Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 148

As for Mao Xiong’s old rivals, the Tiger heavy tank and the Panther medium tank, they were the two major killers of the German armored forces during the Second Station. During the battle, they punched the T-34, elbowed the Sherman, and it is said that they destroyed a Tiger or The Allies lost five Panther tanks, which created an unparalleled contribution to the German armored forces.

The Tiger Leopard tank has become the "male and female evil" in the eyes of the Allied armored forces. Both the two star main battle tanks of the United States and the Soviet Union are invincible. As a result, the two tanks have become famous. Their influence lasts for decades and is still felt by future generations. It can radiate a large group of history and military research enthusiasts.

However, these two legendary main battle tanks were also the main causes of the eventual demise of the German armored forces.

Germany's scientific and technological achievements, especially the results of military equipment research and development that many people have long touted, have never been evidence that the Germans are superior to their allies in technology or national strength.

On the contrary, the short-sighted, inefficient, low-cost-effective, regardless of cost, and overachieving mentality in equipment research and development were the main reasons for the defeat of German armaments and the armaments of allied countries in the war.

The original sin of the Tiger and Leopard tank was its overemphasis on quality and performance, while ignoring production capacity and cost-effectiveness. In short, it is a war machine monster that the Nazis used precious strategic resources to piece together regardless of cost, with first-class combat effectiveness but poor maintenance, control, reliability, etc.

The strength of Tiger and Panther tanks stems from various high-performance indicators, surpassing their opponents in all aspects such as armor thickness, gun caliber, fire control system, and production technology.

In order to develop advanced tanks that can suppress opponents in all directions, Germany gathered the best scientific and technological personnel and outstanding designers in the country. It took more than a year to develop the Panther tank, and it was officially put into production in December 1942.

At this time, more than a year and a half had passed since the "T34 Crisis". In addition, in order to cope with the changes in the battlefield situation, the Panther was continuously upgraded in the later period. The development and upgrade of the Panther tank took more than three years;

而对手T34仅做一次升级，从T34/76型升级T34/85型仅耗时一个月。

The development of the Tiger tank began in the mid-1942s, and only a small number of them were put into service in March 3.

As precision combat weapons, many parts of the Tiger and Panther have complex manufacturing processes, requiring some precision processing tools and highly skilled professional and technical workers, and require separate factory production lines.

The T-34 does not have any complicated technology, and can even be produced by tractor factories.

The Panther tank has a total weight of 46 tons, which is almost the same level as Mao Xiong's Stalin series heavy tanks. With the same weight, the IS2 and IS3 are heavy tanks, while the "Panther" is defined by Germany as a medium tank;

Due to the use of traditional vertical armor, the Tiger heavy tank weighs up to 56 tons.

The huge body and heavy armor require an astonishing amount of high-quality steel. Germany's steel output is far inferior to that of the Allies, but the consumables for bicycles are much higher than that of Allied tanks.

Thanks to the high-power engines, the mobility of the two tanks is not bad, so the fuel consumption is also quite high. Unfortunately, the endurance is lower than the main opponent T34 tank.

The cost of the two tanks is also very expensive. The Panther tank cost 14.39 Reichsmarks. During the same period, the monthly salary of a corporal in the Wehrmacht was only 36 Reichsmarks.

The cost of the Tiger tank was equivalent to twice that of the Panzer IV tank and four times that of the Panzer III assault gun at that time, three times that of the T-34 tank and twice that of the IS-2 tank.

The Tiger Leopard tank became a veritable gold-eating beast in the eyes of the Wehrmacht, making the German military love and hate it.

It is obvious that the R&D and production of Panther and Tiger tanks have greatly occupied Germany's precious strategic resources such as scientific research, technical workers, factories, funds, and minerals, and have greatly restricted the R&D and mass production of other equipment.

Therefore, the Tiger and Leopard tank was the meat and potatoes of the German armored forces, but it was a hot potato for the Nazi military industry. The black technological wisdom of German military equipment was essentially to dig the east wall to make up for the west wall.

