With the Soviets having a better tank and better equipment to survive in the harsh winters. Hitler needed a new tank. Something that would strike fear into his enemies and be powerful enough to destroy T-34s. Hitler asked a famous car designer Porsche to design his super tank.
Interesting fact: Hitler thought Porsche was an absolute genius. Porsche had made the German Volkswagen Beetle a simple man car. Hitler was asking him to build a machine that would kill the simple man. The clock was ticking for Porsche and Germany. If Porsche couldn't think of a tank strong enough to face the T-34 his fuhere would have his head. The Panzer IV only weighed 28-30 tons. Hitler wanted a tank twice the weight. Porsche would go on to the idea of building the Panzer VI Tiger tank. There was one problem though. Another German engineer giant was taking a crack at building the Tiger tank, Henshel. Porsche design: In 1941 Porsche would go to design and build the Tiger P. The Tiger P would have an elongated box chassis with two layers of metal in the front. This would lead to a frontal armor thickness of 120mm and 80-60mm on the side. Porsche new this tank would be a gas guzzler so he tried to find a better alternative. He proposed an electrical engine to power the Tiger tank. An electrical engine was unheard of around that time and it was thought to be impossible. Porsche would use this tank to test out his new engine. By March 1941 the Tiger P was completed. It was equipped with the 8.8cm Kwk L/56 main gun. Porsche was so confident in his tank he had built 100 chassis. Interesting fact: The 8.8cm KwK L/56 gun was actally used to shoot down aircraft at long ranges. Henshel design: While Porsche tried to figure out how his electrical engine would work for his Tiger. Henshel was thinking of something different. Henshel would keep the idea of the main turret being box shaped but change the chassis. The chassis would be shorter but wider. The tank was also gonna have less armor in the front but it would have more room for the crew. The Henshel Tiger was gonna use the latest engine. The Maybach HL 210 giving this tank a 650hp engine. The Tiger H had four fuel tanks in the back which served a problem but, Henshel believed no tank could get behind his monster. The overall armor for this beast was 100mm in the front and 80mm on the side. Around this time no tank could punch through that armor. It was still equipped with the 8.8cm KwK L/56 main gun. The turret could not go 360degrees but as long as it could shoot the enemies Henshel didn't care. Verdict of both designs: On Hitler's birthday both Tigers were demonstrated. The Tiger H performed very well on the track course and on the pretend battle field. The Tiger P on the other hand didn't accomplish anything. At that point it was obvious which tank was better. Hitler gave the contract to Henshel and so the Panzer VI Tiger H Ausf E. was born. Interesting fact: Porsche's 100 chassis were used to build the Jagdtiger. So the Tiger P did see combat but as the Jagdtiger. It still had the same problems breaking down due to engine failure. |
Blitzkreig was a success. The tactic of using tanks, fighters, and ground troops won Germany a quick victory in Europe. All of Europe was under Hitler's controls the only ones standing in his way was the Soviet Union. Hitler saw the Soviets as lesser people. He believed his Blitzkreig tactic could easily put the Soviets into submission just like Poland, France and the rest of Europe. Around the 1940's to early 1941 their was no tank on the battlefield that could go toe to toe with the Panzer IV. The Germans would get a rude awakening in the fall of 1941 when they invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviet's had a better tank the T-34. The T-34 surpassed the Panzer IV in every way. Not only did it have a better gun 76mm to 55mm gun but, it also had more armor 60mm. The biggest advantage that the T-34 had was sloped armor. Sloped armor was a new idea at the time and it proved very effective. Slope armor increased the thickness of the armor without adding more metal. This meant the T-34 could be really light and still have the same one to punch as the Panzer IV. Also the T-34 could travel through mud and snow much easier then the Panzer IV. A tank lighter faster and could be mass produced their was no way the Germany's older tanks would do the job against the Soviets.
