Corgi Tiger 131 restored and operated by

As you might expect with one of the world's most famous restored military artifacts of the Second World War, the story of 'Tiger 131' and how she came to reside in a museum in rural Dorset is a fascinating one and draws visitors from all over the world to come and see this once feared 80 year old German tank. Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I turret number 131 was built at the Henschel tank works in Kassel during February 1943 and was destined to be one of only a handful of these mighty tanks sent to bolster Afrika Korps forces who were battling to stem the Allied tide in Tunisia.
Assigned to the 504th Heavy Tank Battalion, she was sent by rail to the port town of Trapani in Sicily, before being shipped across the Mediterranean Sea to Tunis. Once in Tunisia, this now famous Tiger was prepared for combat and as the Commander's Tank of the 3rd platoon, was given the red turret number 131. Joining up with what few existing Tigers remained in the area, the tank went into action against the British in April 1943, where she would face the Churchill tanks of the 48th RTR and determined ground forces, which at that time were very much in the ascendancy.