Panzerkampfwagen Tiger: Germany's White Elephant

8/10/2019 Panzerkampfwagen Tiger: Germany's White Elephant

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Panzerkampfwagen Tiger: Germany's White Elephant


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Panzerkampfwagen Tiger: Germany's White Elephant

In popular history, there is perhaps no WWII era tank as lauded as the Tiger. The Military

Channel calls it the most feared tank of its time and claims that the mere whisper of its name would

inspire panic and terror1. ther, more specific traits such as imper!ious to attack, top marks for

firepower, and engineering masterpiece create a picture that is parroted in many mo!ies, articles,

and !ideo games. "owe!er, e!en a cursory e#amination of archi!e material re!eals a completely

different picture. The Tiger tank was difficult to produce, difficult to maintain, and ultimately

contri$uted more to the Wehrmacht%s defeats than its !ictories. The picture of the tank commonly seen

in popular media today is a com$ination of hearsay from &llied trenches and 'erman wartime

propaganda.

In order to $e an effecti!e war machine, a tank must successfully $alance se!eral characteristics.

The most o$!ious are tactical characteristics( armour and firepower. "owe!er, a tank must not only $e

protected from its ad!ersaries and $e a$le to destroy them, $ut must also $e a$le to get to the

$attlefield. This is where mo$ility comes into play. The tactical mo$ility of a tank must $e enough to

ensure that the tank can around in $attle. )trategic mo$ility must $e enough for the tank to get to *and

away from+ the $attlefield. inally, operational mo$ility and production capa$ility are key, as a tank

that snarls at its ad!ersaries from a factory garage or an engineer%s $lueprint does not do much to win a

war. -espite the assertions of many, the Tiger tank did rather poorly in most of these categories, and

e#celled at none. et us e#amine them in greater detail

&rmour comes first. Imper!ious to attack, the Military Channel says. /o anti0tank gun could

touch it. "igh praise, $ut, ultimately, false. & look at hull schematics tells you that the armour at the

front of the hull and the turret is 1 mm thick. The armour on the upper sides and rear is 23 mm thick.

1 Military Channel, Top Ten Tanks 45( Tiger, https(66www.youtu$e.com6watch7!89oyW25fd:i; , accessed &pril 5rd,

31;

3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoyW83fdJi4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoyW83fdJi4


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The lower hull armour, $ehind the wheels, is ?0

1) and M; )herman tank, e!en earlier designs such as the T05; and M5 ee tank, or e!en a$solutely

ancient designs such as the CM 5< tank, the armour is not sloped in any meaningful way. The reason

for this is found in the tank%s design history.

The roots of the Tiger%s design, a 1@;3 model tank, lie as far $ack as 1@5A. & !ehicle designated

-urch$ruchwagen *literally Break0through !ehicle+ was designed $y "enschel and >rupp

companies. The hull of this !ehicle, like many of the era, resem$led a rather primiti!e looking $o# with

tracks. The front of the hull was reminiscent of the ?ickers 5.1 *1st !ehicle, 50ton class+ grew into the ?> 5


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mm 05; gun and towed D< mm Hi)05 gun at 1 meters was only DA mm, the penetration of an M;

)herman%s DA mm gun was


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"ow7 The answer is simple( millimeters do not always e9ual protection. "a!ing no e#perience

producing armour thicker than A millimeters, 'erman factories could not handle armoured steel that

was 1 mm thick. & metallurgical analysis $y British engineers re!ealed that the armour was much

softer than pre!iously seen, and not surface hardened

2

. E!en this kind of armour fared poorly in

'erman hands. & )o!iet study of a captured Tiger states( The armour is of medium hardness... as a

result of hits $y AD, 2A, and 133 mm &G shells, cracking and fragmentation occurs. The report is not

too kind when it comes to the welding Lo$, either( The welding seams are !ery fragile. When the hull

is hit with armour piercing shells, the welding seams are destroyed. &n armour piercing shell that

struck the hull of a Tiger tank may not actually penetrate its armour, $ut the hull would crack from the

impact, and shards of armour and welding seams would fly off from the inside, destroying components

of the !ehicle and killing the crew@. Without a single penetrating hit, a Tiger tank could cease to $e a

functional com$at unit. &nother e#ample of this is co!ered in )chneider%s Tigers in Normandy, where a

Tiger tank was set a$lae $y the sparks generated when a shell fired from a )herman tank hit an

o$ser!ation port1.

