Tiger II tank

1. Lead

The Tiger II (Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B), known to the Allies as the King Tiger, was the heaviest tank of the Second World War, and the most powerful tank that Germany built in large numbers. Armed with the long 88 mm KwK 43 gun, which could penetrate the armour of any Allied tank at long range, and protected by armour up to 185 mm thick, sloped at the front, the Tiger II was a formidable weapon, and it was feared by the Allied soldiers who met it in Normandy, in the Ardennes and on the Eastern Front. Only about 490 Tiger IIs were built, between January 1944 and March 1945, and the tank’s weight, its cost and its mechanical complexity limited its numbers, but its reputation — above all after its first appearance in Normandy in July 1944 — has made it one of the best-known tanks of the Second World War, and a symbol of German heavy tank design at its peak, and of its limits.

The Tiger II was the successor to the Tiger I, and it was designed to be better than its predecessor in every way: its armour was thicker and sloped, its gun was longer and more powerful, and its turret was larger and roomier. But the Tiger II was also heavier, at about 69 tonnes, and it was more difficult to maintain, and it was built at a time when Germany was losing the war, when its factories were being bombed, when its fuel was running out, and when its crews were increasingly inexperienced. The Tiger II’s story is therefore the story of a tank that was, on paper, the best in the world, but that was built too late, in too small numbers, and in conditions that made it impossible for it to change the course of the war. It remains, today, the tank that most people think of when they think of German heavy tanks, and it is preserved in museums in Europe and in the United States, where visitors can see its size and its power at first hand.

2. Key Facts

Type	Heavy tank
Origin	Germany
Designer	Henschel & Son (Erwin Aders); turret by Krupp
Manufacturer	Henschel & Son, Kassel
In service	1944–1945
Produced	January 1944–March 1945; about 490 built
Weight	About 69–70 tonnes (combat weight)
Length	10.29 m (with gun); 7.38 m (hull)
Width	3.76 m
Height	3.09 m
Crew	5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator/bow machine-gunner)
Armour	25–185 mm; 150 mm front hull (sloped); 185 mm front turret (Porsche turret 100 mm)
Main armament	8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 gun (80 rounds, later 86)
Secondary armament	Two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns
Engine	Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol, 690 hp
Top speed	About 38 km/h on road; about 17 km/h cross-country
Range	About 170 km on road; about 120 km cross-country

3. Background and Development

The Successor to the Tiger I

The Tiger II was born of the Tiger I’s success, and of its limitations. The Tiger I, which had entered service in 1942, had proved to be a formidable tank, but its armour was vertical, not sloped, and its gun, the 88 mm KwK 36, was powerful, but not as powerful as the guns that the Allies were developing, and the German Army wanted a tank that was better in every way. In 1942, the German Army ordered the development of a new heavy tank, armed with the long 88 mm KwK 43 gun, which had been developed as an anti-tank gun, and protected by sloped armour, like the Soviet T-34 and the German Panther, which had shown that sloped armour was more effective than vertical armour of the same thickness. Two firms were asked to build prototypes: Henschel, under Erwin Aders, who had designed the Tiger I, and Porsche, under Ferdinand Porsche, who had designed the losing Tiger I prototype. The Henschel design was chosen, in 1943, and production began at the Henschel works in Kassel in January 1944.

The Henschel and Porsche Designs

The Tiger II began as a competition between two firms, Henschel under Erwin Aders, who had designed the Tiger I, and Porsche under Ferdinand Porsche, who had designed the losing Tiger I prototype, and the outcome of that competition shaped the tank that went into production. Both designs were submitted and tested in 1943, and the Henschel design was chosen, because its conventional transmission and Maybach engine were more reliable than the Porsche design’s petrol-electric drive, which had proved unreliable on the Tiger I prototype. The Porsche design did not disappear entirely, because its turret, designed by Krupp with a curved front, was used on the first 50 Tiger IIs, while the Henschel turret, with a flat front and a thick mantlet, was used on the remaining 440, and the two are easy to tell apart, the Porsche turret with its curved front and shot trap, the Henschel turret with its flat front. Both designs carried the same gun, the 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71, the most powerful tank gun of the Second World War, which could penetrate about 200 mm of armour at 1,000 metres and about 180 mm at 1,500 metres, and which was the reason Allied crews were told to avoid a Tiger II at long range. The sections below describe first the competition, and then the KwK 43 gun.

