(Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf.B)
Abstract
Late April, 1945. Near the end of WWII. German forces driven into the corner continued desperate battle against Soviet forces that had closed in on Berlin with overwhelming force. 10 King Tigers that remained in SPzAbt 503 made up part of the defensive forces.
Battle of Berlin April 1945. King Tiger near Potsdamer Bahhhof
These King Tigers secured important points in the city, such as railroad stations, bridges and main roads where they made persevered in a desperate struggle until every last one of them was lost by May 2nd. These King Tigers defeated masses of Soviet tanks and self-propel- led guns such as T34 medium tanks and JS-122 Stalin tanks. With its 71 caliber 88mm gun and thick armor, the King Tiger was called the strongest tank in WWII, and posed a great threat for the Allied forces until the very last moment before surrender of Germany.
Development
From the start of its invasion of Russia, the German army came across unexpected Soviet rivals, namely T34 medium tanks and KV-I Heavy Tanks. Thus, Germany was forced to hurry the development of the Tiger I Heavy Tank, which adopted a 56caliber 88mm gun KwK36 and had the potential to counter Soviet tanks. Production started in August 1942. Shortly after that in January 1943, development of the new heavy tank as a successor of the Tiger I was officially decided. This Heavy Tank employed a 71caliber 88mm gun that exceeded Tiger I's 56caliber 88mm gun in penetration performance. Hull construction greatly differed from that of the Tiger I which was composed of upright armor surfaces inspired from encounters with the Soviet T34 tank and evolved from those of the Panther. Design and development were made at the same time by both Porsche and Henschel, but the Porsche plan was rejected. Only 50 pre-production. Porsche turrets were employed onto the 3 prototypes and 47 early production King Tigers. King Tiger required 5crew; driver, machine gun and radio operator, gunner, loader and tank commander. June 1943, this new heavy tank was officially designated as Tiger B (Sd.Kfz.182). Production of this tank, nicknamed "King Tiger" later was started in January 1944 and 492 King Tigers including prototype and Porsche turret version were produced.
During development, it was decided to use common parts, such as engine and transmission with a Panther II, which was to be an improved type of Panther tank. Much time was spent in the collaboration between Henschel and MAN (company in charge of developing the Panther 1I), but in the end, development of the Panther Il was cancelled..
Chassis
Whereas the Tiger I featured l00mm thick armor plating in the front part of the chassis and 80mm armor plating on the sides, the better armored King Tiger featured 150mm thick armor sloped at a 50deg. angle on the front surface and 80mm armor sloped at a 25deg. angle on the sides. The internal compartment consisted of (from front to back), the driver's seat, the radio operators seat, the gunner's compartment and the engine room. A ball-type mounted MG34 machine gun, a rotation type periscope for the driver, and a fixed type periscope for the radio operator were adopted on the front of the hull. The tank crew was literally boxed in as hull openings were kept to a minimum. Also, the ventilators fixed to the driver's and radio operator's hatch covers were affixed via bolts as large rectangular plates on the upper front hull surface.
King Tiger in front of the Hotel Kaiserhof in Osterode. March-April 1945
During transmission and other necessary maintenance, these plates could be removed. The King Tiger featured torsion bar suspension with 9 large-size overlapping steel road wheels with built-in shock absorbing rubber installed on one side. Two types of tracks, 800mm wide battle use and 660mm wide transportation use tracks could be employed to support this 69.8 ton beast of a tank.
King Tiger close to the most famous US Tank Sherman
Engine and related accessories
Separated from the gunner's compartment by a firewall, was the engine room with its Maybach HL230 P30 gasoline engine. Under production at that time for the Panther tank, this engine encased a radiator, cooling fan and fuel tank. The engine had 23,OOOcc (145 mm stroke, 130 mm bore) displacement and realized 700 HP (522 kW) maximum output, at 3000 rpm., but maintaining the engine on this values did it overheat. The driver handbook dictated to not go over 2500 rpm witch reduced the power output few over 600 HP (477 kW)
Maybach HL 230
The standard Power was transmitted to final drive via type OG40-12-16 Maybach transmission (8 speeds forward, 4speeds re- verse), the Henschel L80I steering unit enabled the King Tiger to achieve maximum 38km/h of cruising speed. Cruising distance is 170km with 860 liters of fuel (about 5 Km/l). A cell type engine starter was equipped, but a hand-powered crank starter was used during the winter season, when cold weather would tend to weaken battery power.
Maybach HL 230
Digital recording of the sound of a real movable Maybach engine mounted on the 1/16 scale Tamiya King Tiger Full Options was obtained by use of a digital device with the kind cooperation of the Saumur Armour Museum, in France. Engine sound will change from starting, idling, to full-throttle in operation.
Turret
The first 50 King Tigers were equipped with Porsche turrets which were already in production. However, difficulty was encountered in the production of the Porsche turret. Moreover, there was danger that enemy shells hitting the lower turret might rebound and pierce the thin armor on the top of the hull front. The production turret, or Henschel turret, boasted 180mm thick armor and improved this problem by adopting simple plain surfaces. These turrets were designed by the Henschel and Krupp companies, and produced by Wegmann. The gun mantlets are defined in two types. Stepped and smooth gun mantlets, which can be seen in the late production tanks. On the top of the turret, there are the commander's cupola, loader's hatch, ventilation, and weapons against adjacent enemies, such as S-mine launchers and smoke generators which could be loaded and fired from inside.
Main Gun
The Krupp KwK43 88mm, cal.71, main gun was capable of firing pzGr39/43 Armor Piercing (AP), Pz- Gr40/43 high velocity, sub-caliber, tungsten core rounds, as well as HiGr39 anti-tank howitzer rounds. PzGr40/43 rounds could penetrate a 150mm thick armor plate from 2000m away, Rounds fired from the King Tiger's massive gun were capable of tearing into M4 Sherman, Cromwell, and T-34/85 tanks at a distance of up to 3500m, A maximum of 86 rounds of shells could be stored in both sides of the cabin and in the rear of the turret. TzF9b/i binocular gun sight was replaced with TzF9d monocular gun sight since April 1944, These sighting devices can be set for 3x and 6x magnifications. The MG34 machine gun was used as a coaxial gun, This machine gun was also capable of being mounted on the commander's cupola for anti-air- craft use,
Production
The production plan of King Tiger was officially approved in January of 1943. The first prototype had appeared in November of the same year, and mass production began one year after approval. The monthly production was 5 to 6 by April, then eventually in- creased to 15 in May 1944.
Incomplete chassis after the end of the War
The production of 94 tanks was recorded in August 1944, exceeding the targeted production of 80 tanks. Soon afterwards however, production was slowed down due to damage incurred on Henschel facilities. From the start of production, up until March1945, 492 King Tigers, including 3 prototypes, were produced in all : 1 in 1943, 379 in 1944, and 112 in 1945. As a result of Allied troops overrunning Kassel and vicinity Henscel had ceased all production by the end of Mach 1945. Finally 30 King Tigers was produced during March 1945.
Bibliography
- Tamiya King Tiger 1/16 Full Option Kit instruction manual
- Thomas L. Jentz and Hilary L.Doyle "VK45.02 to Tiger II Design Production and Modifications Schiffer Military History
- Tom Jentz Hilary Doyle Peter Sarson "King Tiger Heavy Tank 1943-1945" New Vanguard