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PzKpfw VI Tiger

The German Tiger and Tiger II (also known as the King Tiger or Royal Tiger) tanks were legends in their own time. They were arguably the most feared weapon developed by the Germans. The men who commanded these tanks accomplished extraordinary feats. The only instrument of armored warfare which German commanders regarded as qualitatively different from the rest was the Mark VI Tiger, which was not allotted to divisions but organized in independent battalions, kept under central control, and committed to crucial offensive and counter-offensive missions.

Great Britain, Germany, and Russia all published material in their professional military journals that put forth the idea of attacking in waves of tanks. In these theories, the lead wave consisted of the “heavy” tanks and the follow-on waves were lighter, faster tanks that exploited the breach. Although the German Army planned for heavy tanks and development of the Durchbruchswagen (breakthrough tank) began in 1937, no heavy tanks were fielded before World War II began.

The first mention of a panzer above thirty tons is included in a doctrinal reportdated 30 October 1935 by General Liese, head of the Army Ordnance Department. He established the requirements for this vehicle as having armor protection up to 20 millimeters thick and for it to be armed with a seventy-five-millimeter main gun, makingit capable of defeating the French Char 2 C, 3 C, and D tanks. Even though the army ordnance department put forth the requirement for a heavy tank, in terms of weight, this developing vehicle changed names frequently. This was probably due to the continuing doctrinal debate about how to employ armor and what types of tanks should be used for the different missions.

In November 1936, the automotive design office of the Army Ordnance Department requested that Krupp create a conceptual design of the thirty ton tank. This tank was called a Escort Tank (strengthened), implying that it would escort lighter panzers. On 12 March 1937, the Army Ordnance Department officially changed the name to Infantry Tank, which implied that it was intended to support the infantry. On 28 April 1937, the automotive design office of the Army Ordnance Department directed that the name again be changed to Durchbruchswagen (breakthrough or breaching tank) or D.W. This name implies that anew tactical role was envisioned for these heavy tanks, to breach the enemy defenses similar to Guderian’s first wave of tanks. The D.W. underwent many name changes but was finally called the Panzer VI, or Tiger.

Two firms, Henschel and Porsche, competed for the design and development of the future heavy tank. Ultimately, the automotive design office of the Army Ordnance Department awarded Henschel the contract for the chassis and Krupp the contract for the turret that together made the Tiger.

The Tiger was a heavy tank in both weight and in doctrinal purpose. It weighed fifty-seven tons and was armed with the eighty-eight-millimeter Kwk 36 L/56 gun, capable of penetrating one hundred millimeters of armor at 1000 meters using a Panzergranate 39 (Pzgr. 39) (armor piercing, capped, ballistic capped with explosive filler and tracer). Although not widely available, the (Pzgr. 40) (high velocity subcaliber, tungsten core with tracer) could penetrate 110 millimeters of armor at 2,000 meters. The Tiger’s primary opponents at the time that it was fielded, theT-34/76, only had forty-five-millimeters of frontal armor. Although the Tiger’s frontal armor was thick, it was not sloped, making it easier to penetrate.

Development of the Tiger II was a continuation of the heavy tank program. It was developed because of the constant emphasis on armor penetration capabilities and the desire to mount the eighty-eight-millimeter Flak 41 L/74 gun or something similar in atank turret. The eighty-eight-millimeter Kwk 36 L/56 gun mounted in the Tiger I did not meet the requirement, with the standard ammunition available (Pzgr. 39), put forth by Hitler. Ultimately, Krupp developed the eighty-eight-millimeter Kwk 43 L/71 gun that had similar penetrative capabilities to the eighty-eight-millimeter Flak 41 L/74 gun. This was mounted on a chassis developed by Henschel, making the Tiger II.

