King Tiger II

8/4/2019 King Tiger II

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All rights reserved. No IJarLof this work may be reproduced or used inany f orrns or by any means . .. .. .. .. .ra phic, electroruc 'or mecha nical ~including- photocopying or inforrnation storage and retrieval systerns-e-without written permission from {hecopyright holder.Pr in t ed in the United States of America.ISB'r\: 0-88740-185-6Publ i: hed by Sch iffer Publ ishirig l ..d.1469 Morstein Road; West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380

SourcesFederal ArchivesKohlenz Podzun ...PallasPubljshers ArchivesScheibert Archiv,esProfilePuhli cationsEgon Kleine P..F~Strauss

Tra11S' ated from the German by Dr. Edward 'Force .Copyright ] 989 by S 'hiller Publish ing.Li brary of Congress Catalog 1 \1 umber: 89~084175~

Pub ished by Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.1469 Morstein Road"Vest Chester, Pennsvlania 19380Please write for a free catalogThis book may be purchased from the publisher.Please' 'include $2.00 postage.Try your bookstore first.

i\maintens nee crew man cleans the t)ig road wheels witha spray g~In. Th is Tiger II also has the later tYIJe of


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A 'Tiger IF, also called 'King 'Tiger ~with the urret USf~(1 on t 'ie fi -SL fiftyranks, I 113S a skirring plate. am the turret: is bowed out 0 1 he left side forthe commander's scat.


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Armored Battle Tan c VI (Tiger II), Type B

As ordered. by Hi tler, the Henschel firm. and. Professor Porschewere commissioned in the spring of 1941to develop a.battle tankwith. a lighting weight of about forty tons and correspondinglyheavy armament. W'h,en the Germa.n. troops encountered theRussian KW I and IIand the T 34 that same year" the' level 0'(urgency was raised.

develop,ed, the Tiger II, also ca.lle,d the "Kirig Tiger':' (first by '[he" -enemy, then by the German.s too). It went int() series p.rcduction

at the Henschel works a.t the begirming of 1944..Th.e inclu.sio,n. ofa longer 8.8 em cannon (L/71 instead of the L/56 of the Tiger ,I)required different funning gear. All ~hiSt in addition to somewhatstronger armor, increased the weight by eleven tons over (hat o[the Tiger I. Bu t with this weight 0 . about 70 t,ons~not only wasthe vehicle underpowered (with an unfavorable power-to-weightratio), but it also exceeded its usefulness ..There were only a 'fewbridges that could carry its weight, and special vehicles andchains had to be built to transport it.

Thus in the sprjng of 1942 t\\TO prototypes were presented: thetechnically more conservative tank made bv the Henschel IirmJ lproved to be, the better one; the Porsche prototype, on the otherh d hi hid ~h h " 1 !ann, w , -IC- was equrppe lVII, many tecnruca rnnovatrons,failed completely. 'Nevertheless Hirler, probably because of thereputation of the renowned tank constructor, ordered both typesdeveloped further.

Thus the Ti.ger I of Henschel. and the "F,erdinandH (laterrenamed "Elephant") of Professor Ferdinand. Porsche carne intobeing. Both 'were equipped with 8..8 em lank cannon (Kwk) ..

Its mai n external difference from. the 'Tiger I. is Its better-Iookirtg turret ..There were two versions of itt The first Iifty usedthe so-called Porsche turret, which was origjnally [ntended fortIle Porsche Tiger ..From the 51st tank on, the King' Tiger wasfitted with a. flew turret (called the' production 'turret) made by theIirrn of Krupp. This turret stood out because of its strengthenedfront armor and smaf ler frorit surface, In addition, it a lowed thecarrying of 84 shel s, six more than before, It can also bedistinguished from the Porsche turret by the lack of a bowed ...outleft side for the commander's cuprrla.Since both tan.ks were tillable to stay ,at the required weight, tileTiger I weighed 60 tons, the Ferdinand 70, it was decided (0build.a new heavy tank. Thus the Panzer V, called "Pan,ther", carneabout, weighing approximately 40 tons .. The Tiger II was utilized in independent groups (heavyarmored units), which were put under the temporary commandof armies or corps as strong-po int weapons. It saw action almostexclusivelv :in the West ..s, early as the spring of 194:3,1 after '(he Tank , I " (Tige'r I) hadseen its Iisit actio and the "P nth"er" h rd d - d I I"" ," 1 . L : J . ! tT. II- " 1 .11 3. " " .,' a, '" ' .a "-.prove' rea ,r 0-

production, not to mention the plannin.g of a "'Panther II''', thelVe,apons Office requested a thorough.going' equalization ofconstruction groups to simplify the preparation process and thespare-parts situation, Since the Tiger I's first action showed thatmore shot-deflecting forms had. (0be added, a new Tiger type was

There were also "Kin,g Tiger" command cars, Bur they differedrmly in having more radio equipment, at the cost of theaforementioned quantity of ammunjtirm. In addition, a."PursuitTi.ger"!Jdeveloped from .it, was bui lt (some of which were armedwith a 12 18 em antitank gun). It had a non-turning turret,


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T'~1ePorsche turret of the "King'L'iger ''.~J)T()ll11Cti on 'units 1-50.

