The ferdinand later named elefant was a german world war ii heavy tank destroyer. The elefant german for elephant was a heavy jagdpanzer tank destroyer used by german. Surviving panzerjager tiger p elefant 88mm tank destroyer spg. On 11 april 1945, a tiger i destroyed three m4 sherman tanks and an armoured car advancing on a road. The official german designation was panzerjager tiger note 1 and the ordnance inventory.
The driver and radio operator were seated in the front of the hull. A look at the german heaviest tanks of world war ii, the tiger i, tiger ii king tiger, and the maus panzer viii. Inside a german tiger tank, the drivers sitting his assigned position. About 1,000km of this was made towing another panther tank. There are a total of 68 ww2 german tanks 1939 1945 in the military factory. As a result of the tactical emphasis you get a sense of the course of wwii in north africa, russia and europe. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed, the turret being attached, before the testing grounds were captured by advancing soviet military forc. Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order 1toz. Mass production began in 1942, with an eventual total of 1,354 vehicles manufactured. This memoir was his brutal and deeply personal account of the russian fronts appalling carnage. List of german combat vehicles of world war ii wikipedia. The henschel design won the competition and became the tiger.
The germans held a mastery of the battlefield throughout most of world war 2 until supplyanddemand curtailed progress and tactical blunders proved insurmountable. Lets go over some specific points about tank combat. Panzerabteilung in preperation of a visit by albert speer between 26 september and 1 october 1944. The driver and radio operator were in a separate compartment at the front. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicle ever built. A personal photo showing a ferdinand still under its own power after battle with its driver bandaged after being seriously wounded. E tiger also called mark vie, panzer vie, pzkpfw vie, sd. The tiger ii was the successor to the tiger i, combining the latters thick armour with the armour sloping used on the panther medium tank. Armed with an 88mm kwk 43 gun, this 70tonne kitty was able to pierce through any tank. Only five tiger p were fully completed in july of 1942 by nibelungenwerke with armored parts supplied by krupp, before the production was stopped in august of 1942 chassis number 150001150010. Note the damage to the left side road wheels due to running over a mine and making the vehicle immobile.
The elefant was a heavy jagdpanzer used by german wehrmacht panzerjager during world war ii. Surprisingly, the track setup on the porsche tiger chassis which the elefant vehicles are based, appears to have used two drive sprockets per track, where the frontmost wheel is sprocketed, just as the actual rear drive sprocket is. The panzerjager tiger p, more commonly known as the ferdinand or elefant, was a small series of heavy tank destroyers based on the failed tigerp. It was one of the most successful german heavy tank battalions, claiming the destruction of 1,400 tanks and 2,000 guns. Destroyed and abandoned ferdinandelephant tank destroyers after the battle of kursk. The battalion was the first unit to receive and field the tiger i. It was built in 1943 under the name ferdinand, after its designer ferdinand porsche.
German panzer iv workhorse of the wehrmacht in photos. Panzer abteilung in preperation of a visit by albert speer between 26 september and 1 october 1944. Sdkfz 184 panzerjager tiger p ferdinand elephant heavy tank destroyer htd tracked support vehicle the limited production sdkfz 184 appeared under the name of ferdinand in 1943 before hitler himself had the name changed to elephant in 1944. The official german designation was panzerjager tiger p or sd. Proportional sound system tiger i this system is designed to produce historically accurate sound for electrically powered military vehicle. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful postwar tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing combat in the front lines into the 1980s. The german tiger ii heavy tank is disputably one of the best tanks of the entire world war ii, and despite its flaws it was also one of the most fearsome. Good hp, average dpm, penetration 203, damage 220, reload time. Henschel tigers development was based on previous designs of vk 3001h and vk 3601h, while porsche tigers development was based on previous design of vk 3001p leopard. Ferdinand was designed on the basis of the chassis of the tiger p prototype tank which was not taken for production and ferdinand porsches construction known also as vk 4501 p the p letter stood for porsches. The 70 ton panzerjager tiger p, commonly known as elefant, has undergone an historic 3,500 mile return journey across the atlantic to be part of the tank museums new exhibition.
