The two tank crew veterans of s.Pz.Abt.503; Alfred Rubbel and Franz-Wilhelm Lochmann visited the Panzermuseum Munster on November 14th, 2009 and talked about their memories of the Tiger I in a short movie.
https://www.panzertruppe.ch/alfred_rubbel
My friend, the web administrator, has kindly allowed me to publish the abstract of their speech here.
Please note that the all text are all right reserved by the administrator of panzertruppe.ch.
The speech of Alfred Rubbel and Franz-Wilhelm Lochmann
Franz-Wilhelm Lochmann talks about the enemy fire he experienced with the Tiger I in the Kalmyk steppe.
"Over time, we knew exactly which caliber had hit the Tiger" and "With heavy calibers, we had the feeling that the Tiger would almost go down on its knees, it would rock backwards a bit. We also needed a compass in the steppe because there was no other way to get our orientations.
He went on to say that
"The radio operator in a tank was always responsible for feeding the crew. He often made sandwiches, brewed coffee, or searched for food during short stops.
Alfred Rubbel said, "I was very disappointed with the appearance of the Tiger. He added, "The Tiger was an angular, clumsy box, a very shapeless monster compared to a T-34. The T-34 was a very elegant tank, and apart from its simple design, which offered no comfort to the crew, it was certainly the best tank of the World War II".
Franz-Wilhelm Lochmannは、Kalmyk 平原でTiger I とともに経験した敵の攻撃について語る。
「どの口径がTigerに命中したのか、時間が経つにつれて正確にわかるようになった」「大口径の砲弾は、Tigerが膝をついて、少し後ろに揺れるような感覚を覚えた」「平原ではコンパスが必要で、それ以外に方向を知る方法がなかった」
さらに、彼は次のように語る。
「戦車の通信手は、常に乗員の食事を受け持っていた。彼はしばしばサンドイッチを作ったり、コーヒーを淹れたり、短い停車の間に食料を探したりした。」
Alfred Rubbelは「Tiger の外観には非常に失望した」と語った。さらに「Tigerは角ばった不格好な箱で、T-34に比べればとてもぶざまな形の怪物だった。T-34は非常にエレガントな戦車で、乗員に快適さは与えない簡素な設計だということを除けば、第二次世界大戦で最も優れた戦車であることは間違いない」と述べている。
