First Tiger I tank captured near Tunis

The Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. E Tiger I (also called Mark VIE, Panzer VIE, Pzkw VIE, SdKfz 181, or Sonderkraftfahrzeug 181) was a German tank of World War II. That name replaced the earlier name of Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. H in March 1943. In general it commonly known simply as the Tiger I or simply theTiger.

This armoured fighting vehicle was first used in late-1942. It weighed 55-57 tons and was the heaviest German production tank at the time. It had a crew of five, and was armed with an 88 mm cannon (the KwK 36). The Tiger I was in use until the German surrender and was given its nickname by Ferdinand Porsche. This design served as the basis for a number of other tanks, notably the Tiger II, commonly knowns as the 'Kingtiger' and a artillery vehicle commonly known as the Sturmtiger.

Design

The Tiger was step foward in design of heavy tanks, being especially suited in tank warfare. Technically in incorporated a mix of advanced and older technologies, such a very powerfull anti-tank cannon but with a manually rotated turret. The internal layout was typical of German tanks, with the hull divided into four parts: two front compartments for the driver and the radio-operator, a central fighting compartment, and the rear engine compartment. The tank had front armor up to 100 mm thick, with 80 mm on the sides and back of hull and turret; to simplify production, flat sections were used where possible, with interlocking and welding rather than bolted joints. The armor, especially in the front was very effective at stopping anti-tank rounds at common engagment distances of most of the early and mid WWII tank guns. At closer ranges and on the sides it was more vunerable, and its roof armor of similar thickness as most medium tanks of the day.

Typical of the larger German tanks, the turret had a full circular floor rotating with it. This was surrounded by fixed floor panels forming a continuous level floor for the fighting compartment. All the panels could be lifted to reveal storage boxes.

It was the first German tank to have triple interleaving road wheels, which improved load distribution giving a better cross country ride, but also made maintenance more difficult and more easily became clogged with mud or snow. The steel and rubber wheels were mounted on sixteen independent torsion bar axles, which gave a relatively soft and stable ride for such a large vehicle. The complex system had a number of drawbacks; one was that the wheels could become packed with mud or snow that could then freeze. The Soviets discovered this and on occasion timed their attacks in the early morning, when the Tigers were more likely to be immobilized.

This tank also featured a hydraulically-controlled pre-selector gearbox and a semiautomatic transmission. The weight of the tank also meant a new steering system; instead of the clutch-and-brake designs of lighter vehicles, a variation on the British Merritt-Brown system was used. The initial engine was a 590 hp 21 litre Maybach petrol design, which was found to be rather underpowered; this was soon upgraded to a 24 litre model.

The original design could submerge to 4.0 m and remain there for 2.5 hours. This required extensive preparation, including locking the turret, sealing all openings, and disengaging the fans so that water rather than air could cool the engine. This capability, being expensive, was abandoned after the first 495 tanks had been produced, and other means were used to get the vehicles across rivers.

Design History

Henschel began development of the Tiger in spring of 1937. After various sidetracks Henschel and three other companies (Porsche, MAN and Daimler-Benz) submitted designs in 1941 for a 35 ton tank with a 75 mm main gun. The emergence of the Russian T-34 rendered these design obsolete; according to Henschel designer Erwin Adlers "There was great consternation when it was discovered that the Soviet tanks were superior to anything available to the Wehrmacht". An immediate weight increase to 45 tons and an increase in gun calibre to 88 mm was ordered. The due date for new prototypes was set for April 20, 1942, Adolf Hitler's birthday. With the limited design time the existing lighter designs were used as the basis for the new tank. Unlike the Panther tank, the design did not incorporate any of the innovations of the T-34: the deflection benefits of sloping armor were absent. Porsche and Henschel submitted prototype designs and they were compared at Rastenburg before Hitler. The Henschel design was accepted but was fitted with the turret from the Porsche design. Production began in August 1942 of the Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf E. At the same time ninety of the Porsche version were also ordered, which were not used; the chassis were converted into the Panzerjäger Tiger, also known as Elefant or Ferdinand.

Production History

Production of the Mark VI began in August 1942 and 1,355 (1) such tanks were built by August 1944, at which point production ceased. Production started at a rate of 25 per month and peaked in April 1944 at 104 per month. Strength peaked at 671 on 1 July 1944. Generally speaking, it took about twice as long to build a PzKpfw VI, in comparison to the other German tanks of the period. When the improved Tiger II Ausf B began production in January 1944, the Tiger I was soon phased out.

Combat History

It is often stated that Tigers were capable of destroying a T-34 or Churchill IV at ranges up to 1300 m. In the case of the T-34 sloping armor not only increases the line of sight (horizontal) thickness of armor but also causes a deflection effect reported to be around 50%. The sloped 45 mm front armor of early T-34s gave them enough protection to prevent the Tiger's 88 mm AT round from penetrating at long range or imperfect angles. As forces closed on each other in combat the ranges were close enough that the T-34s were usually penetrated. Early T-34s had a weak gun which required close-range shots to penetrate German armor, which was one of the reasons for the continual up-armorments of the tank. Special ammunition, such as the German tungsten core APCR-round could offer many times better performace with the 88 mm gun, but these were rare during the war and especially so towards then end.

