Trophy tank "tiger". German tank "Tiger": history of creation, design, modifications Whose tank is the Tiger
This most formidable German tank of the Second World War was a perfect example of military equipment.
The creation of a tank is very lengthy and confusing. The development of a new heavy tank as part of the Panzerkampfwagen VI program began at the end of January 1937, when Henschel received an order to design a combat vehicle under the symbol DW1 (Durchbruchwagen - breakthrough vehicle). In parallel with the Henschel company, the Porsche company was also working on the project of a new heavy tank (Dr. Porsche was generally the Fuhrer’s favorite). By 1941, both companies had created their own chassis versions, VK 3001 (H) and VK 3001 (P), respectively. But in May 1941, during a meeting at the Berghof, Hitler proposed a new concept for a heavy tank, which had increased firepower and armor protection and was designed to become the striking force of tank formations, each of which was supposed to have 20 such vehicles.
In the light of the Fuhrer's proposals and taking into account the test results of experimental heavy tanks, tactical and technical requirements were developed, and then an order was issued for the development of the VK 4501 tank. The prototypes were supposed to be produced by May - June 1942. Ready-made tank platforms had to be created almost anew. The competition between both companies reached its climax in the spring of 1942, when both vehicles, equipped with identical turrets from Friedrich Krupp AG, arrived at the Wolfsschanze headquarters in East Prussia for demonstration tests.
Minister of Armaments of the Third Reich Albert Speer personally tests the chassis of the new Tiger tank
Both cars also had their (sometimes significant) disadvantages. For example, a crude, unfinished electric transmission seriously hampered the maneuvering of the VK 4501(P), for example, the tank made 90° turns with great difficulty. During speed tests, the VK 4501(H) accelerated over a section of 850 m to only 45 km/h, and the engine overheated so much that there was a risk of fire. Having weighed all the pros and cons, despite Hitler’s special affection for Dr. Porsche, the commission conducting the tests nevertheless decided in favor of the Henschel tank. The VK 4501(P) chassis was later used for the Ferdinand self-propelled guns.
At the top is a prototype of the Tiger tank from Porsche, the design of the rollers is clearly visible,
used later in "Ferdinand" (below)
At the beginning of August 1942, serial production of a new heavy tank began, which, however, did not mean the end of testing. They continued, but already at the main Wehrmacht tank training ground in Kummersdorf. The first tank had covered 960 km by that time. On moderately rough terrain, the car reached speeds of up to 18 km/h, while fuel consumption was 430 liters per 100 km.
During mass production, changes and improvements were almost continuously made to the design of the tank, which was produced in one modification. The very first production vehicles had a modified box for equipment and spare parts, mounted on the rear of the turret. The prototypes used a box borrowed from the Panzerkampfwagen III. The hatch with a loophole for firing personal weapons on the right wall of the tower was replaced with a manhole hatch.
Picture: general view of the tank, the first models were painted this way,
it was believed that tanks were so powerful that they did not require any protective painting,
on the contrary, their mere appearance should have inspired fear.
For self-defense from enemy infantry, mortars for anti-personnel mines of the "S" type were mounted along the perimeter of the hull. This mine, the warhead of which included 360 steel balls, was fired at a small height and exploded. In addition, NbK 39 smoke grenade launchers of 90 mm caliber were installed on the tank turrets.
At that time, the Tiger was the only production tank in the world equipped en masse with underwater driving equipment (for overcoming water obstacles - not all bridges could withstand the weight of the tank), which found widespread use in tank building only in the 50s. True, this equipment was practically not used by the troops and was abandoned over time. The quality of the system is evidenced by the fact that during tests at the factory site, where a special pool was built for this purpose, the tank with the engine running was under water for up to two and a half hours.
The Tigers used two types of tracks - transport, 520 mm wide, and combat, 725 mm wide. The first ones were used for transportation by rail in order to fit into the dimensions of the platform (also specially reinforced - six-axle), and for moving under its own power on paved roads outside of combat.
Replacing transport tracks with combat tracks
The design of the tank was a classic version with a front-mounted transmission.
In the front part there was a control compartment. It housed a gearbox, a turning mechanism, controls, a radio station, a frontal machine gun, part of the ammunition and workstations for the driver (on the left) and the gunner-radio operator (on the right).
The fighting compartment occupied the middle part of the tank. The turret was equipped with a cannon and a coaxial machine gun, observation and aiming devices, aiming mechanisms and seats for the tank commander, gunner and loader. Ammunition was located in the hull in niches, along the walls and under the turret floor.
In front of the turret, in a cast mantlet, the main armament of the Tiger was installed - an 8.8 cm KwK 36 cannon of 88 mm caliber, developed on the basis of the famous Flak 18 anti-aircraft gun. The gun barrel had a length of 56 calibers - 4928 mm; together with the muzzle brake - 5316 mm. The KwK 36 differed from the prototype primarily in the presence of an electric trigger and a highly effective muzzle brake, which significantly reduced the recoil of the gun when fired. A 7.92 mm MG-34 machine gun was paired with the cannon. The course machine gun was placed in the front plate of the turret box in a ball mount. On the commander's cupola of the later type, on a special device Fliegerbeschussgerät 42, it was possible to install another (anti-aircraft) MG-34 machine gun.
The turret was driven by a hydraulic turning mechanism on the bottom of the tank with a power of 4 kW. Power was taken off from the gearbox using a special driveshaft. At 1500 rpm of the crankshaft, the turret rotated 360° in 1 minute. When the engine was not running, the turret was turned manually, but due to the long barrel, even at a tilt of 5°, manual rotation was impossible.
The engine compartment housed the engine and all its systems, as well as fuel tanks. The engine compartment was separated from the combat compartment by a partition. The tank was equipped with Maybach HL 210P30 engines with 650 hp. or Maybach HL 230P45 with 700 hp. (from the 251st car). Engines are 12-cylinder, V-shaped, carburetor, four-stroke. It should be emphasized that the HL 230P45 engine was almost identical to the engine of the Panther tank. The cooling system is liquid, with two radiators. There were twin fans on both sides of the engine. Due to the isolation of the engine compartment from the air flow of the cooling system, special blowing of the exhaust manifolds and generator was used on both engines. The fuel was leaded gasoline with an octane rating of at least 74. The capacity of four gas tanks was 534 liters. Fuel consumption per 100 km when driving on the highway is 270 liters, off-road - 480 liters.
The chassis of the tank, applied to one side, consisted of 24 road wheels arranged in a checkerboard pattern in four rows. The track rollers measuring 800x95 mm on the first 799 tanks had rubber tires; all subsequent ones have internal shock absorption and steel bands. The weak point of the Tiger's chassis, which could not be eliminated, was the rapid wear and subsequent destruction of the rubber tires of the road wheels.
Most of the Tigers produced went to the eastern front.
Starting with the 800th vehicle, road wheels with internal shock absorption and steel tires began to be installed on the tank. At the same time, the outer row of single rollers was removed. Due to the use of an automatic hydraulic servo drive, no significant physical effort was required to control the 56-ton tank. Gears were changed literally with two fingers. The turn was carried out by lightly turning the steering wheel. Control of the tank was so simple that any crew member could handle it, which turned out to be important in a combat situation.
The hull of the tank was box-type, assembled from armor plates connected into a spike and welded with a double seam. The armor is rolled, chrome-molybdenum, with surface cementation. At the same time, having installed all the armor plates of the hull vertically, the tank designers completely ignored a simple and very effective way of enhancing armor protection by means of an inclined arrangement of the armor plates. And although the thickness of the frontal armor of the hull was 100 mm, and the sides and rear - 82 mm, armor-piercing shells of the Soviet 76.2 mm ZIS-3 cannon could hit the frontal armor of a tank from 500 m, and the side and rear armor - even from a distance of 1500 m .
Moscow, summer 1943. The first trophy "Tiger" at the exhibition in the Central Park of Culture and Culture named after. Gorky.
A new tactical unit was created especially for the Tiger tanks - a heavy tank battalion (schwere Panzerabteilung - sPzAbt), which was a separate military unit that could act either independently or be attached to other Wehrmacht units or formations. Subsequently, 14 such battalions were formed, one of them operated in Africa, another in Italy, and the rest on the eastern front.
Column of "Tigers" near the city of Berdichev.
In August 1942, the first tanks were already “tested” on the outskirts of besieged Leningrad (and already in January 1943, our troops captured the first almost undamaged Tiger). The Tigers were most widely used during the Battle of Kursk, or, as the Germans called it, Operation Citadel. By May 12, 1943, it was planned to have 285 combat-ready “tigers” to participate in this battle, but this plan was not fulfilled, only 246 vehicles were transferred to the troops.
