German King Tiger Tank

The German King Tiger Tank was introduced in early 1944 and was the most powerful tank during world war 2. With its powerful 88mm gun and an almost impenetrable front armor, it was one of the most feared weapons of world war 2. Up to the end of the war, the allies had not introduce any effective means to counter the threat.

German heavy tank development began as early as 1937 with the German Armaments Ministry issuing a specification for a new heavy tank to Daimler-Benz, Henschel, MAN and Porsche. The project however was ignored as the Panzer III and IV had so far proved effective tanks and served well  in combat. It was not until spring 1941 that the project was revived after Hitler was impressed with heavy allied tanks, such as the French Char B1 and British Matilda 1 during the campaign in the west.

 

At a meeting with Hitler on 26th May, 1941, the planning for the development of a new heavy tank begun. During that meeting, Hitler ordered for the creation of heavy Panzers which were to have an increased effectiveness to penetrate enemy tanks; possess heavier armor than was previously achieved; and attain a maximum speed of at least 40km/h. These key decisions led to the development of a new heavy tank, the Tiger 1 tank and ultimately the King Tiger. However, no clearly defined objectives or action plans were laid out for the succession of the Tiger 1 tank until January 1943 when the order was given for a new design which was to replace the existing Tiger 1.

 

Although the designation implies that the Tiger II is a succession of the Tiger 1, it is in effect a completely different tank. The first design consideration for the new tank was the selection of a more effective main gun. As with the Tiger tank, it was to mount an 88mm anti tank gun but the main gun on the Tiger II was far more powerful than that on the Tiger 1. For the development of the chassis, two firms were contracted to come up with the designs namely Henschel and Sohn of Kassel and Porsche of Stuttgart. Both firms Henschel and Porsche were responsible for only the chassis and automotive designs. Turret design was awarded to another firm Krupp of Essen.

The main gun specification of the King Tiger was to be a variation of the 88mm anti-aircraft gun. Although the 88mm was initially designed for an anti aircraft role, it proved to be an excellent tank killer. Originally, the intention was to mount an 88mm Flak 41 into a turret for the Porsche VK4501 (P) chassis. The turret had been originally designed by Krupp to hold the 56 caliber 88mm KwK 36 gun of the Tiger 1. After much experimentation and debate, it was decided in early 1943 that it was not possible to mount the 88mm Flak 41. Krupp had then been contracted to design a new turret that could mount their own version of a 71 caliber 88mm Kwk 43 gun that could fit in both the chassis for Henschel and Porsche.

The 88mm gun with the designation KwK 36 and KwK 43 indicated the model number year 36 and 43. The Tiger II with the model 43 has a length of 71 calibers (71 times 88mm) as compared with 56 calibers of the Tiger 1 with model 36. The length of the barrel itself is over 20 feet long while the rounds weighed almost 20kgs. It is in effect a much more powerful gun than the Tiger 1.

The King Tiger’s 88mm main gun has a muzzle velocity of 1000m per second when firing armor piercing rounds. It was highly accurate and able to penetrate 150mm of armor at distances exceeding 2200m. Since the flight time of an armor piercing round at a range of 2200m is about 2.2 seconds or less, accuracy and correction of fire against moving targets is more important than with older anti tank guns. This made this heavy predator ideally suited to open terrain where it could engage enemy tanks at long range before the opponent’s weapons were even in range.

For the chassis, much has been learnt from the sloped armor design of the Russian T-34. As with the Panther, the King Tiger was to have sloped and interlocked front and side armor. The front armor was 150mm thick and the side was 80mm thick. Both firms Henschel and Porsche submitted their own designs.

Porsche designed the VK4502 (P) chassis which was built on the previous VK4501 (P) design of the Tiger 1. The codename VK was for Volkettenfahrzeuge or "fully tracked experimental vehicle", 45 means a 45 ton class and 01 represents the first model. The VK4502 (P) chassis had a similar outlook with the Tiger 1, sharing many similarities such as the suspension and automotive parts. Two designs were submitted, the first one having its turret mounted centrally and the second had the turret mounted towards the rear with the engine in front. However, it used copper for the electric transmission which Germany was in shortage of. This design was rejected and did not enter production.

