Heavy Trophies from Leningrad

There are plenty of armoured vehicles that had an impact on tank building worldwide. This list includes German vehicles, especially the Tiger tank. At the moment of its appearance, it was the best protected and most heavily armed tank in its weight class. Even though the effectiveness of Tiger crews is often exaggerated, this was indeed a very dangerous enemy, especially from 1943 to the spring of 1944. Tanks all over the world evolved to deal with Tigers.

Tiger 121 before winter camouflage was applied.

At about 9:30 am on January 18th, 1943, the Volkhov and Leningrad Fronts met at the eastern outskirts of Worker's Village #1. This was the first penetration of the Leningrad blockade. Another important event took place on the same day: Tiger tanks were captured in the vicinity of Worker's Village #5. Two samples were delivered to the NIBT Proving Grounds in Kubinka. Their study showed that the Soviet tank program requires some urgent changes. Today, we will discuss how the German tanks were captured and what were the first impressions regarding these tanks.

Porsche and Militarism

It's no secret that the same people often build tanks and peaceful vehicles. For instance, the Kirovets K-700 tractor was designed by the same people who designed heavy tanks at the Kirov factory (including the IS-7). The same designers also produced the KT-12 skidder immediately after the war, and they were pulled off of military projects to do so. Harry Knox, the creator of American light and medium tank chassis, was a successful car designer before going into tanks. Even the famous John Walter Christie worked on (and drove) race cars as well as fire engines before building his tanks. There are plenty of examples where the same person created military and civilian vehicles.

Ferdinand Porsche reaching to touch his Tiger tank.

Ferdinand Porsche is perhaps the best known German tank designer. He is usually remembered for the Tiger (P), Maus, and other fighting vehicles that never made it into mass production. He is also well known for the "Beetle" (also known as the kDF-Wagen or Porsche Typ 60) and sports cars. While the former category of vehicles was unsuccessful, the latter is tremendously popular. Because of this, some claim that Porsche intentionally sabotaged the Third Reich. Let's take a look at what kind of pacifist Ferdinand Porsche turned out to be.

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

The British first encountered the Tiger tank on the battlefield towards the end of 1942 in Tunisia. Employment of Tigers in early 1943 resulted in a number of losses. The Germans were fairly diligent about demolishing tanks that could not be recovered, but an intact sample was found for study before too long. This vehicle and many others were studied thoroughly by British experts in order to build a complete picture of the first German heavy tank.

Man on the inside

As with the Panther, the captured Tiger tank was used for crew comfort trials. Preliminary information about crew comfort obtained during brief inspection in Tunisia was confirmed.

The commander’s workspace was tested first. The massive gun breech made his station quite cramped. From the right the recoil guard constrained his movements in every position, from the left his space was limited by either the turret traverse mechanism (in the lower and standing positions) or the turret wall (in the upper position). His seat lacked a back, and shocks during travel threw him against the hard gas mask rack. The commander had an auxiliary turret traverse flywheel, but it was poorly positioned and he had to twist his wrist to use it. His wrist also chafed against the turret travel lock as the flywheel turned. British specialists described the commander’s position as “cramped and uncomfortable”.

Tiger 131 at the start of crew comfort trials. Narrow transport tracks are installed. The British captured a full set of both transport and combat tracks.

Tiger Killers

The German Tiger tank gained significant renown during the Second World War and remains a popular topic in discussions of this period even today. While some modern interpretations paint the Tiger as a semi-mythical wonder weapon, its contemporary evaluations are much more reserved. Let’s take a look at the conclusions drawn by British specialists who studied this tank and the measures they devised to fight it.

Clash of heavyweights

The Western Allies first encountered the Tiger tank around the same time it appeared on the Eastern Front. A successful offensive in North Africa forced Hitler to take severe measures, including deploying his latest weapon. The 501st Heavy Tank Battalion began its landing at Bizerta, Tunisia, on November 23rd, 1942. It first saw battle on December 1st, but the scale of combat was limited. It’s not surprising that Allied intelligence obtained relatively little information on this tank around this time. An article in the Tactical and Technical Trends magazine dated February 11th describes a new enemy heavy tank weighing on the order of 50 tons, equipped with an 88 mm gun, and with 80 or 100 mm of armour. This tank was called Mark VI or Pz.Kw.6.

