Tiger Tank Manual: Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger 1 Ausf.E (SdKfz 181) Model Hardcover – July 15, 2011

Who should buy this book? Indeed, co-author David Willey asks that very question in his intro. He points out all of the previous works done by, Tom Jentz and others have been very exhaustive. The authors, all of whom work for the British Tank Museum in Bovington, state that they hope to add a new chapter to the past works.In this, I think they succeed. Most of this book is about the only "runner" Tiger tank in the world. Captured by the British in WW2, much is known about the tank. David Fletcher gives a nice, concise history of the development of the Tiger. A lot of this book centers on the restoration of Tiger 131. Many of the excellent color photos here can be found on line, some of the B&W photos have been published before, as have the original British 3-D cut away drawings of the interior of the Tiger's layout, but these cutaways are larger than previous versions and one in color. Color photos of the interior restored Tiger make this a very good book. For those who love engineering, there are cutaway color diagrams of the transmission, fuel pumps, clutch, and starter.One thing I did not like - the product description by the publisher states that "Tiger Tank Manual gives an insight into acquiring, owning, and operating one of these awesome fighting vehicles". Only a few sentences cover acquiring or ownership - it basically says forget it. Only six survive now and it is unlikely any of the 1,354 made will be discovered.Having said that, operating the tank is described well, from the complexity of starting it, to maintaining it and keeping it in running condition. Driving, loading, gunning and commanding the tank, the armor, 88mm cannon, ammunition are covered well. Eperiences of German tankers are included, tanking is hard work. The authors bust one myth of the Tiger's reputation for poor mobility by showing its ground pressure and HP to weight ratio compared to the Sherman and T-34. If driven with care and experience, it did well despite the weight.So, who should buy this book? As a modeler, not so much. It does have a good description of German camouflage paint used in WW2, but no diagrams showing different patterns. If you already own Jentz's, Speilbergers, Osprey, In Action, Michael Green's books, then you are a Tiger junkie and should buy this. Treadheads and Armor addicts will like this. It is a very nice supplement to those other works. For the price, it's an excellent primer, high quality hardbound book. Even as a fan of the Tiger, I found or relearned new insights into this Tank. For a primer, five stars. Overall, four and a half stars.

Tiger I (Early Production) Road wheels are like Spark Plug Cables---unless you know the FIRING ORDER to connect them to the coil pack, you'll goof up the Firing Sequence and the car will run rough. Same with TIGER I road wheels. You have to take them off one at a time, mark them with a pen and then put them back IN ORDER. Mein Fuhrer needs me to stop the Russian Horde or those 'cowardly Americans' who won't stand and fight us like men' and our tank is NON MISSION CAPABLE because my stupid Loader & Driver got 'Wrench-Happy'.I bought this book to help us put the Road Wheels back on right and all this has is 'Cutsie' Photos of the tank, its history and the feelings of American 'TREADHEADS' about facing us. No, I am not being Sarcastic (which is highly out of character for me). I'm pushing a 1999 Madza Miata and I needed help with replacing both the ALTERNATOR and the STARTER. Do I care about the history of the Miata or its affect on one's insurance rates? NO!!! I needed to see a mechanic spinning wrenches and providing advice (Like after you remove the Alternator, buy yourself two new bolts & Retaining Rods and slap some Spark Plug Grease on them when your replace the Alternator because all Miatas eat Alternators for breakfast) and this book doesn't do that.To show you how 'ATE UP' this book is, It can't differenciate between TIGER I production months so, you don't know when the Germans went from ROUND Fifle Air Cleaners to Oval Fifle Air Cleaners or when the Road Wheels went from Rubberized to All Steel, or when the engine was upgraded, etc. That kind of info is important in identifying the manufacturing date of a given Tiger I tank based upon what it has on it (Say, an Early FEB1943 model from a MidProduction SEP1943 model). Hayes should never agreed to put their name to this dreck.

