Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. H1, or "Tiger" is the first German heavy. One of the most famous tanks in Germany.
History of creation
The history of the famous “Tiger” began in 1937. At that time, the Wehrmacht did not have heavy tanks, while the French had the Char B1, and the Russians had the T-35. At the same time, in France and Poland, low-moving vehicles were not particularly needed, so the requirements for a heavy tank were very vague.
In 1937, Henschel & Son AG was ordered to develop a heavy 30-33 ton breakthrough tank, the DW1. The main task of the tank was to support infantry in close combat, so they decided to equip it with a 75-mm PzKpfw IV cannon. The chassis was already ready, but in 1938 it was unexpectedly ordered to stop work and begin developing a 65-ton super-heavy tank.
Soon two prototypes of the VK 6501 were created, but at the very beginning of testing it was ordered to return to DW1. As a result, by 1940, the DW2 prototype was created, 32 tons, with a 75 mm howitzer. In 1941, the prototype began to be tested, and MAN, Daimler-Benz AG and Porsche also began working on the breakthrough tank.
During testing, the vehicle was given the designation VK 3001 (H). The shape of the tank was similar to the PzKpfw IV, but with a fundamentally new suspension.
In 1941, the tank was about to be mass-produced, but the Soviet T-34 appeared on the scene, and the Germans decided to hold off. The VK 3001(H) project was discarded, although the created prototypes were turned into artillery self-propelled guns Рz Sfl V.
The designers sat down to the drawings again, and soon new designs for a heavy tank were ready. The Porsche company proposed the VK 3001 (P) project, “Leopard”, but the commission found it too complicated, so it was rejected. The companies MAI and Daimler-Benz AG were also unlucky - the projects were considered too outdated. As a result, by March 1942, Henschel and AG’s son finally created a prototype that met all the wishes of the Fuhrer personally. It was equipped with an excellent 88-mm FlaK 36 anti-aircraft gun, which successfully dealt with other people's tanks. As a result, the VK 4501(H) project was put into production and received the name “Tiger” Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. H1
By the way, almost immediately work began on its modernization and the creation of “”, which appeared only in 1944.
TTX Tiger 1
general information
- Classification – heavy tank;
- Combat weight - 56 tons;
- Layout - engine compartment at the rear, transmission and control compartment at the front;
- Crew – 5 people;
- Years of development: 1941;
- Years of production – 1942-1944;
- Years of operation – 1942-1945;
- A total of 1354 pieces were produced.
Dimensions
- Hull length – 6316 mm, with gun forward 8450 mm;
- Case width – 3705 mm;
- Height – 2930 mm;
- Ground clearance – 470 mm.
Booking
- Type of armor – rolled chrome-molybdenum, surface hardened;
- Body forehead, top – 100/8 mm/degree;
- Hull side, top – 80 mm;
- Hull rear, top – 80/8 mm/degree;
- Bottom – 28 mm;
- Hull roof - 26 mm, by the end of the war 40 mm;
- Turret forehead – 100 mm;
- Gun mask – from 90 to 200 mm;
- Tower side – 80 mm;
- Cutting feed – 80 mm;
- The roof of the tower is 28 mm.
Armament
- Caliber and brand of gun – 88 mm KwK 36 L/56;
- Gun type - rifled;
- Barrel length - 56 calibers;
- Ammunition - from 92 to 120 in 1945;
- HV angles: −8…+15°;
- GN angles – 360 degrees;
- Sight – telescopic TZF 9a;
- Machine guns - 7.92 mm MG-34, 2 or 3 pieces;
- Another weapon is the S anti-personnel mortar.
Mobility
- Engine type - first Maybach HL210P30, in other Maybach HL230P45 cars V-shaped 12-cylinder carburetor with liquid cooling;
- Highway speed – 44 km/h;
- Speed over rough terrain – 20-25 km/h;
- Cruising range on the highway – 195 kilometers;
- Cruising range over rough terrain – 110 kilometers;
- Specific power – 12.9 hp/t;
- Suspension type – individual torsion bar;
- Climbability – 35 degrees;
- The wall to be overcome is 0.8 meters;
- The ditch to be overcome is 2.3 meters;
- The ford that can be overcome is 1.2 meters.
Modifications
- Pz.VI Ausf E(F) - a machine for work in the tropics, with large air filters;
- Pz.VI Ausf E with an anti-aircraft machine gun, was actively used on the western front;
- Panzerbefehlswagen Tiger (Sd.Kfz. 267/268) - two command vehicles.
Pz.VI Ausf E(F), model Vehicles based on the Tiger tank
Several quite famous special vehicles were created on the basis of the Tiger:
- The Sturmtiger is a heavy self-propelled gun with a 380-mm rocket-propelled anti-submarine bomb launcher placed in a fixed armored wheelhouse. Damaged Tigers were converted into Sturmtigers - a total of 18 vehicles were created;
- Bergetiger - a repair and recovery vehicle, without weapons, but with a crane;
- The Ladungsliger Tiger is a heavy engineering vehicle, the only one of its kind, converted from one damaged tiger. It used to be mistakenly called a "Bergetiger with a tap", but in fact it was a completely different machine.
Sturmtiger in Kubinka Combat use of Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. H1
On August 29, 1942, several Tigers were unloaded into Leningrad region at the Mga station and began to advance to their original positions. Several tanks were damaged simply during the movement, but they were quickly restored, and within a month they clashed several times with the second shock army of the Volkhov Front. At first, the Tigers were often knocked out, but later they began to operate more successfully, effectively dealing with enemy tanks.
Eastern front
The Tiger tanks were most widely used in Eastern Front- it was on them that Hitler made his main bet in the 1943 campaign. "Tigers" were included in all elite motorized rifle divisions and in many other units. They participated especially en masse in Operation Citadel and the Battle of Kursk. During the fighting, the Germans lost several vehicles. In general, on the Eastern Front by the end of 1943, the Germans lost 274 Pz. VI, of which only 19 vehicles were repaired.
West
When the Allies landed in Normandy, the Germans had 102 Tigers on that front. However, due to the special terrain and Allied air support, tanks were not very effective here. The only exception is the battle on July 13, 1944 in Villers-Bocage, where Michael Wittmann destroyed (in his own words) 26 enemy tanks. This, however, has not been documented, but in general a lot of enemy tanks, vehicles and armored personnel carriers were damaged and destroyed.
End of the war
In November 1944, Germany had 317 Tigers on the Eastern Front, 84 on the Western Front, and 36 in Italy. By the first of March 1945, a total of 322 combat-ready vehicles remained. The small number made them no longer so dangerous, although when meeting him, many tankers, including Soviet ones, preferred to retreat if possible, since he “instilled horror with his whole appearance” and was often inaccessible to enemy shells.
In the Ardennes operation of 1945, the German command relied on the Tigers and their successors.
At the end of the war, many vehicles were destroyed by their own crews due to the fact that Allied aircraft destroyed bridges where the Wehrmacht was retreating.
Tank in culture
The Tiger tank is quite widely represented in various games dedicated to the Second World War. It can be found in online games about tank battles"World of Tanks" and "".