'!"he so-cal led "Production Turret (developed byKrIJPP') of the further "Kirig Tigers".


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'The "Kin,g Ti.ger" attajned legendary fame, somewhat unj ustifi-ably, On the one hand for reasons already menrioned; on, theother because of' the too lone " nh and- " cannon h' h, :a ' l l. ', .. .. . '' '' '' '. .. .. , r r e too-ro 0 -U, .:,.,' " ,y c I : r W ' IC' '_ g,a,veits shells ,3 Irigher penetrating power hut caused greater wear andt - - -d b ,- I it .' t b-I'.t h d "h thar anrr.jnecatase 0, I I'S rns a. ,1 1 .1L)", nao poorer accuracy tnan t eL/56. It also had, to be adjusted very Irequerrrlv. The interiorspace of the T'iger ,IIwas very limited", m.ore so thars the Tiger I orPanzer ViiBut there is no doubt thae the ';'King T'iger'", despite allits teething problems that qxrick developments ,aJw'ays show, andthe "Pursui tT'iger' developed from i. t all 'themore, were superior, I] h ks i h I'd' h !Ii I hi f di d 'o a .0,1.,:, er tan .S 10 t reWO'f, r at t ','at ume.. ts 'C .uet c ssa vantageswere Its too-high weight and, above all, its too-small numbers,

In all, 'there were built:Sd.Kfz 182, "Tiger rr-Type B "'Tiger Il" Views of the Tiger II with "Production Turret"

Hen- 1944-1945,schel 487sa.xe 2,67/268 Armored Commandlear ""Tiger II';'Type :B

H.en,.. 1'944-1945schel

,Sd.Kfz l86 Pursuit Tank."Pursuit Ti.ger'" Nibe- 1 1 9 4 4 - 1 9 4 5Inn-genwerke 70Type B

Armored RecoveryVehicle' "T,i.ger II" Alkett 1944-]945rebuilt 18,


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Technical data of he motor and transmissionof the Tiger II

Motor ..~s of Unit 251, Maybacb HL 2'30 P 45ca'r .uretor engine12' (60-degree V-form)130 x 145 mm23,880 em,700 HP at 3000 rpm600 UP at 2 ,500 rpm4 Solex 52 JFF II D double downdraftcross-country carburetorsDropped. 1camshaft per cylinder head,driven by spur gear8,,,Replaceable cyli.nder liners

Cvlinders"'Bore K = ' strokeDisplacementMaxirmnn powerSteady plowerCompression

Main. bearingsCooling'Batteri.esGeneratorStarter

..water, VIa pump2 12-vol[ 150 ah1000 'W6 UPTransmission drivi h ... kear engine, urrvmg C .aID tracks,

semi ..automatic pre...elector gearbox.M,aybac:h Olvar 4 0 1 12 16, 8 forwardspeeds, 4 reverse speedsLateral gearing 10.7Gearbox

Further techrrical data at the end of this volume,

:::t " ~~ 1 - : : : > t " " " % "$ ,. . . . . . . . ,____,_" " " ' " " ' - . .. ....

The driver's seat.

Rack Ior it 1e 8.,8 em ,mill uni tion sh ells, at righ t beh + nd


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Tiger IIwi III "Porsche turret nat the Bergen firi 11grange ill th e L iineburg8


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igcr IIwi th the rol led ~Ll1Te~~ts ClOSSem blern 1S not pain ted. on t f1f ' turret,but on the 11u '~I" ,The' fL8 em cannot CL/71) is eq ripped with a m.uzzle guard,9


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'gel II wi h the production turret made byKTllPI), Easy 0 recognize are the very wide (80 em) battle tracks of theTiger 1 .