The Competition

The Henschel and Porsche designs were both submitted in 1943, and they were both tested, and the Henschel design, which used a conventional transmission and a Maybach engine, was chosen, because it was more reliable than the Porsche design, which used a petrol-electric drive that had proved unreliable on the Tiger I prototype. The Porsche design’s turret, which was designed by Krupp and which had a curved front, was used on the first 50 Tiger IIs, which are known as the “Porsche turret” Tiger IIs, although the turret was actually designed by Krupp, and the Henschel turret, which had a flat front and which was simpler to build, was used on the remaining 440 Tiger IIs, which are known as the “Henschel turret” or “production turret” Tiger IIs. The two turrets are easy to tell apart: the Porsche turret has a curved, almost bulbous front, with a shot trap under the gun mantlet, while the Henschel turret has a flat front, with a thick mantlet that covers the whole front of the turret.

The KwK 43 Gun

The Tiger II’s gun was the 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71, which was the most powerful tank gun of the Second World War, and which could penetrate about 200 mm of armour at 1,000 metres, with its armour-piercing round, and about 180 mm at 1,500 metres, which was enough to penetrate the frontal armour of any Allied tank, including the Soviet IS-2 and the American Pershing, at long range. The gun was 6.25 metres long, it was mounted in a large turret, and it was aimed with a binocular gun sight, and it was loaded by a loader who worked in the turret, and who had to handle shells that weighed about 23 kilograms, which was heavy work, and which limited the gun’s rate of fire to about 6 to 8 rounds per minute. The KwK 43 was the Tiger II’s main weapon, and it was the reason why the tank was feared, and why Allied tank crews were told to avoid engaging a Tiger II at long range, and to call in artillery and air support instead.

Production at Kassel

Production of the Tiger II began at the Henschel works in Kassel in January 1944, and it continued until March 1945, when the factory was overrun by American forces, and about 490 Tiger IIs were built in that time, at a rate of about 30 to 40 per month, which was far fewer than the rate at which the Allies were building tanks, and which was a measure of the Tiger II’s cost and complexity. The Henschel works were bombed by the Allies in 1944, and production was disrupted, and the Tiger IIs that were built were often delivered without all of their equipment, and their crews had to complete them in the field, which was a sign of the pressure that German industry was under. The Tiger II was issued to the heavy tank battalions of the German Army and of the Waffen-SS, each of which was to have 45 Tiger IIs, although few battalions ever reached that strength, because the tanks were lost faster than they could be replaced.

4. Design

Sloped Armour and the Big Turret

The Tiger II was a large, heavy and expensive tank, and its design showed it. The hull was a long, low box, with sloped armour plates up to 150 mm thick on the front, 80 mm on the sides and 80 mm on the rear, and the turret was a large, roomy box that housed the gun, the commander, the gunner and the loader. The armour was sloped at the front, at an angle of about 40 degrees from the vertical, which made it more effective than vertical armour of the same thickness, and which was a lesson that the Germans had learned from the Soviet T-34 and from their own Panther. The tank weighed about 69 to 70 tonnes, and it was powered by the same Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine of 690 horsepower that powered the Tiger I and the Panther, which meant that the engine was overstressed by the Tiger II’s weight, and that the tank was slow, unreliable and thirsty for fuel. The Tiger II’s suspension used interleaved road wheels, like the Tiger I, which spread the tank’s weight and gave a smooth ride, but which was difficult to maintain, and which clogged with mud, ice and stones in the Russian winter.

Engine, Mobility and Reliability

The Tiger II was the most powerful tank of the Second World War, but its power was undermined by the engine that had to move it, and the story of the tank’s mobility and reliability is the story of a gun that was too good for the chassis that carried it. The Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine gave 690 horsepower, enough for a tank of 45 tonnes like the Panther, but not for a tank of 69 tonnes like the Tiger II, and the engine, the transmission and the final drives were overstressed and broke down frequently. The tank’s top speed was about 38 km/h on the road and about 17 km/h cross-country, its range was about 170 km on the road and about 120 km cross-country, and its fuel consumption was about 500 litres per 100 kilometres on the road and far more cross-country, while its width of 3.76 metres meant it could not be transported by rail without removing its outer road wheels and fitting narrower transport tracks, and its weight meant it could not cross many bridges. Many Tiger IIs were lost not to enemy fire but to breakdowns, to lack of fuel and to being abandoned by their crews when they could not be recovered, and the crews needed skilled mechanics and a large supply of spare parts, in short supply in 1944 and 1945. The sections below examine first the overstressed Maybach, and then the powerful gun on a fragile chassis.