Tigers are marching on Kursk. Transportation without switching to transport tracks.
By the beginning of the Allied landings in Normandy in June 1944, the Germans had 102 Tigers in the West as part of three heavy SS tank battalions. One of them distinguished himself more than the others, mainly due to the fact that one of his companies was commanded by the most effective German tankman - SS Obersturmführer Michael Wittmann. His exploits largely contributed to the glory of the tank; in total, he owned 138 tanks and self-propelled guns.
Michael Wittmann and the crew of his "Tiger" No. S21
In general, the efficiency of using the tank was based on its effective armament, complemented by excellent optics and thoughtful internal layout. Most tanks of those years were inferior to the Tigers in range and rate of fire. Thus, the Tiger crew could start the battle from a safe distance and end it without allowing the enemy to really get close. All known cases of victory over "Tigers" in tank battles were with a significant numerical superiority. The same Wittman died in the end breaking through the Sherman formation; he was simply shot at point-blank range by at least five tanks.
The main drawback of the tank was, undoubtedly, its armor, or rather its quantity and weight. By placing thinner armor plates at large angles of inclination, the designers of the Panther, for example, were able to achieve protection parameters almost similar to the Tiger, reducing the weight by 13 tons.
The Tiger's vertical armor is its weak point.
The Tigers, with the maximum engine power of that time being 700 hp, found it very difficult to move effectively over rough terrain. A tank weighing 56 tons is simply an elm on marshy soils. For comparison: the T-34, weighing 26 tons, was driven by a 500-horsepower diesel engine. In addition, this also caused many complications in the design and often led to problems during transportation and operation.
In urban battles on narrow streets, the Tigers lost almost all their advantages.
The "Tiger" is often called the best heavy tank of the Second World War (only the IS-2 can compete) and despite all its shortcomings, based on the totality of its parameters, this was probably the case - many concepts and technical solutions are still used in tank building today.
Of course, the German heavy tank "Tiger" is the most famous German tank of the Second World War. With its indestructible armor and powerful weapons, it posed a serious threat to Allied armored formations. In the tank duel, the Tiger tank predominantly emerged victorious.
The history of the creation of the Tiger tank
Despite the fact that already in 1933-1934. The Germans sometimes presented their Neubaufahrzeuge (Nbfz) ("newly built vehicles") as PzKpfw VI, this was nothing more than a successful propaganda trick. In fact, work on creating a new heavy tank began only in 1937. It was then that the Kassel company Henschel and Son AG "received an order from the Army Armament Directorate for the development of a heavy 30-33-ton tank, which received the designation DW1 (Durchbruc-hswagen) "breakthrough tank". From the Armament Directorate, the head of the new development department, Erwin Aders, took over the order. Because, according to the plan customer, the main task of the new tank was to be to support infantry in close combat, it was decided to arm the tank with a 75-mm KwK 37 cannon, exactly the same as that which was equipped with the PzKpfw IV. As soon as “Henschel and Son AG” presented the chassis to the customer, testing began, But already in 1938, the company unexpectedly received an order to stop all work on the prototype and begin developing a super-heavy 65-ton tank.
Soon two prototypes of the VK 6501 were created, but as soon as they began to be tested, a new directive was received - to return to the previous version (DW1). In 1940, Henschel and Son AG presented an improved version of the new tank, designated DW2. The tank weighed 32 tons, was designed for five crew members, was equipped with a torsion bar suspension of five pairs of road wheels and was armed with a 75-mm KwK 37 L/24 howitzer and two MG-34 machine guns. In 1941, tests began. At this time, three more companies are joining the process of birth of a new “breakthrough tank” - Porsche, Daimler-Benz AG and MAN.
At the testing stage, the prototype received the standard designation VK 3001 (H). The shape of the tank's hull was reminiscent of the PzKpfw IV, but the chassis was a design innovation and consisted of 7 pairs of rubberized road wheels with three supporting wheels on each side. In total, Henschel & Son AG built 4 prototypes of the VK 3001(H) - two in March
1941 and two more in October of the same year. The mass production stage was about to begin, but the appearance of the Soviet T-34 tank on the stage of the theater of operations forced the Germans to take a time out. The VK 3001(H) project was thrown into the trash, although subsequently two of the four chassis produced were used to create the Pz Sfl V self-propelled artillery guns with the 128 mm KwK 36 L/61 cannon.
A large order fell through, and the designers had to sit down to the drawings again. Soon, manufacturing companies presented new designs for a heavy tank to the commission. Ferdinand Porsche project (* Ferdinand Porsche is the chief designer of the Porsche design bureau, which worked closely with the Nibelungenwerke company. -Editor's note) (VK 3001 (P), also known as the Leopard tank with an electric transmission and longitudinal torsion bar suspension with 6 rollers on board seemed to the commission too unconventional and difficult to manufacture, so it was unanimously rejected. Although the new car did not exceed the specified weight, and thanks to two air-cooled carburetor engines it reached a speed of 60 km/h. MAI firms were also unlucky and Daimler-Benz AG, the commission found their projects outdated."
As in the case of the Panther, the Fuhrer from the very beginning laid claim to the role of godfather of the future tank. Just at the time when the commission from the Wehrmacht Armament Directorate was considering the projects presented by the manufacturers, including modernized versions of the VK 3601 (H) and VK 3601 (P) tanks, Hitler formulated his personal wishes regarding the design of the future tank. According to the Fuhrer, the “breakthrough tank” was supposed to combine all the advantages of an ideal combat vehicle - to have powerful weapons, strong armor and high maneuverability, and its maximum speed should be at least 40 km/h.
In March 1942, *Henschel and Son AG" presented a prototype that took into account all the wishes of the Fuhrer. The new project, VK 4501(H), was designed for a tank version of the 88-mm FlaK 36 anti-aircraft gun. Hitler was delighted with this idea, since by that time the FlaK 36 had already established itself not only as an excellent anti-aircraft gun, but also a powerful anti-tank gun gun."
The Army Weapons Directorate, however, was very skeptical about the idea of the Henschel and Son AG, fearing that the design would be overweight, and continued to insist on equipping the tank with a lighter gun. As a result, the developers found themselves in a dead end, the way out of which was the creation of two completely different types of towers. The Krupp company created a prototype turret for an 88-mm gun, and Rheinmetall-Borzig developed a lightweight version for the 75-mm KwK 42 L/70 gun with a barrel length of 70 calibers. Looking ahead, we note that this tower remains at the project stage.
In May 1941, an official government order for a new tank was received, and the deadlines were very strict - the combat vehicle must be submitted for testing by Hitler's next birthday. In such time pressure, Henschel & Son AG made the ingenious decision to use all the best features of the VK 3001(H) and VK 3601(H) in the new project. In an effort to forestall the Fuhrer's wishes, the developers are creating two prototypes at once - "H 1", with an 88-mm cannon, and "H2" - with a 75-mm cannon. The Porsche design bureau, which received an illogical order, did approximately the same thing - they perfected the main characteristics of the previously rejected VK 3001 (P) project. This is how VK4501 (P), or “Tiger” (P), was born. The new tank had a combat weight of 57 tons, a crew of 5 people, and a speed of 35 km/h. The armament and turrets of the Krupp company were 88-mm semi-automatic anti-aircraft gun FluK 36, equipped with a two-chamber muzzle brake and an electric trigger similar to the competitor's vehicle. . After modernization, it received the designation 8 cm KwK 36 L / 56 (with a barrel length of 56 calibers). - Approx. ed.
The thickness of the frontal armor of the turret and hull was 100 mm, the side armor was 80 mm. On April 20, 1942, the rivals met at tests held at the training ground near Rastenburg. As you know, Ferdinand Porsche was a personal friend of the Fuhrer, so you can imagine his disappointment and annoyance when, during the tests, the superiority of the Henschel and Son AG model was clearly demonstrated! What was even more offensive was that, without doubting his victory, Porsche had already rushed to place an order for 90 VK 3001 (P) at the Nibelungenwerke plant.
Location of the crew, ammunition, engine in the heavy tank "Tiger 1"
Nevertheless, the VK4501 (H1) project was chosen for mass production. From the end of July-beginning of August 1942 to May 1943, 285 new tanks designed by E. Aders rolled off the assembly lines of the Henschel and Son AG company. Thus began the production of the legendary PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf H1 (SdKfz 181), which later became be called "Tiger" PzKpfw VI Ausf E or "Tiger 1". The Porsche project, to his great disappointment, was not put into mass production, but its 90 chassis, already produced by the Austrian plant "Nibelungenwerke", were subsequently sent to the company " Alquette", where they served to create new combat vehicles.
