![]() ![]() The need to outclass these tanks was urgent, so several areas of development and testing had to be rushed or simply ignored. No discussion of the Tiger can ignore these steps, as they are fundamental to understanding why the Tiger turned out the way it did.Īlthough development of a heavy tank can be traced back to 1937, the Tiger itself is a product of the sudden encounter with the Soviet KV-1 and T-34 tanks after the invasion of the Soviet Union. There were several key steps in the development of this vehicle which have to be considered, as they determined the utility of the tank, the armament and, ultimately, the way it looked. Adapted by author from Jentz and Doyle Development and Design The design from then was clearly identified as the Pz.Kpfw.VI or Tiger with “Tiger I” first used on 15th October 1942, followed by “Pz.Kpfw.VI H Ausf.H1 (Tiger H1) on 1st December 1942” and then “Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf.E” in March 1943.Įvolution of Tiger tank development. 6 ( Waffen Prüfungsamt – Weapon Testing Office Number 6 with responsibility for tank design), which first used the name in February 1942, calling the project “Pz.Kpfw.VI (VK45.01/H) Ausf.H1 (Tiger)”. The name ‘Tiger’ itself can is no less complex. Just like other German tank projects, the development is very complex, overlapping with dozens of other projects and has been the subject of a large number of books and movies. ![]() of Essen from the 45-tonne tank project from Dr.ing.h.c.F. of Kassel along with the turret and gun design from Fried Krupp A.G. series from the firm of Henschel and Sohn, G.m.b.H. The vehicle combined elements resulting from the development of other heavy tanks in the 30 and 36-tonne class in the D.W. The Tiger, though, was not intended as a match for those tanks, but to be superior to them. The vehicle itself was created as a relatively hasty development spurred by the shock of encountering the Soviet heavy tank KV-1 and medium tank T-34 following Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union) in 1941. The Tiger I, or ‘ Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausführung E’ (Pz.Kpfw.Tiger Ausf.E), was born in May 1942, but its conception and development can be traced directly back to 19 with work on a 30-33 tonne tank by the firm of Henschel und Sohn in Kassel. The White shield on the front left corner identifies this vehicle as ‘131’ which had been captured in Tunisia and brought back to the UK for extensive examination. The Tiger as described in a British School of Tank Technology (STT) Report 1944. Yet, despite its flaws and problems, the tank remains a potent symbol of WW2 and, for many, it is the tank which served as their introduction to the world of armored fighting vehicles. It is a tank with many flaws and one whose mystique, even back in WW2, was out of all proportion to its utility and service as a combat vehicle. It is the one tank most people can name, even if they have little or no real interest in tanks.įrom the early days of combat against this tank in WW2 until the present day, the fame of the Tiger spans, in equal amounts, its real development history, combat performance, and fandom. Nothing epitomises armored conflict to the general public like its massive structure on the battlefield. There is no other tank in AFV history which has captured the popular imagination more than the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Sd.Kfz.181 of WW2. Heavy Breakthrough Tank – 1,350 Built (1,376 Ordered) ![]()
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