Unimax Forces of Valor 1/16 German Tiger 1 Michael Wittman Final Battle World War 2 Diecast Tank (85504)

Unimax Forces of Valor 1/16 German Tiger 1 Michael Wittman Final Battle World War 2 Diecast Tank (85504) | Antics Online

Contact Mail Order Hotline on 01453 825381 or email to enquiries@antics.ltd.uk

Secure Ordering & Free UK Delivery
for orders over £40.00 (more)

> Military > Extreme Metal Tanks

Unimax Forces of Valor 1/16 German Tiger 1 Michael Wittman Final Battle World War 2 Diecast Tank (85504)
In the summer of 1944, Michael Wittmann and his crew happily took photographs with his famous Tiger I. However they had no idea that these were their last pictures... One of the most famous images shows Wittmann atop his Tiger (picture attached). In this second edition of the Tiger 1, Forces of Valor have recreated the scene based upon this very photograph, featuring Wittmann sitting on his Tiger, together with the photographer and his gun crew. All five characters are unique, with different poses and facial expressions. Fourth release in the Extreme Metal 1:16th series is the Tiger I “Michael Wittmann” Limited Edition of just 2000 pieces. Each limited edition Tiger comes with its own unique Forces of Valor `Certificate of Production` together with a boxed Michael Wittmann figure, also included are the four crewmen. The engine is included in its own display box, there are also 2 full colour brochures detailing the history of the Tiger I at War and also the story of Michael Wittmann, the most successful tank commander of World War II

On 8 August, the Allies were to launch another heavy assault with the aim of sealing the pocket of resistance in the area around Falaise, Operation "Totalize". At this time Wittmann and his company were attached to 12. SS Pz. Gren. Division 'Hitlerjugend', a tough new division consisting of former members of the Hitler Youth and commanded by the legendary Kurt 'Panzer' Meyer. The small Kampfgruppe had a total of around sixty vehicles, and Wittmann had under his command only eight serviceable Tigers. This was compared to some six-hundred Allied tanks which had been organised for "Totalize". Wittmann's task was to attack the town of Cintheaux, which stood on the N158 between Caen and Falaise, and to occupy the heights to the north. Wittmann's tiger set out around 12:30, and after travelling a short distance encountered a team of Shermans belonging to the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, who were themselves advancing on Cintheaux. Using the powerful 88mm guns, the team of advancing Tigers proceeded to smash the small formation of Canadian vehicles, desperate to push towards their objective. According to a number of his colleagues, Wittmann had been nervous that morning, and uncharacteristically indecisive. His foreboding proved justified. What exactly happened next is still a matter of conjecture, but it would appear from the various versions that have been presented is that Wittmann had found his Tiger surrounded on the outskirts of the woods outside Cintheaux, and fell victim to an attack that both disabled the track mechanism and set it alight. According to all of the reports that have since become available, this took place at around 1247 hours. At 1255 hours, SS-Hauptschführer Hans Höflinger of the 2nd Company had seen Wittmann's Tiger in a stationary position but still intact; however neither Höflinger nor the medical officer SS-Hauptsturmführer Dr. Wolfgang Rabe were able to reach their commander's stricken vehicle, and were forced to retreat. It was only some time after this that the turret of Tiger Nr. 007 was separated from the hull, no doubt the result of an internal explosion caused by the on-board ammunition and burning fuel. No shell could have achieved this result; the turret was so heavy that the result could only have been caused by a blast from within the vehicle. Not more than an hour into the afternoon of 8 August 1944, Michael Wittmann and his crew were reported missing in action. The shattered turret of Wittmann's Tiger Nr. 007 had been completely torn away from the hull and ruptured by an internal explosion. Wittmann's Tiger has been 'claimed' by a number of Allied units, although it has also been argued that it had been destroyed by airborne forces. Michael Wittmann's death on 8 August 1944 could well have been avoided; he did not have to accompany the other Tigers, but did so nevertheless on account of the fact that SS-Hauptsturmführer Franz Heurich, newly promoted to the command of the 3rd Company, lacked the necessary battlefield experience. The words he uttered were no doubt etched on the minds of those who survived: "I must go with them". As ever, Wittmann was there for his men, and perished as a result. A soldier's soldier to the last, he would not have had it any other way. The news of the loss of their beloved "Michel" sent shockwaves through the ranks of the Leibstandarte, from the ordinary soldier through to "Sepp" Dietrich himself; the day proved to be one of the blackest in the history of the division.

> Military > Extreme Metal Tanks