33 thoughts on “Photos from Bastogne Tank Hall and La Gleize”

1. Nice pics!
   A little correction: the SPG on the 10 and 11th pic is a Sexton not a M7 Priest.

   • Just what i thought , similair to the gun of the sexton in the game

     • Nice suicide with the Pershing on Fisherman’s Bay.
       You forgot to strap a bomb to yourself though Mohamed.

   • Certified, that gun is definitely a 25pdr

     • And the Priest have another Chassis, with the MG Copula on the left side if you look on the front side! ;)

2. Amazing. I always find it funny how puny he 8.8cm looks installed in the giant Tiger II, especially compared to the monster 122mm in the IS-3, which is smaller than M47. I guess germans didn’t really know how to cramp big guns into smaller turrets.

   • Germans had giant improvement in penetration etc. even when “staying” on 88mm, why should they do bigger guns then? :)

     • I’m not talking about bigger guns, I’m saying German tanks were WAY too big for the guns they carried ;)

       • Pretty sure its the soviet tanks that are way too small for their guns, given the appalling ergonomics, bad gun depression and lack of equipment most soviet tanks (and particularly the IS-3) were infamous for.

   • Still the puny 88 has better penetration and loads faster. (counting wartime ammos only not post wars), however the 122mm is more universal. (stronger HE greandes)

   • Ah, but thats not an 88mm gun.

     Or half of it, anyway. King Tiger 213 took a hit to the gun barrel. With only half a gunbarrel, the belgium took a panther gun and welded a part of that on the remains of the 88mm gunbarrel. Thats the gun you see here.

     See these pics:
     http://www.december44.com/files/images/Tigre1.jpg

     https://www.facebook.com/militarialagleize1944/photos/a.433372290016953.94822.207257075961810/433372473350268/?type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-xfa1%2Ft1.0-9%2F581122_433372473350268_184638406_n.jpg&size=446%2C662&fbid=433372473350268

     • Thanks! Nice repair they did, I must say.

   • It may look especially puny on this one since 1/3 of the cannon (muzzle brake downwards) is replaced with one of a Pzkfw V Panther that was found in a barn near La Gleize. The muzzle brake was destroyed by the crew who abandoned the tank. The museum staff restored it afterwards with the panther barrel.

3. What’s with the tiny gun on the tiger II ?

   • haha exactly :P
     It was this tiny compared to how giant the tank was.

     • edit: apparently it has a panther muzzle brake. never mind

       • So thats either a mock-up module Or the 8.8 pak 43 L/71 ?

         • half the gun was torn off and they just welded half of a Panther’s onto that.

4. first I though you went full comunist with the Comrade, but then I noticed its part of his nick lol :D

5. Neat-o. Did the Tiger II actually see combat? Or are those just armor penetration tests? I’m assuming actual combat scars because it’s so much cooler that way.

   • Yes it did :)

     • Sweet. I’ve always loved looking at armored vehicles from WWII, especially if they saw combat. It just provokes the imagination.

       • Indeed, the thing is huge tho, I felt so small standing next to it!

     • Wow. And it was also actually knocked out. In my opinion it would’ve been better if they left it how it was. o7, 213

       • It was abandoned by the crew, like most king tigers

6. Thanks Silentstalker and everyone! :D

7. My pal sent me a bunch of pictures earlier this year, where he was doing some non-destructive testing on the welds of the Tiger II in La Gleize. I think they recently restored it, as it has a new paint job compared to what’s visible on Google Streetview. No idea why they would have welds checked, considering the thing never comes off it’s place. The welds themselves were not good, btw. :}

   • Considering the issues with construction the Germans were having by the time Tiger II came into production, its not surprising there were bad welds. I’ve heard a lot of stories about Jewish laborers who were being forced to build weapons doing stuff like botching the welds, misaligning parts, etc to sabotage vehicles and guns in the factory. Add in the Allied bombing offensives on anything that LOOKED like a factory, and poor construction makes more sense.

8. The bastogne museum also has a some really nice privat collections of ww2 era stuff, best part about that museum its costs as much as you want it to (donations)

   If you are close to there i recommend it.

9. That IS-3 sure came a long way from home, didn’t it?

10. I’ve been in Bastogne last december and in La Gleize a few weeks back. This year is the 70th anniversary of the battle of the bulge and they are trying to get a tiger 1 to Bastogne for the NUTS weekend.
    I’m going there again this year.

11. The Tiger II looks like it’s sitting really low. I guess the springs have collapsed?

12. M47 Patton has mark of excellence ! :)