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“Major!” barked Winston Churchill to the brilliant young military engineer. “I want you to go and catch me a Tiger.

“I want you to bring me a Tiger tank. Park the bloody thing outside my front door. Do you understand?”

“Perfectly sir,” replied Major Douglas ­Lidderdale.

So started one of the most dangerous and heroic missions of the Second World War... which, until now, only a handful of people have known about.

The mission to capture a Tiger was ­shrouded in such secrecy that it was only after Douglas’s death in 1999 that his son David learned the truth about his ­father’s mission.

Now a book based on his diaries reveals for the first time that fateful ­conversation with ­Winston ­Churchill in the underground ­Cabinet War Rooms, which ­began: “Mr ­Lidderdale. I’ve heard a lot about you. Pretty genned up on tanks are you not?”

The deadly ­German ­Tigers had started rolling off the production line in ­winter 1942 and were wiping out ­our soldiers, decimating ­Allied ­morale.

On one day they had ­destroyed 100 tanks. Dozens of men burned to death after their own vehicles were destroyed by the Tigers’ powerful and deadly ­accurate guns – a fate known, with typical Army black ­humour, as “brewing up”.

Our tank crews’ terror of Tigers was so widespread it had its own nickname, Tigerphobia. But if we could capture one of the 60-tonne vehicles, which had ­armour so tough that Allied tank weapons struggled to pierce it, we could learn how to destroy them in battle.

So on January 22, 1942, Douglas kissed goodbye to Kathleen, the ­beautiful young dancer he had married just three days before, and left for Tunisia.

He took a hand-picked team: tank driver Corporal Bill Rider, Sergeant Sam Shaw and ­Lieutenant Reg Whatley.

They arrived in Tunisia in the first week of February 1943 to fierce fighting along a 20-mile front from El Aroussa in the south to Beja in the north.

But as March ran into April and under constant bombardment, Douglas became increasingly frustrated. Day after day he risked his life, witnessing first-hand the destruction the Tigers wreaked, yet he only had near misses.

One Tiger was blown up by the Royal Engineers. Another was towed to ­safety by the German army. A third was ­destroyed by its crew to stop it being captured.

Then on April 21, Doug’s chance ­finally came. He woke early, his tent rocked by the sound of heavy gunfire.

With 250,000 enemy troops bottled up in north-east Tunisia, the Allies had been just a day away from forcing the enemy to surrender or sweep them into the sea. But the Germans had got wind of the plans and launched a surprise attack.

Douglas knew it was his big chance. Turning to Reg, he said: “You can bet your life that among them are Tigers on the prowl. This could be our lucky day, the chance to nab one at last.”

Climbing into their Churchill Mark IV tank they went Tiger-hunting, heading to the ­battlefield where a firefight was raging.

Douglas told his team: “We must spot one that’s in trouble and pounce.”

Almost straight away he saw his ­opportunity. Less than half a mile away he spotted the turret of a Mark VI Tiger – Tiger 131. The hatch was open and a soldier was examining the gun. The turret ­was jammed.

“We’ll cut around the edge of the ridge and then down the slope,” said ­Douglas. “At top speed, we can be right up his ­backside in just a few minutes.”

He opened fire and ­peppered the ­German with bullets – the first time he had shot a man. He shouted to Bill to get alongside the Tiger and climbed on to the roof. As he swayed, trying to maintain his balance, one of the German crew emerged with an MP 40 machine gun.

Douglas was staring death in the face – but then the ­German soldier’s body began to convulse. Sam had opened fire on him.

Douglas turned to his men, ­ordered them to unscrew their water canteens and said: ­“Gentlemen I propose a toast. To the capture of the Tiger – Herr Hitler’s favourite toy.”

A few weeks late, on May 31, Doug received an order: “CHURCHILL ­ARRIVING HERE ­TOMORROW. WILL WANT TO SEE TIGER. PROBABLY DRIVE IN IT.”

It was over 100ºF as the 69-year-old Prime Minister arrived wearing a pith helmet, dark glasses and a tropical suit.

Doug offered a salute but Churchill waved it away. “I’d rather shake your hand Mr ­Lidderdale,” he said.

He wanted to give the tank a full ­inspection but there was a problem. The tank hatch was 20in across – ­Churchill’s waist was considerable wider.

“Must be pretty lean chaps, these tank aces,” murmured the PM.

He told Douglas: “One day Mr ­Lidderdale, the nation will know all about the courage of you and your men. But you must not talk about this mission until I give you the word.”

King George VI was the next VIP to visit the Tiger, after making the longest air journey of a monarch.

Then Douglas set about transporting the Tiger back to Britain. But the Germans knew a British officer had a Tiger Tank and were determined to stop him.

He loaded his cargo on to the SS Empire Candida cargo ship for the first leg of the journey to the Tunisian port of Bizerte with the Germans in hot pursuit. When the ship came under fire from a U-boat, Douglas had an idea.

“I think our Tiger is going to go hunting,” he said as he climbed into his tank and turned its guns on the submarine.

He missed his target – but the U-boat ­retreated fast. By August, Douglas had got as far as Bone in Algeria.

On the morning of ­September 20, 1943, under cover of ­darkness, he drove the tank on to the foredeck of the Ocean Strength. The ramps had to be reinforced to take the weight but finally the Tiger was lashed to the deck under camouflage netting.

Douglas was taking no chances. He was armed with a Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife as well as his service revolver.

And he had ordered 60 life rafts, one for each tonne of his Tiger, in case the ship came under attack. “Winston Churchill wants this tank,” he told his men. “And by God, I’m going to deliver it to him.”

(Image: Getty)

The ship was pursued by U-Boats and strafed by Luftwaffe planes but in October 1943 she arrived at Glasgow. Douglas instructed removal firm Pickfords to take the tank to London then headed to ­Whitehall, where Churchill greeted him: “Mr ­Schicklgruber (Hitler) and his Huns will be crying themselves to sleep tonight. Thank you, Colonel.”

“Thank you sir but if I may say so, with respect, I’m only a major,” Douglas said.

“With respect, I think you can call yourself Colonel after this,” replied the Prime Minister.

In November 1943 the tank was ­paraded on Horse Guards Parade.

Douglas used its technology to develop war machines for the D-Day landings, which changed the course of the war. And Tiger 131 now has pride of place at ­Bovington Tank Museum in Dorset.

? Catch That Tiger by Noel Botham and Bruce Montague with David Lidderdale is published by John Blake this month, price £17.99. To order for £15 including P&P call 020 7381 0666.