The Overstressed Maybach

The Tiger II’s engine, the Maybach HL230 P30, gave 690 horsepower, which was enough for a tank of 45 tonnes, like the Panther, but not for a tank of 69 tonnes, like the Tiger II, and the engine, the transmission and the final drives were overstressed, and they broke down frequently. The tank’s top speed was about 38 km/h on the road, and about 17 km/h cross-country, which was slower than the Tiger I, and its range was about 170 km on the road and about 120 km cross-country, which was short, and its fuel consumption was high, at about 500 litres per 100 kilometres on the road, and far more cross-country. The tank’s width, at 3.76 metres, meant that it could not be transported by rail without removing its outer road wheels and fitting narrower transport tracks, and its weight meant that it could not cross many bridges, and that it often had to be recovered by other tanks when it broke down, which was a common occurrence.

A Powerful Gun on a Fragile Chassis

The Tiger II’s crew of five worked in a spacious fighting compartment, and the tank was fitted with a binocular gun sight, a commander’s cupola with periscopes, and a radio. The tank’s main weakness, apart from its weight, was its mechanical reliability: the engine, the transmission and the final drives were overstressed, and Tigers broke down frequently, and many Tiger IIs were lost not to enemy fire, but to breakdowns, to lack of fuel and to being abandoned by their crews when they could not be recovered. The Tiger II was, in short, a powerful weapon that was difficult to keep running, and its crews needed skilled mechanics and a large supply of spare parts, which were in short supply in 1944 and 1945, when Germany was losing the war and when its factories were being bombed. The Tiger II’s gun was the best in the world, but its chassis was not, and the tank’s story is a story of a gun that was too good for the tank that carried it.

The Porsche and Henschel Turrets

The Tiger II was built with two turrets, the Porsche turret, which was used on the first 50 tanks, and the Henschel turret, which was used on the remaining 440 tanks, and the two turrets are easy to tell apart. The Porsche turret, which was designed by Krupp, had a curved front, with a shot trap under the gun mantlet, which could deflect a shell down into the hull, and it had thinner armour, at 100 mm on the front, than the Henschel turret, which had a flat front, with a thick mantlet, and which had 185 mm of armour on the front. The Henschel turret was simpler to build, and it was better protected, and it became the standard turret for the Tiger II, and the Porsche turret tanks, which were the first Tiger IIs to see combat, are now the rarest, and they are sought after by collectors and by museums. The two turrets are a reminder that the Tiger II was built in a hurry, and that its design was changed during production, as the Germans learned from combat and from the difficulties of building the tank.

5. Variants

Porsche and Henschel Turret Models

Variant	Years	Key features	Production
Tiger II (Porsche turret)	1944	Krupp turret; curved front; 100 mm turret front; shot trap	50
Tiger II (Henschel turret)	1944–1945	Production turret; flat front; 185 mm turret front	About 440
Jagdtiger	1944–1945	Tank destroyer on Tiger II chassis; 128 mm PaK 44 gun	88
Tiger II (command)	1944–1945	Command version with extra radio; reduced ammunition	Small numbers

The Tiger II was produced in two main variants, distinguished by their turrets, and the Henschel turret version, which was built in larger numbers, became the standard Tiger II. The Porsche turret version, of which only 50 were built, is now the rarer and more sought-after of the two, and it is the version that is most often seen in museums, because the first Tiger IIs to be captured by the Allies were Porsche turret tanks. The Tiger II’s chassis was also used for the Jagdtiger, a tank destroyer armed with the 128 mm PaK 44 gun, which was the most powerful anti-tank gun of the war, and of which 88 were built, and which fought in the Ardennes and on the Eastern Front. The Jagdtiger was even heavier than the Tiger II, at about 72 tonnes, and it was even more difficult to maintain, and it was a weapon that, like the Tiger II, was built too late and in too small numbers to change the course of the war.