Henschel designed the VK4503 (H) chassis which was very similar in appearance to the Panther. The front armor was 150mm thick and sloped at an angle of 50 degrees. The side was 80mm thick sloped at 25 degrees. As with all German tanks at that time, it had a ball mounted MG34 fitted on the right front side of the hull. The suspension consisted of torsion bars with nine sets of overlapping steel rimmed wheels on each side. The tracks were 2 feet 8 1/2 inches wide, weighing 2.5 tons. Henschel’s design was accepted and destined to enter mass production.

Krupp had designed the turrets to fit both the Porsche and Henschel chassis. The initial design called P-2 Turm (or commonly known as Porsche turret) mounted a single piece (monobloc) barrel of the 88mm and had a curved mantlet in the front. The front armor was 100 mm thick, the sides were 88mm thick sloped at 60 degrees and the top armor was 40mm thick. It had space to carry 16 rounds of ammunition in the turret. However, the curved mantlet in the front acted as a shot trap by deflecting incoming shots downwards towards the roof of the hull. A new design was ordered to fix this but as an interim measure, it was decided to go ahead with the production of 50 units with this turret. This was commonly referred to as Porsche turret. The new design called Serien Turm, or commonly known as Henschel or Production turret was to retain the many features of the Porsche turret and was to be adopted for mass production. Henschel turret had the front curved mantlet replaced with one 180mm thick armor plate sloped at 81 degrees. The sides were altered to slope at 69 degrees and it could carry an additional 6 six rounds or 22 rounds of ammunition in the turret. The full combat weight was 68,500kg when fitted with the Porsche turret and 69,800kg with the Henschel turret.

88 Flak Gun / Anti Tank Gun

German experiences with Soviet heavy tanks have resulted in the production of some very powerful guns. Among these is the Model 1943 88-mm gun. This improved 88 has a very high muzzle velocity, which enables gunners to lay on and hit even distant moving targets with considerable ease. In fact, the trajectory followed by the projectile is so flat that, with certain sights, the gunner can make his own elevation calculations up to a range of 3,700 yards for high-explosive projectiles and 4,400 yards for armor-piercing projectiles. A trajectory as flat as this naturally means that gunners can open fire on tanks and other armored vehicles without preliminary registration. The rise of the shell in its flight seldom will be greater than the height of a tank. 

  

Besides being used as a direct-laid gun, the variations of the Model 1943 can also fire either time-fuzed or percussion 20.68-pound, high-explosive shells as far as 16,570 yards.

The verified armor-penetration capabilities of the Model 43 88's are remarkable. With the newer type of 22.4-pound capped armor-piercing shell (with ballistic cap to provide streamlining), the following can be achieved:

Range			Penetration
	(shell hitting at right angles to the armor)
1,000 yards			7.87 inches
2,000 yards			6.61 inches
2,500 yards			6.02 inches

The Model 43 88's have certain drawbacks, however. While raising the muzzle velocity, the Germans have tried to keep down the weight of the gun. The result is a light tube with a considerably reduced safety factor. Therefore, German gun crews have been warned not to use high-velocity ammunition in Model 1943 tubes which have fired as many as 500 rounds. To preserve the gun tube against erosion, they may fire high-explosive shell with a low-velocity propellant rated at 1,080 feet per second. This ammunition gives a maximum range of only 7,765 yards. 

Thus far the Model 43 88's have appeared in the new Royal Tiger tank; in the "Elephant" (formerly called the "Ferdinand"), the "Rhinoceros" (formerly called the "Hornet"), and Panzerjäger Panther tank destroyers; and on two towed carriages (the Pak 43 and the Pak 43/41). Of these, the heavily-armored "Elephant" chassis has been found to be too cumbersome and mechanically unreliable. The "Rhinoceros" chassis is too slow; its armor is open on top, and provides protection only against shell splinters and caliber .30 bullets. The Pak 43/41 ground mount also appears to be unsatisfactory. Its conventional split-trail artillery carriage must be so heavy (9,660 pounds) that the complete piece weighs almost as much as the 12,300-pound 150-mm medium gun-howitzer s.F.H. 18. Such a weight precludes manhandling, and is a great handicap in getting the gun trained on a target which appears from an angle not covered by the carriage's 60-degree traverse.

