![]() The Tiger II was developed late in the war and built in relatively small numbers – 1,500 Tiger IIs were ordered, but production was severely disrupted by Allied bombing.Īmong others, five raids between 22 September and 7 October 1944 destroyed 95 percent of the floor area of the Henschel plant. It is also known under the informal name Königstiger (the German name for the “Bengal tiger”), often semi-literally translated as the King Tiger or Royal Tiger by Allied soldiers. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. Produced by Henschel, the King Tiger was introduced into action on the Eastern Front in May of 1944. One of the most feared weapons of World War II, the King Tiger tank donned an almost impenetrable front armor. Underpowered like many of the World War II heavy tanks, the engines consumed a lot of fuel at a time when it was in short supply for the Germans. ![]() Proper bridges were no problem for the Tiger, but smaller bridges could be a problem if the river banks were too steep for them to be forded with snorkel. The next heaviest allied tank was 46 tons. Or there could have been a bridge.Īll the tanks that didn’t break (or run out of fuel) got stopped by the first bridge they came to. Most of the time during the Battle of the Bulge, the ever-thirsty King Tigers were either stuck in traffic on the narrow winding roads or desperately looking for American petrol dumps that hadn’t been blown up before they got there. The tank in the photo is Tiger II number 312, of the 3rd company 501 SS schwere Panzer Abteilung and 82nd Airborne Division troops. Photo was taken near the village of Corenne, Belgium, 1944. Two American soldiers inspect a destroyed German King Tiger tank and at the same time admire the three beautiful passing girls. Two American soldiers inspect a destroyed German King Tiger tank, Belgium, 1944.
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