Tracks

Track link 1: What Tiger1's original early version cross-country track links should look like, and how they fit with the wheels.

The Tiger's combat tracks come in two versions: early and late. Several sources indicate that these differ only on the track shoe, where the early version had three indents, while the late version had no indents but instead cleats on the shoe. Since I am planning a rubber tyre (early) version, I am mainly interested in the early version. Unfortunately the only track links I could study, were the late ones in Munster, so I had to improvise a little bit on these early type drawings.

Note the "Bovington-3" photo, which shows the different wear on the tracks between steel and rubber wheeled Tigers. The rubber tyre wheel causes wear only above the hole in the horns, while the steel wheel causes wear over the complete horn height!

The dimensions of the parts making contact with the other links or the wheels should be reproduced in the model very carefully. They make the difference between a smooth rolling track and one with all kinds of problems such as extreme wear, track climbing etc.

A confusing part: The track link distance should be between 131.25mm and 132.25mm when pulled at with 1000Kg (Page 49 "D.W. to Tiger1"), while the track pitch is mentioned to be 130mm. This means that when the track pin diameter is 28mm, the holes must be 29mm diameter, 130mm apart.

I was having problems with the rubber tyre width. The "Bovington-5" photo which I enhanced a bit shows I am not the only one! Apparently it could be 94 or 95mm wide! For the moment, I stick to 95mm.

The Saumur Tiger's apparently new track links on the turret side puzzle me. I found some main dimensions deviate a bit to much. I wonder whether these may be a failed attempt to copy links in order to put the Tiger on combat tracks again, or as it was said in the Panzermuseum Munster, that this is a third version: A very late war type. The track links in front of the Tiger seem to be of the "normal" late type.

In the photo "Sturmtiger bottom4", near the centre of the photo, you can see an indent in the track bar near the connexion to the other link. This indent clearly does not show on Bovington (old and new) track links. Also on the Sturmtiger links you don't see cleats. These have been cut off mechanically. (May be to prevent damage to the road?)

Side	Top	Front/Bottom	Cutaway
Saumur new links	Saumur cleats 15mm	Sturmtiger inside	Sturmtiger inside2
Saumur Horn angles	Sturmtiger bottom	Sturmtiger bottom2	Sturmtiger inside3
Sturmtiger bottom3	Sturmtiger bottom4	Sturmtiger bottom5	Bovington-01
Bovington-02	Bovington-03	Bovington-04	Bovington-05