The precision of Tiger and Panther tanks determines their complex manufacturing techniques and processes. Therefore, the production of Tiger and Panther tanks requires more parts and skilled workers, and consumes more man-hours.

Taking the Black Panther as an example, its production man-hours are as high as 34 man-hours, while the production man-hours of the T- are only man-hours.

Complex processes and long production hours limited the output of Tiger and Panther tanks; during the war, the total production volume of Tiger tanks was only a little more than 1,300 units, and that of Panther tanks was slightly more, with only six. More than a thousand vehicles.

Due to the high index requirements of the Tiger and Panther tanks, Germany's industrial production capacity is not enough to support the large-scale mass production of the two tanks. The low production capacity of the two tanks is actually the result of the German military's excessive demand for quality and being forced to sacrifice quantity. The result of a compromise.

Compared with the Allied forces' main tanks such as the T34 and Sherman tanks, although their firepower and protection capabilities are inferior to those of the Tiger and Panther, their output is more than ten times that of the Tiger and Leopard tanks. The Sherman tank produced 34 tanks. There are many vehicles, and the production volume of T is as high as vehicles.

The Tiger and Panther tanks were completely overwhelmed by the Allied steel torrent, and their low production capacity and high battle losses were seriously unbalanced.

As sophisticated and advanced war machines, the Tiger and Panther have comprehensive and powerful functions, but their operation is extremely cumbersome and the probability of failure is relatively high.

Due to the over-emphasis on advancement, the complexity of the Tiger and Leopard tanks is staggering, and the training of tank pilots is also very time-consuming. Cultivating excellent tank pilots is even more difficult than the production of vehicles.

Even skilled tank operators must be careful when operating Tiger and Panther tanks. Tiger and Panther tank operators must not only be familiar with the control of the vehicle, but also be prepared to deal with possible malfunctions at any time.

Especially early models of Panther tanks had an astonishingly high failure rate. In the first battle of Kursk, more than 250 Panther tanks participated in the battle, and 210 were lost in just one day. Among them, frequent mechanical failures The losses caused by technical problems such as engine fires, engine fires, and transmission system problems were much higher than the number destroyed by Soviet artillery fire.

The T34 tank is not comparable to the Tiger Parr in terms of performance, but it has a simple structure and is easy to control. Even production workers can directly drive it into battle. The training of tank operators is much easier than that of the Tiger Parr.

In addition, the Hawpard tanks have flaws in terms of space configuration. Although the two tanks have large bodies, there is not much space left for the driver. Moreover, the spaces between the two crew members in the body are not interconnected and cannot borrow each other's space. The two are separated by the gearbox and a large number of superstructures. In addition, there are many sharp protrusions, which can easily cause injury to the driver.

The overall system of the Tiger tank is too sophisticated, resulting in many mechanical failures and frequent minor problems.

What's more serious is that Tiger tanks often break down on the battlefield, and the losses caused by failures have remained high, even exceeding the battle losses.

Although it has been upgraded and improved many times, the high failure rate of the Tiger tank has not been solved throughout its service period. In addition, with the emergence of the Soviet Union's new tanks T34/85 and IS-2, the advantages of the Tiger tank have been greatly reduced, and gradually He felt increasingly powerless over the battlefield situation.

The Tiger tank was forced to cease production in 1944, leaving the Panther tank alone to support the overall situation.

However, the Panther's failure rate is even worse than that of the Tiger, and its reliability is poor. It can be said to be the most fatal flaw of the "Panther". It is mainly attributed to design changes. The power system was originally designed for 30-35 tons. Tank formulated.

Moreover, in order to improve various indicators, the weight of the "Panther" was repeatedly increased, eventually exceeding 46 tons.

Therefore, the overloaded power system of the "Panther" not only leads to excessive fuel consumption, but also the components can easily be worn or even destroyed during use.

Therefore, the daily maintenance of the Tiger and Leopard tank is extremely frequent, and there are so many parts that need maintenance that ordinary workers are not competent. Just like production, it requires a large number of professional and skilled technicians.

