German Panzerkampfwagen "Tiger" Ausf. E (Sd.Kfz.181)

Arguably the most iconic tank of World War II, the Tiger earned a deadly reputation and struck fear into the hearts of its Allied opponents in all theaters of war. Its undisputed battlefield superiority, based on its lethal guns and superior armor protection, earned the Tiger an almost mystical reputation, especially among its former enemies. Such was the fear of the tiger that the sighting or mere mention of tigers on the battlefield could send enemy troops into a panic. JJD announces the release of the latest "big cat" and its first model of the iconic Tiger tank.

The design for the Tiger was carried out in earnest at the end of 1939 with two competing designs by Dr.ing.h.c.F. Porsche K.G. of Stuttgart and Henschel & Sohn of Kassel (commonly referred to simply as Porsche and Henschel). The Porsche prototype incorporated a Krupp-designed turret mounting an 8.8 cm KwK/L56 gun, while the Henschel design used a Rheinmetall turret mounting a 7.5 cm KwK/L70 gun. The Rheinmetall-designed Tiger turret was considerably smaller than the Krupp design and was strikingly similar to the turret used on the later Panther. Of the two hull designs, the Porsche hull was much more technologically advanced. It envisioned the use of electric motors and either an electric or hydraulic transmission, whereas the Henschel design used a standard (but powerful) gasoline engine and mechanical transmission. Due to a number of factors, including car design problems with the Porsche Tiger, Krupp's ability to maintain a monopoly on tank gun production, and the ease with which the Henschel chassis could be modified to accept the larger Krupp turret designed for its competitor, the eventual Tiger became a combination of Porsche and Henschel designs. The 8.8cm/L56 Krupp turret (originally designed for the Porsche Tiger) was mated to the Henschel Tiger chassis...giving us the legendary Tiger look. (Interestingly, a single complete Porsche Tiger served as a command tank and was used in combat with the schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 653, which was equipped with the Ferdinand/Elefant tank destroyer using the Porsche Tiger chassis.)

Thus the Tiger's final design was born. When it was introduced, it was the most powerful tank in existence, its combination of firepower and armor protection outclassing all of its Allied opponents. The Tiger's offensive punch was delivered by the 8.8 cm KwK 36 / L56 cannon. Derived from the equally iconic FlaK 36 dual-purpose anti-aircraft/anti-tank gun, the KwK 36 was capable of penetrating 100 mm of armor at 1,000 meters. Coupled with a flat firing range and excellent optics, the Tiger's gun was able to knock the first round out to 1,000 meters. There are several documented examples of Tiger gunfire penetrating the forward hulls of T-34s and exiting the rear of the tank through the engine compartment. Basically, if a Tiger could hit an enemy tank, it usually resulted in its destruction. The Tiger's firepower was complemented by exceptional armor protection provided by 100 mm of armor to the front of the hull and turret, 80 mm to the sides and rear of the hull and turret, and 100-120 mm to the gun cowling. This armor protection was almost invulnerable to the 75 mm guns of the Western Allies' tanks and the 76.2 mm guns of the Russian T-34 and KV-1 tanks in the 1942-1943 time period. Only at extremely close ranges did Allied tankers have any hope of penetrating a Tiger's armor, and stories abound of Allied tankers watching in horror as their armor-piercing rounds hit and bounced harmlessly off the Tiger's thick armor. One Tiger is known to have taken 250 hits from enemy weapons of all calibers and survived. Together, the Tiger's excellent firepower and armor protection resulted in a tank that could destroy its enemy out to distances of up to 2,000 meters, but the Tiger's enemies had to close within 200 meters to have any hope of defeating a Tiger. Finally, and contrary to popular belief, the tiger was not the "draining behemoth" it is often portrayed as. While its massive weight of 56 tonnes could lead to the Tiger breaking through bridges or getting stuck in wet and muddy terrain, when employed on suitable terrain the Tiger possessed good cross-country mobility and was actually quite manoeuvrable. It had a tighter turning circle than the Sherman and also possessed the ability to counter-rotate its tracks, whereby it could have one track moving forward while the other track moved backwards. This procedure allowed the Tiger to essentially turn into position to quickly bring its cannon to bear or to turn its thicker frontal armor against the enemy.