Apr 14, 2007 a comparative between the medium allied tank, m4 sherman, and his german opponent, the heavy tiger armed with a 88 mm gun. History, development, service, specifications, statistics, pictures, video and 3d model. Wolfgang faust was the driver of a tiger i tank with the wehrmacht heavy panzer battalions, seeing extensive combat on the eastern front in 194345. Of the 10 assembled tiger p, three were converted to bergefahrzeuge recovery vehicles, another three were converted to raumpanzer tiger debris clearance vehicle and the last four were retained for further testing nr 150004, 150005, 1500 and 150014. In 1944, after modification of the existing vehicles, they were renamed elefant. Slaps roof of ferdinand this b catches in flames and crew starts crawling out in fire.
Ironic that a tank named elephant had the same fate in italy that real. Of special interest is the point made about using combat tracks, rather than transport tracks, for train transportation. In 1942, the porsches tiger p prototype had lost the competition against henschels tiger h for a new heavy tank project, which would. The united states army ordnance museums restored elefant. German 88mm guns could penetrate a sherman at all ranges with ease 3. The vehicle and engine are still in great condition and operational. B was indeed produced by the same manufacturer, nibelungenwerk steyrdaimlerpuch to similar numbers 88, proved even heavier at 71 tons, but of dubious military value due to a mobility deliberately sacrificed on the altar of firepower and protection. Panzerjager tiger p, ordnance inventory designation. The centurion was the primary british army main battle tank of the postsecond world war period. This tiger i was destroyed by a comet tank of a squadron of the 3rd royal tank regiment on the next day without infantry support.
Elefant tank arrives for new exhibition the tank museum. The driver and assistant driver were in a separate compartment at the front. Henschel tiger s development was based on previous designs of vk 3001h and vk 3601h, while porsche tiger s development was based on previous design of vk 3001p leopard. On may 26, 1941 hitler ordered the henschel and porsche firms to design a new heavy tank. Of special interest is the point made about using combat tracks. Bundesarchive photos 1933 all fields of wwii page 765 bmashina. They were originally built under the name ferdinand, after their designer, ferdinand porsche the design evolved from cruder, improvised designs of 194142, as well as the later, but still defective,marder designs. Russia panzer vi tiger i number 123 of schwere panzer abteilung 503 afrika korps panzer vi tiger i number 142 of the schwere panzer abteilung 501 destroyed tiger of panzer division muncheberg altonaer strasse berlin 1945 tiger tank 311 from spzabt. In january to april 1944, ferdinands received modifications and upgrades. The tiger i, or panzerkampfwagen tiger ausfuhrung e pz.
May 11, 2019 the first unit, which was equipped with the tiger tank was the first platoon of 502. The vehicle itself was created as a relatively hasty development spurred by the shock. Bundesarchiv, bild 101i721037828 vennemann, wolfgang ccbysa 3. Jul 23, 2010 a tiger attacked forest rangers in kaziranga national park, in the northeastearn state of assam of india, in 2004. Personally planned by hitler in detail, the operation ended in disaster, and the russians were early informed about the new german heavy tank.
A tiger attacked forest rangers in kaziranga national park, in the northeastearn state of assam of india, in 2004. A comparative between the medium allied tank, m4 sherman, and his german opponent, the heavy tiger armed with a 88 mm gun. The official german designation was panzerjager tiger p and the ordnance. Bundesarchiv, bild 101i0883734a19a schonemann ccbysa 3. The panzerjager tiger p, more commonly known as the ferdinand or elefant, was a small series of heavy tank destroyers based on the failed tiger p skip to the content search. With its thick armor and devastating 88millimeter gun, the mark vior tiger isoon earned a devastating reputation on. But first im gonna say the advantages of the panther. The driver was located in the front hull left hand side, with a onepiece hatch opening rearwards.
