German Tanks: Tiger

The Tiger's origins go back as far as 1938 when development began on a Heavy tank program as a successor to the Panzer IV. The effort by Henschel produced prototype VK3601 a design that would eventually form the basis of the Tiger. The other prototype was known only as DW1. Both programmes however did not go far as the Army were already satisfied with the performance of the Panzer IV during the early Polish campaign. The invasion of France & the subsequent meeting with the Allied Matilda & Char 1B tanks soon changed Army thinking & the Henschel prototype was once again started. By 1941 after the German encounters with the Soviet T-34's & KV1's the program was given priority as the Soviet vehicles outclassed any Panzers the Germans had on the field at that time. This also prompted work on a medium tank that would become the Panther (PzKpfw V) as well as the Heavy tank program. Hitler decided that the new heavy tank should be capable of carrying the version of the deadly 88mm Flak gun which had proved itself a magnificent tank killing weapon. The initial concepts were given to both Henschel who were still working on the VK3601 design (they already had a design incorporating the Tiger chassis with what would become the Panthers turret & 75 high velocity gun mounted on top) & Porsche (who also used the Tiger chassis developed by Henschel).
Henschel re-designed the turret layout & specifications to incorporate a tapered version 8.8cm gun. Porsche brought their turret forward & mounted the same gun after solving the specification problems The designs were designated VK4501(H) Henschel & VK4501(P) Porsche. By Hitlers birthday on the 23rd April 1942 both prototypes were presented & tested in the presence of the Fuhrer, at the testing grounds of Rastenburg in East Prussia. Both vehicles performed well however the Henschel design was marginally better & the contract for 1500 tanks was given to the Kassel based firm. Porsche were given an order for 90 vehicles which was later cancelled after Henschel announced no construction problems. This was after the tanks weight was upped to accomodate the thicker armour the Army had requested. The 90 Porsche chassis were eventually turned into Elefant/Ferdinand Panzerjagers rather than waste them.

Production of the newly designated Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf E Tiger I (SdKfz 181) began in August 1942 at the same time the Tiger made it's first operational debut in Russia after the newly formed 1st Company 502nd Schwere Panzer Abeitlungen was rushed to the front on the 29th of the month at Mga near Leningrad. This was on the strict orders of Hitler who demanded they along with their Panzer IIIN escort be sent straight into battle. This went against the wishes of the German commanders who wanted the Tigers to be extensively tested & kept as a devastating surprise for the Soviets in the next Summer offensive. Hitler had mistakingly sent them into battle in terrain for which they were totally unsuitable & all were eventually disabled after the Soviet A/T gunners found that their rounds could not penetrate the 4 inch thick frontal armour aimed at the tracks instead. Hitler had thrown away the element of surprise & physchological impact the new weapon could have had. In December 1942 the German Army rushed the 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion into action in Southern Russia where a successful Soviet counter attack had surrounded General Paulus' 6th Army at the town of Stalingrad. Hitler was so desperate to save the situation the Battalion was only at half strength when it arrived yet the battalion still had a powerful influence on the field.
The Tigers built up a formidable record in Russia during 1943 & 44 when it regularly stemmed Soviet advances destroying huge amounts of Armour wherever it went. By mid 1944 however it was becoming outclassed by the newer JS-1 & II Soviet heavy tanks with there 122mm gun. The Tiger I first encountered this new challenge at Targul Frumous in Romania in May 1944 where the Tiger crews were dismayed to see that there rounds could only penetrate the Js II's armour at ranges under 1800m (5905ft) & could only penetrate their frontal armour at the short range of 500m (1640ft) where as the Js II could penetrate the Tigers armour at up to 2000m (6561ft) . This now became a duel of experience & ambush, with the Tiger crews having a slight advantage.