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~,

n~ts


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he "Kling ,.iger"Yol.11

Deyeloplnene Units .' Opera'_l~OlnsWolfgang Schneider

SCHIFFER MIUTARY mSTORYWest Chester . PA

CovenA Tiger H dlll'lng: a hard f ight northeast of Aachen, IateNovember 1944.Inside Cover:Of the Sl X existing "King;Tigers still in iEILJUP(' i ovingl .Ol1.la Glehe, Munster, SaumQ!lr, Shrivenham, Thun), the onein the French TankMuseum (Saumllr)1 is the 0111,. one Ntillin dTi"eabll~conditlon. The pairit is not comple[l:l~"accurare, inc CrOS8 is 100 wide, ahe number 23.1(HeavyPanzer Banal.ion 5~fi)is some )!(I~ 100 hig,


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Printed ill the United States uf America,ISBN: 0-88710-287-9

Photos were provided by:Bovingron 'Tank Museum

-EgoI1 :KldneLa GI,elze MuseumDr, Franz LochrnannPanzermuseurn MunsterJobst von RomerRichard Freiherr von Rosen

Erwin StahlI'hyssen Hf'I1SChd, K;]s~]\Villl elm \'VinkclrnannThe other photos came hUIIl the author 's archivesSketches were provided by:The magazines l'AN.lli.U and Tank Mngasine of Tokyo

T'ranvlared from lllf' (;eHn


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Technical EvaluationEver since the war. the controversial questionhas been debated. as to which \VehrmachLtank was the most refined, the most powerfulof all, In lhisw(Hext the Panther and, theTiger U are always named. As su often, noabsolute decision clearly Iavurjng the one orthe other type can be made here.The Panther presented a particulaelv sue-ccsslul eomhinatiou of all three fiight.ing-

value parameters: firepower, mobiility andarmor protectierr. For the cond imiol1sof thosetimes it was very mobile, wen-armored(df'.signed to deflect shots), and armed with ahigh-performance 75-cm tank gun ..As [or the Tiger II, the slIlperim firepower

of (he 8.S-em Lntank gun and the heavierarmor protection can be cited. Naturally,these were paid for by a great increase inovendl weight with the same engine power.This, high weight caused serious problems incombat, especially for {he components of therunning gear, which caused Ill.my break-downs and greater stress. As with the Panthee,the side panels of the 'I'igee II were weakpoints and "\'CIT redesigned in tlre process ofrnanufaceuring, and {he existing tanks werereequipped accordingly .. In addition, theswing arms 1cnded to bend. These and [helack of Firmness of the rubber-mounted roadwheels caused their angled positions fir axialdisplacement. This in turn influenced theccurseofthe track links. The ljnks themselveswere under a considerably higher internalpressure, which caused the link bohs tobend.

The firsf lilly King Tigers were equipped with the so-called Porsche tune! (ahove).Thiswas more sharply vloped ann had a very rounded from, Its manu Facrllrp wasvery expensive, and it also turned our that rhp shape essenrial ly trapped shots andcaused


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A serif's of tanks served tor resting. This photo shows V8 in a rescue mancu ver at Kurnmcrsdorf. NOlin' thenumber plate - nOI used in combat - ou the bow plate.

.1


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The nNO drawings make clear the different turret front design and show in detailthepons of [he turret aiming telescope La [he lelt ol Ie gun mourn. The 'wire pi n locatedbetween (he ring and [he commander's cupola on the pruducriou turret was a makeshift


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Right:Inside view of the front of the hull, with the drivers seat::l nrl the radioman's seal. 10 Ihe tight beside it. In her weenis the gearbox_ i\ote the quarter-circle steering wheel,Lower rtght:This pirr ure shows the port For rhe short-range defensiveweapon rrom outside, in both closed and opened (righl)conditions,Below:In [he turret rool ahead of the loader was rhe short-rangedefensive weapon, 'which was operated from inside. Fogrartridges were gt'nrr


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crTAWAY llRA\HN(; Of THE KIl'iC TIGER

L Left ammun iuon rack2. Turruablc3. Radioman's seat,1. Driver's seat!l. Track rension cylincl~r6. Disc brakes

7. Torsion hal's1 : : . Right brake pedal9. Ldl brake pedal10. Drive pedalII. Lateral gearing12, Hand brake leverJ 3, Elevation crank]1. Swing arms1,1,Driver's periscopciIinow machine gun17. Cenrshift driveIS. Radio


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CUT A'WAY liRAWING OF THE TURRET

DETAILS SHOWNJ. Lank gnn2. Arnmunu ion racks3, Tuzret sidewallJ.GUl mount5. Gunner's Sf'in6, Loader-s seat_.-7 , Commander's spar -{ 1 I , : IS. Ann g'ual U -'~"", \ 1 l 19. Turr~t aiming telescope -~10. Close-combar weapon

ARI\iIOR PLATEA = , ~ t l O mm, SO degr ee sR = 80 nun. 70 rlegreesC = '10mrn, l2 degreesD = 150 mrn, YOdegrees. E ; ;; ;80 mrri ..70degrees

9


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l5. Hand brake leverHi, Fire extinguisher}7. Radiator duct18. Vemilaror wheel19. Coolant storage ra n k20 . Ex 11