"Tigers" also plays an important role in many Soviet and Russian films about the Great Patriotic War. True, other equipment, often more modern, was often “camouflaged” as “tigers”.
“Tigers” can be found in many foreign films. For example, in the films “Saving Private Ryan”, “Fury”, etc.
The tank is also found in bench modeling - the companies Taigen and Heng Long, and the Russian company Zvezda have models.
Memory of a tank
Despite the popularity of the tank, not many of it have been preserved in museums. One vehicle capable of moving independently is in the UK, at the Bovington Tank Museum. In Russia you can see the Tiger in Kubinka. We have another tank in the village of Snegiri near Moscow, but the quality is very poor, the car is full of dents and holes. In the USA, at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, the tank is cut off on the left to gain access to the inside. And in Germany, in the Munster Tank Museum, a tank assembled from various parts of wrecked vehicles is exhibited.
Tiger at Bovington Photo and video
Bergetiger, model 
Tiger in Kubinka
The Tiger tank was developed by Henschel in 1942 and was mass-produced from August 1942 to August 1944. The tank had a welded box-section hull with vertically arranged frontal and side sheets 80 mm - 100 mm thick. In its front part there was a control compartment, which housed the driver and gunner-radio operator, and the power transmission mechanisms were also mounted here. The fighting compartment with a massive cylindrical turret was located in the middle of the tank. A powerful semi-automatic anti-aircraft gun with a caliber of 88 mm and a barrel length of 56 calibers was mounted in the turret. The armor-piercing shell of this gun penetrated 115 mm armor from a distance of 1000 meters, and the sub-caliber shell penetrated 180 mm from a distance of 500 m.
The twelve-cylinder V-twin liquid-cooled engine was located at the rear of the body. The chassis had large-diameter rollers arranged in a checkerboard pattern. To increase cross-country ability, a 72 cm wide caterpillar belt was used. At the same time, to ensure transportation of the tank along railway this tape should have been changed to a narrower one. The Tiger tank turned out to be very heavy, with high specific pressure on the ground and, accordingly, with low maneuverability. There were technical defects in its design. The first use of tanks - in September 1942 and January 1943 on the Volkhov Front - was unsuccessful: several tanks were knocked out, one was captured and subjected to careful study. The consequence of this was the acceleration of the creation of the IS-2 and T-34-85 tanks, as well as the development of methods to combat the new tank. The tank entered service with individual heavy tank battalions and tank divisions.
Tank "Tiger"
Nomenclature of armored vehicles
The second generation Panzerkampfwagen tanks that Germany fought in World War II were originally designated by the acronym "PzKw", which confused the military themselves, since the abbreviation "PzKw" hid armored personnel carriers. Accordingly, the letter indices “PzKpfw” or “Pz.Kpfw” were chosen for armored fighting vehicles, which did not happen, however, until about the middle of the war. To distinguish one model from another, Roman numerals were used, such as the PzKpfw IV; their versions were designated by the abbreviated word “ausführung” (model), abbreviated Ausf. A separate marking SdKfz ("Sonderkraftforzoig" - special-purpose vehicle) was also used, which did not reflect the options - the differences between different versions one and the same technical means. Thus, all 12 modifications of the PzKpfw III were also called SdKfz 141. The index number changed only in relation to the main vehicle.
The last three German tanks of the Second World War also had “personal names” - “Tiger”, “Panther” tank and “Tiger II”, which later became known as the “Royal Tiger” (“Königstiger”). Thus, full version the name looked, for example, like this: PzKpfw V "Panther" Ausf.G. In other cases, tank designations were changed retroactively - for example, PzKpfw VI "Tiger" Ausf H (SdKfz 181) was christened PzKpfw VI "Tiger I" Ausf E. "Tiger II" eventually turned into PzKpfw "Tiger II" Ausf B (SdKfz 182). The model designation (Ausf.) was not always clearly followed alphabetical order, as not all letters were necessarily used. In the case of the Tiger, the original indices (H and P) indicated which company owned the development - Henschel or Design Bureau F. Porsche. Sub-variants sometimes received Arabic numerals following the letter designation: for example, PzKpfw IV F2.
Tanks of the same type, but with different guns, were distinguished by references to the brand of the main weapon or its nominal caliber, its own type index, or even barrel length. Thus, the PzKpfw III with a short-barreled 75-mm cannon could be called PzKpfw III (75). The distinction between "Tigers" and "Royal Tigers" was made by indicating the index of their main weapons. The "Tiger" became the PzKpfw VI (8.8 cm KwK 36L/56), and the "Royal Tiger" became the PzKpfw VI (8.8 cm KwK 43L/71). Some special designations were also used if they facilitated the task of identifying a particular machine. From 1938, prototypes and experimental tanks were for the first time equipped with the abbreviation "VK" ("Volkettenkraftfahrzeug" - fully tracked vehicle), followed by a four-digit number, the first pair of numbers indicating the mass of the product in tons, while the second distinguished one prototype from another. If the same technical requirements were fulfilled by two or more manufacturers, the first letter of the company name was present in brackets: for example, (H) after VK 3001 indicated that the tank was created at the Henschel Design Bureau.
From 1943 onwards, experimental or simply developed models began to be equipped with the letter “E” in the index (“entviklungstup” - type under development), followed by an approximate indication of weight, i.e. classification by weight.
Usually they use the following names:
"Tiger", meaning PzKpfw VI "Tiger I" Ausf H/E (SdKfz 181) with a KwK 36 L/56 cannon, and
"Royal Tiger" to designate PzKpfw "Tiger II" Ausf B "Konigstiger" (SdKfz 182) with Kw/K 43L/71 gun.
Nomenclature of armored vehicles
Tank "Tiger". History of creation and modernization
Since 1937, German General base required a heavier and more powerful tank than the serial PzKpfw III and IV then being built. Its combat weight had to be no less than 30 tons, and it was assigned the role of a breakthrough tank. But with development new car We were in no hurry. However, in 1940 it became clear that the PzKpfw III and IV were unable to cope with the thick armor of French and British tanks. A year later, the Soviet T-34 and KV presented an even more unpleasant surprise to the Wehrmacht. In this situation, a competition was announced for a heavy tank armed with a powerful 88-mm cannon with a high muzzle velocity. The gun was supposed to be installed in a circular rotation turret.
The first Tiger tanks had mortars on the hull for firing S-type anti-personnel mines and NbK39 smoke grenade launchers on the turret. On tanks of later production, one headlight was installed in the front part of the hull between the driver's viewing device and the machine gun. Early tanks were equipped with a TZF9c binocular telescopic sight, while later tanks were equipped with a TZF9E monocular sight. The 495 first "Tigers" were also equipped with so-called air pipes, which made it possible to overcome water obstacles up to 4 meters deep along the bottom.
One of the most significant changes was the use of steel road wheels on the last 800 Tigers. Tanks that were operated in off-road conditions had Feifel type air filters. The Tigers used two types of tracks: transport tracks with 520 mm wide tracks and combat tracks with 725 mm wide tracks. The use of two types of tracks was due to the fact that the Tiger did not fit the width of the railway car. Before loading onto the platform, one row of road wheels was removed from the tank and “shod” it with other narrower tracks.