The maintenance process of the Tiger and Leopard tanks is also very troublesome. First of all, both the Tiger and Panther tanks are seriously overweight. General rescue vehicles are not enough to tow the damaged tanks. Special rescue vehicles are required. Uncle Xi even in 1944 In April, Zeng personally ordered the expansion of the production of heavy rescue vehicles.

Even so, the injured Tiger tanks on the battlefield still require two or three heavy-duty trailers to tow them back, and many tanks are abandoned on the battlefield because they cannot be repaired.

In addition, the Tiger Leopard tank is too precise, resulting in more parts that need to be replaced per unit of damaged area, which requires the factory to provide more accessories for it, further squeezing the factory's production capacity.

Repairs and maintenance require professional technical workers. However, the main source of professional maintenance workers are technicians from major tank factories.

The top brass of the German army knew that without good logistical support, it would be impossible to quickly form and restore a strong combat effectiveness, so they had no choice but to invest the maximum amount of investment in and strengthen the technical support arms of the armored forces, even when there was an extreme shortage of material and manpower;

This was an unbearable burden for the already fragile German logistics.

In the game between the quantity and performance quality of tanks, the German military leaders chose the latter. Limited by Germany's industrial production capacity and the shortage of strategic resources, the Tiger and Panther tanks have never been able to be mass-produced on a large scale, and their own existence is uncertain. Small flaws.

When it comes to solving defects and improving production capacity, the two constrain each other, forming an endless cycle and becoming the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Although the starting point is good, in the process of practice, he is so happy to achieve success, completely disregarding his own ability to bear it, and interprets his lofty aspirations into being too high-spirited, and disaster is not far away!

The Second World War was a peak in joint operations of large corps and multiple arms. The so-called large corps not only refers to a large number of troops, but also covers a huge amount of equipment investment. This is also the material basis for large corps operations.

Germany knew this well at the beginning of the second leg. Whether it was a blitzkrieg against Poland or an air battle against Britain, it invested far more troops and equipment than its opponents.

During the raid on Mao Xiong, the troops and equipment of both sides were almost the same, but the troops and equipment assembled by the German army in the unit combat area were superior to Mao Xiong;

The numerical advantage over its opponents was also an important reason why the German army was invincible in the early stages of the war.

However, the good luck of the Germans did not last long. The sudden "T34 crisis" made the Germans unreasonably worried. For fear that the change of hands of equipment advantages would trigger a butterfly effect and change the direction of the war, they began to seriously study the characteristics of the T34 and draw on its advanced and reasonable advantages to develop a Excellent performance of the Panther tank.

In terms of single vehicle performance alone, none of the Allied medium-sized tanks outperformed them. However, on the battlefields of the large corps, the Panther tank and the Tiger tank, which also had high hopes, were always "played by dragons in the shallows". The Sherman and T34 encountered repeated defeats by the Allied forces. Not only did they not "outperform the old", but they also became a model for the German military industry to imitate others.

The Tiger and Panther tanks intimidated the development thinking of the German armored forces, which was to ignore quantity but have a high degree of superstition on quality and performance;

The result was that it not only harmed Germany's strategic resources and logistics in the backyard, but also dragged down Germany's armored forces on the front line into an abyss of no return.

The Tiger Leopard tank is actually not the best choice for German armored forces for several reasons.

First, compared to the T34, the Tiger Leopard tank's firepower advantage is not obvious.

黑豹坦克的终极版黑豹G型比T34/85型坦克正面对射时更占优势，能在800米的距离上洞穿T34/85的正面装甲，而T34/85只能在500米的距离上击穿黑豹G型的正面装甲；

The two tanks are equally matched when it comes to firing each other's side and rear armor.

Although the armor of the Tiger tank is thick, it uses traditional vertical armor instead of the more advanced sloped armor design at the time, so its protective capabilities are not commensurate with its weight.

The frontal protection of the Tiger tank is not satisfactory. The frontal protection is not even as good as that of the lighter Panther tank. However, the T34/85, which is lighter in weight, can cleanly tear through its thick front at a distance of 1000 meters. Up to 100 mm of armor.

This is also an important reason why the Tiger stopped production after 1944. It is not so much the Tiger's helplessness as its shame.