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H,e '8 'VY =anze r88,- allen 5031'Felldherrlnha IeThe :F~rs,~:Com _pan')' O i , ( lh. is 'unit was the firs,~,troop urait to be snpjalied, on June ' 6- 1 1 " l '9 , 4 4 ,Jwi th th e T ig er II' and Iansfer red, to France ..~]i"'1~'~ '. ' ,1 ..' .d ..1 'S'fIll r ~I' .:, ,- .' 'f~ne \ - ' \ 1 ere un, oa e U J ' \,!I ,~l(lu:netef'S, west o.,I~a,['g(in, Dreux), Solh~,~,abo ut 200 kihJ]]ut!ter1!lhad UJ be co vered (in four Ri ,gb ~s)(0the areaeas I f eaten, l"" II ~eh ,P u t Iex t ra ord in ar v strai nson (he 'Vehicles and ~nduu:d a mnnber oftet[hnli("a~ bI"~akdown5" IOn1.} 0]] JuJ), 18 wasan ~t~;at;k'[Dade in the direcricn of Il:agn,. . andenemy attempts to break thrnugh W~[IC turnedb3Ck~

A~ the begi:nn:i,ng of Augl ls 1 t~ thl~ 3,r l lCompau)' 'W,j1S3] so rearmed with the T'iger l Ia~ M ai1 l"'l E'"C,amp a I'ld went int0 , i lI , , :1 ilounorth D IE the'~ciHe'; in the Ami.r~.I ] i i area the R 3 .La ,uk bad Hl be ti l low n IIIp 'ru 11 . eh eta D,g-It: of1ctre ,t f~ghtliug.

Ir n mediatcls J f lC l the ~\H~ed in \ ' as . J on 011L IU~ Nnrmandj coas lof Fr~H rc, the 1SfCornpany of Heavj Panzer Ba talion 5 l n . q\~'r,~~ ~up p lied wit h ~]1 King Tjger, The twopho~uiJ show nne of the tank: frclm I ' : ~ e earlyproducllun lot '\;.ih i ~hp ' sinlJ pl e aimingl~ies'lnpt port {later r "I .' o) , I , 1 ~ J n beside the~an k g U 1 1 ~ w 1 1i~~i S!i1 ex I cndetl ill U 11ep l C "l " :\ I r h t' it em ~ ide ol It ht ' tu I I lht ,"'vel ( l , ( ' , u o pC"n"II~ 0 f l i. ] jj~u]a [:H1Hl1lHlln on hr '[ ' 1 : 1 f"; 11Ia.' ~t't'n I


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1 11 the woodi near C a [0: teloup .he tanks of the un i: t :p~iC'p.i].rE Olr t, eir (irUl1 bat; in dDH~Iorcground is the tankw i mil u r ret n UTl1b' l~~


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Right:Dur ing the hitter Iigh L,jug east 0. 'r:aen all m eL a nks were 1 0 lone by one . The pif :1U re show oner Ihe road [0,Vimoutier .

Be-O\V a nd 10 ~,rC'1 , 'igh r:Both phOI,Q' how a is a bl d Tige U in Ples ,~_Cr in 0lt. hi a ]ale), aucm: l b ~row ha \y"" . th etu ] ~.~I Il t-~ 1 f ' I h c id '- , (ri h l.


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L,~lt:f 11 0 thr 11 ' ta nl \\, L ! " I ; a lJ df Hl un cl l \ \ II~ ] t . ; 'Hj]] un a Lu,,,lju [rom s Panther recov erv lank, and is being passed by. ' , : :n 1 I ' "H~ ;~U1 l r 0 0 1 )S (i tl ~her nn3g -ro ~11d is a ' '!fIg1 1 , (I,U!1 ~l"armoi 'I~fl~nut cal'),

Lower left:Ge] ieral Eisen hewer e 'canunes a rar~S:Led ..Royal'L'iger." The J loor of the hghl tug compai tmcnt wa 'bent by au explosjon. I'hc ar raugcmen L ot theservi cing openings and ~he eraci gcnry cxu hatch atthe l~b [runt can: b e s ee n.

Bt,l C J ~ ' ~ ' : This drawing shows all the epcriings in the base ofth e ~I'lger JJ~~ . _ . .... _ . -- _. - - _.- - .-- .- ..- - -,- - -- - .. - ~..~. ..~ - ,_ ~- _ . _ .. . - - - --, - ,- - - _ .. - - - - - - .- - -

I L_.---_...-,_.- .,-- -,-- ,..- -,_. ... - _ . -- - -- - ,. - - -- - - - ,_-- ---- -,_ - , _ , _ - _, - - - ,_ - ---- -e, 10 o ,,

.O~~_o,; . - - . , - . - _ _ , - - - _ - _ , - - _ _ . _ - - ~ ' W - " - r r _ _ .- __ , I O ;m = __ ,__ ._. J


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The- ;t 'nJ r: rnpanv turm d. irs r M airring l k v r mn Ihp 2r d and was likewi ~~IUp-lied '"\d,,h _ '"~.' r Ltiu k11 . Iaillr~l -Cau I ~ I'his J h uo sh ws uart f the '0111 ,nIl' III re d H'inl: iT\_ drill.


