They are cranking up a big flywheel. The guy is bending down to engage an over center clutch or a bendix gear I think and thus turns over the engine. The fly wheel provides enough momentum to crank the main engine. The old Caterpillars used to use a 'pony' motor to start the main engine. You would crank up a big 2 cyl. gas engine and then engage an over center clutch and start the main engine. I've done it several times. It's quite a production. The Tiger operation is much more basic. Fewer things to brake, cheaper to build. I would hate to kill the engine in combat though. Back then battery technology was more primitive. It would take a LOT of space in that tank to make enough room for cranking batteries for an engine of that size. We lived with the legacy of those primitive batteries in cars into 80's. If you ever had an older car you will notice that the battery space provided is larger than needed for a modern battery. Very cool little peace of history in that film. Thanks for posting it.
[This message has been edited by Jimdandy (edited 01-19-2001).]
