Tiger 2 turn-on-spot (80th Bastogne)

[@MB-oc1nw]

Everything about German armour from WWII is so aesthetically pleasing.

[@John-ko3rm]

80 years on and it still commands respect.

[@michaelbuckreus6551]

Very well restored, looks like new. The tank has probably never looked so good. All respect to the tank driver who has mastered the "old" technology well. The engine has a good sound. 👍😎

[@MsJoao101]

It never looked so good or ran as well!

[@Big1_]

Finally the engine is well tunned, i remember it trowing flames and pops by the exhaust (bad combustion, spark-ignition failure) but now works pretty good !!

[@MarquisVincentBissetdeGramont]

The Musée des Blindés in Saumur has stated that this phenomenon is completely normal, given the venerable age of the Tiger 2's engine.

[@HaVoC117X]

it only misfires when the engine is cold. After 10 to 20 min its gone. Same on old Centurions with Meteor engines.

[@Schlachtkreutzer]

wow the king tiger looks really good and the camouflage is just very well done What a giant Tank Great 🫡🫡🫡

[@cy1841]

The colour tone is superb

[@Schlachtkreutzer]

@@cy1841 that's right, just a great job 👌👌👌

[@R005t3r]

Sitting in a Cromwell, that beast would be absolutely terrifying as your shells bounced off its armour. Good thing the old Crommy was quick.

[@Zagonov500]

Советский ИС-2 дырявил шкуру этого зверя с одного выстрела.

[@keithrobson2168]

My uncle was a tanker in a Cromwell I have just finished a superb airfix kit

[@EnclaveTrooper]

Just listen to that beautiful purr on the engine… absolute beauty

[@dancrawford2690]

I can imagine the terror the sight of one of these beasts must have bought to anyone see thus heading towards them

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Just hide behind a really thick tree.

[@fadinginthenight]

I was there. Such an amazing sight.

[@markusbraun7964]

I was there too, but next year i'm thinking about Manhay

[@markusbraun7964]

@@fadinginthenight i'm living in Monschau, So it is the same distance

[@nachoGamer-ib5cj]

The comandant has so much Aura bruh

[@mjp1964]

Ein beeindruckendes Fahrzeug. Sehr gut wieder aufgebaut. Top.😎👍👍👍👍

[@alekhaordonesa...belgatoy2359]

it has not been restored...it has been running since 1944, they just rarely take it out for rides

[@williamkoppos7039]

Wow what a great paint job on that. Perfect weather too!

[@bernardusjones9814]

Keeping history alive, thanks.

[@dennischi4598]

What a beast of a machine! 💪

[@taldozer]

Amazing beast! Lovely example.

[@Zagonov500]

Именно что зверь. Однако на этого зверя нашелся охотник, который дырявил этого зверя с одного выстрела - советский ИС-2.

[@suspiciousminds1750]

Not many men can say they were chased by a Tiger tank...and lived!

[@dayofdaysdotbe]

Also not many can say they saw a Tiger II burning, at least not during the war. Luckily the crew reacted very quickly and they evacuated the hangars. Those old machines have become vulnerable (and Tiger II always were, in terms of mechanics).

[@suspiciousminds1750]

@@dayofdaysdotbe Tank 300 caught fire? When?

[@manueltome-p4e]

The Tiger II was a silly waste of resources. Piece of crap. Should have focused more on the Panther tank and specially on the Jagdpanther tank destroyer.

[@suspiciousminds1750]

@@manueltome-p4e yes, probably true.

[@cy1841]

Over engineered, yet a beast

[@ShamileII]

Wow....what a masterpiece of design and beauty! It's such an impressive and imposing machine!

[@mottthehoople693]

not really...bit unreliable

[@lyndoncmp5751]

​@@mottthehoople693No more unreliable than any other heavy tank. It's reliability issues is exaggerated. In late 1944 it had an operational rate not too different to the Panzer IV. Better than 70% overall average.