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On i\ugu ' 11, l~. I 1 I .h. fiT t [}ve rai lr ad car . were 1oaded an J ot led 0\\'11 11 rra '"k to the Ir , L. Th nex rI O _ . c l Y the ~ ain ' iva G ua ke d by five Thun e rb lts ne IE, , L "l ' n a : : ' ~ The J Is [ OH leader's tanl f Leutrrant Fr -iher'von Ro en ( 3 1 1 ) caught fir, Iell oruo th e [[raCKS d ._ 1.n.g C'U1crg{~nr:. uril ~ ins and i pped over ..B 1 w: co pal y w . un lo ded in Pt is drove _Ion. the .hamp . _ l .:. ' .. and 'IL ,ppt"d rtell; at r; re ,Irea i ' l 1 tl _ Bois de Viricermes.


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The unil ",'as completelv Jr l o:rgam :z,ed IlIial,e,ptember in Paderborn-Sennelager, and unOcto'b.e[ ' 12 ill 1 Ar 3:! S loa ded 1011 a ~Iilil] rurtran .port to Hun~gar,l'~There i]lf.:~' frsl under-'[00 th e di sarming 0 I,h,p' renegadeHungarian [l!OOp'8.Nex t the 'unit 'W~S su bordina ~e1 ito the () thP a Iller Di vis i.on f or an, ,u t ack east of~zolntok," An important partjal success wasthe p cvenrion of an advance Into the bark, ,ofrhe \\16bJer Arm:y ('~:roup" In he time that(011u \,\,rcd" the unit . .~,J.w a,vLiull repeated] , r inthe area cas,' of lIiudape5lj then 'cntL. of it.In December '[he unit was ransferred 10 th e

Stuhill'~",ei sscnh urg area and p lay lcd .'nim,'por tan t piar tin sta hHizm g 'f b . th reaterriugsituation there, O~ December 21 1 c w

Dam d HFcldh'f"rrnb.all~~ H '_ be birfe-"figJ] lirng il the rtu h lweissenburg an -a lasu~dum il early Fehruary 1 . '45. Almo l all [~bunit' . ta nk ''\ferc lost so that "t rep'hU:~'Dlefillllank ~,had 110 h d.Jivered i'u ebruarv.""ight'ing b. gan around the (;ran bridgeh ,-d,LI II;! r~UlUVSJ 1 o r li~rlli1 1 - ~av:"d _ h _ Ru ian.I.HI'"}: ra tion - 10 auac in ih di clion (Pie' .burg and ll'ienna. Despite auorherrlcl] ",ery of tank , thuugh, the 1. 1 ~i on1 ,r had 3,sn In gtll of 21 rank: (2~ ompanie ,~.Heav f'ig;h' ina on the ea t: id ' I . the Little " ' - ' I i " ' ! ! I:ar"arb ial1 ' an -~,in th Ii h!'r"'d,or( e ilEme~dspu hed rhe un 'ru' hack In ~ ie ,Hl'rdinn ofRudlVtis. The 1~,1 ('VOl Ti ,I' II. ranks wereb~O'~ln up OM ~I,a" ~(L 1I'~ .e m,ijorit~'I' of theun ~tre ugh t its '\ '"",b 1'0ugh to th e r\meri ',11

J , was turned ov r u 11 1 RU,-ir: :U1S. . .

.her it reconsritu inn. the l , lnim was sent to Hungary and first u r l, mi pU L d.uvI{nn:uegadc Hungari, n If 'p s 1 ' 1 , Bud:ap~:SIt ." lI . ' lu~ 3,rd Company (below) took up apu~t ilun b ] w I ,E" .' . ,


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Thi, photo hows a (au k h " r: ,2,d Corn ~a 1y ( '2'31, in the uppel- IIIv , l\ Hun' arian [ J \ " " irurod' ~ n ti-aircraf rrank j ' " ' in ] u ution,


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urricades,


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T h is '~Jn ique ~ILr]es of p h OHl!$ .'5lH')'\~ Ihe r l f1 'vp~opnrU~'n~ nE a battleIo r th t: 1'~I~Co r n p~lny () n Decem her : 2 } ) ' 1 1)44 ~H pfl]gardi. >( eas t o lrSu ..h I weisse nb urg, .1 -:1nga~r ~ r ) , A t f : i w ~ t the rianks pi jk, upa m rn un i rinn ~OT ~,ht~]~~gt~ns (Ieft) , then the atta k n rovesthrough the vi.Hag1t.l Of~~Vi'=r left.) with on e Lank on t'actD side ofthe street (here en the rigbl1. Below: The King I iger in I~hrellfo r~gI I)IlinJ bLlf'J1S af ter taki gad irert lu t,