“German heavy tank”, Tactical and Technical Trends #20, March 11th, 1943.

Cheating at Statistics: Staudegger's Secrets

In a video, British historian Mark Fenton describes a truly fantastical battle. According to Felton, a Tiger tank commander from the 1st SS Tank Division Franz Staudegger pulled off a truly incredible feat, destroying two T-34 tanks with hand grenades on foot. Unfortunately, no specifics are given for this Hollywood-worthy action story, so it is difficult to ascertain whether or not it actually happened. What is easier to evaluate is Staudegger's next engagement. According to Fenton, three days later Staudegger personally held off an attack by 50 T-34 tanks. The description of the battle is right out of an 80s martial arts movie, with an overwhelming number of opponents coming at the main character one at a time, easily dispatched by his superior skill. Felton credits Staudegger with destroying 22 T-34 tanks, which earned him the Knight's Cross.

Throughout the video and in its description, Felton draws attention to the fact that this story is not only incredible, but absolutely true. However, he doesn't give any sources or really that much to go on in order to verify what actually happened. We do have a few clues: a unit (10th Tank Corps) and a date (July 8th).

Let us reconstruct the events from the point of view of the 10th Tank Corps. This unit was kept in reserve east of the front line and only activated on July 7th, two days after the start of the Battle of Kursk. 

"Tigers" from Lvov

Yuri Ozerov's cinematic series Osvobozhdenie (Liberation) began in 1968 with the film Ognennaya Duga (Fiery Salient). Its battle scenes were shot a year prior in the Kiev Military District on the territory of the Rzhyshchiv training center. The 1827th regional army base issued a large number of captured German weapons for filming, but there were no German armoured vehicles in storage in the Kiev Military District or anywhere else. The 17th Tank Repair Factory of the Carpathian Military District was tasked with production of replica Tiger tanks in the spring of 1967. This factory was formed in Lvov in July of 1944 to repair vehicles of the 1st and 4th Ukrainian Fronts.

"Tiger" tanks built at the Lvov Tank Repair Factory, Ognennaya Duga (1968)

Third Tiger Out

The history of the Tiger heavy tank is often presented as a duel between two models: The Tiger H1 designed by Henschel with a mechanical transmission and Tiger (P) designed by Porsche with an electric transmission that allegedly led to its downfall. This common presentation is incorrect. The Germans worked on three Tiger tanks in the spring of 1942: the Tiger H1, Tiger (P) Typ 101 with a Siemens electric transmission, and the Tiger (P) Typ 102 with a Voith hydromechanical transmission. A lot has been written about the first two, but the last remained in the shadow for a long time. Books only contained scattered mentions or dry overviews of this tank without any photographs or blueprints.

Typ 102 refuelling in the vicinity of the Nibelungenwerke factory. The small fuel tanks and poor fuel economy meant this had to happen quite often. Ferdinand Porsche, director of Steyr Oscar Hacker, and Voith chief engineer Fritz Kugel.

The author of this article first wrote an article about the Tiger (P) Typ 102 back in 2017, describing its design, production, and trials. However, it contained many serious mistakes and left a lot of mysteries. Michael Fröhlich's book Der andere Tiger (The Other Tiger) was published in 2019. The author performed a lot of work and found a lot of new information on the Tiger (P) Typ 102, but not without mistakes. Now, combining all known information, the author returns to the topic with the first complete history of this mysterious Tiger.

The Fight for Sight

Optics often come up in discussions that compare Soviet and German tanks. The famous "Zeiss optics" are often invoked by those who are not very well versed in the subject matter. The issue was not in Soviet sights. Plenty of them survived to this day, and any who wish can evaluate their quality on their own. German tanks were first and foremost superior in their observation devics. Their visibility was better than that of Soviet tanks, which was often a deciding factor in victory on the battlefield. However, the evolution of German observation devices is an interesting topic for discussion.