The Jagdtiger and Command Versions

The Tiger II was produced in two main turret variants, but its chassis was also used for other vehicles, and the most important of them were the Jagdtiger tank destroyer and the small number of command tanks, which show how the German Army tried to make the most of a heavy, expensive chassis. The Jagdtiger was a tank destroyer built on the Tiger II chassis and armed with the 128 mm PaK 44 gun, which could penetrate about 200 mm of armour at 1,000 metres and was the most powerful anti-tank gun mounted on a German vehicle, and it weighed about 72 tonnes, was slow and unreliable, was built in only 88 examples, and fought in the Ardennes and on the Eastern Front, where it destroyed a number of Allied tanks but was often abandoned when it broke down or ran out of fuel. The command Tigers were a small number of Tiger IIs built with additional radio equipment and reduced ammunition, issued to the commanders of heavy tank battalions, identical in appearance to standard Tiger IIs except for their additional radio aerials, and used in the same battles in Normandy, in the Ardennes and on the Eastern Front. The sections below describe first the Jagdtiger, and then the command Tigers.

The Jagdtiger

The Jagdtiger was a tank destroyer built on the Tiger II chassis, armed with the 128 mm PaK 44 gun, which could penetrate about 200 mm of armour at 1,000 metres, and which was the most powerful anti-tank gun mounted on a German vehicle. The Jagdtiger was 72 tonnes, it was slow, it was unreliable, and it was built in only 88 examples, and it fought in the Ardennes and on the Eastern Front, where it destroyed a number of Allied tanks, but where it was often abandoned by its crew when it broke down or ran out of fuel. The Jagdtiger is remembered as the heaviest armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War, and as a symbol of Germany’s tendency, in the last years of the war, to build larger and heavier weapons, even when those weapons were too heavy to be useful, and when the resources spent on them could have been spent on more, smaller weapons.

Command Tigers

A small number of Tiger IIs were built as command tanks, with additional radio equipment and with reduced ammunition, and they were issued to the commanders of heavy tank battalions, who used them to command their units in battle. The command Tiger IIs were identical to the standard Tiger IIs in appearance, except for the additional radio aerials, and they were used in the same battles, in Normandy, in the Ardennes and on the Eastern Front. The command version was a reminder that the Tiger II was not only a weapon, but a command vehicle, and that its commanders needed to communicate with their units, and with higher headquarters, in a battle in which radio was essential, and in which the Tiger II’s powerful gun was only one part of its value.

6. Operational History

Normandy, July 1944

The Tiger II first saw combat in Normandy, in July 1944, when the 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion, equipped with Tiger IIs, was committed to the fighting around Caen, against British and Canadian forces. The Tiger IIs destroyed a number of British tanks, including Churchills and Shermans, at long range, and they proved to be almost immune to Allied guns at ordinary combat distances, but they also broke down frequently, and several were lost to mechanical failure and to Allied air attacks, rather than to enemy tanks. The Tiger II’s debut in Normandy was, like the Tiger I’s debut at Leningrad in 1942, inauspicious, but its combat value soon became clear: in the fighting around Caen, Tiger IIs destroyed Allied tanks at ranges at which the Allied tanks could not reply, and the British and Canadian commanders issued orders to their tank crews to avoid engaging Tiger IIs at long range, and to call in artillery and air support instead.

The Ardennes and the Eastern Front

In December 1944 the Tiger IIs of the SS heavy tank battalions fought in the Ardennes, in the Battle of the Bulge, where they spearheaded the German attack, and on the Eastern Front they fought in Hungary, in Poland and in the defence of Berlin, and together these two fronts were the Tiger II’s largest and hardest battles. In the Ardennes the Tiger IIs destroyed a number of American tanks, but they were slowed by their weight, by their fuel consumption and by the narrow roads and bridges that could not support them, and one of the best-known Tiger IIs of the battle, Tiger 332 of SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 501, was abandoned at La Gleize in Belgium during Kampfgruppe Peiper’s advance and is still displayed there today. When the American counter-attack began, the German Army was forced onto the defensive and most of the Tiger IIs were destroyed or abandoned during the retreat in January 1945. On the Eastern Front the Tiger IIs destroyed large numbers of Soviet T-34s and IS-2s at long range, but they were outnumbered by thousands of Soviet tanks, and they were lost to Soviet artillery, to air attacks and to mechanical failure, with the last of them destroyed or abandoned in the ruins of Berlin in April and May 1945. The sections below describe first the Battle of the Bulge, and then the Eastern Front of 1944 and 1945.

