![]() L/70 and used this knowledge to work on a design mounting the 8.8 cm Kw.K. In April 1942, this firm had already been working on the VK45.01(H) armed with the 8.8 cm Kw.K. ![]() Source: Jentz and Doyleīy November 1942, a third firm had entered the production arena for the new heavy tank, Henschel und Söhne. The Porsche-designed Typ-180 of October 1941-November 1942. That, it was felt, was sufficient to provide good protection against both enemy anti-tank and tank-mounted guns, which, combined with decent mobility and the 8.8 cm gun, was to provide a heavy tank for the German army. The plan had been for a tank with sloping (55 deg.) armor 80 mm thick across the glacis, and the same thickness across the sides and rear. Production problems, specifically with the Porsche-designed engines and suspension meant that the project was canceled in November 1942 with no production taking place. 6 (Waffen Prüfungsamt – Weapon Testing Office Number 6, with responsibility for tank design) was VK45.02(P2) when production orders were placed in February 1942. This was known to Porsche as the ‘Panzerwagen-Project ‘Tiger’ (and later as Typ 101, Typ 180, and Typ 181). L/71 gun into the turret of a tank was a joint project carried out by the firms of Fried. The first attempt at sticking an 8.8 cm Kw.K. ![]() The two firms of Porsche and Henschel were given this crucial task. Improved firepower was to come in the form of a longer 8.8 cm gun capable of reaching the much higher muzzle velocities needed to penetrate thicker and better Soviet armor. Better protection would be delivered by a combination of thicker armor than the Tiger I and sloping the armor. The Tiger II, therefore, was not the product of a rush like the Tiger I, but a concerted effort to design a bigger and better tank capable of meeting the needs of the German Army in the short- to medium-term future. This new heavy tank had to have improved armor over the Tiger I, be proof against Soviet advances in anti-tank firepower and also retain superiority in firepower over existing and future Soviet vehicles. ![]() It, therefore, served as a stop-gap for German industry to develop a purpose-built heavy tank with improved features. The Tiger I was, in effect, a rushed job, bringing together parts from other programs in order to deliver a functional heavy tank with an 8.8 cm gun (L/56). A wooden mockup of the Tiger II showing a Krupp Serienturm production style turret with stereoscopic gun sights Source: Herbert Ackermans/German Archives Origins The Tiger II simply failed to deliver on the promise of a heavy breakthrough tank and never overcame its technical shortcomings, yet it retains the ability to capture the imagination of enthusiasts, modelers, and historians alike. These occasions, were, however, few and far between as units often could not get into position for lack of spares or fuel and, when crippled, often could not be recovered. When the Tiger II found the enemy and was operational for combat it provided good service for the German Army and proved to be a formidable opponent head-on with a combination of excellent gun and heavy armor. However, in reality, the tank proved to be a burden on the overstretched German armaments production system and on the military logistics required to support it, with more Tiger II’s destroyed by their own crews than by the Allies. Developed as a replacement for the Tiger I, its role was to be the heavy tank capable of breaking through an enemy line and smashing their defenses and tanks in the process. The Tiger II, often referred to as the King Tiger or even Bengal Tiger (Königstiger) was the largest and heaviest operational tank fielded by the German Army in WW2.
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