A fully armored conning tower was installed on the VK 4501 (P) chassis, located in the rear. An 88-mm long-barreled gun RaK 4 3/21/71 was mounted in the wheelhouse. Two 10-cylinder Porsche carburetor engines were replaced by two Maybach-MI9 HL 120 TRM with a total power of 600 hp. With. As a result, a new heavy tank destroyer, the 8.8 cm Jagdpanzer Tiger (P) SdKfz 184, was born, named after its creator Ferdinand (“Ferdinand”). Somewhat later, this “simple” name was replaced by the sonorous Elefant (“Elephant” - elephant). The 65-ton Elefant, with 200 mm of frontal armor and a menacing 88 mm cannon, was a truly fearsome weapon. The Elefant SdKfz 184 self-propelled guns were first used in 1943 in the battle on the Kursk Bulge, where they immediately showed themselves to be very dangerous opponents, especially at long distances."
90 Elefant SdKfz 184 tank destroyers as part of the 653rd and 654th tank destroyer divisions took part in the Battle of Kursk. The losses of these vehicles in the battles near Ponyri in July 1943 amounted to 39 units. From July to November of the same year, both divisions destroyed 556 Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns. -Approx. ed.
But let's get back to the Tigers. The first mention of new German tanks appeared in a report from the British Scientific and Technical Intelligence Service in February 1941. The document reported on the creation by the Germans of a new 45-ton tank with a maximum armor thickness of 75 mm, two long-barreled 20 mm guns and 4 machine guns. It was also reported that the new tank is 36 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 6 feet high.
In addition, the car is capable of reaching a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour and is designed for a crew of 18 (although the speaker cautiously noted that this figure may well be somewhat overestimated and modestly proposed reducing it to 13) - You don’t even know what’s in this report more - the fruits of the author’s fevered imagination, additional evidence of the effectiveness of Nazi propaganda or frightening reminiscences of German iron monsters during the First World War!
Fortunately, everything soon fell into place. On December 11, 1942, the first photographs of new tanks appeared in the German press. These were photographs of the Tigers of the 501st Heavy Battalion marching cheerfully through the streets of Tunis.
Production of Tiger 1 tanks
Tiger 1 was in production for two years (from August 1942 to August 1944). During this period, 1,354 combat vehicles of this version were produced. All this time, the exclusive manufacturer of the Tigers remained the Henschel and Son AG company, although a number of other firms and enterprises were allowed to produce components for the new tank. From a detailed report on the activities of the Henschel and Son AG company, it follows that Throughout this entire period, manufacturers only managed to achieve three-digit monthly tank output twice: the record was set in April 1944, when 104 Tigers rolled off the assembly lines.
The production process of heavy Tiger tanks at the Henschel and Son AG plant
Due to their enormous mass, the Tigers turned out to be quite difficult machines to produce, especially since the production copy turned out to be as much as 11 tons heavier than the prototype. Large dimensions, reinforced armor and a powerful long-barreled gun of increased caliber were among the undoubted advantages of the new tank, but there was a downside to the medal. The production of each Tiger took 300,000 man-hours and cost the treasury 800,000 Reichsmarks (26,600 US dollars or 6,600 British pounds). The production of one Tiger required the same amount of time as the creation of two Panthers or three Messerschmitt 109 bombers.
German heavy tank T-VI "Tiger" (SdKfz 181)
In order for the tank to withstand the recoil of the huge 88-mm long-barreled KwK 36 gun, it was necessary to create a hull from armor plates of the largest possible size.
Armor scheme for the heavy tank "Tiger"
Armor scheme for the heavy tank "Tiger"
Tiger tanks received very powerful armor protection up to 100 mm. They used rolled chromium-nickel-molybdenum homogeneous armor steel. The hull had a rectangular box-type cross-section due to the vertical installation of the side plates and a slight inclination of the frontal armor plates. The bottom of the Tiger tank was a monolithic armor plate measuring 4.88 x 1.83 m; The sides and rear of the turret were also made from a single armor plate. The armor plates were connected to each other using spikes, after which their joints were welded with special double seams, which made it possible to achieve high mechanical strength.
The Tiger was the first German tank with a chassis whose road wheels were staggered. Initially, the road wheels had rubberized tires, which on the latest Tigers were replaced by non-rubberized rollers with internal shock absorption. This type of chassis made it possible to save rubber on tires and significantly extended the service life of the roller itself, although it was accompanied by increased noise when moving.
Suspension and chassis of the Tiger tank
The structure of the suspension of the heavy tank "Tiger"
Suspension diagram of the German tank "Tiger"
The driving wheels are front-mounted. The road wheels had an individual torsion bar suspension with hydraulic shock absorbers on the first and last blocks. The staggered arrangement of the rollers made it possible to evenly distribute the huge weight of the tank and ensure smooth running of the vehicle. However, during operation, significant shortcomings of the new chassis were revealed. In particular, in winter, snow and dirt easily accumulated between the skating rinks, which, when frozen, could completely block the Tigers' undercarriage. This was especially true for the operation of the tank in Russian conditions. While collecting material for this book, I looked through numerous reports from the Eastern Front in which tank crews complained that in winter the Russians deliberately postponed their attacks until the morning, waiting until the Tiger tracks were frozen solid.
German tank crews exchange “travelling” or transport tracks for combat ones after delivering Tiger tanks to the front
The "Tiger" tank is "shod" with traveling tracks, their width is clearly visible (520 mm)
And this is already a “combat” caterpillar. It is wider and has enlarged soil scooping blades.
The Tiger tank is equipped with combat tracks on a railway platform.
By the way, the Tigers used two types of tracks. Wide tracks with 725 mm tracks were called combat tracks and were used during the battle. Since this width did not allow the tank to be transported on standard railway platforms, during transportation the Tiger tank had to be “changed to other transport, narrower (520 mm) tracks. When using narrow tracks, the pressure of the tank on the ground increased from 1.03 to 1. 45 kg/cm5.
Layout of the German heavy tank T-VI "Tiger" (SdKfz 181)
The power plant on the Tigers was originally a 12-cylinder carburetor engine "Maybach" 210 P45, which in May 1943, due to the transition to the unification of tank production, was replaced by a more powerful engine "Maybach" 230 P45. On the "Tiger" tanks "Intended for use in off-road conditions, as well as in adverse climatic conditions in particularly dusty areas (North Africa), Feifcl air filters were installed. The air filters were installed in the rear of the tower and connected to the engine using a casing. The so-called "Tropical Tiger" (Tiger Tr) performed well in North Africa, but after the surrender in Tunisia, production of Feifel system air filters was suspended and never resumed.
Engine "Maybach" 230 P45 installed on "Tiger" tanks
Engine "Maybach" 210 P45 installed on "Tiger" tanks
During the initial period of production, Tigers were also produced with special equipment for underwater driving (OPVT) - snorkels. allowing you to dive to a depth of about 3.9 m and move underwater. The “floating” “Tigers” turned out to be too labor-intensive to produce and difficult to operate, so only 495 of the first tanks were equipped with the snorkel system, after which an order was received to simplify production as much as possible. From that moment on, the “Tigers” became “land.” The maximum depth of the water obstacle that the “Tigers” could ford was 120 cm.
Tiger tank with a snorkel mounted on the commander's cupola
Since the enormous weight of the Tigers significantly complicated the braking problem, Henschel & Son AG developed a hydraulic brake control system. The Tiger's Maybach-Olvar 401216 GA gearbox, shaftless with a synchronizing device, was in many ways reminiscent of the Merritt-Brown gearbox used on the British Churchill infantry tank. Planetary turning mechanisms with double power supply, located in the same block with the gearbox, provided two turning radii in each gear and made it possible to turn the tank on the spot.
During the period when it was considered the most powerful tank in the world. During the first 2 years of production (from August 1942 to August 1944), 1,354 Tigers were produced, with minor changes being made to the basic design. In May 1943, the Tiger received a more powerful engine and an improved commander's cupola, and the latest modifications acquired a chassis made of steel rollers with internal shock absorption. Since the Tigers were used in almost all theaters of combat, appropriate changes were made to the basic design based on the conditions of the area of use. For example, the Tigers operating in North Africa. equipped with a Reifel air filter system. and on the Eastern Front (in Russia) wider tracks were used.
The Maybach-Olvar multi-speed gearbox had eight forward and four reverse speeds. All these innovations made the tank much easier to control and made the Tiger quite maneuverable, despite its enormous weight. It was controlled by a tank steering wheel through a semi-automatic hydraulic servo drive. If it failed, two hand levers with a drive for disc brakes were activated.
Production modifications of Tiger tanks
Officially, there were no differences between the Tiger I tanks, but this did not mean that the Ausf H Tigers were completely identical to the Ausf E tanks. Roughly speaking, individual distinctive features accumulated from model to model already during the production process. Based on this, we can distinguish four periods in the history of the Tiger I: pre-production stage (or prototype stage), early, middle and late stages. The "tigers" of each stage had some distinctive features that distinguished them from earlier ones. and from later models. Let us consider these typical differences one by one.
