Com-Central.net

Ah... It may be at WTS Museum or somewhere in Germany. My notes on the 254 say it was loaned to the German BWB in 1981...

Neil

and we've learned what a loan to a german museum means

Jeff Lewis

AFV Interiors (RIP) had some great interior photos of the APG Elefant.

Here is almost the same shot of the area cut by Anniston taken back in 1980 or 81. note that the bolt on supplemental armor plates on the gun barrel have also disappeared



Jeff Lewis

Hopefully they are still laying around somewhere...

Neil

Happiness over the restoration move is tempered by the loss all the photos from my visit last month to APG and the now lost oportunity to take replacements. While I was photographing the Elefant, I was happy to discover the Elefant's ventilator was rusted lose and, like Bob, I could photograph the interior. From Bob's photos you can see the gun breech and fighting compartment floor (note the interior mounting bracket for the fighting compartment roof). I lost my photo of the inside of the large rear circular hatch, so if one turns up here that would be appreciated! Another area not photographed, even in Schiffer's "Heavy Jagdpanzer", would be the electric drive components; so when the refurbishing starts don't forget to grab the digital camera!

For those looking for good photo coverage of the Aberdeen and Kubinka examples, the Japanese publisher, "Model Art" as recently produced an excellent little book with a short history and extensive photo coverage demonstrating the modifications seperating the difference between the Ferdinand and the Elefant.

Finally, the Saurer RK-7 (SdKfz 254) wheeled/tracked combination was the subject of a "Nuts & Bolts" booklet published back in 1996. In addition to some wartime photos, there are photos of it at APG and a 25 page section of detail photos taken from its storage room in Germany (interior shots are also provided).