Tank # 2: Fear the Big German Cat (Tiger I)

Ok , I know that it is obvious that a WWII tank buff must review the Tiger I sometime during their life. So here it is, the second tank I am reviewing is the Tiger I German Heavy Tank.


Those of you who knows your stuff about the Tiger should know that there are two versions of the Tiger: the Tiger Ausf A and the Ausf B which are the I and II respectively. We ll look at the Tiger II or KonigsTiger (King Tiger) in another post. This post is mainly about the boxy and sexy Tiger I which is no doubt the iconic German tank of the Second World War.

It is unfortunate that the Germans made only 1355 of these delicate machines (and by delicate I mean seriously delicate, the smallest errors on a Tiger I can cripple the entire machine) throughout its production period from late 1942 to mid 1944. Tiger Is would have had crucial influences to the swing of the tide of war but due to the lack of materials and the constant Allied aerial bombing of German industries they were restrict in their production numbers.

Tiger I (possibly a mid production model due to the improved cupola)

still taken from a German propaganda film on war industries. Here the first Tiger Is roll out of the factory with the Tiger I in the foreground adopting the standard sandy brown base paint. 

Tiger I fording a river (location unknown)

DEVELOPMENT

The Tiger I was officially known as the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf A. It was the result of experiences of the Wehrmacht's Panzer arm in both the invasion of France in 1940 and the subsequent invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. At the time of the invasion of France, Germany possessed no heavy tanks of any sort. The toughest machine that was available was the Panzer IV with the low velocity 75mm gun which only excelled in an anti-infantry role. Once the French brought up the tough yet slow Char B1-bis and the BEF employed their heavy Matilda II infantry tank, the Germans were at a loss about how to defeat these machines. The German 37mm anti-tank guns and 75mm guns of the Panzer IVs simply bounced off without any damage done. The only effective means of disposing such heavily armoured tanks were to use the Flak 88s and heavy artillery with the aid of an open sight.

Once German panzers shifted to the Eastern Front, it was more obvious that the German Panzer arm simply lacked an effective heavy class tank to combat the thick skinned KV-1 and KV-2 Soviet heavy tanks. Thus immediately following the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Adolf Hitler ordered designs of a 45 tonne tank be submitted for production. Both Henschel and Porsche Ferdinand submitted blueprints. The two designs would be titled VK4501 (H) and (P) respectively- the letters simply stood for which company the design belonged to. Both designs were well over the 45 tonnes limit. The Henschel version weighed in at 59.5 tonnes and the Porsche version at 60.9 tonnes.

The turret on both Tigers would be of a single kind: the iconic horse shoe U-shaped cast turret designed and produced by Krupp. The Henschel Tiger placed the turret right in the middle of the hull where as the Porsche Tiger had a front mounted turret.

remains of a Porsche Tiger prototype

note the frontal mounted Krupp turret

All characteristics of the two Tigers would be similar apart from the transmission. They would all use the same gun: the KwK 36 L/56 88mm gun that was adapted for tank use from the excellent Flak 88. The transmission was where the two Tiger designs differed. The Henschel Tiger used the traditional hydraulic transmission. The Porsche Tiger, however, embodied a brand new electric transmission. And this electric transmission is where the Porsche Tiger lost the race. It was simply too advanced for the time and too complicated to construct and maintain, not to mention the shortage of the required materials. During tests on army proving grounds, the two Tigers differed from each other when the Porsche Tiger broke down more frequently than the Henschel counterpart.

The final approval from Adolf Hitler was given to the Henschel model. Production began in August 1942 and ended in mid 1944 when the Tiger II and JagdTigers were being put into production.

The Tiger I saw three different production models. The early Tigers could be identified by its drum like commander's cupola. The mid production model had an improved cupola as well as the application of Zimmereit paste to prevent the attachment of enemy magnetic mines to the hull. The final production variant abandoned the Zimmereit paste and was more similar to the initial variant.

The Tiger I would also be adapted into the BergeTiger tank recovery vehicle by removing the turret and replacing it with a crane system.


OPERATION

Tiger Is were first deployed on the Eastern Front against Soviet armour in the Leningrad sector in 1942. Four Tiger Is were sent in without proper testing and preparation for the Russian winter. Three were knocked out by Soviet anti-tank guns and tank hunting squads and one had suffered mechanical breakdowns and was recovered.

The first Western Allies' engagement with Tiger Is were in Tunisia in 1943. There the Schwere Panzerabteilung 501st fielded Tiger Is in a desperate attempt to hold back the advancing Allied columns heading towards Tunis. Perhaps the most famous Tiger I from that engagement was Tiger 131 of the 501st. It was engaged by Churchills and M4 Shermans. One round from the Churchill's Six-pounder gun managed to lodge itself beneath the turret ring at the front, thus jamming the turret. As a result the crew abandoned the tank without destroying it. It was captured by the Allies and taken back to Britain for evaluations. It is currently held at the Bovington tank museum and restored to full running order.

Tiger Is were perhaps more well known for their actions during the D-Day invasion and the Allies subsequent breakout from the beachheads. One perfect example of its success was the operation at Viller-Bocage on the 13th of June under the command of the well known German tank ace Michael Wittmann. Wittmann received orders that he and his Schwere Panzerabteilung 101 were to take Viller-Bocage and to block the advancing armor column of the British 7th Armoured Division (the Desert Rats). He wreaked havoc on the outskirts of the town as well as within it. His success and the Tiger Is' success could be evidenced by the lines of burning half tracks, Stuart light tanks and Cromwell medium tanks. Wittmann himself escaped with his crew when his Tiger I was tracked by a British 6 pounder anti-tank gun.


FINAL THOUGHTS

The Tiger I, during its brief combat period, achieved the reputations of a fearsome war machine as well as a long range sniper. Combined with its phenomenal gun, good crew skills and the general superiority of German panzer tactics, the Tiger I dominated the battlefield. But sadly it was simply brushed aside when Allied superiority in tank quantity rather than quality took their toll on the Tiger Is.