Excellence versus numbers - Tiger I

http://ysear.ch/1kuw
http://ysear.ch/1kux
http://ysear.ch/1kuy
http://ysear.ch/1kuz
http://ysear.ch/1kuA
http://ysear.ch/1kuB
http://ysear.ch/1kuC
http://ysear.ch/1kuD
http://ysear.ch/1kuE
http://ysear.ch/1kuF

When comparing the small number of Tigers produced (only 1347) to the more than 120,000 T-34s and Shermans combined, one can appreciate the psychological impact of this model, at least from the Allied tank crew perspective. In its concept laid the very core of the German conception of a heavy tank. Something which targeted absolute excellence in design, combining lethality with the best possible protection, only given to elite crews, all this regardless of the cost. Excellent engineering and training versus numbers underlined all this philosophy and was reflected later in small tactical unit operations.

The Tiger was a formidable machine that pushed the boundaries of armored warfare and forced the Allies to devise better tanks. It powerfully symbolized all the might of the Nazi war machine as dreamt off by Hitler, and later turned through propaganda into a "Wunderwaffe" (wonder weapon) in a mostly defensive war. However, behind the curtain, the Tiger clearly sacrificed mobility and ease of maintenance, but it was always deadly effective (with a 10:1 up to 19:1 kill ratio), earning a capital of fear that was unrivaled during the war. Allied crews found themselves hopeless with their inadequate machines, having to improvise costly tactics to deal with it. The Tiger gave fame to a few WWII tank aces, like Michael Wittman, something unheard of since the life expectancy of a tank crew was always quite shorter than that of fighter pilots.

A long development history, started in 1935

The search for a suitable engine

The first mention of a 30-ton class Panzer could be found in the note written by General Liese, head of the Heeres Waffenamt, on 30 October 1935. This was the result of the weight estimation for a tank equipped with a high velocity 75 mm (2.95 in), powerful enough to destroy French tanks Char 2C, 3C and D, and a minimum 30 mm (1.18 in) of armor. The representative of the Wa Pruef 6 in charge of the project met Dr. Maybach in October to discuss the feasibility of a 600/700 hp engine. Maybach dismissed a 16-cylinder as too long to fit in an engine compartment, so only a scaled-up 12-cylinder could be conceived, although it required a tremendous amount of development to reach the targeted output of 600 hp. Later discussions led to the conclusion that only a 16-cylinder could provide the 700 hp needed for a 30-40 tons tank. This was still optimistic given the fact that in 1936 Maybach was still struggling to produce its first compact 300 hp engine. Wa Pruef 6 also studied the use of an aircraft engine, characterized by high-torque and low rpm, but this posed the obligation of redesigning many components of the drive train, which would mean sacrificing other vital aspects to stay within the 30 tons limit.

Preliminary prototypes ordered by Wa Pruef 6

In January 1937, Baurat Kniepkamp from Wa pruef 6, the department which laid the specifications and contacted the contractors, ordered a chassis (Fahrgestell) from Henschel, and the turret by Krupp, already contacted to study a 30-ton tank turret housing a 75 mm (2.95 in) in November 1936. The first designation was BW (verstaerkt), for Begleitswagen (escort tank, heavier), to differentiate this model from the Panzer IV already called "BW". In March 1937 this was changed for IW for "Infanteriewagen", then DW ("Durchbruchswagen" or breakthrough tank), and in November 1939, VK 30.01 alte konstruktion (DW).