Early version of the Tiger tank
Early version of the Tiger tank
The prototype tanks were distinguished by a rectangular hole for the smoke exhaust, the presence of special hatches on both sides of the turret for firing from small arms, and the absence of embrasures for firing from a smoke grenade launcher.
Early production Tigers had rectangular toolboxes and spare parts behind the turret, and three smoke grenade launchers on the roof. During this period, the “Tigers” acquired two headlights and removable toothed rims of the drive wheels, covered in front with special mudguards.
At the height of production, the hatch for small arms was replaced with a large hatch, which, if necessary, could also serve as an emergency entrance and exit. The turret housed three 90-mm Nbk 39 smoke mortars. Tanks intended for use in Africa were equipped with Feifel-type air filters. The "Tigers" sent to the Eastern Front had 5 mortars installed on the hull to shoot anti-personnel shrapnel S-mines. Tanks from all three first stages of production had rubber-coated road wheels.
The latest "Tigers" received a new suspension with steel road wheels, with internal shock absorption, turrets with periscopes but of the "Panther" type. The cylindrical commander's cupola with five viewing slits was replaced in July 1943 by a unified spherical commander's cupola with the PzKpfw V "Panther" tank, with 7 periscopic observation devices and a Fliegerbeschussgerdt anti-aircraft turret.
The tank's maximally simplified design meant the absence of air filters, smoke grenade launchers and mortars for launching anti-personnel mines. The two headlights were replaced by one, located between the driver's viewing device and the machine gun. Early production tanks were equipped with a TZF 9c binocular telescopic sight, and at the final stage of production the vehicles received improved TZF 9c monocular sights.
General description of the Tiger tank
In October 1943, the first Tiger, shot down by the British in North Africa, was delivered to Great Britain for study. The result of a series of tests was a detailed report, which I would like to partially quote below.”
General remarks. The PzKpfw VI tank entered service with the enemy army in the fall or winter of 1942. In January 1943, it appeared in North Africa, then on Sicily and the Eastern Front. The combat vehicle, officially designated PzKpfw VI (H) (SdKfz 182"), is also known as the "Tiger". The design of this tank belongs to the company "Henschel and Son AG".
"Tiger" can be called, without exaggeration, the most powerful tank in the world (For those wishing to read the full text of the report, as well as obtain comprehensive information about the Allies' attitude towards the Poras, I recommend turning to the wonderful book: "Tiger The Brtish View", published in 1986. published by HMSC), edited by David Fletcher. librarian of the Tank Museum.). Its combat weight exceeds 56 tons. The tank is armed with an 88 mm howitzer, and the maximum thickness of its armor (vertical front plate) is 102 mm. Another undoubted advantage of the Tiger is its ability to dive into water to great depths (almost 3.9 m). At the same time, the gigantic size of the new tank has its drawbacks, which include difficulties in transportation and some limitation in the radius of use associated with huge fuel consumption (according to the enemy, consumption is 7.77 liters per 1 km when driving on the highway).
The quality of workmanship is excellent, the design project is implemented quite freely, which makes it possible to widely use spare parts for existing tanks for the Tiger 1 with minimal modification. We cannot fail to note the very ingenious method of joining armored plates, which is absolutely indispensable in the case of using such powerful armor. Of course, here, too, several minor shortcomings can be noted. In particular, a number of units and components seem to be unreasonably complicated and, as a result, too labor-intensive and expensive to manufacture.
The gearbox with differential steering mechanism is generally similar to the English Merritt-Brown, which represents a significant step forward compared to the more primitive clutch-brake system that existed on previous German tanks. There is no doubt that the transition to a new type of transmission was due to the significantly increased weight of the machine. Speaking about the advantages of the Tiger gearbox, one cannot fail to note the original way of placing a large number of forward speeds (in this case there are 8) in a relatively compact mechanism. Full automation of the gear switching process gives the Tiger chassis an undoubted advantage over all existing Allied tanks.
The transmission and steering circuits are extremely complex and technically flawless, which, without a doubt, results in a highly labor-intensive and expensive production process. However, this high cost seems completely justified, since everyone who had the opportunity to drive the “Tiger” during the tests expressed unanimous admiration for the lightness and smooth running of this heavyweight.
As for the power plant, the Germans still remained true to their traditional approach and equipped the new tank with a 12-cylinder Maybach V-12 carburetor engine type 120 TRM, which was already used on the PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV combat vehicles. Nevertheless, since this power plant is the latest achievement of German engineering, it deserves the closest study. In general, it should be noted that this Maybach, like the previous ones, fully meets its purpose, being light, compact and easy to maintain, repair and operate.
Starting the engine of the Tiger tank using an inertial flywheel (also known as a crooked starter).
General characteristics of the Tiger tank. Compared to all currently operating combat vehicles, the Tiger is not just the most powerful, but also the most well-armed tank. The enormous weight of the tank is explained precisely by the task of carrying a super-heavy 88-mm cannon. Oddly enough, the powerful weapon even somewhat conceals the truly colossal size of the Tiger. When the turret is rotated to the 12 o'clock position, the 88 mm howitzer extends forward to a distance approximately equal to 1/4 of the total length of the tank, and the distance from the muzzle brake to the gun mantlet even exceeds half of this length.
When viewed from the front, the enormous width of the tank and its tracks makes a truly terrifying impression. However, as soon as you go from behind, this impression is immediately lost. The unusual height of the stern plate with air filters located on it makes the silhouette of the tank sloppy and bulky. The use of heavy armor plate is caused by the need to use vertical side armor plates. Thanks to this, the body has a very simple outline and most of all resembles a huge box. This design allows you to place a heavy turret with a huge turret ring on the hull. In general, if you do not take into account the rear part, the Tiger is distinguished by its simplicity and clarity of silhouette. The welded hull significantly distinguishes the Tiger design from previous German tanks, which used bolted connections.
The turret of the Tiger tank from late releases.
The silhouette of the turret is simple; the vertical sides and rear part are made of a single bent armor plate. The armored gun mantlet is steel, 110 mm thick, rectangular. The commander's cupola is installed above the roof of the tower. In the front part of the hull roof there are round hatches for the driver and radio operator. The turret is equipped with three hatches, one of which is located on the roof and has a rectangular shape (*hatch for the gunner*), and the other two, round, are respectively located in the commander's turret and the evacuation hatch on the right side of the turret.
The location of the shells on the right side of the hull and turret of the Tiger tank
Location of ammunition at the bottom of the fighting compartment of the Tiger tank
Options for gun mantlets of the "Tiger" heavy tank, depending on modification
Section of the turret of the Tiger tank from the side of the commander and gunner
Massive cast steel tracks with a relatively small pitch are driven by front drive wheels. This principle can generally be called traditional for German tank building. Tension adjustment is carried out using rear guide wheels raised above the ground. The springs are torsion bars, their number has been significantly increased to ensure a smoother ride for the heavy vehicle. It cannot be said that this system was something new; it was repeatedly tested by them on various tracked vehicles. In this case, this use was predetermined by the unprecedentedly large weight of the tank. The Tiger's chassis consists of 24 rubber-coated road wheels. The layout as a whole is traditional for German practice, as is the impeccable elegance of the design and execution.
Inside the Tiger tank: view of the driver's seat
Inside the Tiger tank: view of the radio operator's position
Inside the Tiger tank: view of the loader's position
Inside the Tiger tank: view of the gunner's aiming devices.
Inside the Tiger tank: view of the breech of the tank's gun.
Inside the Tiger tank: view of the tank commander's seat. He essentially sat above the gunner in the turret.
The power plant is located in the rear part, torque is transmitted to the drive wheels via a driveshaft passed under the floor of the tower. The steering is attached to the gearbox, and each track moves through a gearbox located on each drive wheel. The radiator and dual fan are located on both sides of the engine, in separate compartments, under which there are two fuel tanks.
The submersible system bears the stamp of a well-thought-out design. All embrasure hatches and tank shoulder straps have rubber gaskets, and the commander's cupola is equipped with a special pipe. Air for the crew and engine will be supplied through a removable telescopic air intake pipe installed above the engine compartment. During a dive, the cooling system fans are disconnected and the radiator compartments are flooded.
The non-standard width of the tank creates big problems when transporting it by rail. For this purpose, in addition to wide combat tracks, the Tigers are also equipped with narrow transport tracks, into which the vehicles have to be “changed” before loading onto the platform, but before this the outer disks of the road wheels must be removed.
