Tiger I
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Aces High II Vehicle | |
| Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H "Tiger I" | |
| Variant of | Panzer |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Tiger |
| Type | Heavy tank |
| Country of origin | Nazi Germany |
| Manufacturer | Henschel & Son |
| Crew | 5 |
| Dimensions | Width 11.6 ft Length 27.7 ft. Height 9.8 ft. |
| Max Speed | 23.6 mph |
| Aces High II Ordnance Options | |
| Primary Armament | 1× 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56, 92 rounds |
| Options | 92x 88mm AP |
| 92x 88mm HE | |
| 23x 88mm AP, 69x 88mm HE | |
| 23x 88mm HE, 69x 88mm AP | |
| 46x 88mm AP, 46x 88mm HE | |
| Other Ordnance | 1x coaxial 7.92mm MG, 2100 rounds |
| 1x pintle 7.92mm MG, 2100 rounds | |
| 1x hull 7.92mm MG, 900 rounds | |
| Aces High II Armor Thickness | |
| Frontal hull | 100mm |
| Frontal turret | 110mm |
| Sides | 80mm |
| Rear | 80mm |
| Turret roof | 40mm |
| Top | 25mm |
| Bottom | 25mm |
| Aces High II Main Arenas | |
| Earliest MA | Late War |
| Typical perk cost | 30 (Late War) |
| ENY value | 10 (Late War) |
| how to edit | |
Contents
The Tiger I in World War II[edit]
Germany was late to join in the race for the development of heavy tanks. By the time of Operation Barbarossa (invasion of Russia), the Russians had possessed the best tanks of its time, both superior in quality and quantity. The Red Army was the only one in the world equipped with heavy tanks (KV-1) and the superior medium tanks (T-34).
Many had noted that the Tiger was conceived after the Germans encountered the Russian T-34 during the campaign on the east . This is not entirely accurate as the planning had already begun at a meeting with Hitler on 26th May, 1941. It was not until June 22nd, 1941 that Operation Barbarossa was launched. However, Hitler's interest in the project peaked after the Germans encountered the T-34 medium tank which had practically rendered the entire German panzer forces obsolete. This caused the development of the new heavy tank to progress at a feverish rate. Germany wasted no time in catching up in the gun-armor race and was soon to have developed some of the best armored fighting vehicles of world war 2.
Going back further, German heavy tank development can be traced back to 1937 with the German Armaments Ministry issuing a specification for a new heavy tank to Daimler-Benz, Henschel, MAN and Porsche. This project however was ignored as the current Panzer III and IV had so far proved effective tanks and served well in combat. It was not until spring 1941 that the project was revived after Hitler was impressed with heavy allied tanks, such as the French Char B1 and British Matilda 1 during the campaign in the west.
On May 26th May1941, during a Germans armament meeting, Hitler ordered for the creation of heavy Panzers which were to have an increased effectiveness to penetrate enemy tanks; possess heavier armor than was previously achieved; and attain a maximum speed of at least 40km/h. Another condition was the prototype had to be completed and presented to Hitler in time for his birthday on April 20, 1942. These key decisions led to the development of a new heavy tank, the Tiger 1. This project was known as the "Tiger program".
Two firms were contracted for the design of the new tank, Porsche of Stuttgart and Henschel and Sohn of Kassel. It's an interesting note that Porsche is the same firm that today produces the famed Porsche sports car. Both Porsche and Henschel were responsible only for the chassis and automotive design. Turret and main weapon design was awarded to yet another firm, Krupp of Essen.
The first consideration for the Tiger 1 was the selection of a more powerful main gun. The invasion of Russia had shown that the current armament on German tanks were incapable of defeating Russian tanks except at very close ranges. The only effective weapon the German army possessed at that time against the Russian T-34 and KV-2s was the 88mm antiaircraft gun. The 88mm was a versatile weapon capable of serving many roles from anti-aircraft to anti-tank and artillery. By this time, the 88mm had already proven itself as a formidable tank killer, highly accurate and capable of taking out enemy tanks at extreme ranges. Its rise to fame was especially noted in the hands of the Afrika Korps, under the command of Rommel during the African campaign. In fact, during that time, the 88mm was the only weapon the German army possessed that could effectively deal with Russian tanks.
The 88mm was a cumbersome weapon, needing to be towed and deployed in order to be readied for action. As it was, the Tiger 1 was the first tank to mount the 88mm gun in a fully traversable turret. Krupp designed the turret to mount the KwK 36 L/56 88mm anti-tank gun. The designation KwK 36 and L/56 simply implied the model number year 36 and the barrel length of 56 calibers. Depending on the type of ammunition used, the Tiger's 88mm has a muzzle velocity of 930m per second and could penetrate up to 110mm of armor at a distance of 2000 meters. For comparison's sake, the T-34's armor was 90mm at its thickest and this was only on the late T-34 models which possessed armor upgrades. Since the flight time of an armor piercing round at a range of 2000m is about 2.1 seconds, accuracy and correction of fire against moving targets is more important than with older anti tank guns. This made it ideally suited to open terrain where it could engage enemy tanks at long range before the opponent's weapons were even in range.
