The high velocity also made it easy to shoot at moving targets. Pretty hard to say. 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. 267 and 268 for command vehicles) It is also known under the informal name Königstiger (the German name for the Bengal tiger), often translated literally as Royal Tiger, or somewhat incorrectly as King Tiger by Allied soldiers. In addition to the Roer River Battles he has written "King Tiger vs. IS-2: Operation Solstice 1945" for Osprey's Duel series, and over twenty articles for magazines such as Strategy & Tactics, Armchair General, and World at War, as well as MCSGroup, a conflict simulation provider for … 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. 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. While the armor was still impenetrable, it was likely to crack, even from the inside. Wikimedia Commons: Creative Commons 3.0, © Copyright 2020 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. Netflix’s recent documentary miniseries Tiger King has wild animals, ex-felons, a brief presidential campaign, polygamy, a murder-for-hire plot, and a huge cast of eccentric characters. They also discovered that the quality of German was considerably worse when compared to earlier versions of the Tiger I and Panther tanks. But Hitler's generals and weapons designers were not satisfied. One flaw of the IS-2, whose powerful 122-millimeter gun could theoretically penetrate a King Tiger's thickly armored turret at one-mile range—was its low rate of fire and limited onboard ammunition supply. It was armed with the long barreled 8.8 cm KwK. Hi everybody, I am just wondering if the King Tiger got the upper hand over the IS-2? Cross-country speed was about ten miles per hour, versus about twenty miles per hour for the other two tanks. 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. What made Tiger II so special then? There are all sorts of conflicting data and opinions on this duel, though an encounter between IS-2s and King Tigers in August 1944 destroyed or damaged ten tanks on either side. After 1945, nations switched to building main battle tanks that had sufficient firepower and armor to breach enemy defenses, like heavy tanks, while being mobile enough to exploit breakthroughs like medium and light tanks. They had their Sherman tanks, but there were rumors the Germans had something far better – the Tiger II, also known as the King Tiger. Its longer-barreled (and thus higher velocity) KwK 43 … Author Thomas Jentz, the dean of Tiger historians, writes that despite its size, the Tiger II had surprisingly good tactical mobility. Comparing: Panther vs. Tiger I This famous tank was produced from January 1943 through April 1945, with a total of 5,796 vehicles built plus eight vehicles built on the F series chassis. But given a skilled crew and proper logistics support, the Tiger II was fairly reliable, according to Jentz. 1400 ATK sont Invoqués Normalement ou Spécialement : détruisez ces monstres avec max. 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). Presented on the Western Fr… The whole barrel was very stable after a shot and it was capable of firing 9 shells in 35 seconds (during tests). Only 300 made in to Europe before the end of the war, in something called the Zebra Mission. The Germans called it the Königstiger (Royal Tiger). The King Tiger comes in weighing at 76.9 tons, so like its predecessor the Tiger I, it could only travel and fight on certain terrains. At seventy-five tons, it was bigger than its predecessor. As with any sophisticated weapon, the Tiger II did suffer from reliability issues, especially at the hands of the poorly trained and inexperienced tank drivers of the late war German army. Given the current American preference for expensive weapons like aircraft carriers and F-35 fighters, this question still resonates. King Tiger Wanghu + French database ID. Although targeting was somewhat of a challenge when the enemy was further than 2000m, anything in sight below that distance was easy prey. Ironically, the King Tiger's most deadly predator wasn't other tanks, but Royal Air Force Lancaster bombers. Image: Tiger Tank. Monstrous and ponderous Tigers B were clumsy and slow. German sappers also had to reinforce all the bridges in its way. With John Reinke, Kelci Saffery, John Finlay, Rick Kirkham. I would like to offer my own short history of the Tiger Ausf. 1400 ATK. The ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. An experienced gunner, able to estimate the range properly, had one more advantage – it was VERY accurate. An experienced gunner, able to estimate the range properly, had one more advantage – it was VERY accurate. While Henschel was gearing up for their first series of Tiger with the FlaK 36 L/56 gun->KwK 36, and before the then scheduled switch to the Tiger with 75mm L/70 guns (Ausf. Was the King Tiger a great tank or simply hype? Weapons are extremely situational items. Super Pershing vs. King Tiger - Dessau On this site, there is the only combat between Super Pershing and Tiger - it seems that experimental American tanks were tougher than their German equivalents. A tank that functions well in one setting might prove a failure in another. They blocked local bridges and were often more than a burden than a help. Orders were placed for around 1500, yet Allied bombings and the sheer cost reduced production to a third of that target – one was built in 1943, 379 in 1944, and 112 in 1945. Production of T-34’s armed with an 85mm gun alone reached 22,559. 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. Which brings us to the question dear to every treadhead: Was the King Tiger a great tank? However, the most telling statistic is that while the Soviet Union produced nearly 3,900 IS-2s, Germany built just 492 Tiger IIs. Clad in armor between 25 mm and 180 mm thick and armed with deadly 88mm KwK 43 L/71 gun, the Tiger II was one of the deadliest tanks of the Second World War. With Teutonic perfectionism, they complained that the Tiger I's KwK 36 gun was not the most powerful version of the 88-millimeter cannon (not that Allied tankers would have noticed the difference). In terms of the triad of metrics for tanks—firepower, armor and mobility—the Tiger II was quite impressive. Enter the Tiger II, or Konigstiger (King Tiger). + French name. It was heavy, designed to shoot from a distance, and had thick sloped frontal armor. In the second half of the war, Germany was short on resources of all kinds. Sherman Firefly 17pdr gun can destroy Tigers and Panthers pretty easily but what about the King Tiger? The Soviets built more than 108,000 tanks, and the Americans eighty-eight thousand, because World War II was a contest of production that devoured material at an appalling rate. Regardless of its relatively slow speed, no sane foe was willing to take its chances in a duel against it. 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