Combat weight, kg: ...........................56000 Gun........................88 mm KwK 36 L/56 |
Tactical and technical characteristics of the Pz.Krfw.VI(N) tank
The first 250 tanks used Maybach HL210P30 engines with a power of 650 hp as the power plant. With. The remaining cars were equipped with 700-horsepower Maybach HL230P45 engines. Both power plants were 12-cylinder V-shaped in-line carburetor liquid-cooled engines. Tanks produced from mid-1943 were coated with Zimmerit and had an additional loader periscope. The remaining vehicles were distinguished by a modified muzzle brake of the 88-mm KwK 36 L/56 cannon. Mounts for additional track tracks were provided on the turret and hull.
In 1942, the Rheinmetall-Borzing company developed a new type of turret with a 75-mm KwK 42 L/70 cannon. Preparations were also underway to re-equip the Tigers with the 88-mm KwK43 L/71 cannon. At the time of its appearance and for some time thereafter, the Tiger was the most powerful tank in the world. Its 88-mm cannon with 92 rounds of ammunition had no equal, and not a single shell could penetrate the frontal armor. These qualities of the Tiger forced the Allies to develop special tactics to combat it.
However, in a number of cases the Germans used it so unsuccessfully that the tank could not demonstrate all its capabilities. However, it did not take the Allies too long to realize the danger the Tiger posed on the battlefield. Hitler showed particular interest in this tank and made a lot of efforts to get it into operation as quickly as possible.
| Tanks PzKpfw VI Sd Kfz 181 Ausf. H1 "Tiger", 1943 | ||
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The hull of the Tiger tank had a fairly simple outline and was made of rolled steel. The lack of rational angles of inclination of the armor was compensated by its thickness: frontal armor - 100 mm, side armor - 80 mm, top of the hull - 26 mm. The thickness of the mask reached 110 mm, and it served as a counterweight to the long gun barrel of the tank. The rotation of the turret was ensured by a hydraulic drive, which was driven by a gearbox. Thus, when the tank's engine was not running, the turret was rotated manually.
The Tiger was the first German tank with a chassis in which the road wheels were installed in a staggered pattern. This torsion bar suspension system ensured a smooth ride and relative comfort for the crew. However, when operating tanks on the Eastern Front in winter, dirt and snow accumulated between the rollers, which froze overnight and by the morning blocked the Tigers' undercarriage.
Combat weight, kg: ...........................57000 On the highway...................................38 Shells...............................92 Forehead (top).............................100/10 Forehead...............................100/8 |
Tactical and technical characteristics of the Pz.Krfw.VI(E) tank
In 1943, a control tank was developed based on the standard Tiger. It had a reduced ammunition load - instead of the eliminated ammunition rack, an additional radio station was installed. The MG-34 machine gun coaxial with the cannon was also dismantled. Two whip antennas were installed on the control tank body. A total of 84 tanks of this type were built.
| Tanks PzKpfw VI Sd Kfz 181 Ausf. E "Tiger", spring 1945 | ||
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| Click on the tank to enlarge (opens in a new window) | ||
A small number of PzKpfw VI "Tiger" Ausf. N1 (E) was converted into repair and recovery vehicles. In 1945, it was planned to convert a number of Tigers into flamethrower tanks. On Flammtiger vehicles, the flamethrower was installed instead of the 7.92 mm MG-34 machine gun. The export of Tiger tanks to third countries was insignificant, and, above all, for the reason that its production did not cover Germany’s own needs. However, in the summer of 1943, the Italians received 2-3 Tigers, but after the surrender of Italy, the Germans took the tanks back. In the summer of 1944, the Hungarian army received three Tigers. Japan purchased one tank. Disassembled, it was to be delivered to the Land of the Rising Sun on board an ocean-going submarine.
A total of 1,354 PzKpfw VI "Tiger" Ausf tanks were produced. H1 (E).
| Year and month | Produced farming | Admission tanks to the troops | Losses | Availability in the troops on the 1st day |
|
| new | from repairs |
||||
| 1942 | |||||
| April | |||||
| May | |||||
| June | 1 | ||||
| July | 0 | ||||
| August | 8 | 9 | |||
| September | 3 | 2 | 9 | ||
| October | 10 | 8 | 3 | 11 | |
| November | 21 | 14 | 16 | ||
| December | 34 | 35 | 30 | ||
| 1943 | |||||
| January | 35 | 30 | 1 | 11 | 65 |
| February | 32 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 85 |
| March | 41 | 39 | 0 | 16 | 108 |
| April | 46 | 47 | 0 | 4 | 134 |
| May | 50 | 47 | 0 | 17 | 177 |
| June | 60 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 207 |
| July | 65 | 57 | 0 | 34 | 262 |
| August | 60 | 74 | 0 | 41 | 286 |
| September | 85 | 55 | 0 | 34 | 319 |
| October | 50 | 85 | 0 | 37 | 339 |
| November | 56 | 36 | 0 | 29 | 387 |
| December | 67 | 80 | 0 | 65 | 394 |
| 1944 | |||||
| January | 93 | 87 | 0 | 62 | 409 |
| February | 95 | 102 | 1 | 13 | 434 |
| March | 86 | 88 | 1 | 32 | 526 |
| April | 104 | 94 | 3 | 96 | 583 |
| May | 100 | 85 | 5 | 21 | 584 |
| June | 75 | 104 | 5 | 92 | 654 |
| July | 64 | 65 | 8 | 195 | 671 |
| August | 6 | 16 | 11 | 94 | 549 |
| September | 6 | 125 | 433 | ||
| October | 1 | 39 | 314 | ||
| November | 18 | 19 | 276 | ||
| December | 4 | 2 | 274 | ||
| 1945 | |||||
| January | 2 | 62 | 276 | ||
| February | 3 | ? | 216 | ||
| March | 0 | ? | ? | ||
| April | ? | ? | ? | ||
Production of the Tiger heavy tank, losses and presence in the troops
In 1937, the Wehrmacht needed a breakthrough tank that would have 50 mm armor and be one and a half times heavier than the Pz Kpfw IV tank. The design was entrusted to the engineering company Henschel in the city of Kassel.
The order from the arms department was taken over by E. Aders, head of the department of new developments, who was later recognized as the “father of tigers” (Tigerfater). His first car was the DW1 (breakthrough machine, Durchbruchswagen), made in a single copy. DW2 appeared in 1938. Having the same chassis as the DW1 (five rollers with individual torsion bar suspension), the vehicle reached speeds of up to 35 km/h. E. Aders began work on a revised specification in September (the mass was specified as 30 tons). At the same time, the companies Daimler-Benz, MAN and Design Bureau F. Porsche were involved in the project.
The designations of experimental vehicles at that time were standardized and the ordered vehicle was assigned the identifier VK3001. In the code, the first two digits are the design weight, the last are the sample number.