'erman instructions agree with these findings. The Tigerfi$el *Tiger manual+ contains a num$er

of attachments with tactical diagrams of how close a tank would ha!e to $e $efore it could penetrate the

Tiger. The T05;%s page does not fa!our the Tiger%s armour 9uality. It is listed as $eing a$le to destroy the

Tiger from A meters from the front and 1 meters from the side, a feat impossi$le on paper.

2 Central &rchi!es of the Ministry of -efense of the Fussian ederation, fond 52, opis 115AA, delo 3D;, page 5@ Central &rchi!es of the Ministry of -efense of the Fussian ederation, fond 52, opis 115DD, delo 13, page A2

1 W. )chneider, Tigers in /ormandy *Mechanics$urg( )tackpole Books, 311+, A3A J/ote( due to an electronic copy

$eing used, the page num$er refers to a position in the &maon >indle !ersion of the $ook, instead of an actual page

num$erK

A


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Figure 1: Excerpt from Tigerfibel, showing

ranges at which a T-3 can destroy a Tiger!

"#ri$ate collection%

&dditionally, the Military Channel%s assertion that no gun of the era could penetrate the tank is

a$surd. The )o!iet AD mm Hi)03 anti0tank gun, British


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former.

Figure &: 'n (in$incible) Tiger tan* after meeting a shell from a +-1&! "#ri$ate collection%

&rmour is not the only method for a !ehicle%s safety. & small sie can help a!oid detection, and

a smaller target, once spotted, is more difficult to hit. The Tiger does not win any points here. &t 2.A

meters long, 5.D meters wide and nearly three meters tall, it presented an easy mark for an artillery

spotter or tank commander. This !olume did not result in any additional comfort for the crew. The

height of the fighting compartment was only 1A2 mm, insufficient for the work of a standing loader

*12 mm+. This results in difficulty for the loader when he reaches for shells stored outside of the

tank%s ready rack. The sie of the loader and gunner workspace is compara$le to other tanks with 50man

turrets of the era13. The large sie of the Tiger pro!ed to $e detrimental in another way, discussed later.

"a!ing co!ered armour, firepower is ne#t. The 22 mm >w> 5< gun, A< cali$ers in length, was

indeed a formida$le weapon for 1@;3. When held to the same standards as other guns descri$ed a$o!e,

13 M.. )amusenko, oundations of -esign of &rmament for )elf Gropelled 'uns and Tanks, *Moscow( -erhinski

&rtillery &cademy, 1@A1+, 52

D


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it could penetrate 13 mm of armour at 1 meters15, certainly a much higher num$er than the guns of

&llied medium tanks in 1@;3. &s we ha!e already seen, num$ers on paper are not e!erything. The

Tigerfi$el and !arious other 'erman anti0tank instructions instruct the Tiger%s gunner to fire on T05;

tanks starting at a range of 2 meters

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. This only ga!e the Tiger a 5 meter margin to engage a T05;

tank without $eing a$le to $e destroyed in return. & 5 meter ad!antage is pitiful for a tank that

weighs twice as much as its ad!ersary. When compared to a contemporary hea!y tank design, the

Tiger%s performance is e!en poorer. &n I)03 could destroy a Tiger at a range of 1A meters 1A. In return,

the Tiger could penetrate the I)03 at 1 meters, 5 if it got lucky 1A. The firepower of the Tiger tank,

while impressi!e against pre0war designs, failed against tanks closer to its own age.

The power of the Tiger%s gun was not e!en superior to older gun designs. &n e#perimental >?03

mounted the 1D mm Hi)0< gun meant for the >?05 tank in 1@;1 for trials1f 121+ wners% Workshop Manual

*)omerset( "aynes Gu$lishing, 311+, 11D

2


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D< mm gun deli!ered lethal shrapnel to an area 5 meters $y 1A meters 31. The DA mm M5 gun on the

M; )herman, firing an M;2 high e#plosi!e shell could co!er an area appro#imately 3; meters $y 13

meters33. -espite ha!ing a larger cali$er, the Tiger%s shell fragmented poorly and had an inferior effect

on soft enemy targets, e!en compared to medium tank contemporaries. Comparing it to a contemporary

hea!y tank yields e!en poorer results, as the 133 mm gun on the I)03 could co!er an area


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&side from shooting and $eing shot at, a tank must, of course, mo!e around. The Tiger is a

hea!y tank, so a comparison with other hea!y tanks of the era *>?01 and I)03+ is appropriate. The

1

Figure 3: Excerpts from F-3 and .-& firing tables! '$erage hori/ontal and $eritcal de$iations in

meters at 1000 meters are outlined! 's you can see, it was not possible to miss a &!x& meter target at

1000 meters "pri$ate collection%!


