page_title: Tiger II
section_title: Surviving vehicles
hierarchical_section_title: Tiger II / Surviving vehicles
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Tigre II a La Gleize (Belgique) Deutsch: Tiger II in La Gleize (Belgien)
context_page_description: The Tiger II is a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, often shortened to Tiger B. The ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 182. It is also known under the informal name Königstiger, often translated literally as Royal Tiger, or somewhat incorrectly as King Tiger by Allied soldiers.
  The Tiger II was the successor to the Tiger I, combining the latter's thick armour with the armour sloping used on the Panther medium tank. The tank weighed almost 70 tonnes, and was protected by 100 to 185 mm of armour to the front. It was armed with the long barrelled 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 anti-tank cannon. The chassis was also the basis for the Jagdtiger turretless Jagdpanzer anti-tank vehicle.
  The Tiger II was issued to heavy tank battalions of the Army and the Waffen-SS. It was first used in combat by 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion during the Allied invasion of Normandy on 11 July 1944; on the Eastern Front, the first unit to be outfitted with the Tiger II was the 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion, which by 1 September 1944 listed 25 Tiger IIs operational.
context_section_description: The only working example is displayed at the Musée des Blindés, Saumur, France. It has the production turret and is accessible to the public. This tank belonged to the 1st Company, 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion. It was believed to have been abandoned by its crew on 23 August 1944, due to engine problems, at Brueil-en-Vexin, near Mantes-la-Jolie. It was salvaged by the French Army in September 1944 and then stored in a factory in Satory before being transferred to the museum in 1975. Believed to have carried turret number 123, Colonel Michel Aubry, the founder of the museum, decided to put 233 on the turret in honour of the Tiger II that destroyed his Sherman tank at the end of the war. Unlike other captured German vehicles, this Tiger II was never used by the French Army.
  Other survivors include:
  Bovington Tank Museum, Dorset, UK. Tiger II with early production turret is on display. This vehicle was the second soft steel prototype made and did not see active service. This Tiger II's engine was removed for use in the restoration of Tiger 131, the only working example of a Tiger I. This item is currently on display at Nationaal Militair Museum, in Soesterberg, Netherlands. A production turret Tiger II is on loan from the Defence Academy, Shrivenham, UK.
  Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Shrivenham, UK. Tiger II (production turret). This vehicle was from s.SS Pz.Abt. 501, with hull number 280093, turret number 104, and has a comprehensive coating of Zimmerit. It was claimed by Sergeant Roberts of A Squadron, 23rd Hussars, 11th Armoured Division in a Sherman tank near Beauvais, although it had already been disabled and abandoned by its crew following damage to its tracks and final drive. There is a photograph showing this vehicle after its final action in a beet field with its turret turned 90°. This item is currently on display at Bovington Tank Museum, in Dorset, UK.
  The Wheatcroft Collection, Leicestershire, UK. A private collector, Kevin Wheatcroft, is about to start a restoration/rebuild of a complete Tiger II. The project will include parts from many individual Tiger IIs, but many parts will be of new manufacture. Wheatcroft has stated that he has 70–80% of the original parts needed for a reconstruction and more parts are sourced continuously. Known and shown parts are a complete front glacis plate, 8.8 cm KwK 43 main armament, engine deck plates, approx. 1/3 hull (rear) in one part, a set of tracks, and approx. 2/3 of the left-side hull plate in two parts. The aim of the project is a complete Tiger II in running order.
  Mantes-la-Jolie, France. A more or less complete, but wrecked, Tiger II (production turret) is buried under regional road 913. Parts of the turret were recovered in a limited exploratory excavation in 2001. Further excavation is currently halted for financial reasons. There are plans to fully excavate and restore this Tiger II for a Vexin battle memorial.
  Kubinka Tank Museum, Russia. Tiger II (production turret) with turret number 002 (502) captured at Oględów by the Red Army. The museum is open to the public.
  December 44 Museum, La Gleize, Belgium. A cosmetically restored Tiger II (production turret) Hull number 280273, built in October 1944. Turret number 213 from s.SS Pz.Abt 501. Displayed at the entrance to DECEMBER 44 MUSEUM Collections, a museum devoted entirely to the Battle of the Bulge. This tank was abandoned in La Gleize on 24 December 1944, where the advance of Kampfgruppe Peiper was halted. The front part, about 1/3, of the gun barrel is restored with a Panther gun barrel and muzzle brake. It also has restored mudguards. It is stripped of exterior and internal fittings and most of the torsion bars are broken, but it still has its gearbox and engine in place.
  Deutsches Panzermuseum, Munster, Germany. Tiger II (production turret) displayed in interior location accessible to public on payment of entrance fee. Hull number 280101. Originally bearing turret number 121 from s.SS.Pz.Abt 501 it was restored with a different number for unknown reasons.
  National Armor & Cavalry Heritage Museum,
caption: Tiger II at La Gleize, Belgium
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