German tank Panzer VI TIGER 131 COBI 2588 - World War II 1:28

You know that:

• The number 131 is based on the logical order of German heavy equipment, where 1= first company, 3= platoon, 1= first command vehicle.
• The machine was first thought to have been captured by British 48. Royal Tank Brigade at the Battle of Djebel Djaff on 21 April 1943, when a deflected shell from a Churchill tank disabled the Tiger's turret and the crew abandoned the machine.
• But in 2009, something extraordinary happened. The Tank Museum in Bovington where the Tiger is preserved was visited by Mr Dale Oscroft. Mr Oscroft would have been shocked by the tank's story, which resembled that of his father John, a direct participant in the fighting in Tunisia. John was ordered to engage and delay the German tanks with PIAT anti-tank missiles until further reinforcements arrived. After he crawled in, he fired, but the projectile bounced off the tank. At that moment, British Churchills arrived on the battlefield. One of the British tanks hit the Tiger in the gun. The bullet slid down the barrel and lodged in the turret, rendering the turret immobile. The German crew abandoned the tank. The whole event took place at Gueriat el Atach, marked as Point 174.  Fortunately, many photographs survived from the scene of the fighting and so it was possible to confirm the authenticity of the new information unequivocally. 
• The tank on display in the museum still shows the hit.
• Before the Tiger crew abandoned the machine, it hit two British Churchill tanks, which were destroyed without the enemy being spotted.
• Lieutenant Peter Gudgin, the commander of one of the Churchills hit, later testified that a Tiger missile hit them in the frontal armour, flew through the tank compartment to eventually bite into the engine, where it caused a fire. The Churchill crew left the stricken tank virtually unharmed.
• The crippled tank was examined by the Secret Service under direct orders from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
• This machine was first displayed in Tunis and then in 1951 it was taken to the Bovington Tank Museum where it is still on display in full working order today.
• In 2012 the restoration to fully operational condition was completed. The total cost of the refurbishment exceeded £80,000.
• Tiger 131 has appeared in several war films such as Fury (Iron Fist) in 2014.

Technical parameters:

• heavy tank classification
• dimensions: length 8,45 m (with barrel), width 3,56 m, height 3,0 m
• weight 57 000 kg
• armour up to 120 mm
• main weapon KwK 36L/56 gun 88 mm calibre (92 rounds)
• secondary weapon 2 x machine gun 7,92 mm calibre (4 800 rounds)
• power plant gasoline engine maybach HL230 P45 with 515 kW
• maximum speed 40 km/h on the road, 20 km/h off-road
• range 100 km road / 60 km off-road
• crew of 5 

Tank Museum in Bovington:

• One of the two largest tank museums in the world.
• The collection includes more than 300 vehicles from 26 countries, including the oldest Mark I tank.
• The site originally served as a tank training centre from 1916. The museum was founded in 1947.
• In June each year, the museum hosts a popular Tankfest event that draws crowds of fans from around the world. 

From the memoirs of shooter Erich Hartmann:

"I was inside the tank when the grenade hit. The explosion was overwhelming and I almost went deaf. Fortunately, we all survived, but our Tiger 131 was destroyed."