In fact, the advantages of Tiger and Panther tanks are relatively single. Their performance advantages are mainly reflected in armor protection and artillery penetration capabilities. Comparing the T34/85 tank, we can see that the defense and attack capabilities of this type of tank are not as good as those of the Panther , but it is far better than the Black Panther in many aspects such as reliability, controllability, maneuverability, and endurance.

In particular, the reliability of the T34/85 is impressive. It is still in service with the armored forces of Laos, the Peninsula and other countries, even though the production line of this type of tank has been closed for to years.

In the second naval battle of Yeonpyeong Island, the North Bang Navy even moved the T34/85 turret onto the warship, and suppressed the South Bang Navy's advanced third-generation PKM gunboat Tiger Head Sea Eagle No. 357. It could only parry and was unable to fight back. force, and finally the Nanbang ship sank before returning to the base.

Mao Xiong's T-34/85 tank is recognized as the best tank in the second station. Its firepower, protection, mobility and ease of production have reached the best balance, and it has brought the ordinary to its peak level and was born. Miracle.

Secondly, the brilliant performance of the German armored forces has little to do with the performance of the Tiger Leopard tank.

The German armored forces blitzed France and achieved an unprecedented victory. Many people mistakenly believed that French tanks could not match the German tanks. However, the French Soma S35 medium tank was superior to the German Panzer III tank, the main force of the German army at the time, in terms of firepower, mobility, and armor protection. , only slightly less powerful.

However, due to the poor tactics of the French army, they only used tanks to carry out some individual combat operations and did not fully play their due role.

Except for a few that were destroyed by the Luftwaffe, all were captured by the German army, incorporated into the German battle order, and put into combat on the Eastern Front.

The equally excellent R-35 light tanks and B1 heavy tanks did not play any role, and France surrendered.

On June 1941, 6, Germany launched "Operation Barbarossa" to attack Woolly Bear.

靠着突袭优势，德军将苏联布置在西线的320万部队、12000辆坦克打的溃不成军，但是在斯摩棱斯克战役毛熊独立坦克第4旅装备的T-34/76型坦克将“德国装甲兵之父”古德里安率领的第2坦克集群打的抱头乱串。

At that time, it was difficult for active German tanks to penetrate the front armor of the T-100 within 34 meters, but the T-34 could penetrate the front armor of all German tanks at a distance of 500 meters.

毛熊依靠T-34/76坦克的性能优势重创德军，此战红军击毁坦克20辆以上的王牌就诞生了5个，其中拉布里年科上尉战绩高达52辆。

Known in history as the "T-34 Crisis."

But the German army finally won, and the Red Army retreated all the way to Moscow under the edge of the Blitzkrieg.

This disparity in battle damage ratio caused panic among the German troops on the front line. Guderian and other generals collectively demanded to speed up the research and development of new tanks. The outbreak of the "T-34 Crisis" made the top German military leaders begin to gallop in the direction of one-sided pursuit of tank performance. Shiki and Black Panther came into being.

Contrary to expectations, the Tiger Leopard tank not only failed to maintain the power established by the "ancestral" tank, but was limited by its own production capacity and found it difficult to sublimate the super performance of the bicycle into the powerful combat effectiveness of the tank corps, laying the foundation for the decline of the German armored forces. Foreshadowing.

The performance of the tanks used by the German army in the Battle of France and Plan Barbarossa was not as good as that of its opponents. However, relying on a considerable number of tanks, coupled with life-saving strategies and tactics, and defeating the enemy, the German armored forces achieved the most glorious record in the war.

Although the Tiger Leopard tank achieved great results in battles after its birth, the German armored forces failed to win a battle that determined the direction of the war. The fundamental reason was that the number of tanks invested by the German armored forces was far less than that of its opponents.

On the other hand, the same is true for Mao Xiong. The number of tanks assembled in the unit's combat area is not as good as that of the German army. They only have killer weapons like the T34, but they are defeated repeatedly in battles.