Tank Pz.Kpfw. VI "Tiger" of the 101st SS heavy tank battalion during training battles. France, spring 1944
The German high command inspects one of the first copies of the Tiger tank (PzKpfw VI Ausf. H) at the training ground, after completing regular tests. 1942
The newest German heavy tanks "Tiger" (PzKpfw VI "Tiger I") were delivered for combat testing to the Mga railway station near Leningrad, but the vehicles immediately required repairs
E. Aders took the DW2 car as a basis. The Henschel company produced four prototypes, which differed slightly - two cars in March 1941 and the same number in October. What were these machines? With a combat weight of 32 tons, the 300-horsepower engine provided speeds of up to 25 km/h. The chassis consists of seven (pair and single) rollers, arranged in a checkerboard pattern, and three support rollers. The tank is armed with a short-barreled 75 mm cannon and two machine guns. The frontal part of the hull and turret were made of 50-mm armor plates, the sides were made of 30-mm. The tank has a crew of five people.
While the VK3001 (N) was being finalized, the campaign against the USSR began. After the first battles, it became clear that the Henschel prototypes would not survive the battle with the KB and T-34. As for Porsche, he only tried his hand at designing tanks. Apparently this predetermined Porsche's further failures in the field of tank building. Two copies of this vehicle VK3001 (P) were manufactured in the winter of 40-41. The tank did not exceed the specified weight and, thanks to a pair of air-cooled engines, reached speeds of up to 60 km/h. Porsche offered an electric transmission and a longitudinal torsion bar suspension with six rollers on board. However, to master this complex structure within short term German industry was unable to implement the original plan.
In May 1941, the Henschel company took up another experimental VK3601 equipped with a cannon, the projectile of which would penetrate armor 100 millimeters thick from a distance of 1.5 thousand meters. By the way, when this tank was manufactured, the thickness of the armor plates was also 100 millimeters. The vehicle weighing 40 tons reached speeds of up to 40 km/h. The chassis consisted of eight large-diameter rollers (it was later used on the Tigers).
In July 1941, the Ministry of Arms and Ammunition issued the F. Porsche Design Bureau and the Henschel company an order for VK4501. It was proposed that the vehicle would be designed for an 88-mm anti-aircraft gun of the 1936 model, which was converted into a tank. The cannon was created in the 20s through the efforts of two concerns - the German Krupp and the Swedish Bofors. Having its main purpose to combat air targets, this system nevertheless became famous as a powerful anti-tank weapon. The Germans tested the system in this role back in Spain. It was especially actively used in 40-42 on the battlefields of World War II against tanks with anti-ballistic armor - Soviet KB and T-34, British and American Shermans, Grants and Matildas. An armor-piercing projectile fired from it hit these tanks even at distances of 2 - 2.5 thousand meters.
The semi-automatic gun with a wedge-type vertical bolt was complemented by an electric trigger and a muzzle brake. After modernization, it began to be called 8.8cm KwK36 - an 8.8-centimeter gun of the 1936 model.
Both VK4501 tanks (H and R) were supposed to be produced by April 20, 1942 - Hitler's birthday. That is, there was not enough time. Both designers took the best from previous experimental machines. After comparative tests, the choice was made on Aders' car, although Hitler supported F. Porsche.
VK4501(P), which had the design designation "Porsche 101", weighing 57 tons, reached speeds of up to 35 km/h. The crew of the car is five people. The Krupp turret and armament were the same as those of the enemy tank. The thickness of the frontal armor plate of the turret and hull is 100 millimeters, the sides are 80 millimeters.
The air cooling system of a pair of gasoline ten-cylinder engines was designed by Porsche the best car for African desert conditions. In July 1942, the Nibelung company plant in Linz, Austria, even produced five vehicles and about 90 hulls, which received the designation "Tiger (P)" or Pz Kpfw VIP. Both of them found application: the first were used as training vehicles, and semi-finished products became excellent tank destroyers.
Since August 1942, the Henschel company organized mass production of tanks designed by Aders. Later, similar assembly lines were opened by Wegmann. "Tigers" were produced until August 1944. In 1942, 84 tanks were built, in 1943 - 647 vehicles, in 1944 - 623. In April 1944, the maximum monthly production was registered - 104 tanks.
The crew of the German tank Pz.Kpfw. VI "Tiger" demonstrates the capabilities of its vehicle to overcome anti-tank barriers
German tank crews at a halt and the PzKpfw VI "Tiger" tank
German heavy tank PzKpfw VI "Tiger" No. 232 of the 101st SS heavy tank battalion. Tank commander - Unterscharführer Kurt Klieber from Michael Wittmann's company
Initially, the vehicles were officially called Pz Kpfw VI Ausf H "Tiger I". Since February 1944, after the Tiger II was put into service, the name was changed to simply “Tiger I” or Pz Kpfw VI Ausf E. This vehicle is not another modification of the “six”. There was only one modification. Although, of course, changes were still made to the design during production.
The combat weight of production vehicles exceeded the target weight by more than 10 tons. From the moment the tank appeared and for a year and a half, it was the strongest vehicle in the world in almost all respects. First of all, it had powerful armor. Aders gave the hull a box-like rectangular cross-section due to the slight inclination of the frontal and vertical installation of the side armor plates. This configuration accelerated and simplified the technological process. In addition, the armor plates were secured by welding and connected with spikes. This made it possible to achieve significant mechanical strength. One sheet was used to make the bottom. Armor - chromium-nickel-molybdenum rolled, homogeneous.
The interior of the Tiger was divided into four compartments. The driver was located in his own compartment on the left in front, and the radio operator on the right. The multi-stage shaftless gearbox had eight forward and four reverse gears mounted between them. A multi-disc main clutch operating in oil and a brake were placed in the gearbox housing. A differential turning mechanism with a double power supply provided turning in place and two fixed turning radii in each gear. The tank was controlled by a steering wheel through a hydraulic semi-automatic servo drive. If the steering wheel failed, two hand levers with disc brake drives were used.
The width of the viewing slot, through which the driver observed the surrounding situation, was regulated by a thick armored flap that moved vertically. In poor visibility, the driver was more oriented by the heading indicator (gyro-compass) located on the right, rather than visually. Hatches cut above the heads of the radio operator and driver were covered with covers equipped with periscope observation devices. While firing the frontal MG34 machine gun, the radio operator used his periscope to aim.
A horseshoe-shaped turret, curved from 80-mm armor plate with vertical walls, was allocated for the fighting compartment, as well as the middle part of the hull, which was separated from the engine compartment by an armored partition. To the right of the gun is the loader's workplace, to the left is the gunner's. Both had narrow viewing slits with glass blocks in front of them. The turret was rotated using a hydraulic drive by the gunner by pressing the pedal with his foot. The tank commander duplicated the horizontal aiming.
The commander was assigned a cylindrical turret mounted on the roof of the turret at the rear left with a hatch and five viewing slits. Since July 1943, it was replaced by a unified (same as on the Panther) spherical turret with seven periscope observation devices around the perimeter and a circular contour for moving and mounting an anti-aircraft machine gun. Three throwing devices designed to fire smoke grenades were installed on the front wall of the tower.
