The Tigers sent to North Africa were as part of tank battalions- Schwere Panzer Abteilung 501 and 504. The official Organisation : s.Pz.Abt 501 Abt HQ: HQ: 2 Tiger I, 1 Pz.IIIN Light Platoon: 5 Pz.IIIN 20 Tigers and 25 Panzer III's sent to Tunisia - The Panzer III's were half Ausf J and half Ausf N. s.Pz.Abt 504 Abt HQ: HQ: 2 Tiger I, 1 Pz.IIIN Light Platoon: 5 Pz.IIIN Only its Staff (2 Tigers, 6 Pz.III), 1st Company (9 Tigers, 10 Pz.III's), and a few extra Panzer III's (3 - presumably from 2nd Coy) made it to Tunisia. (Total 11 Tigers and 19 Panzer III's). All the Panzer III's in this unit were Ausf L. At the end of February 1943 after the battle of Kasserine the remains of the two s.Pz.Abt became the Heavy Companies of the 10th Panzer Division's, 7th Panzer Regiment. They were technically the 7th & 8th Companies of the III (Heavy) Panzer Battalion. Resulting in all their Tigers being renumbered with 3 digit no.s in red and white outline starting with "7" and "8". Rapid Fire organisation details: Theoretical TO&E s.Pz.Abt 501 Headquarters BHQ: 1-Tiger I Recon: 1-Pz.IIIJ or Pz.IIIN 1st & 2nd Companies, each: 2 Tiger I, 1 Pz.IIIJ, 1Pz.IIIN s.Pz.Abt 504 Headquarters BHQ: 1 Tiger I Recon: 1 Pz.IIIL 1st Company: 2 Tiger I, 2 Pz.IIlL 2nd Company: 1 Pz.IIIL PAINTING YOUR TIGERS The book "Tiger Without a Home" by Richard Cox states that: "...reports indicate that all of 1/501's tanks were painted desert yellow before they arrived in Tunisia. The large tactical numbers on the turrets of 1/501's Tigers were outlined in white, with only the yellow paint below for contrast." "Furthermore in contrast to 1/501's vehicles, 2/501's Tigers were sand-olive, but their tactical numbers were also painted in white outline. Its also suggested that between the Kasserine battles and renumbering as 7 & 8 Companies stocks of US olive drab paint were captured and applied to "some" of the Tigers to blend them in a bit more with the slightly greener, foliated landscape existing in Tunisia. (This is apparently also mentioned in a couple of other sources. But, it is known for definite whether this actually occurred or not. Choice of Models In 20mm I recommend the Hasegawa 1/72nd Tiger 1E or the Fujimi/Nitto 1/76th Tiger 1E, avoid the Airfix model--it's a terrible kit. Back to Frontline Vol. 1 Iss. 3 Table of Contents Back to Frontline List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Rolfe Hedges This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com