Interesting fact: 84,074 T-34s were supposedly build by the end of the war Interesting fact: Th Tiger P was actually better armored then the Tiger H design
Interesting fact: The Tiger H for some reason did not have sloped armor for a long time until the Tiger II
|
By fall 1942 the Tigers would see their first battles against the T-34s. How did the Tiger perform? Not very well. When the Tiger was encountered by the Soviets they were some what impressed. The Tiger killed anything on the battlefield. Nothing could penetrate it's armor and it punched massive holes in the Soviet lines. So how come it says it didn't go well? Even though the Tiger killed many T-34 it failed in every other category. the Tiger required heavy maintenance so if the Tiger got damaged it wouldn't be back for awhile. Plus the Tiger didn't move as fast as the T-34 which was a problem since fast moving targets could easily out run the Tiger if needed. Another problem was the engine. The Tiger would break down constantly from engine failure.
Interesting fact: If the Tiger broke down the crew was suppose to destroy it. Records show more Tigers were destroyed by their own crews then enemy tanks.
Since the Tiger was gonna battle in Soviet mud and snow shouldn't that mean it was designed to work well in those conditions? Wrong! the Tiger would sink into the mud and snow controlled by Soviet territory. Seeing these problems Hitler wanted these to be fixed. By February 1943 these problems were fixed and their was no tank that could be compared to the Tiger. With a tank like this how could Germany lose? The answer was very simple.
Interesting fact: If the Tiger broke down the crew was suppose to destroy it. Records show more Tigers were destroyed by their own crews then enemy tanks.
Since the Tiger was gonna battle in Soviet mud and snow shouldn't that mean it was designed to work well in those conditions? Wrong! the Tiger would sink into the mud and snow controlled by Soviet territory. Seeing these problems Hitler wanted these to be fixed. By February 1943 these problems were fixed and their was no tank that could be compared to the Tiger. With a tank like this how could Germany lose? The answer was very simple.
Battle of Kursk
By 1943 the Soviets and Hitler were trying to find a way to change the tides. Both sides had suffer many losses and both were stretching their resources. Hitler had to find a way to push the Soviets back. Operation Kursk was being put into motion. Hitler wanted to invade the city of Kursk for one reason. To attack the largest concentration of Soviet forces head on. If he could accomplish that the Soviet army would be crippled. Hitler wanted to attack Kursk as quickly as possible but he delayed the attack by two months believing he didn't have enough Tigers. On July 5th the Battle of Kursk began. At first it went well for Hitler the Tigers proved to be very effective and they pushed the Soviet back by 15-30m but Soviet T-34s kept coming.
Interesting fact: Supposedly T-34s were sent into battle right after they were completed in the factory. Meaning T-34s immediately saw battle when they came out of the factory.
The Battle of Kursk was a fail. That would be the last time the German's push forward on the Eastern front. It would be the last time the German's push forward ever again.
Interesting fact: Supposedly T-34s were sent into battle right after they were completed in the factory. Meaning T-34s immediately saw battle when they came out of the factory.
The Battle of Kursk was a fail. That would be the last time the German's push forward on the Eastern front. It would be the last time the German's push forward ever again.
|
Tiger Drivers
On April 22nd 1914 a famous tank driver was born. Michael Wittmann was the son of a local farmer. Michael would serve in many parts of the German army from 1934-1944. In October 1939 Michael joined the 5th Panzer army. He would drive the Sturmgeschutz Ausf A. In the late 1940s Michael would start off his career. For a long time he would be renounced as the best tank driver. He would participate in operation Barbarossa and be one of the first drivers of the Tiger. It is said Michael absolutely adored the Tiger and for good reason. By the end of his career he destroyed 138 tanks. He was awarded the Knights Cross which was one of the highest awards in Germany. Although Michael was the best tank commander and driver he would soon fall to the gun. On August 8th 1944 Michael Witmann and his crew would be killed by an American Firefly tank destroyer. |
By the end of the war the Tiger was used as a defense bunker. The Tiger was big, it was powerful, it was probably the greatest tank in it's era. Even the greatest of things must come to an end. Hitler favored technological improvement and bigger designs. He didn't chose ideas that were suited for the battlefield. The Tiger will be remembered as Hitler's greatest achievement and failure.