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In 1943 Tiger "A" was
standard Tiger E except for internal modifications and the 88gun ,a
Kw K L 56. About 84 command Tigers rolled
off production line. Both Command Tigers I A Sdkfz 267and Sdkfz 268,
had following parts removed :
01)
1 Mantlet Mg.34 with all relevant fittings and mountings.
02) 1 Mg. toolbox and cradle.
03) 1 MG. accessory box and cradle.
04) 10 pouches of ammo for MG 34, containing 1500 rounds plus mounting
brackets.
05) 26 rounds of 8.8 cm rounds for main gun.
06) 1 Loader's prismatic reflector/mirror.
07) 1 stowage bin to the right and in front of the gun loader. (Reference D656/22)
Cleared space was replaced
with following radio equipment :
01) Command Observation tank Intercom System .
02) 1 set of radio equipment Fug 5 ( 10 Watt Ultra Short
Wave Transmitter and receiver) fitted in turret.
03) 1 set of radio equipment Fug 7 ( 20 Watt Ultra Short
Wave Transmitter and receiver), respectively.
04) 1 set of radio equipment Fug 8 ( 30 Watt Medium Wave
Transmitter and receiver) fitted in hull .
05) 1 auxiliary generator GG 400.
06) 1 Radio accessory/spares kit.
07) 1 Aerial connecting lead with Rear Aerial "Star"
D for 30 Watt System
Fug 8.
08) 1 Rod aerial 1.4 m long for 20 Watt System Fug 7.
09) 1 Rod aerial 2.0 m long for 10 Watt System Fug 5.
10) 1
Stowage for aerial rods. Container is fitted outside at the rear hull plate.
This
resulted in Tigers' downgrading, but
it was insignificant when compared to what command Tiger did. Such Tigers were either in Battalion or Company
category.
These tanks were in contact with either headquarters or Air support units. Such
units would pass information to Command Tank
,who in turn, issued respective orders to lower formations, on UKW ( Ultra
High Frequency) whose transmitters had an approximate range of 4 miles. In this way, commander was
in
constant in communication with other tank commanders.
Main
objective of a command Tiger was to keep a steady flow of
communication between command post, Luftwaffe and platoons. In most cases Luftwaffe
coordinated air attacks and then advised Command Tank of
the scenario. At that time tanks would
advance towards enemy position.
Command
Tiger E 267
had Fu.5 & Fu 8 (10 Watt transmitter ‘C’& UKW receiver ‘E’)
fitted in turret.
(Fug.8 a 30 Watt transmitter and MW receiver
‘C’) located in hull.
Command Tiger E 268
had Fu.5 & Fu.7 (10 Watt transmitter ‘C’ & Fu.7 20 Watt
transmitter ‘D’ and UKW receiver ‘D1’
Fug or Fu
is German abbreviation
of Funk
Gerät which
means Radio Equipment.
“UKW”, MW” and “LW” mean Ultra Kurtz Welle, Mittel Welle und Lange Welle. Translated
into English they mean: Ultra
short wave, Medium wave & Long wave. Letters “E” stand for
Empfänger
(Receiver) &“S” for Sender (Transmitter).
Fug 5 10 Watt. S ‘c’ operated on
27.2-33.3 MHz
Fug
7,
20 Watt. S. ’d’ used as Ground to Air transmitter. Frequency 42-47
MHz
Fug 8, 30 Watt. S. ’a’ operated on
1,110-3010 Kc/s
Matching receivers to all three transmitters were UKW.E early model, and UKW.E
‘a’ later model
Aerials
for the above transmitters;
Star”
aerial ‘D’ for the 30 Watt (Fu8). Location: Right rear end of tank.
Rod
aerial 1,4 m for the 20 Watt (Fu7). Location: Left rear end of tank.
Rod
aerial 2 m for the 10 Watt (Fu5). Location: Right side close to the cupola.
Seating
Positions
Radio Operator 2, whose
normal position was in hull, had two
radio systems fitted on rubber mountings.
Added to his standard Fu5 transmitter and UKW
receiver 'E', a second set was
fitted - either Fu7 or Fu8 and located to the left of standard equipment.
This change made Tiger E either Sd Kfz 267 or Sd Kfz 268. The 267 had Fu 5
and Fu 8 and the 268 had Fu5 and Fu 7 radios.
The second Fu5 and UKW E receiver,
was attached to the turret's roof right side, where loader
sat. MG34's space was
replaced by another Fu.5 which was
suspended on straps and
rubber
insulating mountings. Loader
had
now a secondary role as a radio operator
1.
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