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Articles, & Research on the European Theater in World War II
"Pantiger, A Redesigned Tiger" from Tactical and Technical Trends
One of the first
intelligence reports on the Tiger II, the new German heavy tank
encountered in the fighting in Normandy,
Tactical and Technical Trends,
October, 1944. The odd name 'PanTiger' did not last long, and the Allies
soon referred to the new tank as the Tiger II, King Tiger,
or Royal Tiger.
[Editor's Note: The following article is wartime information
on enemy equipment published for Allied soldiers. More accurate data on
German weapons and equipment is available in postwar publications.]
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PANTIGER, A REDESIGNED TIGER, NEWEST ENEMY HEAVY TANK
A new 67-ton German heavy tank — referred to variously as
Pantiger and Tiger II — has been employed against the Allies this
summer in France. Actually a redesigned Tiger (Pz. Kpfw. VI), it
mounts the 8.8-cm Kw. K. 43 gun. On the basis of a preliminary
report, the general appearance of the new tank is that of a scaled-up
Pz. Kpfw. V (Panther) on the wide Tiger tracks. It conforms to
normal German tank practice insofar as the design, lay-out, welding,
and interlocking of the main plates are concerned. All sides are
sloping. The gun is larger than the Panther gun, and longer than
the ordinary Tiger gun. Armor is also thicker than that on either
the Panther or the Tiger. The turret is of new design, with bent
side plates. In all respects the new tank is larger than the standard
Tiger.
![[The Pantiger, latest German heavy tank (Tiger II)]](german-tiger-panzer-pantiger.jpg) |
The
Pantiger, latest German heavy tank. |
Principal over-all dimensions of the redesigned Tiger are as follows:
| | |
Length | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | 23 ft. 10 in. |
Width | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | 11 ft. 11 1/2 in. |
Height | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | 10 ft. 2 in. |
Main armament is the 8.8-cm Kw. K. 43. It is equipped also with
two machine guns (MG 34), one mounted coaxially in the turret and
one mounted in the hull.
Armor thicknesses of the new tank are as follows:
| | |
Glacis plate |
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
150-mm at 40° to 45°. |
Hull side |
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
80-mm vertical. |
Superstructure side |
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
80-mm at 25°. |
Hull rear plates |
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
80-mm at 25° (undercut). |
Superstructure top plates |
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
42-mm horizontal. |
Turret front |
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
Approx. 80-mm (rounded). |
Turret side |
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
80-mm at 25°. |
Turret rear |
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
80-mm at 25°. |
Turret roof |
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
42-mm horizontal; front and rear sloped at about 5° from horizontal. |
The suspension consists of front driving sprockets, rear idler, and
independent torsion bar springing, with twin steel-rimmed
rubber-cushioned disk bogie wheels on each of the nine axles on each side.
The bogie wheels are interleaved, and there are no return rollers.
Contact length of the track on the ground is about 160 inches.
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