An 88-mm cannon (L/56) and a coaxial 7.92-mm machine gun mounted to the right of it were installed in an armored mantlet (110 mm thick). The ammunition rack was placed below the turret shoulder strap - under the turret floor and along the walls of the fighting compartment near the driver. The semi-automatic gun and unitary cartridge ensured a combat rate of fire of 8 rounds per minute.
German heavy tank Pz.Kpfw. VI "Tiger" with tactical number "211" from the 503rd Tank Battalion, in the Belgorod area. German offensive"Citadel"
German tanks Pz.Kpfw. VI "Tiger" of the 506th heavy tank battalion in the spring of 1944 in western Ukraine
German tank Pz.Kpfw. VI "Tiger" of the 502nd heavy tank battalion in the Nevel area, Pskov region. January 1944
The Tiger became the first German production tank to have a new chassis invented by G. Kniepkamp. One side had eight triple road wheels arranged in a checkerboard pattern on a torsion bar suspension with hydraulic shock absorbers on the front and rear blocks. By the way, the Germans have already used this chassis design on light vehicles - armored personnel carriers and artillery half-track tractors. The suspension evenly distributed the weight of the vehicle along the track, lightly loading each roller, and also made it possible to save on rubber tires. Since January 1944, rollers without tires with internal shock absorption (the same as on the Panther) were used.
A 12-cylinder Maybach HL210P45 liquid-cooled carburetor engine with a power of 650 hp was installed in the engine compartment. In May 1943, in connection with the transition to the unification of tank production, it was replaced by the more powerful HL230P30, already tested on Panthers.
A progressive transmission with hydraulic servos and a torsion bar suspension made the Tiger an easy-to-control tank with a smooth ride. The driver did not expend significant physical effort and did not become overtired when driving the tank. The controls were easy to master. The driver was not required to have high qualifications, and if he died, he could be replaced by any crew member.
495 early Tigers were equipped with underwater driving equipment, which allowed them to overcome water obstacles up to 4 meters deep on the bottom. In addition, the first production vehicles were armed with the S-melee weapon (Schrapnell). It served to defeat soldiers who tried to “board” a damaged tank. Five grenade launchers located at the edges of the tank’s hull fired shrapnel grenades upward at 1.5-2 meters. Exploding, they covered everything around 360 degrees with steel balls.
In addition to line tanks, 84 command tanks were produced. In order to install a second radio station, the gun's ammunition load was reduced to 66 rounds and the coaxial machine gun was removed.
Tigers of the 2nd SS Division "Das Reich" on the march in the forest near Kirovograd
German paratroopers ride on the armor of a Pz.Kpfw tank. VI "Tiger" of the SS division "Das Reich". Late 1943
Camouflaged German heavy tank Pz.Kpfw. VI "Tiger" of the 102nd SS heavy tank battalion advances to the front line near the Orne River. There are obviously additional fuel tanks installed at the rear.
The Tigers first entered battle on the Eastern Front in the fall of 1942 near Leningrad near the Mga station. Later they took part in battles on all fronts.
Technical characteristics of the heavy tank Pz Kpfw VI Ausf H:
Year of manufacture – 1942;
Combat weight - 57000 kg;
Crew – 5 people;
Main Dimensions
Body length – 6200 mm;
Length with gun forward – 8450 mm;
Width – 3700 mm;
Height – 2860 mm;
Security:
The thickness of the armor plates of the frontal part of the hull (angle of inclination to the vertical) is 100 mm (24 degrees);
The thickness of the armor plates on the sides of the hull (angle of inclination to the vertical) is 80 mm (0 degrees);
The thickness of the armor plates of the front part of the turret (angle of inclination to the vertical) is 110 mm (8 degrees);
The thickness of the armor plates on the roof and bottom of the hull is 26 and 28;
Weapons:
Gun brand – KwK36;
Caliber – 88 mm;
Barrel length – 56 kpb;
Ammunition - 92 rounds;
Number of machine guns – 2;
Machine gun caliber - 7.92 mm;
Machine gun ammunition - 4800 rounds;
Mobility:
Engine type and brand – Maybach HL230P45
Engine power – 700 l. With.;
Maximum speed on the highway – 38 km/h;
Fuel capacity – 570 l;
Cruising range on the highway – 140 km;
Average ground pressure is 1.04 kg/cm2.
A German Tiger tank cuts down a tree for a spectacular photo. Poland. Summer 1944
German soldiers under the cover of a Pz.Kpfw tank. VI "Tiger" from the 502nd heavy tank battalion near Narva. In the background, to the left, is another tank of the same type, and further, to the right, another “Tiger”
The commander of a German heavy tank "Tiger" looks through binoculars
View from a German Pz.Kpfw tank. VI "Tiger" during the battle. A burning T-34 is visible ahead. USSR, 1944
A damaged and burnt-out Pz.Kpfw heavy tank. VI Ausf. E "Tiger" of the "medium" series produced by the 3rd Tank Regiment of the 3rd tank division SS "Death's Head". The number of the Soviet trophy team is “308a”. Lake Balaton area
Heavy german tank Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. H "Tiger" from the 502nd heavy tank battalion of the Wehrmacht, knocked out near Leningrad. Most likely, this "Tiger" was shot down in the winter of 1943
Damaged heavy tank Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. H "Tiger" from the 509th heavy tank battalion of the Wehrmacht. Tactical number of the tank is 331. The tank is painted with brown blurred spots over the standard dark yellow “Dunkel-Gelb”. In the background is a Soviet regimental gun mod. 1927 horse-drawn. November 1943, Kyiv area
G.K. Zhukov, N.N. Voronov and K.E. Voroshilov inspecting the first captured Tiger at an exhibition of captured weapons at the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Culture in Moscow in the summer of 1943 - Pz.Kpfw. VI "Tiger" of the 502nd battalion of heavy tanks of the Wehrmacht (tactical number of the tank - "100"), captured Soviet troops near Leningrad in the fall of 1942. Noteworthy is the unusual mounting of the equipment box on the side of the turret, which was never seen later.
Exhibition of captured German armored vehicles in Kyiv. Soviet soldiers inspect captured German heavy tanks PzKpfw VI "Tiger" with numbers S54 and S51 of the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler". Winter 1945
Disabled war veteran at a German trophy exhibition military equipment in Moscow. In the center is a Pz.Kpfw tank. VI "Tiger" of the 502nd battalion of heavy tanks of the Wehrmacht (tactical number of the tank - "100"), captured by Soviet troops near Leningrad
The history of the conquests of the Third Reich began not with loud victories over France or the Benelux countries, but in much more Peaceful time and without the use of active hostilities.
German tank "Tiger"
We are talking about the “Munich Agreement”, when Czechoslovakia was divided into several parts, each of which went to a certain European countries. Including Germany. Along with the territory, the German government also took possession of the technically advanced factories located on it. In particular, tank production with an established conveyor for the production of light t38.