The Durchbruchswagen DW-1 and DW-2

According to the delivery plan from the 1st of October 1937, Henschel had to provide a DW fahrgestell prototype with Cleveland track system gear ("Clectracgetriebe"), and one with differential drive ("Uberlagerungsgestriebe"), in the second half of 1938, for trials. They were both renamed by Henschel to DW-1 and DW-2 Erprobungst-Fahgestell (experimental chassis). The DW-1 was made of soft steel with plate thickness of 50 mm (1.97 in) on the front, side and rear, and 20 mm (0.79 in) elsewhere. It was propelled by a Maybach 120 TR, varlorex transmission and cletract system of three-stage steering gears allowing 35 km/h (22 mph). There were also six double road wheels per side suspended by torsion arms on center guide track with a 300 mm (11.8 in) pitch. The DW-2 was similar but with automotive improvements made to the steering gear, final drive, parking brakes, torsion bars, having the tracks decreased to a 260 mm (10.2 in) pitch and changed drive sprockets. Both weighed 30 metric tons capable of 35 km/h (22 mph).

On the side of Krupp, a conceptual preliminary design for a turret (AF30304) was sent on 22 February 1937. Dr. Olbricht from Wa Pruef 6 informed Krupp of various points for the definitive design in March 1937, notably the 1500 mm (4.92 ft) turret ring, 50 mm (1.96 in) thick turret walls, plus 20 mm (0.79 in) mantlet, new ball bearing, and adapted elevating mechanism, but no electric traverse. A direct prototype had to be produced, bypassing a wooden mockup stage. Finally, on 24 June 1938, Wa Pruef 6 awarded Krupp a contract for a trial turret. In April 1939 modifications were requested and a schedule required the completion of the turret until May, 26, 1939, which then had to be shipped to Magdeburg to be compared to that of a Panzer IV.

The VK 30.01

Alongside the WB initial tests in September 1938, the Heeres Waffenamt authorized the development of a 30-ton tank prototype called VK 30.01. This was discussed with Wa Pruef 6 in January 1939, with specifications including a 75 mm (2.95 in) KwK L/24 gun (short barrel), the same crew as the Panzer IV and 50 mm (1.97 in) of armor. Henschel devised a new chassis for this purpose, with all the lessons retained from the DWs. A new Maybach HL 116 engine, new drivetrain and, most important, seven pairs of interleaved wheels (Geschachelte) to distribute the 32 tons of the tank and to reduce the ground pressure. At the same time Krupp was awarded the construction of an armored test hull, to be delivered at Kummersdorf on 23 April 1940. The new construction involved dropping the vertical joint assembly, for new PP792 armor plates. However this hull was not delivered until September 1940, and tests involved only 37 mm (1.46 in) guns.

Meanwhile, Maybach made available the new HL 190 and HL 150 (400 hp) and well as new transmissions. Krupp redesigned a turret to match the VK 65.01 for better commonality, having a low profile as the gun centerline was to be 335 mm (13.2 in) over the deck. Externally, it had many features identical to the Panzer IV türm. As requested, there was also a small oval hole for a rearward machine-gun, with an armored semi-disc which pivoted to close this weak point. A turret observation periscope was also to be provided.

By November, 19, 1939 it was agreed that Henschel would deliver three prototypes of the neu konstruktion armored chassis from March to April 1940. In July 1940, Krupp was ordered to deliver a complete turret with the PP 739 armor plate and later eight armored hulls for Henschel, the last scheduled in October 1941, but in reality delivered on 30 November. On 25 September 1942, Oberstleutnant Krekel from the Wa Pruef 6 ordered from Henschel four new updated chassis to be used for training drivers. Already by November 1941 there were concerns about upgrading the main gun (following the encounter of the first KV-1s) to the long-barrel L/34, then later L/43. Krupp objected that this would have triggered further delays. Eventually this prospect was dropped on January, 30, 1942. The eight VK 30.01 turrets would eventually be placed on the Atlantic wall from May to September 1944.