[@michaelpalm6925]

Man achte mal auf die Breite der Ketten. Unglaublich! War aber nötig, um das massive Gewicht des Panzers besser zu verteilen. Toll, dass ich das hier mal live sehen kann! Vielen Dank! 👍

[@kppd41]

I can only imagine the American troops in the Ardennes facing this beast

[@brennanleadbetter9708]

The cold was a far bigger threat

[@GoodGunInstructor]

With their puny bazookas that bounced off the front.

[@ericscottstevens]

Allied infantry could hear those torque pops from the tracks far away as well as the tink of the high manganese steel links in travel. Add in the deep growl of the Maybach.

[@GoodGunInstructor]

Time to exit stage left, Sarge?

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

Every panzer was a Tiger....until you actually encountered one!

[@willmartin7293]

Man, that tank is intimidating! 😨 Just imagine being in a foxhole and you see that beast coming toward you. 🫢

[@CA999]

That is driving on a good road surface. Its amazing how many kilometres such a heavy tank could really travel on 1930s era roads...

[@marceletiennou5182]

Année 40,pas 30

[@ukasz-zm9qc]

What does that mean on roads from the 1930s? Don't you know that back then there were roads made of paving stones, concrete slabs or with an asphalt surface?

[@VIDEOVISTAVIEW2020]

that is the most terrifying tank in WW2 for those on the receiving end

[@peterkeynejad]

What a beauty

[@gartwilliams3347]

Minus the snow, the weather is almost the same as it was 80 years ago.

[@ukasz-zm9qc]

From December 18 to 22, 1944 there was no snow in the Ardennes.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

​@ukasz-zm9qcThe first snowfall came on the 23rd then? I knew it was muddy and misty at first but I never knew when the snow actually first started to fall. Thanks.

[@ukasz-zm9qc]

@@lyndoncmp5751 At the beginning of the offensive on 16-17 December there was a cover of melting snow in the Ardennes which melted by 18 December. On the night of 22-23 December there was light snowfall mainly in the southern part of the bulge. In the northern part in the area of ​​Manhay, Hotton, on 26 December there was still no snow at all. Heavy snowfall began from 28 December in most of the bulge area.

[@nobbytart27]

Fascinating how we're obsessed with these things (me included) including the Tiger 1 at Bovington (UK) that was funded by the national lottery. They were just bigger and badder than everything else and maybe its the fact Germany tried to win with technical inovation rather than quantity and in producing these incredibly complex machines gave us these masterpieces. Its one thing watching it clatter down the road with a de activated gun but try and imagine the panic of tank crews seeing that L71 KwK 43 coming round the corner with a loaded AP round. Not so sure about who signed off the risk assessment for the dude running around in front, the driver had a good view and one slip on that mud and an awefull lot of people are watching a very nasty accident. Great video of a piece of real working history.

[@simonxmathews]

Great job by the driver. Such a delicate manoeuvre of such a huge metal beast! 👍

[@PanzerBuyer]

Perfect cold misty panzer weather. And no backfiring today.

[@yvngxnightmare]

Good cloud coverage to avoid allied air power 😂

[@lyndoncmp5751]

​@@yvngxnightmareWhich nearly always missed German tanks.

[@johnhallett5846]

Even the Tiger one had the same massive tracks; it could go over softer ground then the much lighter Sherman because of that.

[@ub1953]

Outrageous !! Would of liked original Axis markings on but still a dream come true to see....

[@maxa.mariohartmann9463]

He was technically 25 years ahead of his time. A masterpiece of technology and German engineering

[@gergelycsako5280]

It was a heavy underpowered overcomplicated petrol burner. American British and Russian anti-tank units easily shot down almost all 200 of them. It could be loaded only on a special trolley on a separate set of tracks. Its early one-piece barrel was prone to explode, its fuselage freezing in the mud on the Eastern Front. There was no bridge to carry it. It was a dead end of an engineering dead end in all its elements.