The western Allies first met the Tiger I in Tunisia in December 1942. This new Panzer came as quite an unpleasant shock to the Allied tank crews who watched in sheer horror as their rounds bounced off the Tigers armour at distances less than 1000m. What was also quite frightening was the way the Allied tanks blew apart after thinking the Tiger was well out of effective range. The psychological impact German High command had always wished for had now been acheived & the effects of these early encounters would stay with Allied tank crews until the end of the war.
On the 1st February 1943 during the Axis thrust along the Robaa-Pont du Fahs road the British eventually captured the first intact Tiger tank which presented them with valuable intelligence on how to destroy this new monster. The tiger was captured after a short battle when a small battle group led by two Mark I's ran into British defences. The tiger received 10 hits from 6 pounder guns but only two acheived penetration & that was through the side armour. After extensive testing the subsequent results did not make good reading for front line troops. It was found that the 6 pounder the most numerous A/T in the British armour could not penetrate the frontal armour unless at point blank range, however the newer 17 pounder did stand a better chance. It was also discovered that the Tiger was an excellent gun platform with the test gunners scoring hits quite freely. The only point of hope for the testers was that like most Panzers once the Tigers armour was breached the tank would burn fiercely due the ignition of fuel & ammunition.
The standard tactic employed by the Germans was to deploy Tigers in the rear centre of an armoured wedge to give support to the lighter & faster Panzer III & IV's. The Tigers weight provided problems due to the desert terrain & extensive reconnaissance was required prior to movement. This coupled with the huge fuel consumption of the Maybach engine severely handicapped the Tigers tactical ability.
The Tigers retreated to Italy in early 1944. Unlike the vast open spaces of the desert, Italy showed the tiger's weakness created by it's size, bulk & weight as shown by the costly engagement between 16 Tigers from the 3rd company, 506th SwPz Abt. & Allied forces near Cori.
Mechanical failure also became a problem as shown by the attempted crossing of 3 Tigers over a railway line where 2 developed track problems & the other's gearbox failed. The long barrel also proved to be a problem when coming over a mound when embarrassingly for the crew the gun became wedged in the ground. Despite these shortcomings the Tigers still managed a heavy toll on enemy armour on its slow retreat north.

It was in Normandy that the Tiger became famous after the action of the single Tiger commanded by Michael Wittman at Villers-Bocage, when after destroying an entire column of 50 tanks, carriers & half tracks hammered home the awesome power the Tiger bestowed. It became a standard statement by British Tank crews that "if you see a Tiger send five Shermans (M-4's) to meet it and expect to lose four!" So terrified of the Panzer VI that it's effect was nicknamed "Tiger-phobia" & due to this General Montgomery banned all reports on actions that showed it's prowess deeming them "prejudice to morale" This was shown when a Brish soldier remarked that he had seen a Tiger fire for a whole hour unharmed as no British tank was prepared to engage it. Never in tank history has a vehicle held such a psychological advantage over its enemy.
The Tiger crews enjoyed great success in Normandy & France as a static defensive vehicle, a role it was forced to perform due to Allied air superiority. It makes you wonder on the outcome of the landings had the Allied aircraft not had such freedom & the Tigers were given the ability to hunt in packs for which they were designed. The static defense also took away mechanical unreliability from the tanks & conserving valuable fuel without taking away the advantage in firepower.
However the Tigers could not withstand the devastaing aerial & naval firepower the Allies could reign down. So great was the force of the bombardments the Allies used that it even managed to toss a 56 ton Tiger into the air & make it land turret down. By the beginning of August 1944 the German lines in Normandy were crumbling however on the 8th as Allied forces creeped towards Vire a Tiger I commanded by SS-Unterscharfuhrer Willi Fey destroyed 14 out of a column of 15 Shermans & knocking out a 15th with his last 2 rounds before becoming disabled by an A/T round & being towed back to his lines. That same day other tigers of the 1st company destroyed a further 9 tanks. However despite all these actions they could not prevent the disaster that befell the Tigers at Falaise. Despite losing all its Tigers the 102nd SS-SPz Abt " DAS Reich claimed to have knocked out 227 tanks in 6 weeks & the 101st LSSAH claimed over 200 including Wittmans tally at Villers-Bocage. However not many Tiger I's crossed the Seine after Falaise

By the end of March 1945 as the Allied & Russian forces plunged deep into the heart of the Reich Tiger I's had become a rare vehicle, fighting a last gasp effort to avoid total defeat The 500th training unit at Paderborn was in command of the largest total of Tiger I's in any unit (most losses had been replaced with Tiger II's after production of the mark I ceased in August 1944). By closing & mobilising the school instructors & raw recruits found themselves pitched into battle together commanding the remaining 7 Tiger I's. They were sent to stop two massive Allied pincers & after destroying a good number of tanks their threat was eventually eliminated by a mixture of air power, mechanical failure & overwhelming numbers of attackers. In the East however the Tiger still performed with the legacy it had acheived taking huge tolls of Soviet armour as they threatened the heart of Germany.
In the last two weeks of the war the remaining Tiger I's defended Berlin eventually going down fighting along with the rest of the 3rd Reich