After this operation, in September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. The battles for it lasted less than a month and ended with the flight of the leadership to England. Thus the Second officially began World War, which will last for another 6 long years.
In 1940, German troops bypassed the Maginot Line through the Belgian Ardennes and subjugated France. The main striking force during this campaign were tanks, mainly T-2 and T-3.
Fast, light armored vehicles rushed into the operational space, almost unprotected by the armed forces of the Third Republic, disrupting supply lines and denying French troops the opportunity to fight back.
After several months of resistance and the ignominious escape of the British Expeditionary Force through the port of Dunkirk, France capitulated. Part of its territory became part of the Reich, the second half began to be led by a puppet government.
The trophies were tanks Samua S35, AMX-30, B1, etc.
The main distinguishing feature of the requisitioned tanks was their thick shell-proof armor, frontal and side. It was these vehicles that became the most armored and protected in the Panzerwaffe troops before the appearance of the Tiger in 1942.
Photo of what the Tiger Tank looks like In 1941, on June 22 at 4 am, without warning or declaration of war, the forces of the German army began to invade the territory of the USSR. As in the case of France, the same tactical and strategic techniques were used. Breakthrough of tank armadas deep into the country, complete suppression of enemy aviation and cutting off enemy units from supplies. Hitler's tank forces were modified T-2, T-3 and T-4.
Fast but lightly armored combat vehicles with 37, 50 and 75 mm cannons. They had high maneuverability; for communication, each was equipped with a powerful walkie-talkie. In principle, the weapons were enough to fight the Soviet BT-7 and T-26 tanks.
The real threat was posed by the KV and T-34, whose armor easily withstood 37-mm and 50-mm shells from both tanks and anti-tank guns. They even began to call such guns “beater guns.” Only an 88-mm anti-aircraft gun was guaranteed to penetrate the armor of Soviet medium and heavy tanks.
Tank T-34, the strongest opponent of the German Tiger Despite heroism Soviet soldiers and strong tank armor, the German army was actively breaking through in the direction of Moscow. But in the fall of 1941, after titanic efforts, numerous losses and the use of new types of weapons by the Red Army, the terrible enemy was driven back from the capital and a long positional war began.
Hills and cities turned into fortified centers, networks of trenches stretched like a web for tens of kilometers.
To break through the defense, vehicles heavier than Pz.4 and Pz.3 were required.
Work in the design bureaus on the heavy tank was carried out long before the start of World War II, starting in 1937. After the invasion Soviet Union, it became clear that the army needed a heavy breakthrough tank. The task was entrusted to the design bureaus of Henschel and Porsche.
Heavy tank Pz VI Ausf.H "Tiger" Based on the results of field tests and modifications, the command’s choice settled on the option proposed by the Henschel plant.
The vehicle was named Panzerkapfvagen VI “Tiger” and was sent to the eastern front and as a reinforcement for Rommel, in Africa. Despite a number of shortcomings and problems with the engine and suspension, new tank proved to be a formidable weapon and remained in service until the fall of Berlin.
History of creation
It is worth noting that the Henschel company was actively developing a heavy vehicle and the design bureau already had serious developments and experience in creation. Erwin Aders, head of the first design bureau, was involved in similar projects. He is the man who created the Tiger tank. The first versions of the combat vehicle were designated by the abbreviations DW1 and DW2. Therefore, when the Fuhrer entrusted them with the creation of a German analogue of the KV, work began using old developments.
Henschel vs Porsche
The second design bureau tasked with creating a breakthrough tank was Dr. Porsche's design bureau. Unlike their competitors, they had to start from scratch. Before this, the bureau was not involved in tank building and one of the main directions was the creation of racing cars. For this reason, Porsche introduced technological solutions into the design of the tank, previously used only in civilian areas.
Both design bureaus presented their vehicles on April 20, 1942. The date was not chosen by chance. It was on this day that Hitler was born and the display of these cars became a kind of gift. However, a lot of German weapons were adopted precisely after demonstrations to the Fuhrer on his holiday.
German heavy tank "Tiger" from Porsche The heavy tank prepared by the Henschel Design Bureau was called VK 4501 (H) and was developed according to the classical design. The designers did not experiment, and took as a basis the location of the nodes, as on the Pz. 4. Transmission in front, engine compartment behind, fighting compartment in the center.
The pendant created by Kniepkamp deserved special attention.
Made according to a “chessboard” pattern, it made it possible to achieve a smooth ride and, accordingly, high precision on the move.
Porsche presented the VK 4501 (P) tank, equipped with an advanced electromechanical transmission and a specially designed torsion bar suspension. In the frontal projection, the vehicle had an armor plate 200 mm thick, and an 8.8 cm gun was installed in the turret.
Ferdinant Porsche, a close friend of the German Fuhrer, was confident that Hitler would choose his tank and ordered the production of hulls to begin even before the end of the competition.
However, the German command chose the VK 4501 (H). This was facilitated by a number of reasons:
- the classic layout ensured a quick start to full-scale production;
- The “checkerboard” suspension provided stabilization of the gun while moving;
- the future Tiger had less weight than the analogue from the Porsche design bureau, which ensured higher maneuverability and suitability for transportation;
- VK 4501 (P) was equipped with an electric transmission requiring large quantities scarce copper for its elements;
True, the adopted “Tiger”, created under the leadership of Aders, had a significant drawback - there was no turret for it. Initially, it was planned to install a 7.5 cm gun with a length of 70 calibers on the tank. Later it became clear that something more powerful was required and the turret began to be redesigned for an 8.8 mm gun, 56 caliber long. By the time of field testing, the towers had been completed.
The Tiger is equipped with an 8.8 mm gun, 56 caliber long.
Therefore, a turret from a Porsche combat vehicle was installed on Henschel’s tank, and such a hybrid was put into production in 1942 under the army name Pz. VI “Tiger”.
What happened to VK 4501 (P)?
At the time the tank described above was adopted by the Wehrmacht, Porsche's production lines produced 98 finished chassis. 7 of them were retrofitted with turrets and sent for field testing, and then some of them, according to various sources, arrived on the eastern front.
On the basis of unfinished tanks, an anti-tank assault self-propelled gun, the Ferdinant, was developed and put into small production. The caliber of the gun installed in the wheelhouse was 128 mm, and the armor created problems for Soviet guns not only in the frontal projection, but also along the sides and stern.
Self-propelled gun "Ferdinand" of the 5th company of the 654th tank destroyer division This self-propelled gun was actively used by the Panzerwaffe during Operation Citadel, known to us as the Battle of Kursk Bulge. Often, to destroy one vehicle, several medium tanks were sacrificed or bombs were dropped. After the failure of the operation, the surviving Ferdinants were sent by the German command for revision.
The modernization affected only the installation of an MG-42 machine gun, for firing at infantry, in the frontal part. A new version received the name “Elephant”. It was put into service with German units in Italy, where they were successfully destroyed by Allied troops.
Work on improving the Tiger
Immediately after the launch of the series, shortcomings were revealed that had not been discovered by anyone before. They mainly concerned the chassis and power plant of the tank. Through a series of modifications, problems with shock absorbers and the fuel system were resolved. They also decided to install a more powerful HL230 engine instead of the HL210. The modification received the designation “H”. Over the entire period of its existence, 1354 cars were produced.
