1935 10, the development of small-volume and high-power engines for heavy tanks began first. The Army Weapons Bureau commissioned henschel to develop the tank, the serial number is still VI, but the name is "Breakthrough Chariot" I tank. Henschel company quickly came up with a specific plan, the overall structure and shape were similar to those of the Ⅲ A tank at that time, but this plan was basically the "ready-made goods" of the Ⅳ tank. At the end of 1937, only 1 chassis was built, but no turret was installed. On April 2nd 1937, henschel Company received a request to improve DW I, namely DW II model weighing 33 tons, and the actual work started on September 9th, 1938. In addition to replacing the turret of the IV C, the bulletproof vest was replaced by an integrated one, and the walking and transmission devices also changed slightly. However, the above two schemes did not "break through" the design framework of III and IV tanks at that time, but henschel did accumulate experience in manufacturing heavy tanks through them. VK300 1(H)
VK300 1(H)(VK means "experimental vehicle", the first two digits represent "30-ton class" and the last two digits represent "the first prototype"), which can be said to be the "ancestor" of Tiger I and is called "TigerCub" in henschel Company. At the end of 1939, the development orders were given to Porsche, henschel, Mercedes-Benz and Man (the latter two companies withdrew from the competition because they turned to develop VK3002, that is, V Panther). The code name of Porsche Scheme is VK300 1(P), and the code name of henschel Scheme is VK300 1(H).
After that, henschel chose to continue to improve the "breakthrough chariot" scheme. The car body has not changed much, and the thickness of the front armor has increased by 10mm, but the walking device is obviously different-7 pairs of load-bearing wheels on each side are staggered and suspended with vertical torsion bars. The crawler track is wider than the "breakthrough chariot" 120mm, reaching 520 mm. The staggered arrangement of the load wheels is the invention of the "king of ideas" of the Sixth Division of the Army Weapons Bureau (WaPruf 6, the department responsible for the design and development of the chariot)-engineer Keni Bergkamp (who presided over the development of E series tanks in the late World War II). This layout can not only evenly disperse the vehicle weight, improve the off-road ability, but also benefit the driving stability and ride comfort, and slow down the recoil of the gun to some extent. Therefore, this layout was later widely adopted by German semi-tracked vehicles and all tanks developed in the later period, forming a unique "staggered arrangement complex of load wheels" in Germany.
In May of VK3001(h) * * Finished product * * 4 chassis, 194 1, the work was transferred to VK360 1. Two of the four chassis of VK300 1(H) were converted into traction recovery vehicles, and the other two were equipped with 128 mm PaK 40 L/6 1 anti-tank guns, which became tank destroyers (1modified in March 1942).
VK300 1(P)
1September 3, 939, Dr. ferdinand porsche was appointed as the director of the German tank development committee, and was Hitler's chief consultant for tank development. The committee, composed of engineers and industry representatives, is responsible for the future tank design and provides professional advice for the tanks being developed by the Ordnance Bureau. By the end of 1939, Dr. Porsche should have learned from the Committee that Krupp and henschel factories are developing new 30-ton tanks. He himself also designed a new tank of the same level in the Porsche factory in Stuttgart, which is not bound by the technical performance requirements deduced by the Ordnance Bureau according to the training, and can freely exert his design talents (perhaps because of this, although many Porsche designs are advanced in concept, most of them do not meet the needs of the army, such as the electric drive concept of suspension system and an outer frame).
Dr. Porsche thinks that the mechanical transmission is not suitable for such a heavy tank, so he plans to use electricity as the power of the vehicle. The power generated by the engine drives the generator to generate high-voltage electricity, and the high-voltage electricity is transmitted to two motor-driven cranks to shift gears. This concept was the most advanced at that time, similar to the design of automatic transmission. This design body is called 100 (Type 100), or VK300 1(P), which is different from VK300 1(H) in henschel and is code-named Leopold. Built in 194 1.
