Catch That Tiger - Churchill's Secret Order That Launched The Most Astounding and Dangerous Mission of World War II

Noel Botham

• Publisher: John Blake
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781857829693
• Topic: Storia
• Subtopic: Biografie in ambito militare

Unleashed by Hitler in 1942, the German Tiger tank was by far the most powerful tank ever built at the time. The 60-ton monster could destroy any Allied tank from more than a mile away, and it soon became the most feared tank in the world. Desperate to discover the secret technology used in the Tiger's manufacture, Winston Churchill close a brilliant young army engineer, Major Doug Lidderdale, as his special agent. In a late-night briefing in the subterranean War Rooms under Whitehall he ordered him: 'Go catch me a tiger'. Doug did not hesitate and by February 1943 was facing Rommel's desert army. After several unsuccessful and hair-raising efforts to bag a Tiger on the battlefields of Tunisia, Doug and his team put their lives on the line in a terrifying, close-hand shoot-out with the five-man crew of a Tiger, capturing the tank intact. The morale boost to the Allies was such that both Churchill and King George VI flew to Tunis to examine the Tiger first hand. But the Germans were not finished with Doug. They did not want the secrets of the Tiger benefitting the Allies' war efforts, and constant attacks by the Luftwaffe and U-boats pursued Doug and his men on every step of the journey back to England. But eventually, by October 1943, the Tiger - number 131 - was delivered to London and gifted to Churchill, who had it placed on London's Horse Guards Parade. Lidderdale went on to use some of the Tiger technology to develop war machines for the D-Day landings and was promoted to Colonel. Tiger 131 is now kept at Bovington Tank Museum and is the only working Tiger in the world.The full extent of Doug Lidderdale's adventures in North Africa only came to light after his son, Dave Travis, revealed the existence of his father's diaries. With exclusive access to these and dozens of photographs, Catch That Tiger tells the incredible story of one of the most dangerous and thrilling secret missions of World War II.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• PROLOGUE
• CHAPTER ONE: 20 APRIL 1942
• CHAPTER TWO: AUGUST 1942
• CHAPTER THREE: DECEMBER 1942
• CHAPTER FOUR: 8 JANUARY 1943 – 1400 HOURS
• CHAPTER FIVE: 8 JANUARY 1943 – 1830 HOURS
• CHAPTER SIX: 19 JANUARY 1943
• CHAPTER SEVEN: 22 JANUARY 1943
• CHAPTER EIGHT: DECEMBER 1942/JANUARY 1943
• CHAPTER NINE: 24 JANUARY 1943
• CHAPTER TEN: 1 FEBRUARY 1943
• CHAPTER ELEVEN: FEBRUARY 1943
• CHAPTER TWELVE: 14–22 FEBRUARY 1943
• CHAPTER THIRTEEN: FEBRUARY – MARCH 1943
• CHAPTER FOURTEEN: 21 APRIL 1943
• CHAPTER FIFTEEN: 21 APRIL 1943 – MORNING
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN: 21 APRIL 1943 – AFTERNOON
• CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: 21 APRIL 1943 – LATER
• CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: 21 APRIL 1943 – 1800 HOURS
• CHAPTER NINETEEN: 21 APRIL 1943 – MIDNIGHT
• CHAPTER TWENTY: 6 MAY 1943
• CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: MAY 1943
• CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: JUNE/AUGUST 1943
• CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: AUGUST 1943
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: 10 AUGUST 1943
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: 11 AUGUST 1943
• CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: 12 AUGUST 1943
• CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: 13 AUGUST 1943
• CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: 14 AUGUST 1943
• CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: 19 AUGUST 1943
• CHAPTER THIRTY: SEPTEMBER 1943
• CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: 4 SEPTEMBER 1943
• CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: 17 SEPTEMBER 1943
• CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: 20 SEPTEMBER 1943
• CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: SEPTEMBER 1943
• CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: SEPTEMBER 1943
• CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: SEPTEMBER 1943
• CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: SEPTEMBER 1943
• CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: OCTOBER 1943
• EPILOGUE
• Plates
• Copyright