Tanks and Nicknames

[Timmay9/11]

I started a build a 1/16 scale model of a Tiger tank  (early) and painted it today and I’m nearly finished with it. So I came up with the Idea to give it a name and paint it on the turret. I think it is a nice idea but actually I just saw this on Allied and Russian tanks, but cant remember that I have ever seen a picture of a German tank that had a nickname written somewhere. So did some German tank crews that? Has somebody maybe a picture of a German tank with a nickname?  In my case a picture of a Tiger would be awesome.

[Fuchs]

German crews sometimes named their vehicles and would paint the name on it in gothic whriting which was then popular in Germany. But not really big or special, just a white gothic name on, let's say, the barrel or turret.

[Timmay9/11]

well,   thank you for the answer fuchs , 
I havent made my decision if I do it or not,     as names I came up with "Sturer Emil" and "Dummer Esel"  but im still open for suggestions ,

still pictures would be awsome 

[Fuchs]

Somehow Germans liked to give their vehicles female names though. Check out the Marder I in FH2, it also has a nickname.

I'll try and find some pictures, specifically looking for them is hard though.

[Timmay9/11]

Thanks,  I appreciate that
Well, progress slowed down , cant give it right now its final treatment. My airbrush is broken ...

[Fuchs]

I tried finding some pictures but sorry, nothing found yet.

[Kelmola]

Somehow Germans liked to give their vehicles female names though.

Not only Germans... it's a cross-cultural tradition going back to the ancient times that naming your ship after a woman brings the ship good luck, and the tradition simply expanded to cars, airplanes and the like along the way. For the same reason, when you want to show proper respect for a ship/plane/etc. you refer to "her" even if she would be named after a man and even though nouns do not have a gender in English. You could argue that sailing ships' figureheads, airplane "nose art" (particularly the pin-ups on US WW2 planes) and even the famous Rolls-Royce hood ornament are all part of the same tradition.

[Flippy Warbear]

And if we stay in the WW2 related vehicle naming, its not only a german thing since us finns named our vehicles with female names. All (with one or two exceptions) of the stugs we bought are named after a woman, many light tanks aswell.

[siben]

it's a cross-cultural tradition going back to the ancient times that naming your ship after a woman brings the ship good luck, and the tradition simply expanded to cars, airplanes and the like along the way. For the same reason, when you want to show proper respect for a ship/plane/etc. you refer to "her" even if she would be named after a man and even though nouns do not have a gender in English. You could argue that sailing ships' figureheads, airplane "nose art" (particularly the pin-ups on US WW2 planes) and even the famous Rolls-Royce hood ornament are all part of the same tradition.

Funny that naming your ship after a woman was good luck, but having an actual woman on it was bad luck

[Fuchs]

Still there are many exceptions, look at British tank nicknames, every tank had their own name starting with the same letter, no female names.

[S1lv3rWolf]

Still there are many exceptions, look at British tank nicknames, every tank had their own name starting with the same letter, no female names.

There's also division-given nicknames, IIRC there was a British Division that named their tanks after birds, the same division that had "Cuckoo" the captured German Panther.

[Fuchs]

Yeah, thats sort of the same, crew does not give nicknames, they get a nickname 

[siben]

I found this pic of a stug in the kubinka museum, don't know 100% if it is orriginal but it could be.


This tiger is named Tiki


All i could find in my 5 minute search, hope it helps you a bit.

[THeTA0123]

if i could, i paint my FH2 churchill with SASHA in grand letters on the turret

[Timmay9/11]

Thank you again guys

Siben, where did you find these pictures? 
Cant find anything with google, well but actually I don’t know what to search for

tank nicknames german, wehrmacht etc. doesn’t lead to something 

I found this pic of a stug in the kubinka museum, don't know 100% if it is orriginal but it could be.

Isn’t a nickname,  a few words for the following troops
Cant read it total, last word is unclear

Jungs holt last!   (well last doesn’t make sense)