By this year, the USSR and the Allies had guns capable of hitting the T-6 not only on the sides, but also on the front armor plates
Therefore, in 1943, work began at the Henschel Design Bureau to create a more armored tank, with better weapons and armor. The new model was given the name Pz. VI Ausf. B "Tiger 2". The gun retained the caliber, but the length changed to 71 caliber. The front armored part began to have a slope of 50 degrees and a thickness of 120 mm.
The history of the creation of the heavy tank "Royal Tiger" The first 100 cars were equipped with turrets designed by the Porsche Design Bureau, the rest by Henschel. The tank turned out to be heavy and clumsy and rarely could anyone penetrate its armor. At least it was on paper. But the quality of armor steel in the Reich of those years left much to be desired. There was a shortage of nickel, manganese and molybdenum - important components that prevent the metal from crumbling under the impact of shells.
This vehicle primarily served on the Western Front, where such armor was not required. While simple Tigers continued to be deployed against Soviet tanks. A lighter modification of the second Tiger was also being developed - the semi-mythical Panther 2.
Panther 2 Design
The tank was made according to the classical design, had a crew of 5 people and weighed 57 tons. The layout of the nodes was distributed as follows:
- in the front part there are places for the driver and gunner, shifted to the left and right, respectively, as well as transmission elements, a machine gun and tank controls;
- in the central part there were racks for ammunition and a radio station. A turret was mounted on top of the hull, which housed the tank commander, gunner and loader, as well as means for monitoring the terrain and the breech of the gun. Each tank was required to have a FuG-5 radio installed;
- the engine, fuel tank, exhaust elements and radiators for cooling were installed in the stern.
Design of the Tiger tank Tank tower
The tank's turret was located in the center of the hull on the shoulder strap. It was welded. The front armor plate was welded to the part that formed the sides and stern. The roof was also secured by welding. For the needs of the crew, hatches were provided for loading into the vehicle.
It was planned to install a fan that would blow out powder gases from the fighting compartment. Slots were installed along the sides for observation. In later modifications, an installation for shooting smoke or fragmentation grenades appeared.
Design of the Tiger tank A KwK 36 rifled gun with an 88-mm caliber was installed in the front of the turret. It was served by a gunner and loader. Aiming was carried out through a binocular, and in 1944 - a monocular sight, with optics from the Zeiss company. It was located to the left of the gun and had a constant magnification of 2.5. The gun could penetrate the armor of Soviet T-34s at a distance of 2 km.
The shells are unitary. There were caliber, high-explosive fragmentation and sub-caliber options. For the latter, the penetration rate was close to 150 - 160 mm. 7.92 mm MG-34 machine guns were intended as weapons to suppress enemy personnel.
Powerplant and transmission
The engine is a petrol carburetor with 12 cylinders. Manufacturer: Maybach. Most of the tanks were equipped with the HL230 version, with a power of 700 l/s. The full fuel load was 530 liters. Power was supplied separately from the engine to the turret drives.
In the event of a fire, the automatic fire extinguishing system was activated. In case of emergency there was a manual fire extinguisher. In general, in the event of a fire, the crew often left the combat vehicle.
12-cylinder V-shaped engine Maybach HL-210 P-30. To prevent engine overheating, a water-cooled radiator with 4 fans was provided. The gearbox is semi-automatic, with 12 gears. Through it, power was supplied to the transmission located in the front of the tank.
Chassis
The suspension consisted of rollers arranged in a “checkerboard” pattern. 8 rollers on each side, arranged in 4 rows. To soften the ride, individual torsion bars were used. Such a system increased the smoothness of the ride, but had a number of disadvantages.
If the roller located in the center broke, it took a long time to disassemble half of the chassis to replace it.
High sensitivity to icing did not add to reliability.
Partisans, and often just children, poured water on the Tigers’ skating rinks at night. After such a procedure, the Germans had to defrost them long and hard, otherwise fighting machine I just couldn't move.
Torsion bar suspension The tracks are wide, metal, with large clearances. The tank's maneuverability was good. There were two types of tracks: combat and transport. Transport ones were used when loading the T-6 onto a railway platform for transportation.
Tactical and technical characteristics of the Tiger tank (TTX)
- the mass of the tank was 57 tons;
- crew consisted of 5 people;
- length, height, width of the body, cm – 631, 293, 370;
- type of armor steel – chrome-molybdenum, rolled;
- hull armor thickness, mm – forehead 100, rear and side – 80;
- turret armor thickness, mm – forehead 100, mantlet up to 200, side and rear – 80;
- armor of the turret roof, hull, and bottom is 28 mm. Since 1944, the roof of the tower is 40 mm;
- the rifled 88-mm gun had a length of 56 calibers and was aimed vertically: down - 8, up - 15 degrees;
- the full ammunition load since 1945 has been up to 120 unitary shells;
- maximum firing range: 4 km from a cannon, 1.2 km from a coaxial machine gun;
- the number of machine guns varied and depended on the tank model. 2 – 3 MG-34 with 7.92 mm caliber;
- a mortar firing fragmentation or smoke grenades was used as an additional weapon;
- The gun's combat rate of fire is 5 – 6 rounds per minute;
- a v-shaped twelve-cylinder carburetor gasoline engine made it possible to accelerate the tank along the highway to 44 km/h;
- off-road speed was limited to 20 – 25 km/h;
- Cruising range on highways and rough terrain – 195 and 110 km;
- fuel consumption was 10 liters per 1 km;
- engine power – 700 l/s.
Modifications and vehicles based on “Tiger”
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Pz. 6 “Tiger” Ausf. H | Improved version of the production model. We installed a more powerful engine and made a number of minor fixes |
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Pz.VI Ausf E(F) | Intended for war in the tropics. Featured “tiger” camouflage and improved filters |
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Sd.Kfz. 267/268 | Commander options. Equipped with improved FuG-7/8 radios |
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Sturmpanzer VI | “Sturmtiger” - conversion of a linear vehicle into a siege weapon. It was equipped with a fixed wheelhouse in which a 380 mm gun (Rocket Bomb Launcher) was installed. “Tigers” damaged in battles were subjected to alteration |
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Bergetiger | Repair and recovery vehicle based on the linear Tiger. Created in the field |
Advantages and disadvantages of the Tiger tank
Positive traits
- reservations did not lose relevance even in the later stages of the war. The Tiger is considered to be one of the safest tanks for tank crews;
- Due to its size, the fighting compartment of the vehicle was spacious. It comfortably accommodated all crew members;
- The 8.8 cm gun rarely failed to penetrate enemy tanks. Perhaps only the frontal part of the IS-2 hull could withstand a caliber projectile from the T-6 cannon at close range;
- excellent means of visual observation. Zeiss optics were of high quality, and the company itself still exists.