The Battle of the Bulge

In December 1944, Tiger IIs of the SS heavy tank battalions fought in the Ardennes, in the Battle of the Bulge, where they spearheaded the German attack, and where they destroyed a number of American tanks, but where they were slowed by their weight, by their fuel consumption and by the narrow roads and bridges of the Ardennes, which could not support them. One of the best-known Tiger IIs of the Ardennes is Tiger 332 of SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 501, which was abandoned at La Gleize in Belgium during Kampfgruppe Peiper’s advance and is still displayed there today, and the Tiger IIs that fought in the Ardennes were, like the rest of the German Army, forced onto the defensive when the American counter-attack began, and most were destroyed or abandoned during the German retreat in January 1945. The Ardennes was the Tiger II’s largest battle in the West, and it showed both its power and its limitations: its gun could destroy any American tank, but its weight and its fuel consumption meant that it could not advance far, and that it was often abandoned when it ran out of fuel.

The Eastern Front, 1944–1945

On the Eastern Front, Tiger IIs fought in Hungary, in Poland and in the defence of Berlin, against Soviet T-34s and IS-2s, and they destroyed large numbers of Soviet tanks, but they were outnumbered by the thousands of Soviet tanks, and they were forced onto the defensive as the Soviet Army advanced westwards. In Hungary, in the winter of 1944–1945, Tiger IIs fought in the battles around Budapest, and they destroyed Soviet tanks at long range, but they were lost to Soviet artillery, to Soviet air attacks and to mechanical failure, and most were abandoned when their crews ran out of fuel or when they could not be recovered. The Tiger IIs on the Eastern Front fought a losing battle, and the last Tiger IIs were destroyed or abandoned in the ruins of Berlin in April–May 1945, when the war ended.

The End of the War

In the last months of the war, the remaining Tiger IIs fought in the Ardennes, in Hungary and in the defence of Berlin, and they were outnumbered and outmatched by Allied air power, and most were destroyed or abandoned during the German retreat. The last Tiger IIs were destroyed or abandoned in the ruins of Berlin in April–May 1945, and the Tiger II’s production had already ended in March 1945, when the Henschel works were overrun by American forces. The Tiger II’s combat record — the ratio of enemy tanks destroyed to Tiger IIs lost — is often quoted as high, but the figures are disputed, and they reflect the Tiger II’s use in defence, at long range, against tanks that could not penetrate its armour, rather than a simple measure of the tank’s quality. The Tiger II was, in the end, a tank that was too heavy, too expensive and too difficult to maintain to win a war of production, and its story is a cautionary tale about the limits of heavy tank design.

7. Performance and Specifications

The KwK 43 Gun

Specification	Tiger II (Henschel turret)
Main gun	8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71
Armour penetration (APCBC)	About 200 mm at 1,000 m; about 180 mm at 1,500 m
Armour (front hull)	150 mm (sloped)
Armour (front turret)	185 mm
Armour (side hull)	80 mm
Armour (rear)	80 mm
Weight	About 69–70 tonnes
Engine	Maybach HL230 P30, 690 hp
Power-to-weight	About 10 hp per tonne
Top speed (road)	About 38 km/h
Range (road)	About 170 km
Fuel capacity	860 litres
Crew	5
Number built	About 490

Compared with its contemporaries, the Tiger II was superior in firepower and protection, and inferior in mobility, reliability and numbers. The Soviet IS-2, which weighed about 46 tonnes, was faster, more reliable and produced in far larger numbers — about 3,854 IS-2s were built during the war, against about 490 Tiger IIs — and its 122 mm gun could penetrate the Tiger II’s armour at close range, although it was slower to fire. The American Pershing, which weighed about 42 tonnes, was also produced in larger numbers, and its 90 mm gun could penetrate the Tiger II’s side armour, but not its frontal armour. The Tiger II’s advantage was that, in a one-to-one fight at long range, it would usually win; its disadvantage was that the war was not fought one-to-one, and that the Allies could afford to lose tanks that the Germans could not afford to build.

Comparison with the Tiger I

Compared with the Tiger I, the Tiger II was larger, heavier and more powerful, with thicker, sloped armour and a longer, more powerful gun, but it was also slower, less reliable and more expensive, and it was built in far smaller numbers — about 490 Tiger IIs, against about 1,347 Tiger Is. The Tiger I’s 88 mm KwK 36 gun could penetrate about 110 mm of armour at 1,000 metres, while the Tiger II’s 88 mm KwK 43 gun could penetrate about 200 mm at the same range, which was almost twice as much, and the Tiger II’s frontal armour, at 150 mm sloped, was far thicker than the Tiger I’s 100 mm vertical armour. The Tiger II was, in every way, a better tank than the Tiger I, except in the ways that mattered most in a war of production: it was heavier, it was more expensive, it was harder to build and it was harder to maintain, and it was built too late to change the course of the war.