The VK 36.01

This short-lived projected was born in June 1939, when it was asked to Krupp to develop a 105 mm (4.13 in) armed turret. The turret walls had to be 100 mm (3.94 in) thick and the gun was a standard howitzer L/20 or L/28, all of which to be packed on a standard BW hull, with a top weight of no more than 30 tons. It was then designated AW (Artilleriewagen). By mid-1940 Henschel was ordered to modify the BW Fahrgestell to mount the new Krupp 105 turret. At the same time it was revised internally to accept the new Maybach HL 174 giving a 450 hp max output. The hull front had to be 80 mm (3.15 in) thick and the total weight was uplifted to 36 tons, sitting on interleaved wheels.

Eventually on the 26th May of 1942, Hitler intervened to specify that the new heavy tank should have the frontal armor 100 mm (3.94 in) thick, and 60 mm (2.36 in) sides, and ordered six prototypes from Porsche and Henschel. Following this, Wa Pruef 6 remade the specifications. The turret now needed to accept the 75 mm (2.95 in) Waffe 725 (without muzzle brake) and on 11 June 1942 notified Krupp to drop the 105 mm (4.13 in) project and convert the turret according to the new specifications. By August, this was renamed "Tigersprogramm". Eventually, the sole VK 36.01 chassis was delivered in March 1942 for tests, after being equipped at Maybach factory near Friedschafen. The original six turrets ordered to Krupp were turned in the meantime into turmstellungen (fixed turrets), but completion of the modifications required were never carried out.

The Porsche Tiger

Porsche was asked to study the feasibility of heavy and even super-heavy tanks from 1941 and tried to respond in a innovative manner to the challenge posed by the ultra-sturdy transmission needed for the task of transferring such loads. The most original feature of its designs were electric motors powered by connected gasoline engines and external suspension torsion bars to save internal space.

The Porsche Type 100

Porsche's first prototype for a heavy tank was launched in late 1939. The Typ 100 was -with Wa Pruef 6 support- the fruit of the collaboration of Krupp (armored hull), Steyr (air-cooled engines) and Siemens (electrical components). Nibelungenwerke performed the final assembly. The drivetrain was powered by twin ten-cylinder engines each connected to an electrical generator. These animated two electrical motors in the front, activating the drive sprockets. There were three sets of roadwheels mated on a single external longitudinally-mounted torsion bar. The tracks were supported by two double return rollers on each side. Porsche was awarded three armored hulls, and a soft-steel one, which was only completed in July 1941. As early as March 1941 Krupp engaged itself to deliver six turrets equipped with the new 8.8 cm (3.46 in) KwK L/56. The unique Typ 100 chassis undergone thorough testings at Nibelungenwerke, and the program then known as Leopard changed its name into the Tiger.

The VK 45.01 (P)

The tank had to be larger and Porsche made a series of modifications to the Typ 100, with new engines, relocated drive sprockets to the rear, increased frontal armor to 100 mm (3.94 in), new engine compartment and more fuel storage, 60 cm (23.6 in) wide tracks and metal-rimmed road wheels. The return rollers were dropped. The Porsche heavy tank new prototype was then reinstated VK 45.01 (P) according to the turret specified by Wa Pruef 6. In July 1941, Krupp was ordered to deliver a hundred hulls derived from the new prototype and the same number of turret to be assembled at Nibelungenwerke. In turn, the company was ordered to deliver ten complete pre-serie vehicles for tests by May 1942. But the completion was later rushed to match Hiltler's birthday in April. However serious supply problems with automotive parts delayed the completion of the first in July 1942, then the nine others will follow in small batches until October, when the official objective was the completion of 76 Tiger(P).

These delays were cut short by Hitler's decision to terminate the program, as the remaining 90 vehicles would be turned into Panzerjägers with the new 88 mm (3.46 in) L/72 gun. Later these were known as the Sd.Kfz. 182 Ferdinand/Elefant. The ten first VK 45.01 would see service with the test unit Schwere Panzer Abteilung Abt 503, and were known in short as the Tiger (P). Only one seems to have been used in action, the modified Panzer Befehlwagen (with a new set of long-range radios) in Ukraine with the Abteilung 653 from April to July 1944. Three other hulls were completed as BergePanzer Tiger(P), and three others as Rammtiger. Eventually four of these hull will receive definitive turrets by Krupp and were kept for tests in August 1943.