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Below:After the vi.[lag lf has been [3ke n i r h e eli: tent of ~he loss, becornesetta]', The close- up photo ;;;;O~..SI ~hf" hurnjng rank wh.ichvutfered a hu'll penerratjon e U r h e 1~ 'n Iron t. The driver andradioman n o ~t 11 1~]1:Iives,

Right:An 1 1 l 1 l m u : r n k gu.n on th e le ft flank that had not been sjIenced hitTank 'I. ~4 a t II he shortest range ..The foUol j / \ , in .g tanks guard the(:~'C\'1r a s they abandon th e tank.


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Left: AnlaLi n~fbut true: lh e unit was reiss ued rhe S~ me tv.. :-J , 'lge r K 1 ta n k s {;;V IIh Po r sc h e tu fret s) nha t they ha l e fllbehind i J l l M aill- - re- am p ,

Above an d be l o \ 1 'I t ' : _ , he 0 ther IPh QI.os s h n,v ad di L i on 31 fa[]k~of the U] 1 ,: [ jn the S lu h Iwe ~sse []burg area I nerve i.s thech ief tan k (Jf the] st Corupanv ( lOO)J at -he '1o w er I eftanmher l. st Corm anv rank. be low 1\0; 3 . 14 .'aI r .


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Left:o r ank ,~33 tow S. a da 11 1a g "IO O L O mra de : 3 1] gf) ES ahfilaitLow CT 1e!'t~,K tU UC l O U.:3 t la r n a zed ra R1 . S \ v e r e 'I'~ k en 1 [.0 ' \ ienna b ), train a~d sc n L back", , r.i]1 Jan u ar y a11d Februarv a fler being repaired,


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. .

The Heavy Panzer Battalion 50'1unloading its tanks at Ki.(:lce, Poland, 'Tank :JI1~is being pu"~hed,hy a second']' ' ~,.,~ ' d -h kl . l h d E"'. '1'~' J ' ~ 1 ' . . " ' ] 1 I If' d.ga 0.111to tne rign r- "1, ,e [DrU ,a,( '/ ra c ~,I.,a]Jt,(ut a" ea " 0., u. .LU:~narrow s '1'1PlP,lng n r .arr.::.,1sst 1 . on r ~1e " e - ' ~ s 1, ' e .Then (hp trark, aprons \\'iU he screwed on",


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S'1'Rl1(: l'lR' " '.'0 STH~~~lG' ,H' or .\HE.'l vv i'T1GER" 'TANK '[INII


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DatumEnde ]9'43 .3L '~" 1 94 4 -0, ,~ 1 Qed.A.7 -,'. l . ~~2, 6 , . 1 9 4 4,

23 . 2 - 19~5

E rp :r.Se,~eK nm rn e rsd orr ~,3 -3.3

'J;

1 .3[~n:7.H),6,

4. 1944 -6 l()A_A,.. ~,-~... 1Il}44~ - JL .8.19441. ] .945

P zE r sa tz - u .. Ausb A b t 50 0 24I?[

.~

14, , 4 , . 19414 PzKp (FU) 3162).. 8 . - 21 - - 1 0 - FJ.44 . PzAbl ( .F 1 cl .) 3 0 I 3l25. 6 , - 7 - 8. ~S ' 44 PzAbt 50)11 t ' . . ; , 1 r : " I iA)ILo. 01 ~~. . ~ 7'1F'+'1 " . t ' ; I o t t L. ' I I I Uii..


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I

'There was dai~y Hgh.Lingaround r e 'turni g point of Stavclot. Tank 222was h i t . . 11 1h left side of m e hullwhile advar ring tuwai d [he' J _hleveB.rntlg~ and 1ad [0be aha doned.


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Th l" .ad l: nk . ; , . ) . 1 1- hf: Is t1 U\"1ng ' I ( . , k\~~rd oBi . l ~. 1 [r nll~] J . L. (11 ' e TL l I ~t '-hu kin hI lliu nuns.


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Above:1 0 , the Lata l of four King Tiger [auks ne hheh ind at L. G h . , u . E " tw were in ~he\r\r elI"UI10l1t Farm 'G rou.p : 1 1ere No.2] ~ is, 10 b eseen,. P iP e - 1. : ft :In the cen ter o f La. C T ~ , e ize, , : : J I i ~ 1h~ loot of [heChemin Vieill e -Vo i e, a O .i he r T~ger IIrc In ained after rh e en ' 0 f I.h e 1 1 3 rm1e \V h .ichwas used by soldiers of ~' e l .S -82no .~1rhorneD i v ision for b azo oka practice o n J cU '1 J ar v 1 R .1 9 4 5- . 'T o th eir amazement, the hol lo v rhargesdid n.ot penet fa te thc fron t armor,Left:A tank of .he .~nlCUlI lpa[1 ) ' threw ns rightrrark o n Rou e 3 3 uear Intersection K :22 I]20 (meters h - Iore La Gleue) and rouhl noL bemad e rn0 m le, Several days ~a ter, }\.n 1 .eriatso ] di ei s in s ', n~ rl the [a;nk and set ~.l~ a hall,grenade in {hp [UITer.


