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 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 1:35 scale diecast replica of the late version PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausfuhrung E heavy tank is painted in a western front winter camouflage scheme and comes with a layer of zimmerit anti-magnetic mine paste. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 10 inches
Width: 4 inches
Height: 4 inches

Historical Account: "Last of a Breed" - sPzAbt. 505 was the last independent battalion created with the old organization of 20 Tigers and 25 Pz.Kpfw.III. Formed in February 1943, the 505th received several Tigers and the rest in March with 25 Pzkpfw IIIs. The unit was loaded on rail cars on April 29th-30th, 1943 and sent to Heeres Gruppe Mitte on the Eastern Front, where it was ordered to upgrade to the new organization, and received 11 Tigers that were shipped from the ordnance depot between June 8th-10th, 1943. It took part in Operation Citadel as part of Feldmarschall Model's 9th Armee. At the start of the Kursk offensive on July 5th, 1943, the unit had 31 Tigers and was joined on July 9th, 1943 by 3.Kompanie which was formed in April and received Tigers in June. The 505th lost only four Tigers during the Kursk offensive but lost a further six by the end of July 1943.

After the Kursk offensive, sPzAbt. 505 was moved to the Smolensk area. During the fall of 1944, sPzAbt. 505 was equipped with new version Tiger Is, which had cast cupolas, zimmerit, and the new steel-rimmed wheels developed for the Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf.B. SPzAbt. 505 was ordered out of the Eastern Front on July 7th, 1944, to rest and refit at the troop grounds at Ohrduf. By early September, 1944, sPzAbt. 505 had been equipped with the new Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf.B heavy tank. SPzAbt 505 was used in conjunction with 24. and 25.Panzer Divisions, initially against the Narev bridgeheads in the 1944 Russian offensive into East Prussia. The battalion fought in East Prussia until the end of the conflict.