The hidden truth about the Nazi monster that killed allies: “The Tiger tank is a waste of time. Weaknesses of World War II tanks Comparison of tiger and kv tanks

James Holland reveals for A-be-tse the bitterest truth about what many consider to be the best fighting vehicle of World War II

A mastodon weighing 57 tons, capable of easily smashing the fragile armored vehicles of the allies to shreds from a distance (according to information from a number of sources) of up to three thousand meters. A monstrous beast that terrified the allies, and which many historians today call the best (and most deadly) tank of the Second World War. The Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf E (the technical term for the famous "Tiger I" or "Panzer VI") was Hitler's most famous tank. And quite justified. Indeed, even such a legendary character as the commander of the German tank unit Otto Carius (Otto Carius) speaks of him in his memoirs "Tigers in the Mud": "The best of the tanks on which I fought."

In principle, the figures confirm this assessment. Firstly, the Tiger I was covered in front with 100 mm thick armor, which made it practically invulnerable to the guns of the most common enemy tanks, in particular the Soviet T-34s and American Shermans. The same can be said for its formidable weapon, the 88mm KwK 36 L/56 cannon, which, as explained in the Tiger I section of the UK Tank museum, could damage any modern armored vehicle opposing it "at range". about two thousand meters. “The 8.8 cm gun was good enough to destroy any tank if it appeared in its zone of action,” adds Karius.

Nevertheless, according to such authoritative authors as James Holland (historian, writer, participant in the well-known Nazi Megastructures program, who published the book “The Rise of Germany” this year), the Tiger I had not only excellent qualities, but also a whole bunch of shortcomings that turned it into an unliftable colossus, which was difficult to transport and repair. So he says about it in his statements “Tigers meant a waste of time. Yes, they were excellent combat vehicles, but only when they functioned properly, and there was enough fuel to refuel them. Both were not so easy to achieve. Moreover, the expert continues, the tank was very difficult to repair due to the lack of spare parts, and it also had many defects in the gearbox.

First contact

The positive aspects of the "Tiger I" were described in detail by Otto Carius in his book "Tigers in the Mud". And, of course, no one better than this German officer would have told us about it. He was recalled from the front in January 1943 and transferred to a newly formed battalion with several Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf E tanks. Moreover, Otto Carius subsequently became one of the most famous aces among Wehrmacht tankers.

“According to the statistics in the list of German tankers, he ranks second in the number of destroyed enemy armored vehicles with his 150 tanks, after Kurt Knispel (Kurt Knispel) and ahead of the most famous Michael Wittmann (Michael Wittmann), explain the publishers of the book "Tigers in the Mud". Most of the enemy tanks he destroyed fell just at the time when he fought as part of the 502nd battalion on the Tiger I tank.

When Carius (one of the first tankers to master the Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf E) found out about the existence of the mythical Tiger I, the situation for Germany was already worse than ever. After only a few weeks of fighting in Russia, the Germans met with an armored vehicle that could not be defeated. “The T-34, with its excellent armor protection, perfect layout and magnificent long-barreled 7.62 cm gun, was feared by everyone, it was a thunderstorm for any German tank until the very end of the war. The question is, what could we do with these monsters, which the Russians threw against us in huge numbers? […] If we were lucky, we could get the T-34 by hitting it in the ring around the turret and blocking its movement,” concludes the well-known tanker. In order to fight these tanks, the Tiger I was conceived.

When Carius first saw the Tiger, he was somewhat disappointed. Firstly, due to the total absence of even a hint of aesthetics. And secondly, because the German engineers did not think of making the front armor plate inclined, like in Russian tanks (this contributed to the fact that the shells bounced off the armor). “Its appearance was completely unattractive and unpleasant: it looked rough, almost all of its surfaces were strictly vertical, and only the front plate was slightly tilted. And only thicker armor compensated for the lack of rounded shapes, ”Karius adds in his book. At first glance, the tank seemed like some kind of slowly moving colossus, which was a huge target for shells to hit.

Invulnerable

However, Karius immediately noted their advantages. First of all, as a tank commander, he was convinced that, despite its impressive 57 tons of weight, the armored vehicle could maneuver relatively quickly. “With just two fingers, we could start a 700 horsepower engine, move a 60-ton behemoth and move at a speed of 45 kilometers per hour on the highway, or 20 kilometers per hour off-road,” he says in his memoirs.

In addition, the gun was very accurate due to the fact that the turret rotated with a hydraulic drive. “The legs of the tanker were on a special swinging platform: and if you press the toe of your foot forward, then the tower turns to the right; and if you move the toe of the foot back, the tower turned to the left. […] Thus, an experienced tanker did not have to manually adjust the aiming of the gun, ”Karius points out.

Another important advantage of the "Tiger I" was that, despite the absence of inclined armor plates, their thickness was sufficient to withstand the impact of shells from most enemy tanks. Historians Tom Jentz and Hilary Doyle also talk about this in their book "The Terrible Tiger I": 100 mm of armor covering the front of the tank and 60 mm of side armor plates make it almost invulnerable to most anti-tank guns : Soviet caliber 76 mm and American caliber 75 mm.

In accordance with the penetration tables compiled by German researchers, in battle the Sherman A2 tank (one of the most common models) could penetrate the front armor panel of this German giant only if it was at a distance from it, literally, "0 meters ".

The same would have happened with the Cromwell tanks (widely used by Britain), which, according to the calculations of all the same German scientists, would have been forced to resort to a point-blank shot in order to penetrate the frontal armor plate of this terrible Tiger I. The British Firefly tanks (improved versions of the Shermans with 17lb guns) would have done better. “It goes without saying that 17-pounder guns firing APCBC armor-piercing shells could, in most cases, penetrate the frontal armor of the Tiger I at firing distance in combat operations against Europe,” the German researchers stated in their report in April 1944. But the fact is that, ironically, by X-Day, only 109 tanks had this capability.

