The German Waffenamt issued an order to design the VK4501(H) (as the PzKpfw VI Ausf. E was then known) in May 1941, just one month prior to the commencement of Operation Barbarossa. Interestingly, Henschel und Sohn of Kassel was charged with building the heavily armored chassis while Krupp, by far the largest munitionwerks in Germany, was given the task of developing the turret. The PzKpfw VI Ausfuhrung E (type E) was one of the first German tanks to feature a torsion bar with eight interleaved wheels, which was designed to support the weight of the mammoth 57-ton tank. The Ausf. E mounted a huge 8.8cm KwK36 L/56 cannon and featured two MG34 machine guns for close support against enemy infantry. By war's end, 1,354 vehicles had been produced, some rolling off the Wegmann assembly line.

This particular 1:72 scale replica of a Tiger Ausf. E heavy tank is painted in a winter camouflage scheme and belongs to 1/Panzerabteilung 503, when it served in Russia during 1943. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 4-1/2-inches
Width: 2-1/4-inches

Release Date: February 2005

Historical Account: Formed in late 1942, schwere Panzerabteilung 503 fought until the bitter end on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. It saw action in the attempted relief of Stalingrad, the tremendous tank engagements at Kursk, and the savage fighting to relieve German units encircled at the Tscherkassy Pocket. It was then employed at Normandy in 1944, finishing the war in the final, desperate fighting in Hungary and Austria in an effort to buy time for other German units to escape to the west. This independent heavy tank battalion was issued with both the Tiger I and the King Tiger heavy tanks, the latter equipped with both the Henschel and Porsche turrets.