Test drive of the Tiger tank
The general layout of the fighting compartment and driver's compartment is shown in the attached figure. The arrangement and arrangement of the crew accommodations meets the usual German standards. There are three people in the tower. The gunner takes a position on the left, directly behind the gun, behind him is the commander's position, and the loader sits on the other side of the gun, on the right, facing the stern. There are five inspection holes installed in the commander's cupola. In the control department, the arrangement is as follows: the driver-mechanic is located on the left, and the gunner-radio operator is on the right. Despite the unusually large dimensions of the turret, the breech of the 88-mm gun almost rests on its rear wall and divides the combat compartment into two parts.
A tank gun, roughly speaking, is a larger version of a regular small-caliber tank gun. The gun is equipped with a semi-automatic bolt with an electric trigger, providing a high rate of fire. Spring compensators are mounted under the gun barrel in two cylinders, facilitating vertical aiming. Vertical aiming and rotation of the gun are carried out using flywheels located to the right and left of the gunner. In addition, the tank commander also has an additional flywheel, which circles around the turn. The gunner, pressing his foot on the pedal, rotated the turret using a hydraulic drive. Firing from a 7.92-mm machine gun, coaxial with a gun, is carried out mechanically, using a foot pedal. The gunner is equipped with a binocular sight and a dial, which indicates the position of the turret.
Americans compare their M4 Sherman tank with the German Tiger heavy tank
On the vertical side and rear walls of the tower there are all kinds of drawers, baskets and brackets for storing various small items, such as gas masks, removable glass blocks, spare machine gun barrels, a rocket launcher, a radio headset, etc. The tower frame is rotating. In its central part there is a dome-shaped hydraulic drive casing, which is driven by the gearbox. In addition to this, there are three spare 20-liter water cans and a fire extinguisher on the floor. The gunner's position is located on a welded tubular extension in front of the hydraulic drive. At the rear, in the engine compartment, there are fuel taps and a compartment for an automatic fire extinguishing system. The ammunition rack for the 88-mm cannon is located below the turret ring, on both sides. Some of the shells are stored under the turret cover, in the control compartment.
Video: heavy tank "Tiger"
The steering is equipped with a hydraulic turret rotation drive, powered by a gearbox. If the engine is turned off, the hydraulic drive is useless, so you have to rotate the turret manually using conventional levers and a disc brake. Since Argus disc brakes are also tank brakes, they are equipped with a foot pedal. The driver's seat is equipped with a viewing slot, which is closed by an armored cover and a standard periscope observation device mounted in the evacuation hatch. Directly in front of the driver, to the left and right of the main axis of the tank, there is a standard German heading indicator (gyro-semi-compass) and an instrument panel, respectively. The 7.92 mm machine gun in a ball mount is located in the front vertical plate of the tank. The sight is standard, binocular telescopic. The Fu 5 radio is located on the shelves to the right of the radio operator.”
Detailed examination of the heavy tank "Tiger" ()
The location of the crew members, their functions, what instruments are located next to each of the crew members of the Tiger tank (how the shot was fired, how the turret rotates, what instruments control the movement of the tank, where the ammunition/ammunition rack of the tank is located, what items need to be checked before crossing the river to "Tigre 1", where the "recoil indicator" is located)
A detailed examination of the components, movement controls and assemblies of the heavy tank "Tiger" (as well as: what checks the tank undergoes before departure, how to start (methods), what needs to be lubricated before departure)
Armament of the Tiger tank. After a general description, the authors of the report attach a detailed analysis of the most important components and systems of the tank. Here is the description of the main gun of the Tiger: “The 88-mm gun is installed in the turret on a turret ring with a diameter of 179 cm, which provides all-round fire in the horizontal plane. The full ammunition load consists of 92 shells. The gun, which has the official designation KwK 36, is unlikely. can be considered a tank modification of the FlaK 18 and FlaK 36 anti-aircraft guns. In many ways, this gun can be defined as an improved version of the 75-mm long-barreled KwK tank gun. Unlike the FlaK 36 with a striker-fired firing mechanism, the KwK 36 tank gun has an electric trigger, i.e. The ignition of the powder charge in an artillery shot was carried out not by the impact primer sleeve-igniter s/12, but by the electric igniter sleeve s/22.
The famous 88-mm KwK 36 cannon mounted on Tiger tanks
Capabilities of the KwK36 gun in a tank duel (using the example of Allied tanks)
The only thing the gun has in common with the FlaK anti-aircraft gun is its ammunition load and, perhaps, its ballistic qualities. The presence of a muzzle brake, a long recoil guard (58 cm) and the enormous weight of the tank itself (more than 56 tons) led to the need to use a special, durable turret box, which significantly improves the Tiger's combat qualities compared to heavy British tanks.
In addition to the cannon, the Tiger is also armed with two MG 34 machine guns of 7.92 mm caliber. One of the machine guns is located in the turret and is paired with the gun, the second, the course one, is located in the frontal vertical plate of the hull. A very interesting detail is the presence of a quadrant in combination with a simple direction indicator, which is a dial, graduated like a clock, from 1 to 12. Exactly the same system was already used on tanks of the PzKpfw IV type with a short-barreled 75-mm gun.
Video: starting the engine and moving the heavy tank "Tiger" at one of the tank fests
However, on the same “fours” (medium tank T-4) with a long-barreled gun, there was a more complex system for determining direction, in which there was no quadrant, but the dial was graduated by hours and miles. In addition, the new tank is surprising in the complete absence of any devices to protect ammunition from shell fragments, despite the presence of well-thought-out dust protection. It seems that the Germans abandoned exhaust gas exhaust devices in favor of smoke absorbers located in the tower. Apparently this was done after a thorough examination of the captured British armored vehicles. To reduce gas contamination, a system for purging the barrel after firing is also provided. The internal structure of the turret is much more practical and convenient than that of all currently operating British vehicles, which serves as further proof of the consistently high level of German design thought and its technical implementation in the field of artillery production.
Video: German Tiger tank
Listed below are the main types of artillery rounds with armor-piercing shells included in the ammunition load of the 88-mm Tiger cannon. As already mentioned, the ammunition load usually did not exceed 92 artillery rounds. Further in the report, detailed characteristics of the armor penetration of the Pzgr 38 armor-piercing projectile are given.
High-explosive fragmentation projectile......start. speed 820 m/sec;
Anti-tank cumulative projectile Pzgr39.........initial speed 600 m/sec;
Armor-piercing projectile Pzgr40................beg. speed 914 m/sec;
Armor-piercing projectile with a sub-caliber armor-piercing core and a ballistic fairing Pzgr38....initial speed 810 m/sec.
All artillery rounds were stored in a horizontal position along the entire fighting compartment with capsules in different directions. All rounds stored on the turret floor were mounted vertically in the slots of unarmored ammunition racks. Vertical storage made the ammunition on the Tigers more vulnerable than on British tanks, where rounds were stored only horizontally and in armored ammunition racks.
Tactical and technical characteristics of the heavy German tank "Tiger 1" T-VI
TANK-BASED VEHICLES
_________________________________________________________________________
Data source: Magazine "Armor Collection" M. Bratinsky (1998. - No. 3)
The blitzkrieg strategy developed in Germany before World War II did not include the use of heavy breakthrough tanks. Accordingly, there were initially no precise regulations or developments in this direction. This state of affairs remained until the collision with Soviet tanks.
The first battles with the KV and T-34, the disruption of the blitzkrieg strategy and the collision with fortified defenses - all this showed the poor effectiveness of the Panzerkampfwagen III and IV medium tanks that were in service. There was a need to urgently develop more powerful machines.
Tank Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. H1 Tiger is a German heavy tank used by Germany during World War II. Designed to combat enemy tanks and anti-tank weapons, as well as to overcome enemy defense lines.
The history of the creation of the Tiger tank
The first developments in the creation of heavy tanks in Germany date back to 1937. Research was given a secondary role, since there was no need for breakthrough machines. In this context, the projects were of a theoretical or test nature.
In 1939-41 Erwin Aders took practical steps to design breakthrough tanks. The first prototypes were assembled using components from the PzKpfw IV. These samples were not positioned as heavy vehicles - their weight should not exceed 30 tons, and the armor thickness was less than 50 mm.
The attack on the USSR showed the weakness of the PzKpfw IV. As they overcame the difficult situation in the first months and strengthened their defenses, Soviet troops resisted tank offensives and German assaults more and more effectively.
Taking these factors into account, a practical need arose for heavy breakthrough tanks capable of competing with the T-34 and KV. An attempt to modernize existing machines did not give the desired result, although it did improve the situation. For Germany, the primary task was to develop an analogue of the Soviet HF.