On March 3rd, 194 1, Krupp provided Dr. Porsche with armor-piercing performance tables of 105mm L/52 and 88mm L/56 guns, and suggested that one of them should be chosen as VK300 1. In the last 88 guns, Krupp also got the contract to design the turret, and a month later Krupp completed the wooden model of the turret. But at the same time, the development plan of Tiger Tank began, and the plan of VK300 1(P) was immediately affected directly.
194 1 In the second half of the year, a mild steel VK300 1(P) body without turret was assembled in the Porsche factory in Nibelungen, and it was tested as a Porsche Tiger, after which the project ended.
VK360 1(H)
1940 during the invasion of France, although the Germans swept through western European countries with bold strategic planning, novel tank tactics and excellent military quality, the weaknesses of German tanks in firepower and armor protection were also exposed. Both the soldiers and the high command were surprised by the British Mathilde and the French Char B 1 heavy tanks, and it was difficult for the main guns III and IV to penetrate them. Therefore, the demand for heavy tanks is unprecedented.
When determining the gun caliber of the new heavy tank, Hitler had a disagreement with the Army Weapons Bureau. The former tends to be that the bigger the caliber of the gun, the better, and the thicker the armor. The weapons bureau is more rational. They don't "catch a cold" about tanks weighing more than 40 tons, thinking that this will lead to inconvenient transportation and deployment, and the mobility will be greatly reduced due to the restrictions of terrain, bridges and railways.
At the end of 1940 to the beginning of194/kloc-0, the third workshop of henschel company was expanded and heavy tanks were assembled by assembly line. Upon completion, the 6th Division asked henschel Company to immediately develop a 36-ton fourth-generation "VI tank". Requirements are: armor front 100 mm thick, side 60 mm thick, top speed 40 km/h. Artillery can penetrate 1000 mm armor at a distance of 1400 m.
In order to shorten the development cycle, save money and avoid technical risks, henschel Company still takes the road of gradual development-improving VK300 1(H). The main changes are as follows: the structure of the negative wheel is simplified, and the diameter is increased to 800 mm (1 pair of load-bearing wheels is added on each side); Cancel the pulley; Body size and armor thickness increase. 1941May 26th, the sixth place instructed Rheinmetall to design turrets for VK360 1(H). The company built a turret with inclined armor, namely H2 (later prototype of Panther Tank Turret), with the armor thickness of 60-80mm and the main gun of 75mm KwKL/60 Waffe0725 cone-bore gun (also known as cone gun, German concept gun). The base diameter of the gun tube is much larger than the muzzle, and its shape is conical. The shell-core is a dense heavy metal (tungsten), and the shell-core is surrounded by soft metal. The shooting principle is that the muzzle diameter is smaller than the shell diameter. In the process of high-speed forward movement in the gun bore, the soft metal is continuously squeezed, and the pressure in the gun bore rises sharply, so that the projectile obtains a higher initial velocity.
But henschel's company did not last long. In September, the bad news suddenly came: Hitler announced that cone-bore guns should not be equipped with tanks. The reason is that the barrel and shell of cone-bore gun need a lot of tungsten alloy, while Germany has almost no tungsten ore, so it is not easy to ensure the import in wartime. In this way, henschel was cornered, either quitting the competition or abandoning VK360 1(H) and building another chassis capable of carrying 88mm main guns, but it was only half a year before the deadline set by Hitler.
Henschel didn't give up, just didn't have time to "start a new stove" on the chassis issue. The design team can only enlarge VK360 1(H) according to the number of old roads, and then install an 88mm gun. After completion, the vehicle weight just reached 45 tons, so VK360 1(H) was changed to VK450 1(H).
Porsche Tiger Style
German heavy tanks were planned in 35 years. After several years of development, henschel developed VK450 1 after VK360 1. On the other hand, there is a parallel plan under way, that is, the heavy tanks developed by the Porsche factory itself.
