When the Soviets captured a few examples of Tigers, they concluded the same – it was underpowered, had limited maneuverability due to its extreme weight, was prone to malfunctions, and had significant design defects (mainly in the propulsion system). German sappers also had to reinforce all the bridges in its way. An under-powered engine and common malfunctions resulted in ten Tigers to be stopped on a 10 km route while assigned to the command of 16th Panzer Division. The biggest enemy of the Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-721-0397-29 / Wagner / CC-BY-SA 3.0 Problems with the King Tiger 503) ‘Feldherrnhalle’ posing in formation for the German newsreel. Tiger IIs with the narrower “transport tracks”, of Schwere Heeres Panzer Abteilung 503 (s.H.Pz.Abt. Less than in a year after the Tiger II’s first engagements, Berlin fell and the war was over. However with its late introduction, the Tiger II couldn’t change the fate of the war, and only served to slow down the inevitable outcome. The 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion was the first unit fully equipped with the Tigers B, with 25 in total. Luckily for the Allies, it was a rare machine with less than 500 seeing production. Regardless of its relatively slow speed, no sane foe was willing to take its chances in a duel against it. It was heavy, designed to shoot from a distance, and had thick sloped frontal armor. On the Eastern Front, the first divisions outfitted with the Tiger II introduced themselves only in autumn of 1944.Īlthough targeting was somewhat of a challenge when the enemy was further than 2000m, anything in sight below that distance was easy prey. Presented on the Western Front in mid 1944, when air superiority was in the hands of Allies, the full capabilities of German armored divisions even with the Tiger II were seriously limited. An experienced gunner, able to estimate the range properly, had one more advantage – it was VERY accurate.

Armed with an 88mm KwK 43 gun, this 70-tonne kitty was able to pierce through any tank from the Allied arsenal including the Soviet heavy tanks. The German Tiger II heavy tank is disputably one of the best tanks of the entire World War II, and despite it’s flaws it was also one of the most fearsome.

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