The Panzer VI Tiger II, also incorrectly known as the King Tiger was a heavy tank that was used by Germany during World War II.
Combining the powerful gun and very heavy armor of the Tiger with the sloping armor of the Panther medium tank, it was literally the most feared tank during the war. But, it's very low in production ratings and difficulty to maintain in combat meant that it was not a very reliable machine to operate. Nevertheless, it continuously saw action until the end of the war. Kurt Knipsel, the highest top scoring tank ace, commanded this tank before his death shortly before the end of the war.
Description[]
The Tiger II had a Maybach HL 230 P30 engine that was capable of propelling the vehicle at a top speed of up to 38 kilometers per hour. However, the Tiger II's fuel consumption was very demanding and as such, most vehicles were abandoned whenever they ran out of fuel, which did not take long on the frontlines. This limited the operational range to about 110 kilometers.[2] The first fifty examples of Tiger II were fitted with Krupp-designed "Porsche" turrets, so-called because they were designed to be used on Porsche's VK 4502(P) Heavy Tank prototype. The differences between these and the later Krupp-designed "Henschel" turrets were largely in appearance. For example, the Porsche turrets were far more rounded, though this meant they were harder to produce and could form the dreaded "shot trap" between the gun mantlet and the roof of the tank.[3]
The total weight of the Tiger II was about 69,700 kilograms while its total length was about 10.2 meters. Fitted as its main armament, the King Tiger used the largest gun fielded on a German tank during the war, the 88 mm KwK 43. The penetration value of the standard armor piercing round was about 182 mm worth of armor plating at 500 meters. For defense against infantry, the Tiger II fielded two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns, though an optional anti-aircraft mount could also be added. The five man crew was enclosed in as much as 150 mm armor angled at 50˚ placed in the upper glacis plate. The turret front meanwhile had 180 mm worth of armor plating and 80 mm of armor angled at 21˚ in the turret sides.
References[]
- ↑ Higgins, R. David. King Tiger vs IS-2: Operation Solstice 1945. Osprey Publishing (2011), Page 14
- ↑ http://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=247
- ↑ http://www.wwiivehicles.com/germany/vehicle/heavy-tank/pzkpfw-vi-b-heavy-tank.asp
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