Tiger fording capability

**lithgow** · 05-13-2012, 11:18 AM

Without a crew?-can't escape if it goes wrong...

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 05-13-2012 11:18 AM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**nomis** · 05-14-2012, 07:21 AM

The wording for 'Deep Wading Equipment' is very clear and quite specific.

However, the rest of the tale is rather vague, hence my query.

SF.

**Byrden** · 08-04-2012, 08:32 PM

by nomis

Tigers in Combat [ 2 ] ....

On page 333 there is an entry ' The company commander's tank of the 1st company [ without crew ] is lost during an attempt to cross the SEINE by means of the deep-wading equipment'.

I have the German edition of the book, so the page numbers differ. Could you tell me what unit recorded this?

David

**nomis** · 08-05-2012, 08:27 AM

Hi David,

This entry is for ' Schwere SS -Panzerabteilung 102 [502 ] ' diary entry for 25.08.44 and is on page 332/333 of TIC2.

As i previously commented, i came upon it in re -reading the book, have never before heard of non-training usage, and it seems late in the war to still have/be using the fording equipment.

If you have any info i would of course be interested.

Regards, SF.

**Glenn66** · 08-05-2012, 08:51 AM

Whilst wanting to get their tank across the river without risking drowning they possibly set it in motion, jumped out and sealed the hatches while planning to meet it on the other side?

Probably breathed a sigh of relief when it all went pear-shaped halfway across too!

i wonder if that means there is a fully intact Tiger still sitting in the Seine somewhere?

**nomis** · 08-05-2012, 10:09 PM

Mmm .

**lithgow** · 08-05-2012, 10:50 PM

Oh those wacky Waffen SS Panzer jockeys! Still wondering if something has been lost in the translation...

**Byrden** · 08-09-2012, 05:02 PM

by nomis

Hi David,

This entry is for ' Schwere SS -Panzerabteilung 102 [502 ] ' diary entry for 25.08.44 and is on page 332/333 of TIC2.

Thank you, I found the entry.

Well, this is curious. This unit should not have owned any old Tigers capable of deep wading, assuming that all of the Tigers they got were newly built.

In August 1944 they got a batch of 6 Tigers that may have included refurbished older ones, so that is a possible explanation; but these Tigers were delivered to them in Wezep, Holland only a week before the Seine crossing; and the refurbishment process was supposed to delete the deep wading equipment.

On examination of all the unit's photos at TIIF.DE, I cannot find any of their Tigers that seem anywhere near old enough to be capable of deep wading. But we have photos of only a fraction of the 45 Tigers.

David