In the middle and late stages of the war, the performance of the German Tiger and Leopard tanks was already ahead of the T34/85. However, relying on their numerical advantage, the Red Army tanks crushed the German armored forces to death.

Third, the comprehensive combat capabilities of the German armored forces, dominated by Tiger and Leopard tanks, were far inferior to those of the Allied armored corps.

The single performance of Allied tanks is inferior to that of Tiger and Parr tanks, but there is no generation difference. Due to the huge number of blessings, the comprehensive combat capability of Allied armored forces is stronger than that of German armored forces.

"Western Soldier Saint" Clausewitz once said, "In any case, numerical superiority is the most common and most effective winning factor."

The total number of German Tiger and Leopard tanks produced was only seven or eight thousand, while the total number of Allied Sherman and T34 tanks was as high as seventy thousand. The difference in numbers between the two sides was nearly ten times. When combined with the Lanchester equation, "the square of the performance can offset the quantity." According to the principle of "multiples of", the Tiger and Leopard tanks must have a hundred times performance advantage to compete with the Allied armored forces that are ten times their own.

As a result, even if Germany was extremely talented, it would be impossible for it to design such an excellent weapon.

The German tanks were few in number and had advanced equipment;

By emphasizing the quality and performance of bicycles regardless of cost, it has indeed achieved an impressive battle loss exchange ratio in battle, but it cannot produce quickly. In addition, the training of qualified tank operators is also complicated, and neither soldiers nor equipment can effectively replenish the losses on the front line in a timely manner. Therefore, As a result, German tanks fought less and less, and their combat effectiveness continued to decline;

In comparison, the Allies did not have such a dilemma. The numerical advantage of Allied tanks over the German armored forces also made them more durable and conducive to rapid replenishment.

As time passed, the strength of both sides waxed and waned. The German tanks and tank crews were exhausted, and the entire armored force could not escape the fate of waiting for death.

Fourth, the Allies are not incapable of researching high-performance tanks.

In the second station, Germany's technological level is not as advanced as that of netizen YY. In terms of radar, fighter jets, bombers, ships, atomic energy, etc., the Allies have overwhelming advantages over Germany. The advantages of the Allies in tank research and development are also obvious. The armored equipment of Mao Xiong and Germany started to develop at almost the same time. The two countries had in-depth cooperation in tank research and development after World War I. As a result of the two sides developing tanks at a normal speed, Germany encountered the "T34 Crisis", which fully shows that Mao Xiong is ahead of Germany in tank research and development level;

As for Germany being the latecomer, the development of the more advanced Tiger and Leopard tank is only the result of Germany's rapid assault regardless of the cost and exhausting all the strength of the country. It does not mean that it has overtaken the Mao Xiong in terms of research and development level and concept.

In the normal development of tanks, the Mao Xiong has the upper hand. However, if it imitates Germany but cannot develop a tank better than the Tiger and Leopard at any cost, it obviously lacks credibility.

Similarly, apart from leading the world in atomic weapons during World War II, Ugly did not lead other countries in other equipment. Could it be said that Ugly's technological level is not good enough and it does not have the ability to develop advanced equipment owned by other countries?

Of course it's impossible. Otherwise, how can we explain the Ugly country's "lonely pursuit of defeat" in the world after the war?

During World War II, the Chinese people only worshiped the words of "Western Soldier Saint" Clausewitz as gods, and only wanted to win the war. They were not enthusiastic about those fancy "black technologies" that had no impact on the development of the war. The only black technology they had - the number of atomic bombs was only three at that time.

However, those equipment that are not unique in the world, such as planes in the sky, tanks and cars on the ground, and warships in the sea, are numerous.

Germany's pursuit of weapon performance at all costs was also demonstrated during the Cold War. Even though its technological level and industrial capabilities were inferior to those of the United States, it was still able to develop more advanced weapons and equipment than the United States.

In addition, in the field of aerospace, Mao Xiong’s space technology is not more advanced than that of the U.S., but it was able to lead the U.S. by more than ten years in the early stages of the space race. This is still a miracle that Germany achieved during World War II by focusing on a certain field regardless of the cost. a copy of.