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Tiger was powered $y an impressi!e D hp May$ach engine3A,while )o!iet hea!y tanks were only

propelled $y engines with up to ?01%s 13.D or the I)03%s 15+. The hp6ton disad!antage was slight, $ut the ground pressure was

much higher. The Tiger%s 1.; kg6cm3 *I)03%s ground pressure was .23 and the >?01%s .DD+ resulted in

much poorer off0road performance compared to the other hea!y tanks3f 121+ wners% Workshop Manual*)omerset( "aynes Gu$lishing, 311+, AD

3< &. -oroshke!ich, Complete Encyclopedia of Battletanks and )elf Gropelled 'uns *Minsk( "ar!est, 33+, 5;f 121+ wners% Workshop Manual

*)omerset( "aynes Gu$lishing, 311+, A2

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&ll tanks $reak down or get stuck in mud. & Tiger tank, with its o!erloaded engine and high

ground pressure, would do so often. The highest a!aila$ility rate e!er reached $y Tiger $attalions was

D32, despite a dedicated ser!ice company in each $attalion. The Tigerfi$el *page ;5+ instructs the use

of 3 hea!y half0tracks to tow a Tiger on a road, and ; hea!y half0tracks to tow a Tiger through mud.

Considering that a Tiger $attalion only had up to D or 2 of these !ehicles *depending on the year+ 3@,

reco!ery of a large amount of Tigers simultaneously was out of the 9uestion. urthermore, in order to

increase the towing capacity, hea!y half0tracks lacked armour, making $attlefield reco!ery impossi$le.

32 -. letcher and others, Tiger Tank Ganerkampfwagen Tiger I &usf E *)d>f 121+ wners% Workshop Manual

*)omerset( "aynes Gu$lishing, 311+, 1;

3@ W. )chneider, Tigers in Com$at I *Mechanics$urg( )tackpole Books, 3;+, 103

13

Figure : The Tigers poor mobility was no news to its crews! 2The difficult

terrain led to many cases li*e this!!! The tan* commander, Feldwebel ermann,

was nic*named 2ero of the +o$iet nion2 for spending more days in thesedifficult situations than in battle!) "#ri$ate collection%


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=nless the $attlefield was left in 'erman hands, Tigers stranded on it had no hope of reco!ery.

&s the war progressed and hea!y engineering !ehicles $egan harder to come $y, e!en Tigers

that $roke down in friendly territory had to $e destroyed. or e#ample, D5 of the Tigers from s.G.&$t

A; were destroyed $y their owns crews when they $roke down and could not $e reco!ered 5. The

difficulty of reco!ery left no shortage of Tiger tanks for the ad!ancing Fed &rmy 51.E!en light damage

to the suspension could take a Tiger off the $attlefield for a long timeN a damaged inner road wheel took

5< hours to replace53.

E!en if a Tiger could $e towed from the $attlefield, not all repairs can $e done on site. MaLor

refur$ishments must $e done $ack at the factory, and shipping a Tiger $y rail was no small feat. The

large sie of the !ehicle resulted in it $eing too wide to fit on railway cars. In order to do this, the tracks

would ha!e to $e replaced with narrower transport tracks, which took 3A minutes53. The mudguards and

outer road wheels *in !ehicles where they were present+ had to $e remo!ed as well55.

The production of the Tiger was also far from ideal. "enschel con!erted a locomoti!e

manufacturing plant for Tiger production, an esta$lishment geared towards low0!olume manufacturing

5 W. )chneider, Tigers in Com$at I *Mechanics$urg( )tackpole Books, 3;+, 31@

51 ?ictory in the Fight0)hore =kraine, https(66www.youtu$e.com6watch7!8wOiBe/e9PPQ/F81 ,accessed on &pril ;th,

31;53 -. letcher and others, Tiger Tank Ganerkampfwagen Tiger I &usf E *)d>f 121+ wners% Workshop Manual

*)omerset( "aynes Gu$lishing, 311+, 1;A

55 -. letcher and others, Tiger Tank Ganerkampfwagen Tiger I &usf E *)d>f 121+ wners% Workshop Manual

*)omerset( "aynes Gu$lishing, 311+, 3;

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Figure : Tiger tan*s towed with two +d!4f/! 5 2Famo2 halftrac*s!"6undesarchi$%
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_iBeNeqYOY&NR=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_iBeNeqYOY&NR=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_iBeNeqYOY&NR=1


