desperate situation in North Africa, reinforcing the famous Afrika Korps.a Assigned to the 504th Heavy Tank Battalion, she was transported from the factory by rail to the port town of Trapani in German occupied Sicily, before being shipped across the Mediterranean Sea to Tunis by barge, three tanks at a time. Once in Tunisia, the Tiger was prepared for immediate combat operations and as it was destined to be the commanders tank of the 3rd platoon, was adorned with the red turret number 131.a Joining up with what few existing Tigers remained in the area, the tank went into action against British forces in April 1943, where she woulda bea facinga the Churchill tanks of the 48th RTR and determined ground forces, which at that time were very much in the ascendancy.a Although the 88mm main gun of the Tiger was capable of destroying a Churchill at ranges well beyond the British tanks ability toa returna fire effectively,a this advantage was negateda by thea hilly terraina in whicha they would be fighting. The Tigers would therefore usually be deployed with several smaller Panzer IV tanks and additional supporting infantry units, vital in providing close protection for these battlefield monsters. Unfortunately for thea men of thea Afrika Korps, it was all a case of too little, too late.a a a a a Facing overwhelming oddsa in Tunisia, the newly arriveda Tiger tanks ofa Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 504a travelled around 400km from their disembarkation port of Tunis to first face the British in actions around Djebel Djaffa, however,a this would be a period of intense fighting and combat accounts are a little sketchy.a What happeneda to Tiger 131a next is still shrouded in mystery and the subject of continued military research. Whilst engaged in fighting with troops of the 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Forestersa at Point 174 Gueriat el Atach on 24th April 1943, Tiger 131 was hit multiple times by small arms fire, but significantly, also by an anti-tank shella from a gun captured by the Britisha only minutes earliera anda turneda against its former owners.The rounda glanced offa thea guna mantlet and strucka the turret ring, jamming the turret and probably injuring the crewa in the process. Shaken up and probably fearful ofa coming under further attack, the crew quickly abandoned the tank and ran towardsa German lines, leaving their almost pristine new Tigera Ia in the middle of thea activea battlefield. The Foresters attempted to hold on to their unexpected prize in the face of numerous enemy counterattacks, but it would be several days before the areaa could bea secured and British tank recovery crews could safely enter the area and recover the tank. Tiger 131a was the first German Tiger tank to be captured intact by Allied forces during the Second World War and in the years which followed,a woulda go on toa be regarded as the most famousa individuala tank in the world.a Safety Warning A detailed die-cast scale model for the adult collector. Not suitable for children under 14 years.