Friends who have a little understanding of World War II will know the famous German Tiger tank, which is simply synonymous with the German tank in World War II. With excellent armor protection and powerful and accurate artillery, the Tiger tank has long become the most powerful symbol of the German elite armored forces, the most deterrent land weapon on the battlefield of World War II, and the most popular german classic weapon in the minds of military fans around the world.
■ The German Tiger tank on the battlefield, which is synonymous with the most powerful land combat equipment of World War II. The Tiger style in the eyes of the Germans is like this, but the American "Tiger Style" is a different style.
However, in the North African theater at the end of 1942, the U.S. army also had tanks named "Tiger", which was an M3A1 light tank belonging to the 3rd Platoon of C Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Panzer Division. It turned out that in Tunis in December of that year, soldiers of the German Afrika Korps defeated the American armored forces in a battle, and then found the abandoned tank while inspecting the battlefield. The German soldiers curiously inspected the light tank, which looked almost intact, and left behind a series of photos of the scene.
■ In the Tunisian battlefield in December 1942, the Germans inspected the abandoned American M3A1 light tank nicknamed "Tiger".
■ This M3A1 light tank, which looks almost intact, belongs to the 3rd Platoon of C Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Battalion, 1st Panzer Division of the US Army.
■ The soldiers of the Afrika Korps looked at the "tiger" of the US army curiously, and felt that they were saying in their hearts - this painting style is not right! Does this little tank of the Yankees dare to call itself a "tiger"? It's far worse than our tiger style, at most called tiger cubs.
■ The nickname "TIGER" of this tank can be seen on the side of the hull.
The German authentic Tiger tank weighs 57 tons, has 100 mm of heavy armor and a powerful 88 mm gun, but the US "Tiger" weighs only 15.2 tons and is equipped with 37 mm guns, and the two are not a level of "player" at all. In December 1942, the German Tiger tank had been equipped with the Afrika Korps and became an important armored force relied on by the German army, and the German soldiers estimated that they would laugh off their teeth after seeing the "Tiger" of the US army - with the small body of this small tank, 37 mm "knocking bricks", the narrow body can still sit 4 crew members? Yankees are calcium deficient!
■ The M3A1 light tank captured by the Germans was painted with a painted and reconstructed drawing, and its hull had the word "TIGER" in yellow on both sides.
Although this American "Tiger" did not achieve dazzling results on the battlefield and was captured by the Germans, it did not affect its popularity in the slightest, after all, its nickname was still very domineering. After the war, the livery of this tank was reproduced by some military museums, and even some model manufacturers produced related models of it.
■ An M3A1 light tank in the collection of the Normandy Tank Museum, painted by the US military's "tiger" in Tunisia.
■ The M3A1 "Stuart" light tank model produced by South Korean model manufacturer Edmei, its livery and water sticker logo reproduce the style of the "Tiger" of the US 1st Armored Division.