WW2 soldier's son unravels famous tank's history

The son of a soldier involved in a battle, which saw one of the world's most famous tanks captured, has told the story of its capture in a new book.

Dale Oscroft's father John saw his anti-tank Piat weapon bounce off the feared German Tiger 131 during the North African campaign in 1943.

But he was relieved to see it disabled moments later after its turret was jammed by an armour-piercing round and its crew fled, leaving it to be captured by the British.

That same tank is the only fully operational Tiger tank surviving today and it is kept at the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset.

It has been featured in the Hollywood blockbuster Fury, which stars Brad Pitt, and was the first German Tiger tank to be captured intact.

Oscroft researched the Battle of Gueriat el Atach, which was one of the most important actions in the fall of Tunisia and the Nazi surrender in North Africa.

"My father had mentioned an action in which [his battalion, the 2nd Sherwood Foresters] captured a Tiger tank in Tunisia after its turret had been jammed," Oscroft said.

"But it was only when I was on holiday in Dorset in 2012 and saw Tiger 131 on a visit to the Tank Museum that I thought it might be connected.

"The Tiger had been captured in Tunisia after sustaining a jammed turret but the account of the action placed it some 10 miles away from where the Foresters had fought.

"Subsequently, my research revealed the true circumstances of its capture, confirming that it was indeed the same tank my father had tried to knock out.

"Its capture following the lucky shell strike was so important that prime minister Winston Churchill and King George VI were pictured with the tank when they visited Tunisia following the Axis surrender."

The Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered a few weeks later.

Stuart Wheeler, a senior historian at the Tank Museum, said the story of Tiger 131 has changed over the years as more details were discovered.

"Dale, with meticulous research, has now contextualised the capture of this tank, which is the most famous in the world," he said.

"He has shown the importance of the engagement in the battle for Tunisia."

After the fall of Tunisia, John Oscroft went on to serve with the Foresters in Italy, including at the Anzio beachhead.

After being demobbed in 1946 he returned to his job in a hosiery factory in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, married Violet, had son Dale, and died aged 59 in 1982.

Oscroft's book, Tiger 131: The Forgotten Battle, is available for sale in The Tank Museum's shop.

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