The tiger porsche chassis was chosen to be the basis of the ferdinand tank destroyed. This documentary gives a useful overview of the development and use of the panzer vi in various forms with emphasis on the tiger and king tiger in historical progression. This on the above is the exact copy of a panzer vi tiger i on the above photo the tank pzvi, tiger i, comes with a diesel engine of 240 horsepower. Remplacement of an engine of ferdinand overheating tank. Sspanzergrenadierregiment eicke of the ssdivision totenkopf. It was insufficient for larger vehicles, with a tiger i heavy tank requiring three bergepanzer ivs to be towed, and the ferdinand requiring five linked in. Even before the rejection of tigerp s design, production began on 90 preproduction vk4501 p chassis and continued into early september of 1942. No earlier was the tiger tank being produced than the decision was taken to build a much better equipped as well as armored model. Aim for the shell ejection port the elephant during the finals were in an urban combat scenario and maneuvered like any other heavy tank, even though they work best as gun carriers and are actually very slow. Foasound1 combat rc sound system tiger i field of armor. Upgrade your style with panzer tshirts from zazzle. The elefant german for elephant was a heavy jagdpanzer tank destroyer used by german wehrmacht panzerjager during world war ii.
Above is a photo of the forward crew compartment of a tiger i, view taken from the bottom of the. H of the 12th panzer division carrying schurzen skirting operating on the eastern front in the ussr, 1944. Regarding the experiences in opposing the allied landing in normandy. Tiger tank stickers featuring millions of original designs created by independent artists. Was it realistic that a german panzer could take on 3 or 4. The king tiger tank in panzermuseum munster, germany. Panzerkampfwagen viii maus mouse was a german world war ii superheavy tank completed in late 1944. The tank weighed almost 70 tonnes, and was protected by 100 to 185 mm 3. Ferdinand n623 of the schwere panzerjagerabteilung 654. The panzer iv, panzer v panther, and panzer vi tiger have proven to be successful. Development of the tiger i was started in 1937 by the henschel company. Pz kpfw tiger p information about the panzerkampfwagen tiger p.
Only one tiger porsche were used in war as a command tank. A porsche tiger p ferdinand tank destroyer, along with its crew. Kursk were modified and redesignated elefant meaning elephant in german. Sdkfz 184 panzerjager tiger p ferdinand elephant heavy tank. The tank used the 88 mm kwk l56 based of the 88mm flak gun.
The first unit, which was equipped with the tiger tank was the first platoon of 502. Decorate your laptops, water bottles, notebooks and windows. All of these tankdestroyers were made on leftover porche chassis. The tank first saw combat in the fighting for leningrad, and tigers were at the forefront of battles from tunisia to kursk. I am going to leave the reliability issues of both tanks out. Ninetyone units were built in 1943 under the name ferdinand, after its designer ferdinand porsche, using tank hulls produced for the tiger i tank design abandoned in favour of a henschel design. Elephant panzer in action hd ferdinand porsche youtube. Sdkfz 184 panzerjager tiger p ferdinand elephant heavy. The new 45ton panzer was to be armed with a 88mm kwk l56 mounted in a turret designed by krupp. Panzerjager tiger p ferdinandelefant tank almanac wiki. Nazi germanys tiger is arguably the most famous tank of world war ii. The elefant german for elephant was a schwerer panzerjager heavy tank destroyer of the german wehrmacht used in small numbers in world war ii. German for elephant was a heavy tank destroyer used by german.
This is the story of what actually happened that day, including an interview. Porsche designed a new drivetrain for its heavy tank submission, one that coupled two conventional engines driving a pair of generators which, in. Aim for the shell ejection port the elephant during the finals were in an urban combat scenario and maneuvered like any other heavy tank, even though they work best as. This is the only preserved elefant 88mm german ww2 tank destroyer left in the.
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