For the chassis, Henschel and Porsche had produced their own designs. Porsche was more advanced than Henschel as they had independently embarked on a new heavy tank project beginning in the autumn of 1940, even before the official order was given for a new heavy tank. Porsche designed a totally new chassis codenamed VK4501 (P). The codename VK was for Volkettenfahrzeuge or "fully tracked experimental vehicle", 45 means a 45 ton class and 01 represents the first model. The new VK4501 (P) chassis had 100mm of frontal armor, 80mm side and rear armor, 25mm top armor and 20mm bottom armor. It utilized an advanced power drive train system which used both a combination of petrol and electric to power the tracks. The engine was a two 10 cylinder, 15 litre, air-cooled Porsche Typ 101/1 delivering 320hp at 2400 rpm. These engines did not power the tank's drive train directly. Instead it was linked to an electric generator which then supplied electricity to two electric motors. These electric motors would then power the drive train.
This concept of an electrically powered tank would have greatly conserved fuel and while technologically advanced, was too new and untested and very prone to breakdowns. Furthermore the electrical system used copper, a vital resource Germany was in short supply of. Weighing in at full combat weight of 59 tons, it could achieve a top speed of 35km/h. Designated Tiger (P) or Tiger P1, the Porsche Tiger had its turret mounted ahead in the front section of the hull.
On September 1941, an order was placed for 100 turrets and hulls for the VK4501 (P). On April 1942, the first prototype of Tiger (P) was completed, in time for a demonstration on Hitler's birthday. However Tiger (P) encountered serious complications and manufacturing had been suspended many times. On October 1942, the Tiger commission met to evaluate which of the Tiger (P) or Tiger (H) would be selected for mass production.
Henschel was working on a VK3601 (H) project when the order was received for new heavy tank design on May 1941. The VK3601 (H) was designed to carry the 75mm KwK 42 L/70 tapered bore gun and before the new order was given, Henschel did not intend to mount the 88mm gun. On September 1941, it was then decided that it is not possible to mount an 88mm gun on the VK3601 (H) chassis. Furthermore, Hitler had ordered that the Krupp designed turret for Porsche's VK4501 (P) chassis with the 88mm KwK L/56 was to be fitted to Henschel's Tiger. These restrictions left Henschel with no other option but to design a new VK4501 (H) chassis.
Known as Tiger (H), Henschel utilized as much already available components from previous heavy panzer designs. The VK4501 (H) was created by redesigning the hull of the VK3601 chassis. The chassis had 100mm frontal armor, 80mm side superstructure, 60mm side hull, 80mm rear armor and 25mm top and bottom armor. The turret was originally designed by Krupp for Tiger (P), but was modified and used by Tiger (H). For the engine, it utilized a 12 cylinder Maybach HL 210 P45, delivering 650horsepower at 3000rpm. The transmission was an 8 speed Maybach Olvar 40 12 16 designed to provide a maximum speed of 45km/h. As was usual with German tanks during that time, it was equipped with a ball mounted machine gun fitted on the front right side of the hull. Weighing in at full combat weight of 57 tons, Tiger (H) could carry up to 92 rounds of main gun ammunition and up to 5700 rounds of 7.92mm MG34 rounds.
The first prototype of Tiger (H) was completed on April 1942, in time for a demonstration on Hitler's birthday. The first Tiger (H) known as Versuchsserie Tiger Nr. V1 was fitted with a new feature called the Vorpanzer, which was a frontal shield which could be lowered to protect the tracks and drive sprocket. This feature was quickly discontinued and having been fitted only on the first Tiger (H). By July 1942, both Tiger (P) and Tiger (H) were being tested at the firing grounds at Berka, Germany. The Tiger (H) proved superior and was approved for mass production. The production for Tiger (P) was discontinued. Of the original 100 Tiger (P) ordered, only 10 had been assembled by October 1942 (chassis Nr 150001 through 150010). The remaining 90 turrets were converted for mounting with Tiger (H). 90 hulls were converted to the Ferdinand Panzer-Jager (tank destroyer), named after its designer Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. This Panzer-Jager was later renamed to Elephant. Of the 10 assembled Tiger (P), three were converted to Bergefahrzeuge (recovery vehicles), another three were converted to Raumpanzer Tiger (debris clearance vehicle) and the last four were retained for further testing (Nr 150004, 150005, 150013 and 150014). Only one (Nr 150013) saw action as a command tank on the Eastern front.
http://www.worldwar2aces.com/tiger-tank/ - Information listed here was copied from this website. http://www.alanhamby.com/tiger.html http://www.achtungpanzer.com/panzerkampfwagen-vi-tiger-ausf-e-sd-kfz-181.htm
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The Tiger I in Aces High II[edit]
AAAH SCARY!!