Tiger 1
The terms of reference for the development of a heavy tank were sent to two companies at once - Henschel and Porsche. Both companies presented their designs for Hitler's birthday in April 1942. Preference was given to Henschel's designs.
In his project, Erwin Aders used traditional developments in German tank building, used in the design of the PzKpfw IV. This solution reduced the production complexity of the new tanks. Also for the first time, a staggered arrangement of road wheels was used for tanks.
However, the Henschel Tiger 1 project actually did not have a turret; its prototype was being finalized. In this case, it was planned to use the KwK 42 L/70 gun with a 75 mm caliber, which in 1942 no longer met the assigned tasks. In this context, it was decided to borrow the tower from the Porsche project. It was this hybrid of the two companies that became known as Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. H1 Tiger. In the USSR it is known as the Tiger tank, T-6, T-VI.
Tiger 2
The task to develop a tank with reinforced armor was received by Henschel and Porsche already in August 1942. The emphasis was on the angular arrangement of the plates, similar to the T-34, as well as on the more powerful KwK 43 L/71 gun with a caliber of 88 mm.
The Henschel project turned out to be more successful this time too. The Porsche prototype was rejected mainly due to its complex electric powertrain. The latter required large quantities of copper and other materials, which Germany had in short supply.
The contract for a new tank with Henschel was signed at the beginning of 1943. However, Erwin Aders was offered to finalize the project and introduce a number of design solutions from the parallel development of Panther-II. This aspect delayed the construction of the new tank for several more months. The first prototype was assembled only in October 1943.
The new project became known as Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. B, "Royal Tiger", "Tiger II", Tiger 2. Given that Porsche had begun producing turrets for its tanks before its design was rejected, the first 50 "Royal Tigers" received its turrets. Subsequent models were equipped with Aders turrets with a simplified layout and increased frontal armor.
Structure and design of the combat unit
The Tiger has a standard layout - control and transmission in the front, a fighting compartment in the middle and a motor in the rear. The design of the Tiger tank was distinguished by good ergonomics, ensuring reliability and ease of control and combat.
Front compartment
The control department was intended for the driver and gunner-radio operator. The controls include a steering wheel made like a car, gas pedals, clutch and brake pedals. To the right in front of the seat there is a gear lever and a parking brake. There was another one of the same kind on the left. There are emergency control levers behind the seat.
There was a front-facing machine gun in the front of the hull. External communication devices were also located here. The FuG-5 radio units were located next to the radio operator’s seat. A stable connection for transmitting and receiving information worked within a range of 6.4 km for telephone and 9.4 km for telegraph.
For internal communication, laryngophones and headphones connected to a tank intercom were used. The vulnerability of this system was supplemented by experimental light signals, allowing the commander to give simple commands to the driver.
Middle part of the car
The fighting compartment included the rest of the crew, observation and guidance devices, and ammunition. The positions of the commander, gunner and loader were located here. There was also a machine gun coaxial with the gun.
An optical sight was located to the left of the gun. At first it was a Zeiss binocular TZF-9a with 2.5x magnification. Since April 1944, monocular TZF-9b with a magnification range of 2.5-5 times have been used. The aiming scale for the gun varied in the range of 100-4000 m, for the machine gun - from zero to 1200 m.
Aft
At the rear of the tank there was an engine compartment and fuel tanks. To protect the crew in the event of an explosion, there was an armored partition between the stern and the fighting compartment.
Hull and turret
The installation of an 88 mm caliber gun determined the design features of the Tiger's hull. For the first time, the width of a German tank had different meanings. The lower part became the base part, the upper part was expanded with sponsons to install the required turret ring for the prescribed gun.
Almost all the armor plates of the hull are joined at an angle close to a straight line. The frontal armor is sloped at 80 degrees and houses a machine gun and a driver's observation device. The top sheet is located almost horizontally, the bottom - at an angle of 66 degrees. All sheets are connected using dovetail joints.
The tank's turret is located almost in the center with a slight offset to the stern. The roof has two hatches and a ventilation hole, closed by an armored cap with horizontal slits. Later models featured a periscope for the loader, as well as a mortar for firing smoke and fragmentation grenades at short distances.
Specifications
The technical characteristics of the Tiger tank are considered based on the first models. The Royal Tiger, despite its increased power and armor, turned out to be an unsuccessful development due to low engine power, too much weight and poor driving characteristics. Many crews noted the general unreliability of this development and frequent breakdowns.
Suspension and engine
The Tiger engine is a twelve-cylinder, carburetor, gasoline engine from Maybach. The first 250 tanks had HL210 engines with a power of 650 hp. With. Subsequent ones - HL230 with 700 hp. With. The suspension is independent, torsion bar.
The engine compartment had its own fire extinguishing system. Fire extinguishers were located next to the fuel pumps and carburetor. A water radiator and four fans were used to cool the engine.
Chassis and tracks
The chassis of the tank is based on a staggered arrangement of rollers. The diameter is large, there are no support rollers. The drive wheel was located in front, the diameter was 0.84 m. A rubber band was provided for the road wheels.
The Tigers used two types of tracks. The first option was used for transportation, width - 0.52 m, tracks K.gs-63/520/l30. The second version of the combat tracks, made from Kgs-63/725/130 tracks, width - 0.725 m.
Transmission
The twelve-speed gearbox (8 front and 4 rear) interacted with the main clutch and the turning mechanism. It is of the preselective type, with semi-automatic control. Thanks to the gearbox, the tank had 16 turning radii forward and 8 backward, and could also rotate around its axis.
Fuel consumption
Leaded gasoline OZ 74 was used as fuel. Fuel tanks are designed for 530 liters. Average fuel consumption was 80-100 liters per 100 km.
Maximum speed
The highest speed of the Tiger tank on the highway was 44 km/h, and the range was 195 km. The vehicle had good maneuverability and could climb inclines up to 35 degrees. The height of the barrier to be overcome is 0.8 m, the width of the ditch is 2.3 m, the ford is 1.2 m.
Crew
The Tiger's crew consisted of five people - a driver, a gunner-radio operator, a commander, a gunner and a loader. The first two were located in the control compartment, ensuring the movement of the tank and communication with other vehicles. The rest were in the fighting compartment.
Dimensions and weight
In terms of dimensions, the Tiger had the following technical characteristics:
- hull length - 6.316 m, with the gun turned forward - 8.45 m;
- width - 3.705 m;
- height - 2.93 m;
- ground clearance - 0.47 m.
The question of how much the tank weighs is easily resolved - the combat weight was 57 tons. With this weight, the specific pressure on the ground was 1.03 kilograms per square centimeter.
Armament
The Tiger's armament consisted of a cannon and two machine guns - a front-mounted one and a turret-mounted one, coaxial with the gun. Later, mortars appeared that made it possible to create a smoke screen or hit nearby infantry with fragmentation grenades.
A gun
The main weapon of the tank is a KwK 36 L/56 rifled gun with a caliber of 88 mm. The barrel length was 56 calibers. Thanks to the hydraulic drive, the gun could fire in a complete circle in the horizontal plane. The vertical guidance range varied from -8 to +15 degrees.
The engagement range was 4 km, with the advent of the new TZF 9b monocular sight - 5 km. The ammunition consisted of 92-94 shells. Since 1945, this figure has been increased to 120 ammunition.
Machine guns
The Tigers had two, less often three, MG-34 machine guns. On later models, its modifications were used - 34/40, 34/S, 34-41. Firing from the front machine gun was carried out by the radio operator, and from the coaxial machine gun by the gunner. The destruction range is up to 1200 m, the total ammunition load is 4500 rounds.
Smoke grenade launchers
S-type anti-personnel mortars were used as grenade launchers. in addition to creating smoke screens, they fired fragmentation grenades to a height of 5-7 meters. The explosion at such a height hit the infantry surrounding the tank.
Armor protection
To protect the tank, chrome-molybdenum rolled armor with surface hardening was used. Its thickness had the following indicators:
- upper front plate of the hull - 100 mm, 8 degrees of inclination;
- average frontal - 63 mm, 10 degrees;
- lower frontal - from 100 mm at 21 degrees of inclination with a transition of 80 mm at a bevel of 66 degrees;
- hull sides - 80 and 63 mm at the top and bottom at zero inclination;
- rear part - 80 mm with an inclination of 8 degrees at the top and 48 at the bottom.
The bottom of the hull had a thickness of 28 mm, the roof was initially 26 mm, in 1944 both indicators increased to 40. The frontal armor of the turret was 100 mm, the sides and rear were 80, and the slopes were zero. The gun mantlet varied from 90 to 200 mm.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Tiger
Among the advantages of the Tigers are:
- a powerful weapon that made it possible to hit almost all self-propelled guns and tanks head-on until 1944;
- armor that provided reliable protection for the tank until 1943;
- good ergonomics, ensuring ease of control from the inside;
- high-quality surveillance and communication devices.
