Original Item: One-Of-A-Kind. Here we have a lovely small wooden model tank, made by a German Prisoner of War in one of the many camps located in the United States during WWII. It is marked A.K. TIG. on the front, so this is a model of a German Tiger I Tank, as used by the Deutsches Afrikakorps late in the North Africa campaign. It measures 7 ⅝" Long by 2 ⅝" wide by 3 ⅜" tall, and is painted with a lovely Africa pattern tri-color camouflage. There are German Balkenkreuz (Beam Cross) insignia on the sides and rear top. It has a top turret with a long screw for a main gun, and two cutoff nails for the auxiliary armament.

We do admit that in form it does not really look that much like an actual Tiger I tank, but being that the POW was in the U.S, and possibly made this a year or more after their last look at a Tiger, which only saw limited use in the North African campaign. It has wooden wheels set into slots on the bottom, all of which still move. This looks like it was made in one of the work shops that the POWs would have had access to during their captivity in the U.S..

This wonderful German model tank came to us from the American Armoured Foundation, Inc. Tank and Ordnance Memorial Museum. The AAF Tank Museum was a living memorial dedicated to the Tank and Cavalry soldiers of the world. Before 1981 some of the artifacts that make up the AAF Tank Museum was a private collection belonging to Mr. William Gasser. Mr. Gasser felt that his collection would be beneficial in educating present and future generations to the sacrifices made and the technologies gained during war. Therefore, in 1981 the AAF Tank Museum was established as a non-profit charitable organization, and Mr. Gasser's donated his private collection to the Tank Museum. Mr. Gasser is still active as Volunteer Director and Curator of the Tank Museum and his knowledge of military history has been a great asset to the museum. Unfortunately after 20 years of operation it had to close its doors, which is when the tank was acquired.

Unfortunately we do not have any other information aside from this regarding the origin of this piece, which could have been made any any number of different POW camps. It definitely looks great, and would make a fantastic addition to any collection, as well as a great item to have on your desk.