However, Yenz and Doyle also found in their work that American Sherman tanks with a 76 mm cannon and Soviet T-34/85 tanks (the latter were an upgraded version of the T-34 with a more powerful gun) could damage the Tiger I. , although only over a shorter distance.

All this was determined on the basis of the specified penetration table compiled by German scientists. According to them, the T-34/85 tanks could create problems for the Tiger I from a distance of 500 meters if they hit the turret, from 200 meters if they hit the muzzle, and from 100 meters if they hit the front panel of the tank driver. While the Sherman A4 tanks (the version with the M1A1 76 mm gun) could cause some damage to this colossus if approached at a distance of at least 700 meters. Moreover, the distance increased significantly if the shot was fired at the side of the Tiger.

And deadly

However, the tank battles were not the way we see them in movies today. As a rule, armored vehicles detected each other already at a distance of at least one and a half kilometers, that is, before they had time to do anything. And this gave a clear advantage to the Germans, who could be the first to fire several shots at the weaker (albeit faster) enemy fighting vehicles before they could get close to the distance they needed. And although many films, such as Hearts of Steel, persistently show us tank battles in very small areas of the territory, in reality everything was different.

In fact, at such short ranges, these battles would be, according to statistics, lethal for American tanks, given their inability to withstand a hit from a projectile fired from a Tiger I cannon.

Historian Bryan Perrett confirms in his book Tanking that Tigers I could destroy American Shermans from up to 3,000 meters (with some luck, of course). The authors of the book "Terrible Tiger I", for their part, agree that the "Tiger I" could tear to shreds the armor plates of most Allied Shermans at a distance of 2100 to 3500 meters, however, depending on whether they hit them in front, from the sides or behind. With British tanks ("Cromwell" and "Churchill") the numbers were similar. And practically the same thing happened in battles with Soviet T-34s.

James Holland and the Other Side of Tiger I

"A-be-tse": Were the "Tigers I" really as deadly as the above figures indicate?

James Holland: The Tigers were just a waste of time. Of course, if I were an Allied soldier and saw a Tiger tank rolling around a corner, I would certainly be very scared. "Tiger" is probably the most famous armored fighting vehicle of the Second World War. But nevertheless, only 1,347 of them were produced.

The Tiger tank was an excellent weapon when it functioned well and when there was enough fuel to fill it up, but it was not so easy. The problem is that the Germans built these machines for combat, but did not produce the necessary tools for their care and maintenance.

What were their main problems?

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Die Welt 05/26/2015 - Everything that had to be done with the Tigers I was difficult. One of the problems was that they did not fit in rail cars due to their enormous size, and therefore they could not be transported in continental Europe in the usual simple way. The only way to transport them was to replace the wide tracks with narrower ones. And then, when they got to their destination, standard tracks were installed on them again.

In addition, their six-speed gearbox is based on a hydraulic system developed by Ferdinand Porsche. And more than 50% of the malfunctions that occurred with the "Tigers I" during the Second World War are associated with the gearbox. That is, the problems of their repair were often simply insoluble.

So they couldn't be repaired?

- Yes. When Allied tanks broke down, they were immediately repaired. But when it happened to the Germans, they remained faulty. And this despite the fact that the enemy had 49,000 Sherman tanks, while we only had 1,347 Tigers.

- What malfunction of the "Tiger I" was the most fatal for him?

- Design. The first priority of the German tank was a powerful gun. The second is very thick armor. The problem was that a powerful cannon required a very large turret. The larger the turret, the more powerful the chassis had to be. But the more massive the chassis was, the more the tank weighed. And the more he weighed, the more fuel was required. And for more fuel, it was necessary to have a more powerful engine.

It is simply ridiculous that the Germans created such a battle tank, while in Germany the most scarce resource was oil. And despite this, we produced tanks that consumed 4 gallons of fuel per day. That's if it was a good day.

While the number one priority for the British was to keep the tanks working. So that they don't break. And secondly, to make them easy to maintain and repair. And here's how it works. The Tiger tank terrified people and was very large, but only effective when it was functional. And with the allies, he was almost always at work.

— That is, the giant German tanks were not so effective, from today's point of view?

— It must be kept in mind that the Second World War did not require huge tanks, but good anti-tank guns. And they did not have to be installed on the tanks themselves.

One example. Tanks were very effective in 1939 and 1940 because they could move quickly and easily. It was these qualities that represented the strength of the German troops: fast maneuverability. On May 15, 1940, the Germans smashed the First French Armored Division to dust. This unit was the pride of the French army, because it had large and powerful tanks, which were much better than the German ones.

The question is how then the Germans were able to defeat her. Very simply: small armored cars were approaching the French tanks. Then they stopped in front of them, challenging the French, and immediately hurriedly retired. The French tanks turned around and began to pursue, but a camouflaged unit with anti-tank guns appeared in their path, which destroyed them. The French had 176 tanks this morning. After a short time, their number decreased to 36, and the next day there were about 15 of them.

Disadvantages, according to Carius and other Germans

Holland is not the only one who believes that the Tiger I, while deadly, had many mechanical flaws. As Carius explained in his memoirs, one of the main problems with this tank was the batteries: “Battery care was vital, especially in winter. We had to keep the batteries constantly charged, and therefore we had to practically not turn off the engine if we did not drive a lot that day. Otherwise, the starting motor could not start the main motor. And if this happened, then two crew members had to get out of the tank and start the engine using a special inertial system similar to the one used on vintage aircraft, only we had it located behind the tank.

The same Carius mentioned another important defect of the Tiger I, which was immediately evident. Almost the same thing that Holland spoke about in an interview with our newspaper a few lines above. According to the German ace of German combat armored vehicles, “it was necessary to change the tank’s field tracks to other narrower ones, since the first ones, protruding far beyond the width of the cars, could hit oncoming trains.”