[@jackgee3200]

Except - Although it had thick armour and a big gun, these were not especially technologically advanced in themselves. Other tanks, either contemporary or close to being operational were ~equal to those - and rapidly improved on them. Similarly with its powerplant. Its balance of armour, armament & mobility was almost completely abandoned after 1945 in favour of the MBT concept. Its 'central synchronizer' transmission in particular was a complete dead end and never used again. The principles of its steering mechanism are still widely used, but that was already in use by others - as it was not an original German innovation anyway. It was not well engineered for mass manufacture or maintainance and it was very difficult to transport.

[@ukasz-zm9qc]

@@gergelycsako5280 There was no bridge to carry it? And yet somehow they drove over the bridge in Stavelot, for example, and it didn't collapse. And the one-piece barrel was only in the prototype.

[@nddavi58]

@@gergelycsako5280youre being way too cynical about the tank

[@gergelycsako5280]

@@nddavi58 do you mean : realistic?;-)

[@alfonce4650]

Il a repris des couleurs et ça lui va très bien.

[@johnhallett5846]

Despite its weight, those massively wide tracks gave it the capability to go on soft ground better then many other tanks. They were 725MM wide. Todays Abrams tanks are only 635MM wide and the Abrams is heavier

[@JustwingitRC]

A couple of thoughts: first, it's nice to see the old beast draws a good crowd! Second, a bit curious that they put so much strain on the vehicle doing a pivot steer. Hate seeing that much strain on the trans and the engine, but it seemed to handle it nicely. What a fabulous restoration, the tank looks amazing! Merry Christmas everyone!

[@GoodGunInstructor]

The Tiger 2 design was seriously under-powered, causing many breakdowns during use in WW2. More Tiger 2s were lost to mechanical breakdowns than were to enemy fire. The turnaround demonstrates how weak the engine power to tank weight ratio is.

[@Tanksandmore]

Actually, they were saying that pivot steering was putting less strain than driving in circle around the building like the other tanks that day.

[@JustwingitRC]

@Tanksandmore Ah, very good info my friend!

[@GoodGunInstructor]

I am impressed that the French museum has kept that tank in running condition for many years now. Yes, driving in circles is probably harder on the clutches and transmission and the museum probably does not have any spare parts lying around.

[@TheBigCat2001]

How cool is that!

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

Like a magnificent mammoth brought back from prehistory! The turn around reminded me of Wittman at Villers-Bocage (i realize it was a tiger l) Just slow enough for an agile young man to dash from a Cromwell into cover 😮

[@tommyguan5952]

Thank you for such awesome vid! I'm still so shocked that in 2024 this tiger ii has done several pivot turn maneuvers (or some maneuvers almost were the pivot turn but without the steering wheel being turned that hard) all the sudden, maybe the museum's engineers have achieved some maintenance breakthrough?

[@marcosfernandez1744]

Judging by the lack of backfire and smoke, I would say that they did do something with the engine

[@vincentsmidowicz2931]

AWESOME and Nice one! Cheers

[@Zagonov500]

Не твоих детей давил гусеницами этот "приятный".

[@A_Dornan_1776]

Yoo, dat ding is machtig om in actie te zien man... Nice to see that we have a King Tiger still here in Belgium!

[@sergefrombelgium]

The tiger II come from the musée des blindés at Saumur, in France.It remains until the end of January 2025 at Bastogne Barracks.

[@A_Dornan_1776]

@@sergefrombelgium Oh right, the one in BE is stationary near a pub right? Those pesky French getting off course the best... But hey, they used lots of German equipment shortly after the war, mainly Panthers if I recall correctly.

[@sergefrombelgium]

@@A_Dornan_1776 yes, the tiger II which is in La gleize is immobile, part of the rollers and the suspension are missing on one side due to the cannibalism of the scrap dealers. And the motor is out of order for the same reason.

[@A_Dornan_1776]

@@sergefrombelgium Haha those damn Walloon farmers huh...