Why the Tiger II Could Not Win

The Tiger II could not win the war because it was too heavy, too expensive and too difficult to maintain, and because it was built in too small numbers, at a time when Germany was losing the war and when its factories were being bombed. The Allies built tens of thousands of tanks — about 35,000 T-34s, about 50,000 Shermans and about 3,854 IS-2s — while Germany built only about 490 Tiger IIs, and the Allies could afford to lose tanks that the Germans could not afford to build. The Tiger II’s story is a cautionary tale: it showed that a tank that is too heavy, too expensive and too difficult to maintain cannot win a war of production, and that the tank that wins is often the one that can be built in large numbers and kept running — the T-34 and the Sherman, not the Tiger II.

The KwK 43 in Detail

The KwK 43 gun, which armed the Tiger II, was 6.25 metres long, it fired a shell of about 23 kilograms, at a muzzle velocity of about 1,000 metres per second, and it could penetrate about 200 millimetres of armour at 1,000 metres, and about 180 millimetres at 1,500 metres, which was enough to penetrate the frontal armour of any Allied tank, including the Soviet IS-2 and the American Pershing, at long range. The gun was aimed with a binocular gun sight, and it was loaded by a loader who had to handle shells that weighed about 23 kilograms, which was heavy work, and which limited the gun’s rate of fire to about 6 to 8 rounds per minute. The KwK 43 was the most powerful tank gun of the Second World War, and it was the reason why the Tiger II was feared, and why Allied tank crews were told to avoid engaging a Tiger II at long range, and to call in artillery and air support instead.

8. Operators

Germany

The Tiger II was used almost exclusively by Germany. It was issued to the heavy tank battalions of the German Army (Heer) and of the Waffen-SS, and to a few independent companies. The Army’s battalions, numbered 501 to 510, fought on the Eastern Front, in Normandy and in the Ardennes; the SS battalions, numbered 101 to 103, fought in Normandy, in the Ardennes and on the Eastern Front, and included the battalion that fought at Villers-Bocage in Tiger Is and in the Ardennes in Tiger IIs. A small number of Tiger IIs were supplied to Hungary in 1944, and a single Tiger II was given to Japan, although it was never shipped and remained in Germany. After the war, the French Army used a few captured Tiger IIs for trials, and the Soviet Union tested captured Tiger IIs at Kubinka. The Tiger II was never exported in significant numbers, and it remained a German weapon throughout its service.

Other Users

The Tiger II was used almost exclusively by Germany, issued to the heavy tank battalions of the Army and the Waffen-SS, but a small number of tanks reached other hands, and their story is the story of the Tiger II as a captured weapon and as an ally’s weapon. After the war, captured Tiger IIs were used by France, by the Soviet Union and by the United States for trials, studied by engineers who wanted to learn how German heavy tanks were built, how they were operated and how they could be defeated, with the French using a few in the late 1940s, the Soviets testing them at Kubinka and the Americans testing them at Aberdeen Proving Ground, where they were fired at to test their armour and their guns. The captured tanks were never used in combat by the Allies, but they were among the most valuable captured weapons of the war, because they told the Allies exactly what the most powerful German tank could do and what it could not do. The only Tiger IIs used in combat by a country other than Germany were the small number supplied to Hungary in 1944, operated by Hungarian crews trained by the Germans in the defence of Budapest and on the Eastern Front. The sections below look first at the captured Tigers in Allied hands, and then at the Tiger II in Hungary.

Captured Tigers in Allied Hands

After the war, captured Tiger IIs were used by France, by the Soviet Union and by the United States for trials, and they were studied by engineers who wanted to learn how German heavy tanks were built, how they were operated and how they could be defeated. The French Army used a few captured Tiger IIs in the late 1940s, and the Soviet Union tested captured Tiger IIs at Kubinka, where they were fired at by Soviet guns, to test their armour, and where they were studied by Soviet engineers. The United States tested captured Tiger IIs at Aberdeen Proving Ground, where they were studied and where they were fired at, to test their armour and their guns. The captured Tiger IIs were never used in combat by the Allies, but they were among the most valuable captured weapons of the war, because they told the Allies exactly what the most powerful German tank could do, and what it could not do.