As a result, the Nazis were forced to build special wagons to transport these mastodons along and across the whole of Europe. But there were other problems with their movement from place to place. The fact is that their gigantic weight caused reasonable fears of damage to the bridges along which these cars moved. “In order not to put the bridges in their path at risk of collapse, at least four freight cars had to carry only two Tigers located on them,” Karius adds.

Reports compiled by German officers immediately after the first battles of the Tigers I in the USSR also confirm the presence of mechanical problems with these tanks.

Thus, on January 29, 1943, the inspectors of the 502nd heavy tank battalion informed the highest authorities of the German army that in recent days "one Panzer VI was lost due to a transmission failure" after a run of only 65 kilometers. A similar incident took place the next day with another tank after a run of 48 kilometers. And to top it all off on the same day, one of these giants ignited spontaneously. In turn, the text of the said report emphasized that these tanks should be handled with care: “In the combat units as a whole, there was a general opinion that the Tiger could do a lot. But tankers don't understand how such a new vehicle can have so many faults and weaknesses."

The same document also points out the problems caused by the size of these combat vehicles during their transportation by rail: “As a result of constant movements from place to place, not only the undercarriage and motors are overused, but there is not enough time for maintenance, which causes significant damage, since the Tigers turn out to be faulty exactly when they are needed.

The heavy weight of these tanks also caused damage to the commonly used towing equipment. “It’s almost impossible to tow the Tiger 1 over rough terrain unless you use three or four tugs together,” explains the head of the mobile workshop in a document dated January 29, provided after several battles. On top of that, any towing vehicle engaged in such a thankless job turned out to be completely spoiled after towing this giant.

The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.

There are many cases where theory is at odds with practice. A theoretical comparison of different combat vehicles led to certain results, and their collision in practice ended in a completely different way than previously expected. For example, during the Great Patriotic War, the most massive and advanced Soviet heavy tank IS-2, having significant advantages over the German Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. H1 Tiger, sometimes could not finish the fight in his favor. Let's try to consider this technique and determine the reasons why ours could not always realize the advantages of their tanks.

Technique and its characteristics

The most massive Soviet heavy tank of the Great Patriotic War went into production at the end of 1943. The production of machines of the IS-2 type continued until June 1945. In about a year and a half, industry handed over 3,385 tanks to the Red Army. For obvious reasons, some of the tanks of the latest series did not have time to get to the front. During the operation, the units that were armed with the IS-2 lost a significant amount of such equipment. However, mass production covered all losses and allowed the fighting to continue. Moreover, the existing fleet of equipment remained in service for many years after the end of the war; a significant number of tanks were transferred to third countries.

Soviet heavy tank IS-2 of the first version. It differs from later machines in the characteristic frontal part of the hull.

The IS-2 had the most powerful protection among all Soviet wartime tanks. Initially, such tanks had a frontal assembly of sheets 60, 100 and 120 mm thick, installed at angles. In 1944, a new version of the forehead appeared with an upper frontal part 120 mm thick and a lower 100 mm thick. The sides had a thickness of 90 mm, feed - 60 mm. The tower received all-round protection in the form of 100 mm armor. There was also a mask of equal thickness on the forehead. It should be noted that on some production tanks, instead of rolled parts, cast parts were used, which were less resistant to shelling.

The tank was equipped with a 12-cylinder V-2IS diesel engine with a power of 520 hp, which, with a combat weight of 46 tons, gave a specific power of just over 11 hp. per ton. On the highway, the car accelerated to 35-37 km / h, on rough terrain - up to 15 km / h. Provided overcoming various obstacles.

Taking into account the experience of previous battles, the IS-2 tank was equipped with a 122-mm D-25T rifled gun, which, as expected, could effectively destroy any armored vehicles of the German army. The D-25T was a revised version of the A-19 gun with some new elements. The guns of the first series had a piston breech, but at the beginning of 1944 it was replaced by a semi-automatic wedge. To reduce the recoil momentum, there was a muzzle brake. The gun used separate loading shots. A circular horizontal guidance was provided by turning the tower with the possibility of precise guidance using separate mechanisms on the installation.

Armor scheme of the IS-2 tank. Top right shows the hull of the tank of the first version, below - later, with a redesigned forehead

When using a sharp-headed caliber armor-piercing projectile of the BR-471 type, the D-25T gun at a distance of 500 m at a meeting angle of 90 ° could penetrate 155 mm of homogeneous armor. At a distance of 1 km, armor penetration decreased to 143 mm. At twice the distance - up to 116 mm. Thus, the gun of the IS-2 tank, in theory, posed a great danger to almost all German armored vehicles. In some cases, penetration should have occurred with known consequences, in others - fatal damage to external units.

The tank's ammunition included 28 rounds of separate loading. Each BR-471 projectile weighed 25 kg, the Zh-471 type case with a variable charge - from 13.7 to 15.3 kg, depending on the material used. The need to work with large and heavy elements of the shot led to a reduction in the rate of fire to 3 rounds per minute.

To control the gun, the IS-2 gunner used the TSh-17 telescopic sight and the PT4-17 periscope. From a certain time, serial tanks lost their periscope sight, instead of which they installed another viewing device. Situational awareness improved, but the tank lost the ability to fire independently from a closed position.

IS-2 with a new forehead in one of the domestic museums

The most massive German heavy tank was the Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. H1, also known as the Tiger. This machine went into production at the end of the summer of 1942 and was produced for two years, until August 1944. The tank turned out to be quite difficult to manufacture and expensive; for the entire time of production, the industry produced only 1350 units of such equipment. From the beginning of service in 1942 until the end of the war, the German army lost the vast majority of these vehicles. The main losses, for well-known reasons, took place on the Eastern Front and are the merit of the Red Army.

A characteristic feature of the Tiger tank was powerful armor. The forehead of his hull consisted of rolled sheets 100, 80 and 63 mm thick, assembled into a box-shaped assembly of a recognizable shape. The sides were assembled from 80- and 63-mm parts, and the feed had a thickness of 80 mm. The forehead of the turret was made of 100 mm sheet and reinforced with a gun mantlet of variable thickness: from 90 to 200 mm. The side and rear of the tower had the same protection in the form of 80 mm armor.

