Nicknamed the ‘furniture van’ by the Germans because of its bulkiness and 57 ton weight, the Panzer VI went into production in 1942 following further demands from Hitler that the Army needed heavier tanks. Henschel and Porsche both submitted prototypes, but Henschel was chosen as the manufacturer as his design appeared to break down less than Porsche’s design. The ‘Tiger Model E’, as it was first called, initially saw military action at Leningrad in August 1942.
The Model E, designated Tiger I, equipped the special heavy tank units of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS and saw service until the end of the war. However, like the Panther, the Tiger entered service too early and was faced with technical difficulties resulting in continual breakdowns. The Tiger I had the powerful 88mm gun and thick frontal armour making it virtually indestructible. In late 1942 British troops in Tunisia met the Tiger I and soon discovered that two of the main problems with the Tiger were its thin rear armour plate and an engine which demanded constant maintenance.
Two types of Tiger I were produced - the Ausf H and the Ausf E (HI) – both were soon replaced by the introduction of the Tiger II, designed in 1943.
From July 1942, only 1,355 were manufactured by Henschel and Wegmann with production continuing as late as August of 1944. Tiger production reached its highest point in April 1944, when 105 were produced. The main reasons for the low numbers were the Tiger’s difficult production and its cost. Out of the entire number produced some 500 saw service with SS heavy tank units. A very small number of Tigers were sold to Hungary in 1944. On June 7th 1943 the Japanese ambassador in Germany, General Oshima, was shown a Tiger from sPzAbt 502. A single Tiger was then sold to Japan in 1943, but was never delivered due to the war situation and was loaned by Japan to the German Army (sSSPzAbt 101). Henschel charged Japan 645.000 Reichsmarks for the fully equipped Tiger (with ammunition and radio equipment), while the regular price for the same Tiger was only 300.000 ReichsMarks. Some sources state that Spain was interested in acquiring a number of Tigers but the transaction was neverfinalized.
A Tiger I assigned to the SS-Pz. Korps “Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler” operating in France.
The Department of Weaponry of the Red Army made these interesting observations in late 1944:
“It is suggested to the Red Army to use such German tanks as StuG III and Pz IV due to their reliability and availability of spare parts. The new German Panther and Tiger can be used until they are broken down without trying to repair them. They have bad engines, transmission and suspension.”
Tigers were equipped with two kinds of tracks. 520mm narrow tracks (used for transportation) and 720mm battle (wider) tracks. Also special railroad flatbed cars were produced in order to transport and unload Tigers more quickly. From mid-1943, Tigers were very commonly coated with Zimmerite anti-magnetic paste. Late production Tigers differed slightly from early models and shared many common parts with the Panzer V Panther in order to simplify their production. There was also an experimental mounting of the 88mm KwK 43 L/71 gun on the Tiger E but it was delayed and abandoned in favour of the development of Tiger II, which eventually replaced the Tiger I. The massive Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger will remain forever a symbol of formidable German Panzer formations of World War II.
The crew of a Tiger make essential checks before moving into action during the winter of 1942/1943.
CONVERSIONS
• Befehlswagen Tiger I Ausf. E (Sd. Kfz 267/268) - command tank
• Sturmpanzer (Sturmmorser) Sturmtiger Ausf E - heavy mortar carrier
• Bergewagen Bergetiger - heavy recovery vehicle
• Tiger (P) - Porsche design (5 produced)
• Schwerst-Flammpanzer auf Tiger I - long range flamethrower tank (planned)
• Sturmpanzer Bar - 305mm L/16 gun carrier (planned)
• Sturmpanzer Tiger I - 170mm Kanone 44 gun carrier
• Sturmpanzer Tiger I - 210mm Moerser 18/43 mortar carrier (project)
• Sturmpanzer Tiger I - Skoda’s 305mm Granatwefer heavy mortar carrier (project)
• Tiger I - 240mm Kanone 4 transport vehicle (project)
• Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II Ausf B