The Tiger II in Hungary

A small number of Tiger IIs were supplied to Hungary in 1944, where they were used by Hungarian forces in the defence of Budapest and in the fighting on the Eastern Front. The Hungarian Tiger IIs were operated by Hungarian crews, who had been trained by the Germans, and they fought alongside German Tiger IIs, in the battles around Budapest, where they destroyed Soviet tanks at long range, but where they were lost to Soviet artillery, to Soviet air attacks and to mechanical failure. The Hungarian Tiger IIs were the only Tiger IIs to be used by a country other than Germany in combat, and they are a reminder that the Tiger II, although it was a German weapon, was used by Germany’s allies, and that its story is not only a German story, but a story of the Axis as a whole.

9. Legacy and Influence

The Most Powerful Tank of the War

The Tiger II’s legacy is, above all, its reputation as the most powerful tank of the Second World War, and as the tank against which all other tanks were measured. The Tiger II’s 88 mm KwK 43 gun set a standard for tank armament, and its sloped armour set a standard for tank protection, and its design influenced the design of later tanks, including the Soviet IS-3, the American M103 and the British Conqueror, which were all heavy tanks designed to counter the Tiger II and its successors. The Tiger II also influenced tank design in a more general way: it showed that a tank could be armed with a powerful gun and protected by thick, sloped armour, and that such a tank could dominate a battlefield, even if it was too heavy and too expensive to be built in large numbers. The Tiger II’s legacy is therefore a legacy of design, as well as a legacy of combat.

A Cautionary Tale

The Tiger II’s legacy is also a cautionary one: it showed that a tank that is too heavy, too expensive and too difficult to maintain cannot win a war of production, and that the tank that wins is often the one that can be built in large numbers and kept running — the T-34 and the Sherman, not the Tiger II. The Tiger II’s story is taught in military schools as an example of how a weapon can be too good for its own good, and how a design that is optimised for firepower and protection, at the expense of mobility, reliability and numbers, can fail, even when it is the best weapon on the battlefield. The Tiger II is a reminder that wars are won not only by weapons, but by the industrial system that builds them, by the training system that crews them, and by the logistics system that keeps them running, and that a weapon that cannot be built in large numbers and kept running cannot win a war, no matter how powerful it is.

The King Tiger in Popular Culture

In popular culture the Tiger II, the King Tiger, has become the symbol of the German heavy tank, and it appears in films, in books and in model kits, and it is one of the most modelled tanks in the world, with kits in every scale and in every variant. The Tiger II’s size, its long gun and its sloped armour make it instantly recognisable, and its story — a tank that was the best in the world, built too late and in too small numbers to change the course of the war — is one of the most compelling stories of the Second World War. The Tiger II appears in the film Battle of the Bulge and in other films about the Ardennes, and it is the tank that most people think of when they think of German tanks, and it remains, more than eighty years after its first appearance, the tank that defines the German heavy tank in the popular imagination.

The Tiger II in Model Kits

The Tiger II is one of the most modelled tanks in the world, with kits in every scale, from 1:72 to 1:16, and in every variant, with Porsche and Henschel turrets, and with different camouflage schemes, and it is built by modellers around the world, who value the tank for its size, for its long gun, and for its sloped armour, and who build it as a symbol of German heavy tank design. The Tiger II’s popularity among modellers is a measure of its fame, and it ensures that the tank will be remembered, not only as a weapon, but as a model, and as a symbol of the Second World War, and of the men who built it and who fought in it, and who are remembered, in the models that are built, long after the war has ended.

10. Surviving Examples

Museums in Europe

Only a handful of Tiger II tanks survive, and they are held in museums in Europe and in the United States. The most famous is the Tiger II at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France, which is in running order and which is displayed at the museum’s annual Tankfest, and which was captured by French forces in 1944 and which was preserved by the museum. Other surviving Tiger IIs are held at the Deutsches Panzermuseum in Munster, Germany, at the Kubinka Tank Museum in Russia, at the Bovington Tank Museum in England, and at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France, where a Tiger II is held in running order alongside a Tiger I as a static display. The Tiger IIs in Europe are the easiest to see for visitors in Europe, and they are displayed as examples of German heavy tank design at its peak, and as memorials to the men who served in them and to the men who fought against them.