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r u:' othc: tank! N' ,~:.1.3 1 usred ,3\'I1a- ur li]Ju1 I ['94!;. when I e 1. pl S request the,A rn eric an s to ~'I t d it tc r 1 1 e , . 1 U :: 1 " ,( t uare(IIppe ~-gh t ), F _ r n rh fl''', i' \ ' 1 , 1 ' , 3 5 rnover f u y ~ h eBe]gial1 , \r11 y 10 ii' oS howplace tJ ' hove theJ urc h in AugtL~0fig J)] . In 1 7'5 i['\?'3,," g'vena non-au theru i cam uflagepain j b(.mg'h).On' )1 in I} ,,1wa it give J i:l It, ccur: II I


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T'iger 3:32 was a u aad oued by i~ cr ewnear Pe d l Coo a uti U"a III:~porte d to Sp - a hvrail by the ,6,,)rd,Ordnance EvaruarionC'Ull lPt1Jll (uppe-r l e h ) . From ht1'P on j Iwas taken to i\.nrwerp and s' . 1 ' 1 _ : e d l ro th eI. .S~A,. 1A"h l '1 r , , ' as ..X ( 11111ned~Jn.moughly 31 ~h e , fu erd een ProvingGT01Uld (leh)~ After the open] 19s "vet~r Insed i iwas displayed I( uuforturu relv'T d i ti l an ina C _urate paint [ob),


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i , . .t't ~o-l ~VI.I~ ~u~uled in", riel wirlu u: f~ J l. . I b. lll~,refueled, th[, k was .. IEVen t hree k j lum . ~sin rh('d irect iou uf rh R .a nne-C u 1 " 0 ( ih ad S1;]non b L ~ Id] ers 0HIli i.m~4n"'f' uIP h G ~.1 ('t~. ni l a l.l l j ., ra d u d .ia ve d ~h -t' lor\' ,'ek, .. n ( b " t o . ' rle- ~II rult i-. fre II was Pi' rsh cd ' tOVl, i n l[;.:


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NUl th of La. Gl,eillr: '~Tiger ~~;4 '[vas used tosecure Route 33 i-he direction u .Bo';rgounl0n!. I Lslowedleading American tank hur \~{~~.Shit iIlI. its l 'i ,g ' ,b L running gear ~. I i~ 'right i. [be .,.'reck u E 1m desi roved hItd~lk. , -. leal the road, jt \~. c, . pushed into the ditch al tn.g the road once (be tracks were . etached,

.p th e\l / 0 . )


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. b I\"~:Beyond ~:ave - l o t 'Tank ' 1 0 3 . also se 'n i tel 0' rdorl photosI:pa~e ;).': ~ ' Iwas hi' in rh e r inning g t" rlL ~ B e f o re the . ewIJhandnned it, r eo yb lew he m 1iJ1.. 'l f b: 'a ke so lh~1I IlH~ ernnnonwo u ld not 1111\/ nt\'~~H'daaa in .a he y i:1 lasi sh 0 .,L

R :g- h l:.r~nl~n:!\ , J ' " ' ; _ i S L: l ba rnlnned n~LI, rmne \'\.~ ~o r ,ri lsalrn U U ~I '~lIn' the hand ' O ' J ~,'Hl '11'lUI trur I

H ' = ~ , 'V , . y s - , ' ,I . . . .


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PanlZ1er J Batlallio,n 502II , , , , r c ' fotL ,(lid r aenn hlg, a : of ~"evemb -I ~ '. .' a r1. i1 ~il' [' h of 19 -1 ~ il,~ lar :s -pOI'] 'pd I the e ...ern r ron I If r Ste II. in ' ndH, . loaded there un ~:l!~r. ] 1 J 1L On. I, tr h li tl,,"as I k ~'n by . 1,I3~1 I]1 I \I [ II h - o s e. In th r \'i~il ~rof: _,ankfurt an d _ d r1. an d [rom [h prr i[atta J, d at the _:O.u.trilllltuddg,che'I ' ~)n. 'arch21 and 'lou.gll neal Sach cndnrf. h,' ( nckL .me to : ".', 1 ' ~ . iu c he in 3 rut' ~ cnu ld 1:10tfoll l\~U'D ~[arch .211[h e unit advanced ,3~~,a'i1. as a.(strerigt hened) hatrle ~TO,Ip. bu '[ .'hL an~alr'kats e had [0 b 1_ ~l ([Ii b e U Af en~my

