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Found this on the 'net....

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/articles/15036.html

There are many stories of tank men watching dumbfound as their shells bounced off the Tiger. One of the more famous stories is from the commander of a British Churchill tank who had an encounter with Tiger 131(the only running tiger tank in the world .it can be seen at Bovington tank museum UK) the story goes�.� We had not only heard a lot about the Tiger but had also seen its effect on the Churchill tanks. When we arrived at the railhead we saw the hulls of our tanks stacked up with massive holes punched through their armour, even at the thickest parts! As we advanced towards our objective we could see no sign of the enemy, but suddenly my fellow tank erupted in an enormous explosion. Blowing the crew from the turret and setting the tank on fire. Before I had time to locate the enemy tank my own Churchill was hit by an 88 shell from the Tiger which passed through the front of our tank and all the way through to the engine at the back setting it on fire. We managed to bail out with minor injuries, not like our poor friends in the other tank. Tiger 131 that had been firing at us was hit by another one of our tanks and the shell got stuck under its gun which stopped the gun from turning and the Germans abandoned their tank. The British had captured a Tiger.�

I'd give about anything to ride/drive a tank. WWII armoured vehicles have always interested me.

Built many a model as a lad and a few as an adult.

Adventures - Tank Town USA
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More...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_131

On 21 April 1943, the tank was knocked out and captured on a hill called Djebel Djaffa during the preliminary phases of the Battle of Longstop Hill which opened the way to the capture of Tunis. During the battle, Tiger 131 was hit by three shots from 6-pounders from British Churchill tanks of A Squadron, 4 Troop of the 48th Royal Tank Regiment.

A solid shot hit the Tiger's gun barrel and ricocheted into its turret ring, jamming its traverse, wounding the driver and front gunner and destroying the radio. A second shot hit the turret lifting lug, disabling the gun's elevation device. A third shot hit the loader's hatch, deflecting fragments into the turret.

The German crew bailed out, taking their wounded with them and leaving the knocked-out but still driveable and largely intact tank behind.Their identity and fate are unknown. The tank was secured by the British as they captured Djebel Djaffa hill. Tiger 131 was the first intact Tiger tank captured by British or American forces.

Tigers in North Africa. Who knew?

And fine marksmanship by them Tankers

Holy awesome.

Did you see this part?

CAR CRUSHING AGES 15+$499.00

Why just drive a tank when you can crush a car with one? Get your heart pumping with 20 minutes of driving excitement and top it off by smashing a car. Nothing is more thrilling than hearing the hood crumple and the glass shatter as you flatten a car with 17 tons of military steel. Don't just stop with one pass though. We will make sure you hit the car from every angle to ensure that nothing is left untouched. A once in a lifetime experience!

This would make an awesome birthday or christmas present.

Thanks, rattler! I'm going to send you some asap.

My nephew got to take ride in the last flying B-29 this weekend on a deal put on by the Confederate Airforce Event in Waco, TX. I think it cost him around $500 bucks. He got to set in one of the gun turrets and said it was worth every penny. I'm envious!

For my dad's 60th birthday we bought him an hour ride on the B-17 Flying Fortress Fuddy Duddy ...he was in heaven and to this day he says it was the best gift he ever received

CHL, That is awesome! I would definitely be down for that!
When I lived in St Pete, FL, the Confederate Air Force visit was one of the neatest events of the downtown area. They'd fly into Albert Whitted airport and put on a great show. The airport is right on the waters of Tampa Bay. Saw a lot of awesome planes at this show in years past, including A10's doing mock mock gun run maneuvers. I would not want to be on the wrong end of one of these.

Am I wrong, or was the Confederate Air Force forced to rename itself to a more politically correct Commemorative Air Force? I can't find any current information about the Confederate Air Force. (Ahhh, Yes. Never mind. I just answered my own question). If so, why don't we all just pull all our teeth and start sifting plankton.

Call me crazy, but are we now relegated to remembering only one bully group's version of history at this point in our country's storied evolution? I just don't get it.

dvdegeorge, what a great gift! I bet your Dad was floating on air when he got off the plane!

Yep. They changed their name. More PC BS! They are a Texas based org. They have a great Museum out in Midland, TX! Also the only place in the USA where you can visit the home of two US Presidents and two State Governors all at one house / Museum!

Thanks, bowsinger. I'm really trying hard to keep my opinions to myself and just tell the story.

gophergunner, you and I both know tough doesn't begin to describe these guys.