The main US tank in 1943, and for the rest of the war, was the M4 Sherman. As a result of many battles in World War II, the Sherman tank received a bad reputation as an inferior tank. One reason for this was its tendency to catch fire easily once it had been penetrated (consequently, the Sherman received the dubious nickname of “Ronson” after a famous lighter that had the motto of “lights first time, every time”). This problem, combined with the presence of German heavy tanks and superior anti-tank weapons (particularly the famed German ‘88’) made the Sherman appear to be heavily outclassed. The Sherman was in fact superior to the most numerous German tank of the time, the PanzerKampfwagon III (PzKpfw III). The Sherman easily outgunned the PzKpfw III and was nearly the equal of the second most numerous tank, the PzKpfw IV. German battalions in 1943 had 1 PzKpfw IV company and three PzKpfw III companies [22 tanks each] while the US medium battalion had three companies of Shermans [17 tanks each]).

If the Sherman received an undeserved poor reputation, it was the German PzKpfw VI, the Tiger, that received just the opposite reaction The Tiger armor was impenetrable by the US 75mm frontally and the 88mm gun could defeat any US or British tank at great range. However, it was still few in number and mechanically unreliable, restricting its use on this battlefield. While the 88mm gained a healthy respect from the Allies when mounted on the Tiger or used as an anti-tank gun.

After the automotive design office of the Army Ordnance Department finalized the Tiger and estimated production figures, the Army General Staff realized that the Tiger could never be produced in sufficient quantity to replace the Panzer IV on a one for one basis. The new tank also lacked the tactical mobility to be included in the panzer divisions. It was difficult to find a suitable place for the Tiger in the panzer divisions, and as a scarce resource, the Army General Staff decided to consolidate the available Tigers in independent heavy tank battalions and employ them where they were needed.

During the course of World War II, the German Army developed heavy tank battalions to fulfill the concept of breaking throughenemy defenses so faster, lighter mechanized forces could exploit the rupture. These heavy tank battalions had several different tables of organization, but were always centered around either the Tiger or the Tiger II tank. They fought in virtually every theater of Europe againstevery enemy of Germany. Ultimately, the German military created eleven Army and three Waffen-SS heavy tank battalions. Of the Army battalions, the German command fielded ten as independent battalions, which were allocated to Army Groups as needed. The German Army assigned the last heavy tank battalion as an organic unit of the elite Panzer Grenadier Division Grossdeutschland. The Waffen-SS allocated allof their battalions to a different Waffen-SS Corps.

Because these units were not fielded until late in 1942, they did not participate in Germany's major offensive operations that dominated the early part of World War II. Germany's strategic situation after mid-1943 forcedtheir military onto the defensive. Consequently, there are very few instances when heavy tank battalions attacked as a breakthrough force. During the latter part of the war, they were used in many different ways to provide defensive assistance along very wide frontages.

German doctrine placed great emphasis upon the heavy tanks’ destruction of opposing tanks in both the offense and the defense. Allied units continually reported that Tiger tanks were in their sector or that they had destroyed Tiger tanks. For example, a casual reading of Allied accounts during the battle of the Bulge would indicate that at least half of the German tanks employed there were Tigers. Actually, no more than 136 Tigers were involved, with the vast majority of German tanks in the battle being Panther and Panzer IVs. The Soviets also have to be treated with the same skepticism in some instances. For example, Soviet propaganda claimed that 700 Tigers were destroyed during the battle of Kursk. This number is five times more than the actual number engaged in the fighting.

Elefant (German for "elephant") was a schwerer Panzerjäger ("heavy tank destroyer") of the German Wehrmacht used in small numbers in World War II. It was built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand, after its designer Ferdinand Porsche. In 1944, after modification of the existing vehicles, they were renamed Elefant. The official German designation was Panzerjäger Tiger (P) and the ordnance inventory designation was Sd. Kfz. 184. Sturmtiger (German: "Assault Tiger") is the common name of a World War II German assault gun built on the Tiger I chassis and armed with a large naval rocket launcher. The official German designation was Sturmmörserwagen 606/4 mit 38 cm RW 61. Its primary task was to provide heavy fire support for infantry units fighting in urban areas. The few vehicles produced fought in the Warsaw Uprising, the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of the Reichswald. The fighting vehicle is also known under a large number of informal names, among which the Sturmtiger become the most popular.