Tanks of different series were equipped with Maybach HL210P30 and HL210P45 12-cylinder carburetor engines with an HP 700 power. With a mass of 57 tons, the Tiger tank had a specific power of no more than 13 hp. per ton. Without limiting the engine speed, the tank could develop a speed of 44 km / h on the highway. On rough terrain, the speed was limited to 22-25 km / h. The car had a fairly high cross.

The main German "Tiger" was a tank gun 8.8 cm KwK 36 L / 56 with a rifled barrel of 88 mm caliber. The gun was equipped with a semi-automatic wedge breech, an electric ignition system and a recognizable muzzle brake. With KwK 36, unitary shots 88x570 mm R were used, equipped with different types of projectiles. An important feature of the German gun was the flatness of the trajectory, which to some extent compensated for errors in vertical aiming.

Shot components for the D-25T cannon (from right to left, shown from two sides): a cartridge case with a propellant charge, OF-471N high-explosive fragmentation projectile, armor-piercing BR-471 and armor-piercing BR-471B

To destroy tanks, the KwK 36 cannon could use several types of projectiles: two kinetic ones (one with a tungsten core, the other with a ballistic cap and an explosive charge) and a number of cumulative ones. The latter in all conditions pierced up to 100-110 mm of homogeneous armor at a meeting angle of 90 °. The most effective projectile Pz.Gr.40 with a tungsten core at a distance of 500 m pierced 200 mm of armor, at 1 km - 179 mm. At a distance of 2 km, he saved energy to defeat a 143-mm barrier. The Pz.Gr.39 projectile, assembled without the use of expensive materials, pierced 151, 138 and 116 mm of armor, respectively, at the same distances.

German-made unitary shots with 88 mm shells were over 1150 mm long and weighed just under 21 kg. The ammunition load of the KwK 36 gun included at least 90 rounds. Later, German engineers found a way to bring it up to 120 rounds. Due to the relatively light shot with a unitary loader, it was possible to obtain a technical rate of fire of up to 6-8 rounds per minute.

Most of the Tiger tanks were equipped with TZF-9b binocular optical sights. On the machines of the latest series, TZF-9c products were used. The first had a fixed magnification of 2.5x, while the magnification of the second was adjustable from 2.5x to 5x.

Advantages and disadvantages

It is easy to see that the most massive heavy tanks of the USSR and Nazi Germany had similar indicators of mobility and maneuverability, but at the same time they differed most seriously in terms of protection and weapons. The simplest comparison of two tanks "on paper" shows in what areas the samples in question could have an advantage over each other.

Museum tank "Tiger"

The Soviet IS-2 of the early series had frontal armor in the form of sheets 120, 100 mm and 60 mm thick, which, taking into account the slope, gave a reduced thickness of about 195, 130 and 115 mm, respectively. The frontal assembly of the tank Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. H did not have large installation angles of parts, and therefore their reduced thickness remained at the level of 100-110 mm. However, for an inclined 80 mm sheet, this parameter reached 190 mm. However, the inclined part did not take up much space in the overall frontal projection of the tank, and therefore its influence on the overall level of protection was not decisive.

From the point of view of turret protection "on paper", the two tanks are similar. At the same time, the Tiger has the advantage of a thicker gun mantlet, while the IS-2 turret has thicker sides and stern.

In general, the advantage in the field of protection remains with the Soviet tank. However, it must be taken into account that the survivability of a combat vehicle depends not only on the characteristics of its armor, but also on the capabilities of the enemy’s weapons.

The upper frontal plate of the IS-2 tank with a reduced thickness of 195 to 240 mm, depending on the series, can be considered an extremely difficult obstacle for all KwK 36 cannon shells at reasonable distances. The situation could be corrected only by the most effective and expensive projectile with a tungsten core. In turn, the IS-2 with the BR-471 projectile, under ideal conditions, could hit the Tiger in the frontal projection at distances of at least 1 km.

Frontal projection of a German tank: sheet slopes are minimal

In this case, one should take into account the possibility of incapacitating the enemy without breaking through the armor. Fragments of a projectile that hit the hull or turret, as well as knocked out pieces of armor, were capable of damaging the gun, optical instruments, etc., at least disrupting the normal operation of the combat vehicle. So, during the tests, the D-25T gun not only pierced the armor of the captured Tiger, but also made breaches in it, and was also able to tear the turret off the shoulder strap.

The undoubted advantage of the German tank was a higher rate of fire associated with a smaller caliber of the projectile and a different way of loading. Soviet tankers needed at least 20 seconds to prepare for a shot, while a German loader could do it in 8-10 seconds. Thus, the "Tiger" could quickly adjust the aiming and make a second shot with greater accuracy. However, it is necessary to remember the ratio of the armor penetration of German shells and the characteristics of the armor of the IS-2. In order for the second shot to lead to the defeat of the Soviet tank, the German "Tiger" should not have been at the greatest distance from it.

The side projections of the IS-2 and "Tiger" had protection in the form of 90 and 63-80 mm of armor, respectively. This means that both tanks could effectively hit each other at all distances that take place in a real battle. After a single well-aimed shot with a hit on the side, the enemy was put out of action, at least until the repair was completed.

Loading unitary 88-mm shells into a tank

The German tank, which was distinguished by better mobility, could quickly reach an advantageous position. On rough terrain, the Tiger was able to reach speeds of up to 20-25 km / h - depending on the terrain. The maximum speed of the IS-2 was less - up to 12-15 km / h. An experienced crew could use this advantage to their advantage, and for under-trained tankers without proper experience, additional kilometers per hour would not bring any benefit.