Museums in the United States and Elsewhere

The Tiger IIs that survive in the United States are less well known than the Tiger IIs in Europe, but they are just as important, and they tell the same story from the other side of the Atlantic, as examples of the most powerful tank of the Second World War. The American Tiger IIs are held at the U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection at Fort Benning, Georgia, and at the National Armor and Cavalry Museum, where a Tiger II is displayed as an example of German heavy tank design, and they were captured by American forces in 1944 and 1945, brought to the United States for trials, studied by American engineers and fired at to test their armour. For most visitors, however, the easiest way to see a Tiger II is still in Europe, at the tank museum in Saumur, France, where the Tiger II in running order is displayed and runs on special occasions, or at the Bovington Tank Museum in England, where a Tiger II stands alongside a Tiger I, or at the museums in Munster, Germany, and Kubinka, Russia. The sections below describe first the Tiger IIs in the United States, and then how to see a Tiger II today.

The United States

Surviving Tiger IIs in the United States are held at the U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection at Fort Benning, Georgia, and at the National Armor and Cavalry Museum, where a Tiger II is displayed as an example of German heavy tank design. The American Tiger IIs were captured by American forces in 1944 and 1945, and they were brought to the United States for trials, where they were studied by American engineers, and where they were fired at, to test their armour. The Tiger IIs in the United States are less well known than the Tiger IIs in Europe, but they are just as important, and they are displayed as examples of the most powerful tank of the Second World War, and as reminders of the war in which they fought.

Seeing a Tiger II Today

For most visitors, the easiest way to see a Tiger II is at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France, where the Tiger II in running order is displayed and where it runs on special occasions, or at the Bovington Tank Museum in England, where a Tiger II is displayed alongside a Tiger I, so that visitors can compare the two tanks and can see how the Tiger II was larger, heavier and more powerful than its predecessor. Visitors who cannot travel to France or to England can see a Tiger II at the Deutsches Panzermuseum in Munster, Germany, or at the Kubinka Tank Museum in Russia, where Tiger IIs are displayed as examples of German heavy tank design. The Tiger II’s size makes it easy to find in a museum gallery, and its story, which is told on the label beside it, is one of the most compelling stories of the Second World War.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Tiger II tank?
The Tiger II, also known as the King Tiger, was Germany’s heavy tank of the Second World War, armed with the long 88 mm KwK 43 gun and protected by armour up to 185 mm thick. About 490 were built between 1944 and 1945.

How many Tiger II tanks were built?
About 490 Tiger II tanks were built by Henschel between January 1944 and March 1945.

What gun did the Tiger II have?
The 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 gun, the most powerful tank gun of the Second World War. It could penetrate about 200 mm of armour at 1,000 metres.

What is the difference between the Tiger I and the Tiger II?
The Tiger II was larger and heavier, with thicker, sloped armour and the long 88 mm KwK 43 gun, while the Tiger I had vertical armour and the shorter 88 mm KwK 36 gun. Only about 490 Tiger IIs were built, against about 1,347 Tiger Is.

Where can I see a Tiger II today?
The most famous Tiger II is at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France, where it is in running order. Other Tiger IIs are at Munster in Germany, Kubinka in Russia, Bovington in England and Fort Benning in the United States.

Why was the Tiger II called the King Tiger?
The name “King Tiger” was the Allied name for the Tiger II, from the German “Königstiger”, which means “royal tiger” or “Bengal tiger”. It was used to distinguish the Tiger II from the Tiger I.

Sources

1. Wikipedia, “Tiger II” — production of about 490, specifications, Porsche and Henschel turrets and surviving examples.
2. The Tank Museum, Bovington, “Tiger II” — the Tiger II at Bovington and the King Tiger’s history.
3. Thomas L. Jentz and Hilary L. Doyle, Germany’s Tiger Tanks: Tiger I and Tiger II (Schiffer, 2000) — development, production and variants.
4. Wolfgang Schneider, Tigers in Combat (Stackpole Books, 2004) — the heavy tank battalions and their combat record.
5. Steven J. Zaloga, Tiger II vs T-34/85 (Osprey Publishing, 2013) — comparison with Soviet tanks and the KwK 43 gun.
6. Musée des Blindés, Saumur — the running Tiger II at Saumur and its restoration.