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Panzerkampfwagen VI "Tiger"

The 7.5 cm cannon was insufficient and so a new heavier battle tank was needed. The Tiger got the 8.8 cam cannon which was also used as an air defense cannon. The companies Henschel and Porsche tried to build such a tank. On the 20^th of April 1942 on Hitler's birthday the prototypes of the Tiger were presented. At the end of 1942 the Tiger from Henschel was selected. The Tiger got the same engine like the Panther. It was the Maybach HL 230 with 515 kW. The Tiger was more than 10 tons heavier than the Panther and so it was slower. The design of the Tiger was a backward step in comparison to the Panther, because the Tiger had not got diagonal surfaces on which the projectiles could be reflected. In September 1942 the Tiger from Henschel was used for the first time and it was in Leningrad. In 1944 the Tiger was very successful during the invasion in the Normandy and during the Ardennes offensive. The Tiger could defeat many Allied tanks even the T-34. SS-Hauptsturmfuehrer Michael Wittmann was the most successful tank commander in 2. World War. With his Tiger he had defeated over 100 Allied tanks. The Tiger was one of the best tanks in this time.

Technical data about the Panzerkampfwagen VI "Tiger"
Type of weapon	Battle tank
Manufacturer	Henschel
Crew	5 men
Lenght	8.45 m
Width	3.70 m
Height	3.00 m
Weapons	one 8.8 cm cannon two 7.92 mm MGs
Total mass	56.9 t
Maximum speed	38 km/h
Engine power	515 kW
Armoring	25 mm to 100 mm

Author and Webmaster: Lukas Czarnecki

If you have got questions about the Panzerkampfwagen VI "Tiger" you can send me an e-mail under the following adress:
webmaster@hpwt.de

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Last Update: 15.12.2004