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of near hand0crafted !ehicles, unlike the efficient high !olume assem$ly lines that produced T05; and

M; )herman tanks. &dd complicated welding of thick armour plates5;that was not automated5A, *)o!iet

and &merican factories used automatic welding de!ices, capa$le of creating a high 9uality welding

seam while operated $y a semi0skilled and not physically strong worker+ and production of a Tiger

turned into a complicated and e#pensi!e affair5


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their crews either. & nota$le e#ample of these falsifications is a three0fold inflation of kills attri$uted to

))0$ersturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann at ?illers0Bocage5@. tto Carius, one of the most famous Tiger

commanders, admitted in a 313 inter!iew that he destroyed a$out 1011 tanks *while $eing credited

with 1A01urt >nispel *another !ery famous Tiger tank commander+ only destroyed


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came out in front of it. The Tiger shot first at the )G', and nothing happens. Then the )G' shot,

and the Tiger was swept away. 0 Iosif Pako!le!ich )reniko!, tanker.

& meeting with Tigers awaited us. ...we had to fire "E&T shells at the enemy. The first missed, the

second penetrated the enemy and he stopped. )omeone hit the other tank and it started retreating.

ur howiter hit the Tiger well. &s a result of our shot, the Tiger caught fire, the tankers Lumped

out, and were all shot. 0 &leksandr )tepano!ich )edoy, artilleryman.

I ordered, first, write FEMF)EE)) on the side of the tank, and second, destroy all co!er

where the tank was hidden, as it impeded aimed fire. My orders pro!ed reasona$le, and we

successfully fought fascist Tigers and erdinands the ne#t day. With the first shot, my crew took

co!er at the $ottom of the tank, $ut my aimed fire destroyed the 'erman tanks, and we continued

fighting without losses. !er the ne#t few days, none of my crewmen were e!en wounded, let

alone killed. 0 ?ladimir ?ladimiro!ich Tolstiko!, tanker.

"itler e#pected his Tigers, Ganthers, and erdinands to $e in!inci$le, $ut we had a surprise for

them, "E&T rounds, which could penetrate any armour, e!en the D< mm ones. The 'ermans were

not ready for this. 0 I!an Permolaye!ich Fyhko!, mortar gunner.

&s a rule, the memoirs that ra!e a$out the Tiger%s in!inci$ility are written $y those that did not

ha!e the means to fight them in any case( infantrymen, medics, communication technicians. When

reading the memoirs of tankers and artillerymen, those that actually had to fight the Tigers, the picture

created is not that of an un$eata$le monster, $ut of an ordinary tank. &n ordinary tank that could $e

defeated, pro!ided that its opposition was sufficiently $ra!e and ade9uatly e9uipped.

In conclusion, the Tiger, once properly analyed, fails to li!e up to the hype $rewed up around it

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in popular history. Its armour and armament were not e#ceptional, and came at a great cost in weight,

manpower, and price tag. Its o$solete design had no heirsN e!en the Tiger II was a Tiger tank in name

only, more closely resem$ling the Ganther. /either the tank nor its gun ser!ed in post0war conflicts.

=nlike the T05;, )herman, and e!en GI? tanks, it was swiftly forgotten $y the militaries of the world.

Three of the four attacking !ehicles $roke down, and the fourth $urned up. I want to note that the

tank knocked out on )eptem$er 31 spent months in no man%s land until winter, when it was $lown

up $y 'erman engineers due to the impossi$ility of its e!acuation. -uring the months it spent

there, )o!iet forces displayed no interest in the !ehicle. It was not e#amined $y scouts. /o attempts

were made to e!acuate this $rand new !ehicle to the )o!iet side.;5

Jirst T05;s, p. 5AK

This laconic paragraph ser!es well to summarie the Tiger%s de$ut, appropriate for its career on the

$attlefield. If the com$at performance o!er the tank%s lifetime had to $e summed up in one word, many

would opt for a word like in!inci$le, indestructi$le, feared. "owe!er, once one gets down to the

facts, a much more suita$le word can $e found( uninteresting.

;5 &. =lano!, -. )hein, irst T05;s *Moscow( Tactical Gress, 315+, 5A

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Bi$liography(

&rchi!e materials(

Central &rchi!es of the Ministry of -efense of the Fussian ederation(

fond 52, opis 115DD, delo 13

fond 21, opis 1352, delo 55

fond ;11, opis 112@, delo ;5

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Panzerkampfwagen Tiger: Germany's White Elephant