Eisenhower walks by an overturned Tiger II. Both prototype series used the same turret design from Krupp the main differences were in the hull, transmission, suspension and automotive features. Another design contract followed in 1939, and was given to Porsche. Development ĭevelopment of a heavy tank design had been initiated in 1937 the initial design contract was awarded to Henschel. It was first used in combat by 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion during the Allied invasion of Normandy on 11 July 1944 on the Eastern Front, the first unit to be outfitted with the Tiger II was the 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion, which by 1 September 1944 listed 25 Tiger IIs operational. The Tiger II was issued to heavy tank battalions of the Army and the Waffen-SS. The chassis was also the basis for the Jagdtiger turretless Jagdpanzer anti-tank vehicle. It was armed with the long barrelled 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 anti-tank cannon. The tank weighed almost 70 tonnes, and was protected by 100 to 185 mm (3.9 to 7.3 in) of armour to the front. The Tiger II was the successor to the Tiger I, combining the latter's thick armour with the armour sloping used on the Panther medium tank. Contemporaneous Allied soldiers usually called it the King Tiger or Royal Tiger. It was also known informally as the Königstiger ( German for Bengal tiger and also, literally, "King Tiger"). The ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. The Tiger II is a German heavy tank of the Second World War. Technical data: length (with a barrel): 8.45m, width: 3.7m, height: 2.93m, engine power: 700KM, weight: 56.9 t, range (on the road): 100km, maximum speed (on the road) ): 38 km / h, armament: 1 88 mm KwK 36 L / 56 gun, 3 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns.Cross country: 15 to 20 km/h (9.3 to 12.4 mph) He successfully fought in Tunisia, the Kursk Arch, Normandy and on the Eastern Front. Despite these drawbacks, the Tiger on the battlefields proved to be a very effective weapon. In the later period of the war, the quality of the Tiger's armor also deteriorated, which resulted from the lack of access to the molybdenum deposits by the German economy. On the other hand, the Pz.Kpfw VI had some disadvantages - first of all, it was extremely time-consuming to produce and had a very complicated suspension. He could also easily fight the IS-2 or M-26, surpassing them with the effectiveness of the main armament. It was a vehicle much better than the Allied M4 or Churchill and the Soviet T-34/76. The Pz.Kpfw VI tank, although it did not have such a contoured front hull as the T-34 or Pantera, was a heavily armored vehicle (frontal armor up to 120mm), armed with a very effective KwK 36 L / 56 88mm gun, which earned the reputation of being the most effective tank of the Second World War. The drive was provided by a Maybach HL230 P45 12-cylinder carburetor engine with a capacity of 700 HP. In the course of production, in the years 1942-1945, the tank was systematically modified by, for example, adding Feifell dust filters, different placement of headlights, modernization of optical equipment, changes to the commander's turret, etc. The first production versions were designated Pz.Kpfw VI Ausf.H1 (later Ausf.E). On April 20, 1942, the prototype of the new tank, under the designation VK 4501 (H), underwent field trials in the presence of Adolf Hitler and was put into mass production shortly after. In 19 they were conducted ineffectively, but after the clash with the T-34 and KW-1 on the eastern front, work on the new heavy tank sped up. The command of the German Panzerwaffe had the idea of creating a heavy tank from the beginning of the war, but the first attempts in the form of the centuries-old Neubaufahrzeuge tank turned out to be unsuccessful. The Pz.Kpfw VI (Sd.Kfz.181) Tiger is a German heavy tank from World War II, one of the most famous combat vehicles of that time.
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