The Tiger II was the common name of one Germany's best know heavy tanks of the Second World War. But this monster had its share of alias'...
Tiger II with the Porsche style turret rumbles along a wooded road
The official German designation for the Tiger II was Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. B, though this machine was listed with the ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 182. To its crews The Tiger II was informally known as Königstiger (German: Bengal Tiger), often literally translated by American troops as King Tiger, and by the British as Royal Tiger.
A Tiger II with the production "Henschel" turret under goes a paint job
The Tiger II's powertrain was Maybach OLVAR EG 40 12 16 B (8 forward and 4 reverse). Its main gun was the 88 mm KwK 43 L/71 with 80 rounds (Porsche turret), and 86 rounds (Henschel turret). A 7.92mm bow MG could be supplied with up to 5,850 rounds.
The Tiger II weighed in at 68.5 tons with the Prosche turret, and 69.8 tons with the later Henschel production turret.
A Tiger II, Eastern Front, 1944
The Tiger II performed very well against Allied and Soviet tanks. The M4 Sherman was unable to penetrate its frontal armor even at point blank range and the M26 Pershing and IS-2 had to close to within 1300 m and 200 m respectively.
However, a rush to get these machines to the field often resulted in early mechanical problems and frequent break downs, and the Tiger II's enormous weight made them tough to maneuver and unable to use most bridges.
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