In most cases, it was the latter factor that turned out to be decisive for the outcome of the battle. According to some estimates, the Tiger's advantages made it the strongest tank in the world in 1942-43.
However, the car also had disadvantages:
- technical complexity of production, which slowed down mass production;
- high cost - “Tigers” cost twice as much as many tanks from other countries;
- low maintainability of the chassis and some other units due to a lack of parts;
- difficulty of transportation, especially across bridges.
These factors greatly complicated the use of the Tigers. Towing damaged vehicles for repairs required special equipment, which was not always convenient in a front-line situation. And rail transportation of such tanks required one empty car at the front and rear to lighten the load.
Use of the Tiger tank in World War II
The concept of using Tiger tanks allowed them to be used both offensively and defensively. The main task is to fight tanks, ensuring the breakthrough of one’s forces through the lines of fortifications or reducing the enemy’s ability to break through.
The first use in battle dates back to August 23, 1942 near Leningrad. Immediately after unloading, problems appeared with the gearbox and engine, as a result of which the tanks were sent for repairs. In September, the situation repeated itself; due to impassability and technical problems, the Tigers were unable to realize their potential.
Full participation in hostilities dates back to the battles near Kharkov in February-March 1943. Later, the Tigers took part in the Battle of Kursk, on the African and Italian fronts. In 1944-45, tanks were actively used on the eastern and western fronts.
Soviet troops were able to capture the first serviceable Tiger on December 27, 1943 near Leningrad. Along with the vehicle, technical documentation, instruments, and weapons were also seized. On January 5-7, the tank was used by Soviet troops to defend captured positions.
During the war, captured tanks were captured by other units in different sectors of the front. However, such vehicles did not find active use - the lack of spare parts, the complexity of repairs and towing did not allow the damaged vehicles to be returned to service.
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them
Forward, mm
Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. H1, "Tiger"- German heavy tank from the Second World War, the prototype of which was the VK4501 (H) tank, developed in 1942 by the Henschel company under the leadership of Erwin Aders. Along with the prototype of the Henschel company, the Reich leadership was also presented with Ferdinand Porsche's project - VK4501 (P), but the choice of the military commission fell on the Henschel option, although Hitler was more favorable to the Porsche product.
For the first time, Tiger tanks went into battle on August 29, 1942 at the Mga station near Leningrad, they began to be used on a massive scale with the battle and capture of Kharkov in February - March 1943, and were used by the Wehrmacht and SS troops until the end of World War II.
The total number of cars produced is 1354 units. The cost of producing one Tiger tank is 800,000 Reichsmarks (twice as expensive as any tank of that time).
The Henschel prototype was designated VK4501 (H). Ferdinand Porsche, better known at the time for his innovative work in the automotive (including sports) field, tried to transfer his approach to a new area. Its prototype implemented solutions such as highly efficient longitudinal torsion bars in the suspension system and electric transmission. However, compared to the Henschel prototype, F. Porsche’s car was structurally more complex and required more scarce materials, in particular copper (used in generators necessary for electric transmission).
Dr. F. Porsche's prototype was tested under the designation VK4501 (P). Knowing the Fuhrer’s attitude towards him and without doubting the victory of his brainchild, F. Porsche, without waiting for the commission’s decision, ordered the launch of the chassis for his new tank into production without testing, with the start of deliveries by Nibelungenwerk in July 1942. However, when displayed at the Kummersdorf proving ground, a tank from the Henschel company was chosen due to the greater reliability of the chassis and better cross-country ability, and partly also because of its lower cost (the electric transmission of the Porsche tank required a large number of expensive and scarce materials to produce copper).
The turret was borrowed from a Porsche tank, since the turrets ordered for the Henschel tank were in the process of being modified or were in the prototype stage. In addition, turrets with a KWK L/70 7.5 cm gun were designed for the above combat vehicle, the caliber of which (75 mm) in 1942 no longer met the needs of the Wehrmacht. As a result, it was this hybrid with a Henschel & Son chassis and a Porsche turret that became famous throughout the world under the designation Pz VI “Tiger” (Ausf H, Ausf E), and Porsche Tigers were produced in the amount of 7 vehicles, another 3 chassis were used for the manufacture of ARVs. The remaining 90 chassis went to the production of heavy assault guns, which received the name of their “father”, F. Porsche - “Ferdinand”. [ ]
Design
The tank was controlled using a steering wheel similar to a car. The main controls of the Tiger tank are the steering wheel and pedals (gas, clutch, brakes). In front of the seat on the right there is a gear shift lever and a parking brake lever (on the left is an auxiliary parking brake lever). Behind the seat on both sides are emergency control levers. At the same time, the control itself was quite simple and did not require special skills.
Armored hull and turret
The turret is located approximately in the center of the hull, the center of the turret shoulder strap is 165 mm closer to the stern from the central perpendicular of the hull. The sides and rear of the turret are formed from a single strip of armor steel 82 mm thick. The 100 mm thick turret front plate is welded to a bent side armor plate. The roof of the tower consists of one flat armor plate 26 mm thick, in the front part installed with an inclination of 8 degrees to the horizon. The roof of the tower is connected to the sides by welding. There are three holes in the roof, two for the top hatches and one for the fan. The roofs of the turrets of the Tiger tanks of later production had five holes. Many photographs show improvised locking devices on hatches; the purpose of these devices is one - protection from uninvited guests. Turret No. 184 and all subsequent ones were equipped with a loader's periscope; The periscope was mounted on the right side of the tower just ahead of the roof break line. The fixed periscope device was protected by a steel U-shaped bracket. Between the loader's hatch and the fan on the turrets of late-production tanks (starting with turret No. 324), a hole was made for the Nahverteidigungwaffe (a mortar for firing smoke and fragmentation grenades at short ranges). To make room for the mortar, the fan had to be moved to the longitudinal axis of the tower. The fan was covered with an armored cap with horizontal slits for air intake. The height of the tower, including the commander's cupola, was 1200 mm, weight - 11.1 tons. The towers were manufactured and mounted on the chassis at the Wegman plant in Kassel.
For the first time in German tank building, the tank hull has a variable width. The width of the lower part is actually the width of the body. The upper part had to be expanded due to the fender sponsons to accommodate a turret with a shoulder strap diameter of 1850 mm - the minimum shoulder diameter allowing the installation of an 88 mm caliber gun in the turret. The size of the supporting armor plate of the hull floor is 4820×2100 mm, the thickness of the plate is 26 mm. The thickness of the side armor plates varies: the sides of the upper part of the hull are 80 mm, the rear is 80 mm, the forehead is 100 mm. The thickness of the sides of the lower part of the hull is reduced to 63 mm, since here the support rollers serve as additional protection. Most hull armor plates are connected at right angles. Thus, almost all surfaces of the Tiger's body are either parallel or perpendicular to the ground. The exception is the upper and lower frontal armor plates. The frontal 100-mm armor plate, in which the directional machine gun and the driver's observation device are installed, is almost vertical - its inclination is 80 degrees. to the horizon line. The upper frontal armor plate, 63 mm thick, is installed almost horizontally - with an inclination angle of 10 degrees. The lower frontal armor plate, 100 mm thick, has a reverse slope of 66 degrees. The armor plates are joined using the “dovetail” method (“trademark” of German tanks) and connected by welding. The junction of the turret and the hull is not covered by anything - one of the most vulnerable points of the Tiger, which has constantly been criticized. The thickness of the hull roof - 30 mm - contrasts with the thick frontal armor. The tank hull, without turret and chassis, weighed 29 tons and had very impressive dimensions. According to many tankers, the thickness of the roof was clearly insufficient. Many Tigers were lost only because the turret was jammed by shell fragments. On later production Tigers, an armored ring was mounted to protect the junction of the turret and the hull. In general, the Tiger's armor provided the highest level of security for its time. In order to increase the morale of the crews of heavy tanks, the vehicle of Lieutenant Zabel from the 1st company of the 503rd heavy tank battalion was delivered to the training center in Paderborn from the Eastern Front. During two days of fighting near Rostov, as part of the Zander battle group, Zabel’s tank received 227 direct hits from 14.5 mm anti-tank rifle bullets, 14 hits from 45 and 57 mm caliber shells, and 11 hits from 76.2 mm caliber shells. Having withstood so many hits, the tank managed to make a 60-km march to the rear for repairs under its own power. The quality of the armor was highly appreciated by the British who studied the captured Tiger. According to British experts, English armor equivalent in terms of projectile resistance will be 10-20 mm thicker than the Tiger armor.