Tiger Weak Spots

The Tiger is a pretty iconic tank and is mentioned pretty frequently in Soviet anti-tank manuals, but penetration diagrams for the big cat are hard to come by. The one in the collection I posted earlier is very simplistic and does not really give a lot of details. Fortunately, this diagram provides a little bit more information, if only for the 76 mm ZIS-3 gun.

As in the Panther diagram, red represents APCR, blue is AP, and green is HE. 

As can be expected, the front of the Tiger is a pretty tough target. The only hope with AP is to penetrate either the driver's viewport or to jam the turret. APCR also points at the turret ring. The maximum range for this kind of attack is 500 meters. At 800 meters, you can hope to knock off the tank's tracks with HE.

From the sides there are more options. The side of the turret and hull are vulnerable to AP and APCR from 800 meters, which matches some instructions I've seen. At this range you can also use AP or HE to hit the idler or drive sprocket, immobilizing the tank.

Comparing Shells

 "Report of the GBTU Self Propelled Artillery Directorate on results of comparative penetration trials of American, German, and domestic AP shells
May 13th, 1945

Firing according to the attached velocities was done at the Main Artillery Proving Grounds of the GAU at NKB proving grounds at Sofrino

Results of firing the shells at armour plates at prescribed velocities (see table)

#1: 76 mm AP shells against 50 and 75 mm thick plates.

The experimental shell from 60Kh30 steel shows undoubtedly superior results compared to the stock shell or the American shell.

How to Lose Everything and Learn Nothing

German tanks and SPGs of the second half of WW2 are often praised as "wonder weapons". Based on what is written about them, one can only come to the conclusion that Germany lost WW2 by accident. This is often said about the "big cats": the Tiger, Panther, and so on. Indeed, Germany's tank industry took a lead in 1943. Thanks to a sudden jump forward, one can argue that Germany had the best heavy and medium tanks. However, it was in the second half of 1943 that the Germans began to lose their grasp on the Eastern Front. A year later, German tank industry was no longer in the lead. The issues it faced were systematic, and despite an arguable second plate in the tank race, the Germans had no future when it came to either the tanks or their armament.

The Last 76 mm Hole Punch

Armament and vehicles become obsolete quickly in war. This is caused by rapid development of both new types of weapons and defenses. This can be seen in the history of WW2. It's easy to see progress if you compare what the belligerents were using at the start of the war and what they were using in 1945. This applied to all aspects of the tanks: chassis, engines, observation devices, armour, and of course the armament. Tank armament evolved rapidly during the war. This evolution was directly linked to the growth of armour protection. Early war tanks could be defeated with a heavy machine gun, but towards the end gunners had to crack open mobile pillboxes with 150-200 mm of armour. This required rapid development of anti-tank guns.

Warspot Article: British Tiger Trials

After having captured a running Tiger in North Africa, the British began a thorough study of this new German tank. Its performance was carefully evaluated in many trials that ran even after Germany's surrender. Read about what the British found in my latest article on Warspot.net.

 

Identification

"June 22nd, 1943

Package to comrade Antropov

I report that the investigation of rumours of Tiger tanks appearing in the region of Greater Karagashinka established that the enemy did not use Tiger tanks in that region. Questioning of eyewitnesses revealed that the enemy used only light and medium tanks. This is also confirmed from the forward observer posts and main artillery observation post. The rumours about the appearance of heavy tanks could have been caused by the appearance of heavy self propelled guns on the approach to Greater Karagashinka. One of them was knocked out. Three knocked out tanks were inspected: turned out to have been Pz.Kpfw.III and Pz.Kpfw.IV.

Transmitted by Konova"

Via Vladimir Nagirnyak.