[@bv2623]

@@sergefrombelgium Plus the Tiger in La Gleize has a Panther gun and not the original one

[@MsJoao101]

That IS-3 looks half the size of that beast!

[@SlartibartfastTheFourth]

Which would you prefer to command in battle !?

[@MsJoao101]

@@SlartibartfastTheFourth Given the choice, the IS-3.

[@SlartibartfastTheFourth]

@ interesting - would you mind me asking your reasons for that choice ?

[@MsJoao101]

@@SlartibartfastTheFourth The IS-3 kinda mostly worked, the Tiger 2 kinda mostly didn't, the Tiger 2 is a bigger target, the guns are kinda equivalent even tho they're different, i'm sure the Tiger 2 is the better tank to live with and use than the IS-3... It comes down to the looks really, the IS-3 does it for me i guess.

[@SlartibartfastTheFourth]

@ wow -you know your tanks !! I agree , in a one on one head to head the is3 would be the sensible choice to have -even ten , fifteen years later the is3 still proved a too tough target for the Israelis facing Arab owned ones and they really struggled to defeat them . I don’t know if the is3 still had the same problem of having to lower the gun to load a shell in like the 122mm in the Is 2 or if it’s rate of fire was as slow . The old saying about planes that if it looks right it will fly right probably applies to tanks performance for their role certainly applies to the is3 ! Then of course there’s the is7 two years later which would have beaten all existing tanks the Germans were developing in 44-45 ( Lowe , e 100 and Maus ) and beyond if ww2 had extended another year or two . In post war Soviet testing the iS 7 was not only immune to the fearsome 128 mm of the jagdtiger but also its own 130mm naval gun !!

[@zacharyfindlay-maddox171]

The BEAST!

[@stanleydomalewski8497]

Magnificent Job !😊

[@bulletpoints556]

In an effort to maintain historical accuracy, when the Tiger II broke down after traveling 3 miles, the crew blew up the tank to prevent it from falling into the hands of another museum!

[@GoodGunInstructor]

God forbid the Huns would get their clutches on it!

[@lyndoncmp5751]

All the Tigers that fought in the Ardennes did at least 100km on the roads from the detrainment areas to the battlefields of places like Stoumont, Stavelot etc.

[@GoodGunInstructor]

@@lyndoncmp5751 I never thought of that. For some battles, the drive trains may have been exhausted by the mileage between the rail yards and the battle areas.

[@HaVoC117X]

@@GoodGunInstructor Militär und Geschichte recently published a after action report of A Tiger II battalion which operated on the Easter front late 1944. "The two combat groups [equipped with Tiger IIs] operated with great success: from 19/10/1944 until 23/10/1944 they destroyed 120 anti tank guns and 20 field pieces. The tenacious and steadfast enemy (a penal battalion) was shocked by our determined advance; the enormous confusion created in their rearguard by the destruction of several convoys and transport units finally caused the 6th. army to retreat from the Debrecen. The distance travelled during these operations, aprox. 250 km, was reached without any mechanical complications of note. During these operations the Tiger II fulfilled perfectly what was expected of it in terms of armor protection and mechanical reliability. Tanks hit by up to 20 impacts without suffering loss were no exception." "When a Tiger unit is employed in a concentrated manner and under the correct tactical principles it will always achieve decisive results " When the stars aligne and trained crews met decent logistical and more important infantery support the Tiger II could be quite reliable. But both was rare late 1944. But Remember until spring 1944 most T34s and KV1s only lasted 300 to 400kms as well.

[@pointblank722]

Majestic!

[@ScottWilliams-wu1ye]

Magnanimous !!

[@Notabadguyiswear]

Seeing the tank come around the corner creates a big lump in my throat if I imagine being an allied soldier alone on a street in a village. Terrifying

[@bourdon845]

Cool !!

[@fus149hammer5]

Reverse parked better than my wife parks our car!