Thus, with a simple and superficial examination of the tactical and technical characteristics of two heavy tanks of the USSR and Germany, certain conclusions and assumptions can be drawn. IS-2 had advantages over Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. H Tiger in some characteristics, but lost in others. At the same time, he had serious advantages in terms of armor and weapons. German tankers in the event of a collision with the IS-2 would have to rely on better mobility and a higher rate of fire.

Clash in reality

It is known that the IS-2 and Tiger tanks have repeatedly met in battle since the spring of 1944. However, according to reports, such battles did not occur too often, since different tactical roles usually spread them along different sectors of the front. Nevertheless, certain information about the collisions of heavy tanks between the two countries has been preserved, allowing us to consider the current situation and correct the previously drawn conclusions.

According to known data, the IS-2s first encountered Tiger tanks in April 1944 near Ternopil. The tankers of the 11th Separate Guards Heavy Tank Regiment were the first to take the fight. Subsequently, this regiment and other units repeatedly met with heavy German tanks and fought with them. For objective reasons, it is no longer possible to establish all the results of these battles, but it is known that both sides inflicted significant damage on each other.

Considering the available data on the collision of the "Tigers" and the IS-2, you can see several main features of such battles. The tanks repeatedly attacked each other from a distance of about 1000-1500 m, and in such a battle the Soviet IS-2s more often won. At the same time, there are cases when the Tiger attacked a Soviet vehicle from a distance of more than 1 km and pierced the lower frontal part, which led to the ignition of the fuel tanks. However, at distances of more than 1 km, the advantage remained with the Red Army tankers.

Fights at shorter distances, despite the advantages of both tanks, turned out to be difficult for both sides. At distances from 400-500 to 900-1000 m, the IS-2 and the Tiger could, with varying success, attack each other head-on and confidently hit each other on the side. With a further reduction in the distance between tanks, the chances of victory and survival were equalized. At the same time, under these circumstances, the role of mobility and rate of fire could probably increase. Accordingly, the potential of German technology increased slightly.

German tank crews are examining a dent in the Tiger's armor. It was clearly not the gun of the IS-2 tank

Thus, the two heavy tanks of the opposing sides seriously differed from each other in certain design features and characteristics, which led to the emergence of various advantages over the enemy. However, there were quite serious problems in this context. Not always a real combat clash with enemy tanks could go according to the optimal scenario, allowing you to fully use your advantages. In practice, this led to the fact that the Soviet tankers tried to keep the "Tigers" at a dangerous distance, but they themselves sometimes found themselves too close to enemy positions.

Contribution to victory

Heavy tanks Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. H Tiger and IS-2 did not see each other very often in battles, which was due to the different tactical roles of these combat vehicles. Because of this, armored vehicles of other types became their main opponents. And in this case, Soviet heavy tanks showed themselves in the best possible way. The 122-mm gun made it possible to attack and destroy almost all existing types of enemy equipment, and powerful armor protected against many retaliatory attacks. In addition, IS-2 tanks were produced in significant quantities, which made it possible to strengthen the armored forces in the desired way.

Of course, the IS-2 heavy tanks were not without flaws and, according to some characteristics, they lost to enemy vehicles of their class, which led to losses. Nevertheless, the machines to be restored were returned to service, and the industry supplied newly built equipment. In just over a year and a half of serial production, the Soviet Union built almost 3,400 tanks of this type. 1350 German Tiger vehicles against this background do not look too convincing, and about 500 assembled Tiger IIs could hardly improve the situation.

Ultimately, it was the IS-2 tanks that successfully supported the attack on the enemy’s positions and inflicted serious damage on him, contributing to the advance of the Red Army. Despite their shortcomings and advantages of the opposing side's equipment, Soviet armored vehicles made a significant contribution to the defeat of the enemy and the victory over Nazi Germany. Soviet IS-2 tanks, along with other armored vehicles, clearly showed how high performance, quality and quantity of combat vehicles turn into victory.

According to materials:
http://armor.kiev.ua/
http://aviarmor.net/
http://battlefield.ru/
http://tiger-tank.com/
https://vpk-news.ru/
http://alanhamby.com/
http://russianarms.ru/
http://ww2data.blogspot.com/
Solyankin A. G., Pavlov M. V., Pavlov I. V., Zheltov I. G. Domestic armored vehicles. XX century. – M.: Exprint, 2005. – T. 2. 1941–1945.
Baryatinsky M.B. Heavy tank IS-2. Our answer is "Tiger". – M.: Yauza, Eksmo, 2006.

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Imagine the following situation: a duel between the Tiger and the IS-2 in ideal (flat terrain, distance up to 1000 m) and equal (the quality of sights, the level of training of gunners, full ammunition, a gun with a wedge bolt) conditions. At the same time, we will assume a 50% chance of hitting with the first shot and agree that both tanks will miss, but they must definitely hit with the second shell, which often happened in real life. What happens next?

The loader of the IS-2 takes a 25-kg projectile from the ammo rack located in the aft niche of the turret and puts it into the barrel, then sends it forward with a breaker so that the leading belt is firmly wedged at the beginning of the rifling of the barrel bore. An experienced loader sends the projectile by hand, which speeds up the process. Then the loader takes a 15-kg cartridge case with a charge from the right wall of the turret (we agreed that the ammunition load is full, which means that after the first shot there is still one cartridge case left in the turret, the next one will have to "dive" down, since the rest of the cartridge cases are located in the hull IS-2), puts it in the barrel and sends it. In this case, the shutter closes automatically. The loader reports "Done", the tank commander says - "Fire", and the gunner, who managed to correct the sight during loading, presses the trigger and fires a shot. However, stop! Under all our conditions, it will take at least 20 seconds for the most trained loader to do all of the above, which means, no matter how bitter it is to admit, he will not have time to complete the loading process, because at the 8th second an 88-mm will fly into the IS-2 tower German shell, and on the 16th - the second! Thus, at the first miss, the "Tiger" with a rate of fire of its gun of 6-8 rounds / min did not leave the IS-2 a single chance for a second shot. Even if there were two of our tanks, the "Tiger", hitting the first IS-2, would have time to fire the first shot at the second one 4 seconds earlier than the return one. As a result, it turns out that in order to guarantee the defeat of one "Tiger" with a second shot, it is necessary to have three IS-2 tanks.