Germany and the T-34

The Wehrmacht was stuck at Moscow in the winter of 1941, and leadership of the Reich had time to think while its troops developed frostbite. The first encounters with the T-34 and KV-1 tanks showed that Soviet engineers were much better at implementing thick shell-resistant armour and powerful tank engines. A whole commission arrived on the front on November 18th, 1941, to survey the situation. The commission included the head of the Tank Commission Ferdinand Porsche, his deputy and director of the Steyr company Oscar Hacker, head of Department #6 of the Ordnance Directorate colonel Sebastian Fichtner, the civilian head of Department #6 engineer Heinrich Kniepkamp, and high ranking representatives of leading arms companies: Krupp, Daimler-Benz, Henschel, MAN, and Rheinmetall. They examined Soviet tanks and evaluated the harsh conditions of winter and the lack of roads.

No one doubts that this examination had a significant effect on further development of the German tank school. But what were their conclusions? How did Soviet tanks influence German tank building? There are many different opinions about this, right down to calling the Panther a poor copy of the T-34. What was the real change to the German way of building tanks after the fall-winter of 1941?

Elephant Hunters

 "Characteristics of penetrative ability of guns and mines against enemy tanks
Based on combat experience and trials

1. Experimental firing against the 88 mm "Ferdinand" self propelled gun gave the following results:

A) Armour:

• Roof: 45 mm
• Rear: 80 mm
• Sides: 80 mm
• Front vertical plate: 200 mm
• Ball mount armour: 110 mm
• Driver and radio operator visor plate: 200 mm

King Tiger Battlefield Penetration Trials

Field penetration trials weren't an unusual phenomenon during WWII. Soldiers often wanted to look with their own eyes at what their own weapons can do against the enemy, plus the sight of blowing holes in enemy tanks is always good for morale. In this case, two rare beasts were captured for trials: a Tiger and a Tiger II. 

"1st Howitzer Artillery Brigade of the Reserve of the Supreme Command
November 9th, 1944
#01909

For your information, I direct to you the results of experimental firing on Tiger and Tiger B tanks.

Forward these results to battalion commanders, and the results on SU-152 shooting to all troops.

Attachment: the aforementioned on 4 pages.

Chief of Staff of the 1st Starokonstantinov Order of the Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelintskiy Howitzer Artillery Brigade, Major Vinogradov"

Diagram #1: upper front plate and illustration of the angle and thickness of the upper and lower front plates.

Final Exam

"Questions that must be studied during evening training by privates and sergeants of the 8th Independent Guards Belaya Tserkov Order of Lenin Artillery Tank Destroyer Brigade of the Reserve of Supreme Command 

1. Combat qualities of your weapon.
2. Ballistic properties of your weapon.
3. Ammunition issued per each of our weapons.
4. Penetration of our weapons with AP and APCR ammunition.
5. Armour thickness of the T-6 (Tiger) tank.

David vs Goliath

"Results of trials of the 45 mm gun and anti-tank rifles and the effectiveness of anti-tank grenades on the Tiger tank

On November 13th and 14th, 1944, trials of 45 mm armour piercing shells and subcaliber shot, anti-tank rifles, and anti-tank grenades against the tracks of a Tiger tank were held.

The following were provided by the 285th Rifle Division:

1. 45 mm gun and crew: 1
2. Anti-tank rifles and crews: 2
3. Subcaliber shot for the 45 mm gun: 20
4. Armour piercing shells for the 45 mm gun: 30
5. Anti-tank rifle cartridge: 40
6. Anti-tank grenade: 15
7. Hand grenade: 15

The 45 mm gun and anti-tank rifles were fired at a range of 30-300 m at angles of 90 and 45 degrees.

Captured Tank Observation

Continued from part 2.

"T-1 tank

The driver's observation devices are located in the turret platform. There are two slits in the observation hatch in front of the driver. For observation hatches are located in the corners of the turret platform. The slits in the hatches on the left side are covered with two layer protective glass. There are no slots in the right side. The driver observes through the front slits and the left slit.

The commander observes through the machine gun sight. Outside of battle, he can use the observation ports above the machine guns. Observation ports without slits are located on the sides of the turret. Two observation ports with slits are located in the back of the turret. The location and range of the devices is shown in figure 15. The observation devices do not protect the observer. It is impossible to observe to the right during battle.