Is there any reliable information as to which Tiger Is were actually painted in overall dunkelgrau?
Paul
Yes, or at least I trust David Byrden’s research on the matter. https://tiger1.info/
The information is hidden somewhere in tiger1.info and he’s written a post about it on these forums at least once, but basically it was a really limited batch of initial/early tigers, most, if not all were sent to S. Pz. Abt 502 in late 1942.
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According to original documents (POs, shipment & accounting etc.) from the Henschel Archives the Tigers left the factory in RAL 7021 … from end of March in RAL 7028 … from Sept. 1944 in factory applied camo.
What happened later is a different story…
Tiger I production ended in August of ‘44, therefore they could not have left in “factory applied camo” in September.
Solitary examples of late war grey Tigers are limited to so-called “Frankenpanzers” of Gruppe Fehrmann (i.e., F13) and possibly others, and even this is highly debatable, despite their popular depictions in gaming circles and spurious artists interpretations.
Certainly doesn’t look grey to me, despite common depictions found online. What is seen by some as being Panzergrau RAL 7021 is more likely Red Oxide Primer underneath the failing coat of Zimmerit.
I was referring to the complete Tiger production / Sept. 1944 = King Tiger production.
Fehrmann Tiger was a mix bag … no clue what colours might have applied.
The Germans would have patched them up with some kind camo … with the colours available at the time.
This series might be of interest:
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I think it was until they changed from grey to the " dunkelgelb " colour. In march 1943
Referencing the F13, you can see a color difference on the turret rear (just behind the pistol port) where the stowage bin used to be. I would think that is the original gray color. This is an early production Tiger, and, depending on production series, some were issued without bins and were completely in Dunkelgrau. Possibly this tank was retro-fitted with the bin when they were available, then at some point in it’s history repainted, then later the bin was lost exposing the original paint. The spare track brackets would suggest a mid-production, but they could have been added later. Although, the Fehrmann Tigers had mismatched hulls and turrets, so identification could be difficult.
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February 18, 1943.