Some data

Tank, gun Armor, mm / inclination, gr Armor-piercing at a distance of 1000 m, mm / gr Rate of fire, rounds / min
IS-2, 122-mm D-25T frontal hull - 120 / 60° frontal turret - 150 / rounded 142 / 90° 2...3
Tiger, 88 mm KwK 36 frontal hull - 100 / 8° frontal turret - 190 / 0° 100 / 60° 6...8

From the above data it follows that from 1000 m the Tiger could not penetrate either the forehead of the hull, much less the IS-2 towers. To do this, he had to approach at least 500 ... 600 m. after the introduction of a "straight nose" on our tank (see M. Baryatinsky, IS-2, creations), "the KwK 36 L / 56 tank gun did not penetrate the frontal armor of the IS-2 when firing from any distance."

For our tank, the situation is reversed - from 1000 m it confidently pierced the frontal armor of the Tiger's hull. If the projectile hit the forehead of the German tank turret without even penetrating it, the gap was guaranteed to damage the gun barrel and the Tiger remained unarmed.

That. from 1000 m the Tiger could damage but not destroy the IS-2. So, the German tank makes the second shot - the 88-mm projectile damages the caterpillar. The third shot of the Tiger coincides with the second IS-2. A German projectile knocks down the sight, a 122-mm IS-2 projectile breaks through the Tiger's armor. German tank destroyed, Russian - damaged. And this is in the worst scenario for our tank.

Let's assume a different situation. The crew of a German tank knows that it needs to approach the IS-2 at a distance of 500 ... 600 m. With an average speed of the Tiger on the ground of 25 ... 30 km / h, it will take him about a minute to overcome 500 m. On the move, a German tank cannot shoot, because. the absence of a gun stabilizer will reduce the chance of a hit to zero. IS-2, on the contrary, has time to fire 3 shots.

Thus, with such a face-to-face meeting, it was very unprofitable for the Tiger to engage in battle.

In this fight, it would seem that the winner is predetermined. The 45-ton German medium tank, armed with an excellent gun capable of penetrating the armor of most Allied medium and heavy tanks from several kilometers, equipped with excellent observation devices and sights, was far superior to the light Soviet T-70 tank.

The weight of the latter is 9.8 tons, two people in the crew, nominal armor and a 45-mm tank gun of the 1932/38 model, and also the rate of fire is only 3-5 rds / min. (the commander had to be both loader and gunner).

It happened on March 26, 1944, when the T-70 tank of junior lieutenant Grigory Pegov conducted reconnaissance, during which he discovered an enemy tank column. She intended to launch a counterattack on the advancing units of the Red Army. This could not be allowed.

Pegov disguised his tank and prepared for the battle, which was to be his last - at the head of the column were the formidable German cats - "Panthers".

Letting them up to 150 meters, Pegov opened fire. The first few shots pierced the side of the Panther, and it caught fire, Pegov broke the caterpillar of the second tank, after which the crew of the damaged vehicle retreated. Deciding that they had stumbled upon a powerful anti-tank defense, the Germans hurried to retreat. Grigory Pegov received the "Gold Star", but only on March 24, 1975.

T-34-76 against 12 "Tigers"

T-34-76 is a medium Soviet tank, which with the advent of "Tigers" and "Panthers" could no longer successfully fight Wehrmacht tanks. Its 76-mm cannon did not penetrate the latest tanks in the forehead, and the "Tiger" could only take it on board from a distance of less than 100 meters. Armor of 45 mm no longer saved German guns from fire, the optics were not of the best quality, and it was inconveniently located.
The "Tiger" had impregnable frontal armor, excellent optics, and a powerful 88-mm gun that hit the T-34 from several kilometers - the shells tore off the turrets from thirty-fours on impact. And yet, when on January 25, 1944, during the breakthrough of the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky "bag", 12 Tiger tanks reached the command post of the 49th tank brigade under the command of Alexander Burda, threatening to destroy the headquarters, the brigade commander, who at that time had only one T-34-76, decided to join the battle. Burda single-handedly attacked 12 enemy heavy tanks and burned two of them.

During this time, the brigade headquarters managed to get out of the fire, and valuable documents were saved, but several blanks hit Burda's thirty-four at once. The brigade commander was mortally wounded by shrapnel from broken armor. On April 24, 1944, Guards Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Fedorovich Burda was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, in total, the Soviet ace tankman had 30 destroyed enemy tanks.

T-34-85 against the "Royal Tiger"

"Tiger II" or "Royal Tiger" is the most protected serial heavy tank of Nazi Germany. Its sloped frontal 150 mm armor was invulnerable to most Allied tank and anti-tank guns. The projectile of the 88-mm cannon of the "King Tiger" could penetrate the 80-mm vertical armor plate from a distance of 4 km, and the excellent optics made it possible to shoot at such a distance. From a distance of a kilometer, the projectile pierced 240-mm armor.

The T-34-85 boasted only good mobility and maneuverability, as well as an 85 mm gun mounted in a new spacious turret with 90 mm frontal armor. The thickness of the frontal part of the hull remained unchanged - 45 mm.

August 1944, the Sandomierz bridgehead, the offensive of the 501st heavy tank battalion of the Wehrmacht.

The reconnaissance of the Red Army worked quickly, and the visit of the German heavyweights was waiting for the T-34-85 disguised in haystacks. The commander of one of them, Alexander Oskin, did not know that the new enemy tanks were practically invulnerable.

In the morning, 11 "Royal Tigers" went on the attack. A T-34-85 shot pierced the side of one of the heavy tanks, and a flame immediately shot up above it, then the second one caught fire from the well-aimed fire of Oskin's tank, the third managed to turn the turret towards the Soviet tank, but the thirty-four turned out to be faster, and over the "King Tiger" the flames flared up again.