However this was often offset by the tendency of the brittle Russian armor to collapse when hit by a large "overmatching" round. Conversely, these opposing tank types were unable to penetrate the armor of the Tiger I if firing from a range greater than 500 m. The Tiger I was capable of destroying most M4 Sherman versions at quite long range, and the first Shermans largely intended for infantry support and had comparative weak low-velocity gun meant mainly for firing HE shells and lighter AFVs that was not capable of knocking out Tiger I until it closed to only a few hundred meters, and even then it usually required a flank shot. Tank destroyers and later versions of shermans with better guns more focused on the AT roll, had a easier time such, as a M36 Jackson whose gun could penetrate the front armor with the standard APC shell type at over 1000m and at at over 2000 with APCBC and other types that it commonly used.

In the offensive roll though Tiger was largely a dissapointment, and first uses of the Tiger were unimpressive. Under pressure from Hitler the tank was put into action months earlier than planned and many early models proved to be mechanically fragile. In its first action on September 23, 1942 near Leningrad, in unsuitable marshy terrain, Russian anti-tank gunners found it no threat. It demonstrated the disadvantages of very large tanks in speed, maneuverability and radius of action when used in the breakthrough roll. One particular weakness was a slow turret traverse due to being hand cranked by the crew and its weight.

The Tiger however a very feared tank in World War II due to its successes in the defensive roll. An accepted Allied tactic was to engage the Tiger in groups, one attracting the attention of the Tiger crew while the others attacked the sides or rear of the vehicle. When the tiger was attacking, the opposing force would hide and wait until the tiger came with in range the gun. The British forces used this tactic in there first encounter with the tigers in North Africa, knocking the tanks out with 6 pounders when they came to close.

The Tiger is associated with the name of Michael Wittmann who was the most successful tank commander of World War II, who worked his way up commanding various vehicle's until finally the Tiger I. On one day he destroyed over two dozen allied tanks, and single handely holding up entire advance. Eventually he was knocked out, of which there are various stories with one of the more common ones of being taken out by a Firefly, a sherman with a 17 pounder.

The Captured Tiger of 1943

In May 1943, a Tiger (turret number 131) of the Afrika Korps was captured and sent to England for inspection. However, the western Allies did little to prepare for combat against the German tank despite their assessment that the Tiger was superior to their own tanks. It is believed this decision was based on the doctrine of the United States Army, which did not place emphasis on tank vs. tank combat, believing in the use of Tank destroyers. The failure to field a similair heavy tank was due in part to a powerfull lobbying by the tank destroyer manufacturers, german agents imbedded within the US government and military working against this, the shortcomings of the earlier M6 tank, and extensive delays in the heavy tank designs that were planned.

On the 25th of September 1951 the captured tank was officially handed over to the Tank Museum in Bovington, England, by the British Ministry of Supply. In June 1990 preperations were made for restoring the Tiger to running order. In December of 2003, Tiger 131 returned to the museum with a fully operational engine after extensive restoration by the Army Base Repair Organisation.

The Russian Response

The tiger, had in part been a response to Soviet Heavy tanks, namely the KV-1 which had some notable succeses against lighter german tanks attacking at the time.

In response to the Mark VI, and in continutaion of there heavy earlier heavy tanks, the IS-2 with a 122mm gun was eventually fielded. In addtion a they also began fielding very heavy tank destoyers armed with high velocity 122mm and 152mm cannons, such on the ISU-152 and ISU-122. The the SU-122 and SU-152 assault guns were also put fielded. Some of these were in development before the Tiger was first known of officially however. Continually improved T-34s with better AT guns also posed more challenge, especially the T-34/85, with a 85mm gun.

Notes

• i -- Although 1,350 is a common figure, World War II magazine reported the figure of 1,355 in their January 1994 edition (p.16). Jentz gives in his Die deutsche Panzertruppe (1999), the result of the most detailed investigation of the primary sources ever undertaken, a revised number of 1,347, including the prototype.
• ii -- Among other variants of the Tiger, a "compact self-propelled mortar, today commonly known as Sturmtiger, was built.

External Links

• AFV Datavase (http://afvdb.50megs.com/germany/pz6.html)
• Account of the restoration of Tiger 131 by the Bovington Tank Museum (http://www.tiger-tank.com)
• The Armor Site (http://www.fprado.com/armorsite/tiger1.htm), Tiger Battalions (http://www.fprado.com/armorsite/tigers.htm)
• Article, "New German Heavy Tank" from U.S. Intelligence Bulletin, June 1943 (http://www.lonesentry.com/tigerheavytank/)
• Tiger1.info: technical details (http://Tiger1.info/)