Disadvantages of the Tiger tank
- Despite the technical characteristics of the Tiger tank and the installation of a 700-horsepower engine, the mobility of the vehicle remained at a low level. However, this did not prevent the rapid transfer of armored vehicles along the entire front line;
- the main drawback of the Pz. 6 – high cost and complexity of production. A number of historians believe that the mass production of this tank was a mistake;
- design complexity and heavy weight The Tiger-1 tank was often forced to leave damaged vehicles on the battlefield. However, the Germans sometimes managed to drag them away with the help of evacuation vehicles.
Application
The first use of the Tiger took place at the end of the summer of 1942 near Leningrad, near the Mga station. The experiment was unsuccessful - the cars got stuck in swamps and often broke down. One of the Tigers was captured by Soviet soldiers.
On the other hand, new armor for heavy vehicles was tested in practice. The result was impressive. Soviet anti-tank artillery could not penetrate the armor, even at close range. Tank guns of 76 mm caliber also “did not take” the new German tank.
Tiger tank in the "Battle of Kursk" One of the most widespread use of “Tigers” PZ-6 (T-6) was recorded on the Kursk Bulge - 188 vehicles . Which amounted to 7% of the total number of the Wehrmacht tank group that took part in Operation Citadel.
After the defeat of the tanks in 1943, the German command began to use Pz. 6, as a qualitative gain in individual sections of the fronts.
In addition to the eastern front, the Tiger T-6 tank participated in operations on the African continent and on the western front, after the Allied landing in Normandy.
“We will be winners thanks to our Tiger”
Adolf Hitler before the Battle of Kursk.
Large and slow-moving, the crews cursed Tiger tank for unreliability. But when he went into battle, the Tiger's armor and cannon made him almost invulnerable.
The tank's high complexity, unreliability and low durability meant that it lost its advantage over wide areas. Although in situations where strength was important in combat, he was nearly invulnerable and could fire at very long ranges; in July 1944, a tank from the 506th heavy tank battalion hit soviet tank T-34 at a range of about 4 km.
Individual tank commanders had huge personal accounts of destroyed tanks: Michael Wittmann (SS) was the most successful tank ace of the war, he and his crew destroyed more than 100 enemy tanks on the Eastern Front. He followed on the heels of such masters as Chief Lieutenant Otto Carius.
Tiger Armor
The Tiger's enormous advantages consisted of good crew protection and the excellent striking power of its gun. The thick, flat slab armor lacked the good ballistic shape found in other designs of the time, such as the Panther or the Soviet T-34 tank. But with armor thickness increased from 63 to 102 mm on the hull and from 82 to 100 mm on the turret of the Ausf H model (raised to 110 mm on the Ausf E), the Tiger hardly needed it.
Tiger cannon eight-eight
The main armament of the tank was the 88-mm KwK-36 L156 cannon, converted from an anti-tank version of the magnificent "eighty-eighth" anti-aircraft gun. It was the most powerful anti-tank gun ever used in any army, capable of hitting 112 mm armor from a distance of 1400 m. The Tiger carried 92 rounds to the main gun, stowed in the hull bunker, turret racks and anywhere else it could reach with your hand.
Muzzle brake: The Tifa KwK L/56 gun was equipped with a muzzle brake, which reduced the recoil force when firing an anti-tank projectile traveling at a speed of 1000 m/sec.
For self-defense against infantry, the tank was equipped with two 7.92 mm M-634 machine guns: one coaxial with the main gun, and the other mounted in the front hull.
Tank tracks
The Tiger needed tracks 72.5 cm wide to distribute the load on the soil. Its width exceeded the standard railway gauge, so to transport the tank, the external road wheels were replaced and narrower 52 cm tracks were installed.
Ride comfort was good - the intermediate road wheels helped distribute the considerable weight evenly,
The torsion bar suspension made the ride smooth even on uneven surfaces. However, if the internal road wheel was damaged by a mine explosion, repairing the tank in the field became a serious problem. In the East, dirt freezing between the rollers could completely immobilize the tank overnight.
The Tiger weighed about 60 tons, but its wide tracks gave it the ability to move in the dirtiest and snowiest places that could be found in Russia.
Disadvantages of the Tiger tank
Despite its magnificent power, the Tiger had several disadvantages. The turret traverse mechanism was too slow, which meant that the fast-moving (and brave) enemy tank crew could maneuver at close range in front or behind the tank. The Tiger's slowness and limited mobility meant that it certainly did not have an advantage in maneuverable combat.
Tigers were complex machines. needing experienced crews and support personnel capable of working in field conditions. As a result, often the Tigers, stuck in a swamp or out of action, were destroyed: the large weight of the tank made it impossible to load it onto standard recovery vehicles.
Production and modifications of the Tiger tank
The Tigers' production has never been high. Initially, 12 vehicles were assembled every month, but from November 1942 their production was increased to 25 units per month.
The tank underwent various modifications during its two years of production, early models had smoke grenade launchers and pistol embrasures on the sides of the turret, which were removed on later models.
Tanks intended for Africa and Russia were equipped with air dust filters. Ultimately, 1,355 Tiger tanks were assembled. The last operational Tigers were used to defend central Berlin in April 1945.
There were several variants of the Tiger tank: about 80 tanks were assembled as command vehicles ("Befehlswagen"), with an additional radio transmitter that allowed commanders to improve control of their vehicles. Some refurbished variants were improved without much need - the standard Wehrmacht recovery vehicle SdKfz 9, an 18-ton half-track towing vehicle. 
Technical characteristics of the Tiger tank
Crew: five people
Weight: 55,000 kg
Dimensions: Length (including weapons) 8.24 m; body length 6.2 m; width 3.73 m; height 2.86 m; the width of the combat tracks is 71.5 cm; width of transport tracks 51.5 cm
Armor protection: 100 mm thick frontal armor on the turret and hull; on the sides of the turret - 80 mm armor; on the side walls of the hull - 60-80 mm armor: upper and lower armor - 25 mm.
Power point: One Maybach HL 230 45 12-cylinder petrol engine with 522 kW (700 hp)
Specifications: maximum speed on the road 45 km/h; normal maximum speed 38 km/h; maximum speed over rough terrain 18 km/h; the maximum range on the road was 195 km, but in combat conditions it rarely exceeded 100 km; ford depth - 1.2 m; maximum steepness of the climb - 60%; the height of the vertical obstacle to be overcome is 0.79 m, the trench is 1.8 m.
Main weapons: One 88 mm KwK-36/56 cannon with 92 rounds. Type of projectiles: armor-piercing projectiles, armor-piercing projectiles with tungsten cores, cumulative projectiles. Muzzle velocity: 600 m/s (high-explosive projectile); 773 m/sec (armor-piercing projectile); 930 m/sec (armor-piercing projectile with a tungsten core).
Effective firing range: 3000 m for an armor-piercing projectile and 5000 m for a high-explosive projectile. Penetration: 171 mm armor at close range and 110 mm at a distance of 2000 m when using an armor-piercing projectile with a tungsten core.
Additional weapons: One 7.92 mm MG-34 machine gun. coaxial with a gun, and one MG-34 machine gun, movably mounted in the frontal plate of the hull.