Later, in one of the battles in which Oskin's crew participated, three "Royal Tigers" were captured in full serviceability. September 23, 1944 Alexander Oskin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

With an ax against Pz.38(t)

Red Army soldier Ivan Sereda did the seemingly impossible. Armed with an ax, he entered the battle with a German tank (Czech-made) Pz.38 (t), emerged victorious from it and captured the crew of a German vehicle.

It all started with the fact that in August 1941, in the Daugavpils region, the Germans noticed the smoke of the Soviet camp kitchen on a captured Pz.38 (t). Not at all doubting their superiority, they decided to attack. Near the kitchen there was only one fighter - the Red Army soldier Ivan Sereda, who was preparing dinner.

Seeing a German tank, instead of running, the soldier grabbed the ax with which he was chopping wood and rushed to attack the tank. The crew of the Pz.38(t) immediately slammed all the hatches and hurried to take cover behind the armor, opened fire from a machine gun.

This did not bother Sereda at all, he climbed onto the tank and bent the machine gun barrel with blows of an ax, covered the viewing slots with a piece of tarpaulin. Then he began to knock on the armor with the butt of an ax, while giving orders to non-existent Red Army soldiers. Some time later, the completely demoralized German crew surrendered.

As a result, when fellow soldiers of Sereda approached, they saw not only lunch, but also a captured tank, as well as a tied crew nearby. Ivan Sereda was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on August 31, 1941.

Many are still concerned about the question of which tank was the best tank of the Second World War. They carefully compare the TTX tables, talk about the thickness of the armor, the armor penetration of shells, and many other figures from the TTX tables. Different sources give different figures, so disputes begin about the reliability of the sources. Behind these disputes, it is forgotten that the numbers in the tables themselves do not mean anything. Tanks are not designed for duels with their own kind in perfectly identical conditions! They are intended for combat, combat in cooperation with other branches of the armed forces. Excessive passion for tables has led to the fact that many myths have piled up around the question of the best tank of the Second World War. In the articles "T-34 - the best tank of the Second World War?" and "Our answer to Aders and Vibikka is the T-34-85 Tank." this issue was considered in relation to the Soviet medium tanks T-34 and T-34-85. Another contender for the role of the best tank is the German Tiger heavy tank.

One of the most widespread myths about tanks of the Second World War is the myth about the invulnerability of the "Tiger" for tanks and anti-tank artillery of the enemy. Tests at the Kubinka training ground in April 1943 showed that the only domestic gun capable of penetrating the frontal armor of the Pz.Kpfw.VI at that time was the 85-mm anti-aircraft gun. She was able to do this from a distance of 1000 meters. The attacking "Tiger" was a serious problem for the anti-tank defense of the Soviet troops. But thick armor had a serious drawback - it was very heavy. The same degree of protection could be achieved with the help of thinner armor, located at rational angles of inclination and making the tank lighter and more compact.

The most massive anti-tank guns in the Red Army were 45-mm guns. The sub-caliber shells of this gun pierced the side 82-mm armor from a distance of 350 meters. The lower part of the side was armored weaker - only 62 mm. Of course, it was very difficult to hit it between the rollers, but a good gunner from a short distance could do it. Using the right tactics made it possible to deal with the attacking "Tigers". It was done like this. One or more guns opened fire on a German tank and forced it to expose the side of the guns, which were in ambush and did not open fire. As soon as the "Tiger" substituted the side, they hit the tank in vulnerable places.

The appearance of new Soviet tanks IS-1, and then IS-2, T-34-85 and self-propelled guns based on the T-34, such as SU-85 and SU-100, the resumption of production of the ZIS-2 anti-tank gun of 57-mm caliber and the creation of a new 100-mm BS-3 anti-tank gun made the Pz.Kpfw.VI vulnerable to attack. The Allies re-equipped the Sherman with a new 76-mm cannon and launched a 17-pounder anti-tank gun, which could also penetrate the frontal armor of the Tiger. The strengthening of the anti-tank weapons of Germany's opponents occurred simultaneously with the decline in the quality of the armor of German tanks. The economic blockade did not allow obtaining alloying additives, and many of them did not have their own deposits in Germany. Metallurgists in Germany were forced to reduce the amount of extremely scarce additives in armor, the resistance of which to armor-piercing projectiles decreased.

Pz.Kpfw.VI was a superbly protected tank, but it was not invulnerable. The correct tactics of the defenders made it possible to inflict serious losses on the attacking Tigers. Over time, the "Tigers" retained superiority over enemy tanks only at long distances.

One of the indisputable advantages of the Pz.Kpfw.VI tank over other tanks is its firepower. The Tiger tank was equipped with an 88 mm KwK 36 cannon, based on an 88 mm anti-aircraft gun. This gun is probably the best tank gun of the Second World War. It was distinguished by high armor penetration and rate of fire, its high-explosive fragmentation projectile coped well with almost all unarmored targets on the battlefield.

The Pz.Kpfw.VI optical sight made it possible to fire at armored vehicles without preparation at a distance of 1200 meters. After zeroing, the "Tiger" could hit a stationary tank at a distance of 2500 meters. The design and excellent quality of the sight made it possible to fire at dusk.

Mobility is the Achilles heel of the Pz.Kpfw.VI tank. Any tank is a compromise between firepower, security and mobility. The creators of the "Tiger" chose fire and protection, and mobility had to be sacrificed. The tank turned out to be very heavy - 55 tons! Tank-mounted Maybach engines with a power of 650 or 700 hp. were too weak for such a heavy machine.