[@-Billerboller-Klangtherapie]

Perhaps...she should practice with this vehicle 😂

[@kenporter614]

It's a beast😮

[@alpate7864]

Much impressive.

[@geetee7154]

Simply in awe of the Tiger 2, God knows what the allied Tankers in their Shermans were thinking when they saw these coming out of the Ardennes forest Christmas 1944, must have been absolutely terrifying👍

[@CA999]

Apparently they were more worried about how to stay warm... Experienced tankers knew how to handle those enemy wonder weapons...

[@papaaaaaaa2625]

Na, the Ardennes wasn't a terrain in the Tigers favor. For example was one Tiger 2 destroyed by a M10 Tank Destroyer while the Tiger tried to reach a bridge. Impressive Tank, but not indestructible.

[@FairladyS130]

@@CA999 Yes, keep out of the way.

[@ukasz-zm9qc]

You don't think they were running away from them, do you?

[@johnhallett5846]

@@CA999 having talked in the 90's to some surviving US tankers, you could not be more wrong.

[@spencereagle1118]

1:07 Just look at those lines, definately in the top ten greatest industrial design objects of all time.

[@GoodGunInstructor]

Right up there with the Coca-Cola bottle.

[@drmarkintexas-400]

🎖️🏆⭐🙏❤️‍🩹🛐 Thank you for sharing this

[@inblack-d9d]

beautiful Monster

[@Charles-q4t8y]

That is Too Kool 😮😂❤❤❤

[@joepipito7431]

MASTERPIECE

[@ForeverOld_]

What a beast 😮

[@feuervogel8099]

Ein ganz schöner Klotz wenn man ihn aus dieser Perspektive sieht.🎉

[@beulahalestick8297]

Did anyone else hear the Panzerlied?

[@gartwilliams3347]

“Boys, too many boys. In the old days I lived with my men before going into action, I knew them, they knew me. Too many boys.”

[@beulahalestick8297]

@ I saw that movie in Oklahoma City at the Continental Movie Theater in the 60s with my dad. He was a MP during the Battle of the Bulge. He took some German prisoners back to headquarters at the beginning of the Battle. That saved his life, when he got back to his unit only 7 men were left of his company.

[@theocold9256]

Pretty cool.

[@sloboz8787]

Concrete road is like "damn, this is cool, I accept this."

[@jorgefranciscoescobarcarre1555]

IMAGINE!..A RIDE IN THE TIGER!!. IN THE ARDENES!!! 😢😥😪🤤🤤🤤🤤

[@paoloviti6156]

Wouldn't mind to drive home but for sure I wouldn't get a speed ticket 😅😅😅

[@Sandhill1988]

Awesome!

[@Leo-2503]

What a Monster.

[@ronandanne1]

I don't want to be the guy running in front of that thing, even if the driver is my best friend and a great expert!

[@robertdevito5001]

I know it had this problem and that problem and whatever… I just like the look of it.

[@malcpaul996]

Nice bit of kit and that is called a neutral turn by the way.

[@personnelente]

None of those German armored vehicles had track pads. They must tear the roads up.

[@GoodGunInstructor]

I was an army brat in Germany, in Bavaria, back in 1959-1963. The American Pattons would tear up the cobble stones as well as the asphalt. The German people had to go off the road when a "Convoy" vehicle leading a line of tanks came along. And the roads were constantly being repaired and bills being sent to the American authorities.

[@kiereluurs1243]

Huge menacing sight, it still is. I wouldn't like to walk in its way, by the way.

[@richardmongello579]

When you compare this Tiger II to the Sherman and Churchill, it’s a miracle the Allie’s ever won the ground war.

[@fw1421]

Makes the M-1 Abrams look a lot less imposing. What a beast of a tank.

[@Knochensack74]

Cool. 😎

[@33vortex]

So they're driving it without the outer roadwheels mounted, in transport configuration still using the wide tracks but why?

[@GoodGunInstructor]

Either they are missing some outer wheels or they are just skipping the outer wheel installation for when they exchange tracks and they leave to go back to the museum.