The fact that the performance of Allied tanks is not as good as that of Hawpard does not mean that the Allies are unable to produce excellent tanks similar to Hawpard, but that the Allies know better about choices and have a better understanding of the way to win.

The Allies are not as rigid as the German top brass. They do not insist on overwhelming the opponent in terms of quality. Instead, in the spirit of pragmatism, they find the best combination of equipment quantity and quality performance, and use a tank with balanced performance in large numbers. Corps combat maximizes the performance of a mediocre tank.

Fifth, Germany’s Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks and the “German version of the T-34” are sufficient.

Although the German Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks are not as good as the T34, they have a simple structure, stable performance and can be mass produced.

Before the appearance of the Tiger and Leopard tank, Germany relied on these two tanks to win almost every battle. German generals have proven through practice that the key factor in determining the outcome of a war is people, not weapons.

After the "T34 crisis" broke out, Germany did have the need to develop new tanks. At that time, the VK3002DB tank developed by Daimler-Benz and Skoda completely copied the Soviet T-34 tank in terms of appearance and performance. It was the "German version of T-34". ", but was rejected by Mr. Xi. MAN launched the VK3002M prototype and won the bid for production. This is the famous Panther tank.

Mr. Xi's abandonment of the "German version of the T-34" is a sign of sacrificing the last thing, because Germany can defeat the T34 with its Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks, and the Panther tank appears to have excessive performance.

The purpose of developing new tanks should not be to crush opponents in terms of quality, but more importantly, to be more suitable for the needs of the battlefield, so as to achieve victory while reducing one's own losses.

Abandoning the "German version of T34" and adopting the Black Panther, although the single-car performance instantly beat the T34, the number was too small and the commander lacked the necessary material basis for the art of war. The failure of the German armored forces was inevitable.

If Germany adopts the "German version of the T34", the production of tanks and the training of tank crews will no longer be the shortcomings restricting the German armored forces, and the German armored forces will be more powerful than in the early days of World War II.

In addition, the German army's tank and armored vehicle combat theory and commander's tactical literacy were ahead of the Bear in the early and middle stages of the war. It is entirely possible for the German army to defeat the Bear armored force before its strategic theory and tactics matured.

In this way, the German army's advantage on the battlefield will be more obvious, and the balance of the war will tilt towards Germany.

Numerical advantage has always been the simplest, crudest and most effective advantage in war. The top German military leaders were convinced of this. During the second station, whether it was the blitz on Poland, the British air battle, the French campaign or the Soviet-German battlefield, they tried their best to gather more numbers than their opponents. of troops and equipment.

However, German commanders and German fans seem to be trying their best to avoid this: when they win, they brag about how advanced the German army's equipment is; when they lose, they violate the most basic philosophical principles and complain that the opponent has deployed several times more troops than their own, and will destroy themselves. The subjective factor of defeat was attributed to the opponent's "human sea tactics", but there was no mention that one's own military strength was not much less than that of the opponent.

Take the Soviet-German War as an example. The German army invested a total of more than 9 million troops, and the Soviet army had a total strength of more than 10 million. There is not much difference between the two. The Soviet army assembled more troops than the German army in most battles, but Barbaro The German army invested much more troops than the Soviet army in many battles such as Project Sasha and the Battle of Moscow. Why did the German army never state that it used "human sea tactics" in these battles?

In fact, including Germany's servants, the total troop strength invested by both sides in the Soviet-German war was almost equal. Why was the Soviet Union always able to assemble several times the enemy's troop strength at the operational level?

In fact, this is the commander's art of war command, and it is also the embodiment of the military literacy and ability of the commanders and soldiers.

In fact, all countries attach great importance to numerical advantage, which has been highly praised by military strategists of all ages.

Throughout the war, the German Army's medium tanks, such as the Panzer III and Panzer IV series, have served a very good purpose.

However, the Germans did not ignore the changing requirements of the modern battlefield. As early as 1937, they had been envisioning a replacement for their Panzer IV tank series, but research progressed slowly as requirements changed every month.

This work was motivated by previous battles with the British Matilda tank and the French B1 heavy tank.

