diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Tile/Image.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Tile/Image.js
index c3037256b6..7d6269c348 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Tile/Image.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Tile/Image.js
@@ -346,6 +346,23 @@ OpenLayers.Tile.Image = OpenLayers.Class(OpenLayers.Tile.BackBufferable, {
         this.isLoading = false;
         this.events.triggerEvent("loadend");
 
+        // IE<7 needs a reflow when the tiles are loaded because of the
+        // percentage based positioning. Otherwise nothing is shown
+        // until the user interacts with the map in some way.
+        if (parseFloat(navigator.appVersion.split("MSIE")[1]) < 7) {
+            if (!this.layer || !this.layer.div) {
+                // nothing to do if the layer is destroyed already
+                return;
+            }
+            var span = document.createElement("span");
+            span.style.display = "none";
+            var layerDiv = this.layer.div;
+            layerDiv.appendChild(span);
+            window.setTimeout(function() {
+                span.parentNode === layerDiv && span.parentNode.removeChild(span);
+            }, 0);
+        }
+
         if (this.layerAlphaHack === true) {
             img.style.filter =
                 "progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src='" +