[@augustosmith498]

Hugs from Brazil.

[@mikec4114]

Monster

[@michaelpetrichs6682]

Der Königstiger hat in den letzten Zügen des Krieges noch viele T34 und Shermans das Lebens Licht aus Geblasen. Durch Luft Überlegenheit und Treibstoff Mangel wurden die Tiger Besiegt

[@joegatt2306]

And lack of good panzer crews, especially drivers. Incidentally, the ability to pivot turn , (or turn on the spot) did not come to US tanks until 1951 with the M-46!

[@jerryware5749]

and some reliability issues.

[@GoodGunInstructor]

And unreliable power trains and not enough produced. I would say breaking down was #1, followed by air attacks.

[@bluecollarnobody4217]

To give you an idea of this tank weighs 57 tons. That’s the same weight as a M1 Abrams. And this tank was built 1944

[@marcosfernandez1744]

70* tons

[@CarreraTrackOntheFloor]

Not even close. The Abrams weighs 73.6 tons.

[@marcosfernandez1744]

@@CarreraTrackOntheFloor Only after sep v2, before sep v2 all abrams weighed less than the tiger 2, and even so no modern tank surpasses the jadgtiger, around 75t

[@GoodGunInstructor]

@@marcosfernandez1744 Poor Jagdtiger. Broke down even more than the King did. Tank ace Otto Carius politely stated the Jagdtigers were unreliable pieces of junk.

[@peppertrout]

C'est le très redoutable tigre allemand. Il y a aujourd'hui de nouveaux chats en Allemagne qui rôdent encore dans les forêts.

[@hanamizu-taisa2424]

Honestly, if I came across something like this in an M4 on the street I'd be so scared I'd pee my pants!

[@GoodGunInstructor]

The movie Fury does a great job of showing that.

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

Why no road tracks on the King Tiger. It's taring up the road!

[@paulfitz61]

As impressive as it looks it was too complicated which impacted its performance on the battlefield. Thankfully it was never a success. All credit to those who have rebuilt and maintain these historical pieces for us to see.

[@ge2623]

Does this still have the original Bose CD player?

[@jackraven2854]

Ça a de la gueule, même après 80 ans!

[@wolfmauler]

Imagine if they'd have had the means to drop something bigger in it, than the overworked HL230 😳

[@Kalashnikov413]

There was actually a plan, but it was never realized

[@GoodGunInstructor]

I seem to remember the engine was much the same engine as the Panther, which was much lighter.

[@-Billerboller-Klangtherapie]

Unbesigt auf ewig! Meddl😂

[@CarlosFuentes-fk8md]

Para completar la representación histórica, la tripulación del blindado debería llevar el uniforme y la actitud militar de la época.

[@rogercude1459]

Sounds better than any of those millionaires sports cars.

[@BrZ501es]

😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@mrford70]

🤘 very sexy tank 🤘

[@AC_WILDCARD]

oh gawd she's beautiful

[@manolitogafotas1690]

Formidable, cette fois-ci sans petarrades... 😂😂😂

[@ed9121]

"When your plain driveway needs a pattern, just call us, the Tiger 2 crew. In a few minutes we'll make that ugly, boring driveway the envy if the neighbourhood."

[@Cugier-sf2vo]

Nicht die Kupplung so schnipsen lassen -haut jedesmal ins Getriebe voll rein …..

[@1sttvbn]

I’ll bet the town liked having their roads tore all to hell.

[@danwest3825]

Does this remind anyone else of a fashion show catwalk?

[@cat-im4vv]

Driver needs more practice in gear shifting..but better than last time

[@nicoloni6555]

Und warum hängt keine deutsche Flagge am Fahnenmasst? 🇩🇪.???

[@robertmunoz7543]

No col hessler M47 king tigger?🤣 Jman

[@littlehistory2392]

Slow, unreliable?,,,,,,,,,,,still going after 82 years.