In June 1941, Uncle Xi implemented "Operation Barbarossa" to invade the Bear. This operation doomed the fate of the Third Reich. In the early stage, the Germans encountered the T-6 and KV-34 heavy duty newly in service of the Bear Army. series of tanks.

These tanks with sophisticated artillery and excellent armor can rival the German Panzer 1, 2, 34 tanks.

Of particular note is the T-34's use of fully sloped armor, large rubber-ringed road wheels mounted on wide tracks, and a 76.2mm main gun.

After studying several captured tanks, German engineers came to appreciate the design of the Bear.

The Germans decided to immediately start developing new tanks based on the T-34's sloped armor, and eventually developed the excellent "Panther" series of medium tanks

The tank has wider tracks, staggered road wheels, sloping armor protection and a powerful 75mm long-barreled main gun - all learned from studying the T-34.

The Henschel and Porsche designs survived and eventually evolved into the King Tiger heavy tank.

Initially, both Henschel and Porsche delivered a new tank design with a weight range of 30-35 tons.

The two companies delivered the VK.30.01(H) and VK.30.01(P) (Henschel's H and Porsche's "P") prototypes respectively.

Neither vehicle was selected, but further development continued, and in May 1941 a new project emerged named "VK.5".

Equipped with an 45.01mm gun, the VK.88 was a practical anti-tank weapon that initially fought as an anti-aircraft gun before evolving into an effective tank killer, with Krupp assigned to deliver the main gun and turret assembly.

The new tank was scheduled to be reviewed on April 1942, 4 as a birthday present for the Führer.

The Henschel prototype was designated VK.45.01(H), while the Porsche submission became VK.45.01(P).

Ferdinand Porsche maintained a close relationship with Uncle Schiff, from which his company benefited greatly, instilling a false confidence that Porsche's designs would be superior to Henschel's.

Before production orders were officially assigned, Ferdinand equipped his workshop with 100 Porsche tank designs.

The prototype was completed and reviewed as planned, and the Porsche Design was considered the most popular model.

Unfortunately for Porsche, the use of a gas powertrain doomed him due to prominent faults during testing.

In October 1942, the German authorities established a special committee called "Tiger" to make a final verdict, and Henschel's design was selected for series production.

The tank was designated PzKpfW VI Ausf.H (SdKfz 182).

The few completed Porsche VK.45.01(P) (also known as the "Tiger P") were repurposed into other battlefield tools, including the "Berg-panzer VI" recovery vehicle and the Tiger P command tank.

To improve reliability and maintenance, some engines were replaced with Maybach-type engines.

Other Tiger P tanks became the chassis of the Ferdinand tank destroyer. It is said that only one complete Tiger P heavy tank participated in combat operations.

Development of the PzKpfW VI continued after the production decision was made, with changes to the original design resulting in a heavier competitor - now 45 tons above the 10-ton weight limit predicted in the original specifications.

The added weight forced engineers to compensate by adding an outer road wheel to each side of the track (i.e. staggered road wheels) and made it impossible to transport directly by rail.

Therefore, two sets of tracks were introduced - one for combat, to better distribute the weight, and another set of narrow tracks for transport.

The tracks could be replaced by Tiger crews in half an hour by removing all outer road wheels and installing narrower track runs (nut warning). Only then could the Tiger be transported by rail.

The German authorities eventually accepted the weight increase as they saw the Tiger's superior armor and powerful main gun.

Full-scale production was scheduled to begin in August 1942, with the first four Tigers already rolling off the production line. Production was expected to be 8 units per month.

The first 250 Tigers were equipped with the Maybach HL 210 P30 engine with an output of 650 hp.

After the 250th car, the engine was changed to a Maybach HL 230 P45, which increased output to 700 horsepower.

These Maybach engines were redesigned from existing aircraft engines and installed on the German Army's medium and heavy tanks. The HL 230 P45 uses the same engine as the Panther tank.

The fuel tank capacity is good for 85 miles on the road, dropping to 40 miles off-road.

The report stated that the Tiger could only operate for 2.5 hours before refueling.