Dad got one of his fingers severed out in the sticks working on a big Caterpillar once. He managed to get the hydraulic cylinder open enough to recover his finger, and put it on ice in the truck. The doctors were Houdini's and got it back on.

He worked on heavy equipment when I was growing up. All sizes of Caterpillar's, Deuce and a half's, buses, trucks, you name it. He restored classic cars as a hobby. His last one was a fire engine red '57 Chevy Bel-Air, complete with fender skirts.

I used to go to "work" with him when I got the chance. I got paid, but I didn't do much work, really. He did the work, and I was just his gopher and toolman. But, it got us out into the wide open spaces together.

I rode through Detroit during the riots with him and his buddy "Snuffy" one time, delivering a couple trucks up that way. His advice, as usual, was "Don't get out of the truck".

If you haven't seen the movie don't read this:

I'd call it a rental. The battle scenes were excellent. But the movie dragged way too much. Piles and piles of unnecessary drama and they spent way too much time trying to demonstrate how cold and disorderly the soldiers could be. To the point that I didn't give a fugg when they were killed. Matter of fact, I was glad to see some of them go.

And the part that really left me not liking the movie is that they seemed to go out of their way to demonstrate how murderous the conquerors were, and ended the movie with a compassionate nazi letting one of ours live to see another day.

That schit really pissed me off.

Last but certainly not least... I can appreciate writers taking some liberties in movie making for the sake of making a climatic movie. But the ending of that film bordered on the absurd. I understand they were supposedly facing unseasoned troops, but gimme a fuggin' break. That standoff wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes. That is, if they didn't simply avoid the confrontation altogether.

I give it 2.5 out of 5.



Travis

hopefully i do this right for local_dirt...sorry for any odd spacing im copying directly from my email





27 - View of the path taken by the tank. Here you can see the

recessed house, (now a store) hiding the panzerfaust shooter. The sniper was in the three story building top right window for better observation of any escape attempt from the tank ambush. Dad (Smitty), blown up, no hearing, ran back up this street, with the sniper firing at him. Thankfully, Germany's worst sniper was shooting at Dad. (Naah, Just God looking after Smitty). The current white line (traffic control) marks the site of the tank's destruction. Note the German woman---

Same as 13 April, 1945 except that one was sweeping the steps a few feet closer to the camera.



View from the tank's approach to the ambush site before being hit.

Smitty at the site of the German woman who jumped inside the house and

the panzerfaust gunner fired on the tank. Note in the picture, the steps from the building up the street from the shooting would have required the tank to swerve to the left just before being hit, this would have gotten the tank a few feet farther away from the shooter and less likely to self injury to the shooter.



Current road signs at the site of the tank being hit... The tank

was coming down Hirschgasse Deer Lane, or Deer
Path



Smitty standing in the tank's route as it came down the hill

toward Dad�s ambush site. From this view, from the tank commander, you cannot see the recessed building from which the anti-tank shooter emerged. The German woman sweeping the sidewalk would have come into view as the tank went down this narrow street. Note that the street is so narrow, the tank cannot swing around its main gun.



Smitty at site of tank being hit. Good view of the Sniper Building

and the recession of the Nazi tank killer.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/alb...%20photos/MVC-031S_zps7ceb66a5.jpg[/img]

View of where the tank would have been coming down the street.


White line (traffic warning) is the location of where the tank was hit. By

this photo the tank came from the left (end of the street) and turned

right down the street in the vicinity of where the car is in the picture

up the street to the left side of the street.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/alb...%20photos/MVC-032S_zpse7b7ed38.jpg[/img]

Closeup view of the cobblestones at the location of the steps from

which the street sweeper and the shooter operated. At that time (1945)

this building
was a private residence. Now, it is a store. You can
see

the different stones, now versus then. The steps would have come directly into the street. You can see where they would have been before


renovation at some later date.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/alb...%20photos/MVC-033S_zps4d53e376.jpg[/img]

bump for the evening crowd since i added local_dirts pics to go with his story

Thanks for the efforts rattler, good stuff!

This photo captures the young, cocky but tired and gaunt look of so many soldiers tangled in that endeavor.

local dirt,

Really cool pics and story.




Travis

Not realizing there were two threads I posted on the first, the "Fury" thread. Anyway, I thought it was a very good movie; as they say, on several levels.