I'm not a "treadhead" by any stretch of the word, but this is a very nicely put together book and one of my favorites in Haynes' "Owners' Workshop Manual" series. The balance of historical and technical information is just right, and the text is quite informative without falling into the trap of over-inflating the Tiger's capabilities. The insights into restoring and running Tiger 131, the many detailed diagrams and interior photographs, and the concise but fairly detailed descriptions of the tank's inner workings, all make this a well rounded look at this famous tank. There's even a description of the tank's damage at the time of it's capture written by a forensics expert, step-by-step procedures for starting the tank and running the engine, and asides on recreating the tanks "Zimmerit" coating and choosing the correct paint scheme.I'm sure this isn't the "definitive" work on the Tiger I, but for a $17 novelty book, it delivers much more than I'd expected it to.

Anyone interested in the Tiger I should own this book.Excellent diagrams and photos provide an easy to understand description of the many complex and innovative systems in the tank. The text also includes operational and developmental history that provides an understanding of the machines' strengths and weaknesses.It is an invaluable aid to the modeller as well as the tank or WWII history buff.It is a book that you will continue to return to as a reference and although only 160 pages it is not a book you will read in one evening. It is packed with details on every system in the tank, how they were manufactured, operated, and maintained.I thought the Owner's workshop manual" was a bit of a sappy title but it does fall in line with the other Haynes books.It is my favorite Tiger book now and well worth the money.

Just received this book, fresh out from the Tank Museum. It has the makings of an instant classic.The title (and cover) are a playful take on the Haynes Manual format (for non-Brits a long-standing publisher of under-the-bonnet car guides) but this is actually a lovingly written history of the Tiger with a particular focus on the well-known tank which was captured intact in Tunisia and now resides in their collection - so literally an owners manual!The photos alone are eye-popping: plenty of interior shots and others with the vehicle in various states of dis-assembly (some making it look for all the world like a half finished model). Of course, because this has been put out by the museum there were no restrictions with access.If, like me, there are corners of the tank that you still haven't quite seen from the right angle or unresolved questions then there's likely to be an answer here. For example I wasn't quite sure how thick the internal rim of the loaders hatch should be - there's a great shot of it here. There's even a close up of one of the original padlocks from the stowage bin! [OK, so maybe that is getting a little close to rivet counting...]There are also some fascinating side bars - e.g. how to paste zimmerit on to the real thing (a restored Stug III).I cannot recommend this highly enough...

Another title in the excellent Haynes pseudo manual series and a more than worthwhile addition.Written ostensibly by the restorers of the Tank Museums Tiger the content is therefore convincingly accurate and detailed.Although not an exhaustive volume on the subject it is non the less fascinating with many of the photos not seen before.There is more than adequate detail on each aspect of the Tiger to make it a very informative read, much of the detail could not have been obtained without the strip and restore process having taken place, so this makes it exclusive in many ways.Production and presentation is excellent for the money and endows the book with a highly recommended rating from me !

combine the name of haynes and the tank museum and you have a great book on a classic piece of ww2 armour, it is well laid out and the text is clear to read and not in techy gobley-gook, excellent photos and even better cut away stuff to see how things work and at last some clear photos of the interior and drive train that i have always wanted, even though i am working on a late model tiger this is one of the best books i have on the subject, as yes i do realise its not a workshop manual, its a really in depth look at something i would not get to see often if at all, excellent well done haynes and the tank museum !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wish i could give more stars

Bought this for my dad for Xmas, but spent over an hour reading it once it was delivered! A great insight into a true monster of the second world war, it ultimately tells the tale of a specific Panzer VI, Tiger 131. Captured by the British in Tunisia, used for valuable tank/anti-tank research for the allies, and then restored to full running condition, where it now roams the Bovington tank museum.Loads of information, photos, and stories about Tigers in general, even a step-by-step guide on how to make a Tiger water-tight for deep-river fording, useful!A must for any WW2 buff, they'll love it!

I brought this book after a visit to Bovington Tank Museum, Dorset. This book was recommended during a talk by one of the museum helpers and after reading it, I can understand why.The book, in my option, is a little on the thin side at 160 pages, a lot is known about the Tiger 1 after Tiger 131 was captured during the war.