superi IiI,), and ~n.ne .Ear] y iu ..p--i}. ret .eat fi ,!i{ ' l~g en ph ..," ga m . s I I. ~ 1,~Ol' iet, - \ + ' " h0al n a k from rth.br~d~ehead~ In. mid.-April there wa U' hlingi.n the Lierzen-Mar: .dotf-Hasenfelde-Arens-do f area: there 1 .1 1 uu ir w as snrrounded, butbroke 'f, througl \Vihmcrsdorf.}\ I 'the endo r 'pIiI iLought on tile north sid o r i.he"'0 zing-e See and then broke 00" of rhepoeket of Halbe, gradua tU I. I0Sl l l l lg aU it s Ulnk,~in the pIIO[e:s~,

T~lL art" unfortu J~ L c :l~ .. "e~) ~c~, .ncturesof ,~ho1 . remained of S" Iank l ni[l~:)O~(leh) anrl jO~ (oppo site p r .i .g e ) . ~iee lhescinIII~\ffTP rushed into act LOU irt smal l~rou'l '"

Rig,h [:I he ba ~talron


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Hes,vy S91Panzer ',al-alio]n 50, 3 commander( s, it L I rr n b an nfli:!1.rerI.nirzi :b~' a " v a r d. in g odeco a Ili[ So .I h, unir, establrshe as I ! J 4 4 ') ned to 1Y45w as sh ip p ed Lo 'hie eastern fro1lI'u ()D ]a.nuar,"27, 1945,but never ~!Il,p.n1into acrion as a unit.One part was sent 10 1 . 1 , e Arnswalde area inPomer ania, I.he nth er to Landsberg- K.us.tr.i n.The first group was 'u.floun,ded a r'Arns.~la' de on _ehruarv 4 at d re ieved h"

forces of the Ill. SS Tank Corps on FebruarvAs p la n;, we r e bci ng r n a i de to aPlll'Y th e' lybole uni [a~ Danzig under hie 'cornmand of

sh ,2li1d Arm r~i ih.' Soviet breakthrough~.01r~rard .:Ieuin took lj\hH':~ and di 'id f,rI ~hrurrit. IOn]'}'one half arri ,ft!d at D.U1Z i . an d ' ' ' ' ;1divided in 0 fO~lJ :r . l I . p . ' : ! i and ,;ubord.~ n:. :ur.d -, .~, [ d' h Imrantrv ~1,~HI1.0l.. .fre mure 311(1 more[h~i sated unjt I ueht on unlil (he end f~far: h ...'.~"rna] .part ,. as hipp _l b. i e. '( via- 'i 'in 'Inund ii' ''lh 8~rlin area Ie 'x t_ _'n ~ ...1' :1,_lie rh t lerna II d, r uf the unit . .. om o.f ilfJ . . J lling, l1fa.1l I)', \ '4T~. defeat d.

Right:(Jr1t'0. the rnos ~ u ct" . : : l ful mrn an d J' ~ IIlli(' LI.nil~1 r nl~.f'lHUmf Ci]u ci Kat1 B. ~im ta nn,p~",..~1 , \ rl Lt' giH I f 11i u.n k . "I TIl:' IH.Hl1 bt,)r ): 1 ~ CL)] l m ng~ ~1 ~ k s l r i!' . l 1r .


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;\ bo e: Arner ian U[ ( l ee l Sj OCrCiUP Y 1he \,\rn rk sn rl ~ xarn ine turret s set n block .

1 . pper r - r ~n,ehj,:eI}" uf King T~ger~was seriouslydr-laved IJ~'a heav- air attack 011 rh '"'He schti prou.u(_l.ion plant in Kasse l onOC ~oher ? ; 1y~>t

Left:T his phoao shot '~ [In ishcd turret at d hullUI i' l ' on rhe Henschel _i rm Is grounds:


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These three rare photos were taken shortly alter the war (upperleft) or in tlu early 19505 and! show rhe tanks at the AberdeenProving Grounds in the L-niled States in their or,igtinalcondition, with blue turret numbers, On the forward bull sidesand at left on the bow plate is the emblem of Heal'), Panzerroit 506 (a white cross on a round red background). Later itwas painted very incorrectly (below).

r-Hobbyc,af'-Caixa Posta l 205Porto Alegre - 90001 - RSRef . I


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9 7808 76ISBN 0-88740-287-9

90000IA King Tiger of Heavy Panzer Unit 505,This unit carriedi I . 1 l tactical numbers on the cannon and [he figure of aknight on m e turret sides.

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King Tiger II