Since August 1943, the outer vertical surfaces of the tank’s hull and turret began to be coated with the “Zimmerit” compound, which makes it difficult to magnetize magnetic mines to the hull. The antimagnetic coating was abandoned in the fall of 1944.
Engine and transmission
All modifications were equipped with twelve-cylinder gasoline carburetor Maybach engines. The first 250 cars are equipped with an HL210 engine with a volume of 21.3 liters and a power of 650 hp. The rest are powered by an HL230 engine with a volume of 23.0 liters and a power of 700 hp. Fuel - leaded gasoline OZ 74, octane number 74. 530 liters of fuel were poured into the fuel tanks. Motorenöl der Wermacht brand oil was used in the oil system. The change required 32 liters of oil, but the engine held 42 liters of oil. The oil pump is driven from the main engine. The oil system includes a reservoir with a capacity of 28 liters. Power from the engine to the gearbox is transmitted by a shaft consisting of two parts. Approximately 5 hp selected for the turret rotation drive. The engine compartment is equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing system: if the air temperature in the engine compartment exceeds 120°C, thermal sensors automatically turn on fire extinguishers installed in the area of the fuel pumps and carburetors. When the fire extinguishing system is activated, an emergency light on the driver's dashboard lights up. A hand-held fire extinguisher is stored in the turret, which can be used as an emergency means of fighting a fire in the engine compartment. Engine cooling is a 120-liter water radiator and four fans. Fan motor lubrication - 7 liters of oil.
The gearbox is twelve-speed (+8;-4), interlocked with a multi-disc main clutch on one side and a turning mechanism on the other side. The gearbox of the Maybach Olvar model was a rare type of so-called shaftless preselective gearbox with semi-automatic control.
The turning mechanism is a double differential type with a two-flow power supply and a two-speed drive. Provided 16 stable radii of turning forward and 8 backward (2 in each gearbox gear), plus turning in place around its own center of mass (in neutral). Control of the turning mechanism - the steering wheel. Stop brakes, individually actuated for each side by two levers on either side of the driver's seat, were used for turning only if the turning mechanism failed. Group drive of stopping brakes - brake pedal.
The main gear had three stages of reduction. The first stage consisted of a bevel gear reducer for transmitting torque from the gearbox to the common drive shaft of the turning mechanism. The second and third are made from a combined cylindrical and planetary gearbox of the final final drives. The overall gear ratio is 10.5. The rotation mechanism was not involved in the reduction.
Chassis
If in the initial period of World War II the German military doctrine had a mainly offensive orientation, then later, when the strategic situation changed to the opposite, tanks began to be assigned the role of a means of eliminating breakthroughs in the German defense.
Thus, the Tiger tank was conceived primarily as a means of combating enemy tanks, whether on the defensive or offensive. Taking this fact into account is necessary to understand the design features and tactics of using the Tigers.
...Taking into account the strength of the armor and the strength of the weapon, the Tiger should be used mainly against enemy tanks and anti-tank weapons, and only secondarily - as an exception - against infantry units.
As combat experience has shown, the Tiger's weapons allow it to fight enemy tanks at distances of 2000 meters or more, which especially affects the enemy's morale. Durable armor allows the Tiger to approach the enemy without the risk of serious damage from hits. However, you should try to engage enemy tanks at distances greater than 1000 meters.
Staff organization
The main tactical unit of the Wehrmacht tank forces was the tank battalion, which consisted first of two and then of three companies. The 3-company battalion had 45 tanks. As a rule, 2 or 3 battalions formed a tank regiment, which was usually assigned to the corps command for reinforcement (however, cases of the formation of entire regiments from just “Tigers” are unknown).
- 1st SS Division-Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler"
- 2nd SS Panzer Division “Das Reich” (“Reich”)
- 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" ("Death's Head")
The training of all Tiger crews was carried out by the 500th training tank battalion.
First fight
The next battle of the Tigers was more successful for them: on January 12, 1943, four Tigers, which came to the aid of the 96th Wehrmacht Infantry Division, knocked out 12 Soviet T-34s. However, during the battles to break the blockade of Leningrad on January 17, 1943, Soviet troops captured one virtually intact Tiger. The crew left it without destroying even a brand new technical passport, instruments, and weapons.
The full debut of the “Tigers” took place during the battles near Kharkov in February - March 1943. In particular, the motorized division “Great Germany” had 9 Tiger tanks at the beginning of the battles, which made up the 13th company of the tank regiment. etc. SS Adolf Hitler had 10 Tigers (1st Panzer Regiment), etc. SS "Reich" - 7, etc. SS "Death's Head" - 9.
Battle of Kursk
The German troops that took part in Operation Citadel had 148 Tiger tanks. Tigers were used to break through Soviet defenses, often leading groups of other tanks. The powerful armament and armor of the PzKpfw VI allowed them to effectively destroy any type of enemy armored vehicle, which led to very large scores for the German crews who fought on the Tigers on the Kursk Bulge.
On July 8, 1943, the damaged “Tiger” of SS Unterscharführer Franz Staudegger, located on the Teterevino farm, single-handedly repelled an attack by approximately 50 T-34 and T-70 tanks from the 26th Tank Brigade, knocking out 22 tanks.
African theater of operations
At the end of the war, most of the Tigers were destroyed by their crews due to the actions of Allied aircraft, which destroyed bridges on the Wehrmacht's retreat routes.
Captured tanks in the Red Army and Allied forces
The first “Tiger” in the Red Army was a tank of the 507th battalion, stuck in a crater and abandoned by the crew on December 27, 1943 in a battle near the village of Sinyavki. The fully operational vehicle became a trophy of the 28th Guards Tank Brigade of the 39th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front. At that time, the brigade had only 13 armored units in service: 7 T-34, 5 T-70 and one SU-122. According to other sources, on 12/31/43 the brigade also included: 1 KV-1 and 1 “Artshturm”, and, judging by the entry in the brigade’s combat log, where the need for 88-mm shells was noted, “Artshturm” meant a German self-propelled gun Nashorn based on the PzKpfw IV.
The crew of five people (tank commander - Guards Lieutenant Revyakin, driver - Guards Sergeant Kilevnik, gunner - Guards Sergeant Ilashevsky, gunner - Guards Sergeant Kodikov, gunner-radio operator - Guards Sergeant Akulov) mastered new equipment in two days. The Soviet “Tiger” with red stars on its armor received its baptism of fire on January 5-7, 1944, when, together with one T-34 and one T-70 with its own name, “Falcon” captured and held those same Sinyavki for two days. After which he needed repairs and evacuation: “The captured T-6 Tiger tank needs medium repairs. The issue of its restoration is complicated by the lack of spare parts. His evacuation requires army funds.”
Replacing rollers from the inner rows damaged by mine explosions or artillery fire was a tedious and lengthy procedure. Also, to dismantle or replace a damaged transmission, the turret had to be removed. In this regard, the “Tiger” was noticeably inferior to the Soviet IS-2, which, after eliminating “childhood diseases” during operations in late 1944 - early 1945, made marches over 1000 km long, fulfilling the warranty period without fail. It is known that a significant number of Tigers were abandoned during combat operations in all European theaters of war, when the situation forced the Germans to abandon the Tigers during long and exhausting marches.
Crew protection
The high degree of armor protection of the Tiger-I tank ensured a high chance for the crew to survive in battle, even if the tank failed. The crews of damaged tanks, as a rule, returned to duty, which contributed to the retention of experienced tank crews. The staggered arrangement of the rollers provided additional protection for the lower part of the tank hull.
Production
In monetary terms, the cost of 1 Tiger-I tank was over 800,000 Reichsmarks (the monthly salary of approximately 7,000 workers). The labor intensity of producing one tank is about 300,000 man-hours, which is equivalent to the weekly work of 6,000 workers. To increase the responsibility of the crews, these data were given in the technical manual for the tank.
| Production PzKpfw. VI Tiger | |||||||||||||
| Jan. | Feb. | March | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sep. | Oct. | But I. | Dec. | Total | |
| 1942 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 25 | 30 | 78 | ||||||
| 1943 | 35 | 32 | 41 | 46 | 50 | 60 | 65 | 60 | 85 | 50 | 60 | 65 | 649 |
| 1944 | 93 | 95 | 86 | 104 | 100 | 75 | 64 | 6 | 623 | ||||
In total, during the period from August 1942 to August 1944, 1350 (according to other sources 1354 vehicles) Tiger-I tanks were produced.
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 track was used. However, to ensure transportation of the tank by rail, this track had to be 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 variations - the differences between different versions of the same technical equipment. 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, the full version of 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.) did not always strictly follow alphabetical order, nor were all letters 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
Beginning in 1937, the German General Staff demanded 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 they were in no hurry to develop a new car. 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 | ||
 |  |  |
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 | ||
 |  |  |
| 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