Tiger II is the common name of a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, often shortened to Tiger B. The ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 182. It is also known under the informal name Königstiger (the German name for the "Bengal tiger"), often translated as King Tiger or Royal Tiger by Allied soldiers.
The design followed the same concept as the Tiger I, but was intended to be even more formidable. The Tiger II combined the thick armor of the Tiger I with the sloped armor used on the Panther medium tank. The tank weighed almost seventy metric tons, was protected by 100 to 180 mm (3.9 to 7.1 in) of armor to the front, and was armed with the long barrelled 8.8 cm Kampfwagenkanone 43 L/71 gun. The chassis was also the basis for the Jagdtiger turretless tank destroyer.
The Tiger II was issued to heavy tank battalions of the Army (Schwere Heeres Panzer Abteilung - abbreviated s.H.Pz.Abt) and the Waffen-SS (s.SS.Pz.Abt). It was first used in combat with s.H.Pz.Abt. 503 during the Normandy campaign on 11 July 1944; on the Eastern Front the first unit to be outfitted with Tiger IIs was s.H.Pz.Abt. 501 which by 1 September 1944 listed 25 Tiger IIs operational.| Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B | |
|---|---|
| Type | Heavy tank |
| Place of origin |  Nazi Germany |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1944–1945 |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Henschel & Son / Krupp (turret) |
| Designed | 1943 |
| Manufacturer | Henschel & Son / Krupp (turret) |
| Produced | 1943–1945 |
| Number built | 492 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 68.5 tonnes (67.4 long tons; 75.5 short tons) (early turret) 69.8 tonnes (68.7 long tons; 76.9 short tons) (production turret) |
| Length | 6.4 metres (21 ft 0 in) 10.286 metres (33 ft 9 in) with gun forward |
| Width | 3.755 metres (12 ft 4 in) |
| Height | 3.09 metres (10 ft 2 in) |
| Crew | 5 (commander, gunner, loader, radio operator, driver) |
| | |
| Armor | 25–180 mm (1–7 in) |
| Main armament | 1× 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 "Porsche" turret: 80 rounds Production turret: 86 rounds |
| Secondary armament | 2× 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 5,850 rounds |
| Engine | V-12 Maybach HL 230 P30 gasoline 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW) |
| Power/weight | 10 PS/tonne (8.97 hp/ton) |
| Transmission | Maybach OLVAR EG 40 12 16 B (8 forward and 4 reverse) |
| Suspension | torsion-bar |
| Ground clearance | 500 mm (1 ft 8 in) |
| Fuel capacity | 860 litres (190 imp gal) |
| Operational range | Road: 170 km (110 mi) Cross country: 120 km (75 mi) |
| Speed | Maximum, road: 41.5 km/h (25.8 mph) Sustained, road: 38 km/h (24 mph) Cross country: 15 to 20 km/h (9.3 to 12 mph) |
Henschel won the contract, and all Tiger IIs were produced by the firm. Two turret designs were used in production vehicles. The initial design is sometimes misleadingly called the "Porsche" turret due to the belief that it was designed by Porsche for their prototype; in fact it was the initial Krupp design for both prototypes. This turret had a rounded front and steeply sloped sides, with a difficult-to-manufacture curved bulge on the turret's left side to accommodate the commander's cupola. Fifty early turrets were mounted to Henschel's hull and used in action. The more common "production" turret, sometimes called the "Henschel" turret, was simplified with a significantly thicker flat face, no shot trap (created by the curved face of the initial-type turret), and less-steeply sloped sides, which prevented the need for a bulge for the commander's cupola.
The turrets were designed to mount the 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 gun. Combined with the Turmzielfernrohr 9d (German "turret telescopic sight") monocular sight by Leitz, which all but a few early Tiger IIs used, it was a very accurate and deadly weapon. During practice, the estimated probability of a first round hit on a 2 m (6 ft 7 in) high, 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) wide target only dropped below 100 percent at ranges beyond 1,000 m (0.62 mi), to 95–97 percent at 1,500 metres (0.93 mi) and 85–87 percent at 2,000 m (1.2 mi), depending on ammunition type. Recorded combat performance was lower, but still over 80 percent at 1,000 m, in the 60s at 1,500 m and the 40s at 2,000 m. Penetration of armored plate inclined at 30 degrees was 202 and 132 mm (8.0 and 5.2 in) at 100 and 2,000 m (0.062 and 1.2 mi) respectively for the Panzergranate 39/43 projectile (PzGr—armor-piercing shell), and 238 and 153 mm (9.4 and 6.0 in) for the PzGr. 40/44 projectile between the same ranges. The Sprenggranate 43 (SpGr) high-explosive round was available for soft targets, or the Hohlgranate or Hohlgeschoss 39 (HlGr—HEAT or High explosive anti-tank warhead) round, which had 90 mm (3.5 in) penetration at any range, could be used as a dual-purpose munition against soft or armored targets.
Powered turret traverse was provided by the variable speed Boehringer-Sturm L4S hydraulic motor which was driven from the main engine by a secondary drive shaft. A high and a low speed setting was available to the gunner via a lever on his right. The turret could be rotated 360 degrees in 60 seconds in low gear independent of engine rpm, in 19 seconds in high gear at idle engine speed, and within 10 seconds at the maximum allowable engine speed. The direction and speed of traverse was controlled by the gunner through foot pedals, or a control lever near his left arm. The system was smooth and accurate enough to be used for final gun laying without the gunner needing to use his traverse hand wheel for fine adjustments; most other tanks of the period often required manual fine traverse adjustments. If power was lost, the turret could be slowly traversed by hand, assisted by the loader who had an additional wheel.
Like all German tanks, it had a gasoline engine; in this case the same 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW) V-12 Maybach HL 230 P30 which powered the much lighter Panther and Tiger I tanks. The Tiger II was under-powered, like many other heavy tanks of World War II, and consumed a lot of fuel, which was in short supply for the Germans. The transmission was the Maybach OLVAR EG 40 12 16 Model B, giving eight forward gears and four reverse, which drove the steering gear. This was the Henschel L 801, a double radius design which proved susceptible to failure. Transverse torsion bar suspension supported the hull, and nine overlapped 800 mm (31 in) diameter road wheels with rubber cushions and steel tyres rode inside the tracks on each side.
Like the Tiger I, each tank was issued with two sets of tracks: a normal "battle track" and a narrower "transport" version used during rail transport. The transport tracks reduced the overall width of the load and could be used to drive the tank short distances on firm ground. The crew were expected to change to normal battle tracks as soon as the tank was unloaded. Ground pressure was 0.76 kg/cm2 (10.8 psi).