As a result, many Tiger tanks were scrapped in battle simply because it ran out of fuel, and these tanks were blown up to prevent enemy capture.

Due to the limitations of the Maybach engine, self-driving to the front was almost impossible and had to be transported by rail, although this required considerable preparation in advance.

Therefore, campaigns involving the use of Tiger tanks were planned in advance.

After the 391st Tiger, the turret was improved and the commander's hatch was redesigned. This hatch is no different from that in the Panther series, with an escape hatch left at the rear of the turret.

After June 1943, a new MG6 machine gun was installed on the hatch cover to strengthen the defense against infantry.

After that, the road wheels were also improved, and the rubber rings of the original car were replaced with steel rings.

As the war situation in Germany worsened, the last 54 Tigers were rebuilt from scrapped hulls and built with new turrets (at least 22 new turrets).

In addition, Tiger H also has certain wading capabilities.

After February 1944, Tiger tank hulls were used to meet other requirements of the German Army. This included the Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV), as the Tiger itself was heavier than any ARV in service at the time.

There is also a command tank called the "Befehlspanzer Tiger" with additional communications equipment.

When the self-propelled artillery "Assault Tiger" is equipped with a 380mm mortar, it has terrifying destructive capabilities.

In order for the Tiger tank to exert its maximum power, it must be equipped with corresponding tactics.

In May 1943, during an armored exercise on the outskirts of Kharkov, Lieutenant Colonel Georg Schonberger, then commander of the 5st Armored Regiment of the "Legend Guard" Division, asked the newly appointed "Tiger" "Wittmann, the platoon leader, has a question:

"If you find that there are about 30 T-34s attacking you from a distance of 1500 meters, what will you do next?"

Wittmann replied: "Step on the accelerator and feed them shells!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Schoenberg corrected him with a smile:

"You should drive to a sheltered area and wait for reinforcements to arrive."

More than a year later, on June 1944, 6, under the protection of a hedge, Wittmann quietly watched the armored column of the British 13th Armored Division passing in front of him. After thinking for a moment, he quickly realized Made your own choice.

Every encounter cannot be carried out completely according to the tactical principles written in the book.

Therefore, when evaluating a certain battle and making any evaluation related to right or wrong, one should carefully consider before drawing a conclusion. After all, uncontrollable factors such as luck and courage can also bring victory-even if the commander has Possibly a tactical mistake was made during the battle.

Of course, this does not mean that tactical principles are completely useless. Some widely applicable tactical principles worth learning are one of the topics during commanders' training.

For the "Tiger" troops, a series of combat instructions officially issued and summarized by the combat troops themselves made up for the German army's lack of training in this area.

In what kind of battle can you get the greatest rewards by investing in the "Tiger" style?

The essence of German defense is actually counterattack. Therefore, according to the German army's point of view, putting the "Tiger" into a fast and violent counterattack will maximize its combat efficiency, that is, using all available forces. , like a clenched steel fist, launching a fierce attack from the enemy's flank. If it can be taken by surprise, the effect will be better.

This point is fully explained in the combat instructions issued to each battalion:

Therefore, the "Tiger" heavy armored battalion in the hands of the commander is a powerful core weapon-the edge of the "Tiger" battalion can only be shown when united as a spearhead to ruthlessly attack the enemy.

Spreading the Tiger tanks will reduce their impact on the battlefield. If we are fully prepared for the deployment of the "Tiger" battalion and put it into battle at the decisive moment, we can ensure that a battle can be fully successful.

However, in actual combat, because the number of deployable vehicles in a "Tiger" battalion usually fluctuates violently, this forces the "Tiger" units that are ready for combat to be assigned to the command of experienced officers. armored battle group.

As for the luxury of putting an entire intact "Tiger" battalion into combat, there is only an opportunity to appear in large-scale combat operations, and the premise is that the troops have been notified of the action in advance.

In this way, the troops will have time to prepare for combat and maximize the number of available vehicles.

This is just like a pack of wolves attacking prey. They must conduct targeted reconnaissance, determine the number and size of the prey, and then decide how many troops to invest.

(End of this chapter)