It is necessary to mention one very common myth. The Maybach engines were carbureted, which is why many consider them to be very fire hazardous compared to diesel engines. Supporters of this point of view argue in their favor that if you throw a burning match into a bucket of gasoline, then gasoline will flare up, but if you throw a lit match into a bucket of diesel fuel, then the match will go out. But no one in battle throws burning matches into the fuel tank of a tank! When an armor-piercing projectile or a cumulative jet hits a tank tank, any type of fuel ignites. As the statistics of the Second World War showed, diesel tanks burned as often as carbureted ones. The difference was only a few percent!

German engineers have done everything possible to make the management of the Tiger as simple as possible. The automatic hydraulic transmission servo made it possible to shift gears, which were eight forward and four reverse, with two fingers! And the turn of the tank was carried out by a slight turn of the steering wheel. Such convenient control was not on any tank of the Second World War, with the exception of the "King Tiger", where the same transmission was used. But even the ease of control of the tank could not compensate for its weight.

If we compare the tabular data on the specific power of the "Tiger" with its main competitors, everything seems to be all right. The Tiger has a specific power of 11.4 hp/t, the IS-2 has 11.3 hp/t, and the English Churchill tank has only 9 hp/t! But mobility is determined not only by specific power. Very important is the specific pressure on the ground and the total weight of the tank. The specific pressure of the Pz.Kpfw.VI was 30% higher than that of the IS-2! Already in the first battle on September 22, 1942, when the Tigers went on the attack near the village of Tortolovo near Leningrad, they got stuck in the mud! Three tanks, with the support of artillery and infantry, managed to be evacuated a few days later, and the fourth tank remained in no man's land and a month later was blown up on Hitler's orders.

Not only dirt was an insurmountable obstacle for the Pz.Kpfw.VI. Many bridges in Russia could not support the weight of a 55-ton tank and the help of sappers was needed to cross a small stream. The cruising range on the highway was 100 km, and on rough terrain only 60 km. The tank needed a constant escort of tankers. But the tanker is a tasty target for enemy attack aircraft and fighter-bombers! Under the conditions of enemy air supremacy, the organization of the movement of the "Tigers" on its own resulted in a serious problem. Transportation of the "Tigers" by rail also posed a big problem. They could only be transported on a special conveyor. In the echelon between the two conveyors, it was necessary to hook four ordinary wagons so as not to exceed the permissible load on the railway bridges. But even on a special transporter it was impossible to load the Tiger without additional problems. It had to be “changed shoes” into special transport tracks and remove the outer row of road wheels.

Tank Pz.Kpfw.VI - quality and ease of use.

Like any new type of weapon, created in a hurry and insufficiently tested, the Tiger tanks had many "childhood diseases". The engine and transmission, due to the large weight of the tank, worked in a very busy mode. Overheated engines caught fire and transmission failures were common. Build quality and components were surprisingly poor. The first Tigers on the Eastern Front and in Africa were constantly plagued by oil and fuel leaks, and cooling radiator leaks. The ersatz rubber used due to the lack of supplies of natural rubber could not withstand high temperatures.

Gradually, some of the problems were solved, but many design flaws could not be eliminated. The most complex suspension of the Pz.Kpfw.VI ensured greater smoothness of movement, but it was very heavy and, for example, in winter the dirt that got between the rollers froze and could completely block the tank's ability to move. Replacing the inner roller required the removal of several rollers in other rows, while the inner rollers wore out quickly.

The operation and repair of the Tigers was a rather serious problem. For example, the replacement of the transmission, which often failed, required the dismantling of the tower. And in order to remove the tower, a special gantry crane was required! German tankers noted that after five to six days of fighting, the Tigers began to fail due to mechanical failures.

With an experienced crew, the Tiger posed a great threat to the enemy. Powerful weapons and armor made it dangerous for any tank of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. Less vulnerable to most anti-tank weapons, the Tiger made it quite easy to break through enemy defenses. But a small power reserve and maneuverability, problems with moving the tank outside the battlefield, design flaws and insufficient reliability, the difficulty of evacuating damaged vehicles and repairing them prevented it from realizing its potential. The complexity of the design and high cost did not allow the tank to be produced in a large series, most sources provide information that a total of 1355 Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger Ausf.E were produced. Despite all the flaws inherent in the "Tiger", it can be considered the most formidable and serious weapon on the battlefield, and meeting any tank of the Second World War with it in open battle did not bode well for its rivals.

At the same time, no one thought to doubt the combat power of the Soviet army, which crushed the strongest military machine of the West - Nazi Germany. The T-34, the best Soviet tank of the Great Patriotic War, became the symbol of this power. Sadly, in our time, many consider this propaganda, believing that the "thirty-four" does not deserve the honor of being the best tank of World War II. These strange people are not convinced even by the memoirs of famous Nazi commanders, such as the commander of the 2nd German tank group, Heinz Guderian, who wrote about the superiority of Soviet T-34 tanks over German ones back in the summer of 1941 in the battles near Mtsensk. In the future, many Nazi officers who encountered the T-34 on the battlefield repeatedly spoke and wrote about this.

Indeed, the Soviet tank in 1941 at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War had absolute superiority over any tank of the German army. Recall that at the beginning of the war, the main tank of the Nazis was the PzIII, which had 30mm frontal armor and was armed with a 37mm gun. What could this "main" German tank oppose to the "thirty-four"? Only fight at extremely short distances. The armor of the Soviet tank was 45 mm at a good slope (in fact, the "T-34" was the first tank in the world with rational angles of armor plates), and this increased its armor resistance. As a result, German shells fired from 37mm guns were not able to penetrate such armor from medium and long distances. The Soviet 76mm cannon mounted on the "T-34" pierced any German tanks of 1941, including the newest "PzIV" from fairly large distances, remaining outside the range of weak German guns. In collisions with the T-34, this forced the Germans to bypass them, get close to extremely close and very dangerous distances for firefighting, or use heavy 88mm anti-aircraft guns with a high initial velocity of the projectile to fight the T-34, which would probably penetrate "T-34". Most often, at the beginning of the war, German tanks avoided a direct collision with the T-34s.