At that time, in order to speed up the progress of VK450 1(P), the part of VK300 1(P) was modified for the former. The suspension device of VK450 1(P) is an improved suspension device of VK300 1(P). It has six load wheels, but no idler wheels. Each track consists of 109 track shoes, with a width of 640mm and a grounding part of 4 175mm(4. 175m). Tiger (P) (Porsche Tiger Tank) is equipped with two (air-cooled) Porsche1011engines at the rear of the car body, which can generate 3 10 horsepower. The engine drives the generator, which provides power for two electric engines, and the output power of the generator is 275Kw. The driving wheel is at the rear of the car body, not the standard front. The electric drive system is similar to VK300 1(P).
In late June, the Sixth Department of Ordnance Bureau asked Porsche if it could use Flak 4 1(88mm L/7 1) as the main arm, but Porsche replied in September that there was no such plan, so the turret originally designed by Krupp for 100 remained unchanged. 194 1 In July, Krupp won the contract to produce 100 upper body and turret for "Porsche" tiger. In particular, this order was directly placed by Porsche and failed to pass the weapons bureau, which shows the power of Dr. Porsche.
Due to problems in engine design, the problem was not basically solved until March. On April 10, Siemens, which is responsible for producing engines, sent two engines to Nibelungen. In any case, the first Porsche Tiger was assembled before Hitler's birthday on April 20th, and presented to Hitler together with henschel Tiger on the same day.
Prototypes of henschel and Porsche both arrived at a station near Rattenberg on April 9 1942, and then arrived at Rattenberg due to frequent mechanical failures 1 1 km. 1On the morning of April 20th, 942, 1 1:00, two prototypes, Porsche and henschel, were unveiled at Hitler's birthday ceremony in Rattensburg, East Prussia. The test was done in July, and the preliminary test shows that Tiger (P) is far from perfect. Although some improvements have been made, the technical problems have not been completely solved due to lack of time.
Both VK450 1(P) and VK450 1(H) use the powerful 88mm KwK 36 L/56 gun, which is improved from the 88mm36 L/56 antiaircraft gun. Krupp originally designed and produced turrets specifically for Porsche VK450 1, but it was later converted into henschel VK450 1. The first eight turrets were produced as low sides, flat tops and raised middle areas, which can increase the pitch angle of tanks.
The turret of Tiger's Puff (P) is installed at the front of the car body, which is very dangerous when it is surrounded. 1942 in July, two prototype cars were tested in the chariot school in Belka. The test shows that VK450 1(P) failed, while henschel VK450 1(H) was a great success. The main fault of Porsche is that the advanced power and control system is easily damaged and needs continuous maintenance. Tiger (P) is also longer than its competitors, which makes it less mobile. Although Porsche made it possible for the Tiger (P) to install 150mm KwK L/38 or 100mm L/70 guns, it was never realized. There are also plans to use 88mm L/ 100 guns, but they have also not been adopted.
The design of Porsche Tiger is really immature. Throughout the summer, manufacturers constantly revised the engine and electromechanical design, trying to solve the problems of oil leakage, overheating and durability, but still did not get satisfactory results.
Nibelungen sent the second car to KuMarssdorf for testing in June, but after walking 100 km, the engine suddenly stopped, and the two engines consumed 85 and 55 liters of gasoline respectively; After the test, it is found that even if you drive carefully, there are many poor designs that force the Porsche Tiger to break down.
These problems hindered the production of Porsche tiger, but Hitler repeatedly applied for Tiger development, which should be completed before September in any case. In fact, Nibelungen only completed the assembly of six Tiger cars before September, and the problems of engine and suspension system have not been completely eliminated. Then, in September, four vehicles were assembled with 10 * *, and a total of 10 vehicles were produced. Five of them were sent to Scheim, Dohler in August and September as training and test vehicles for the troops (this place was the training ground of the former Austrian army). Krupp, who is in charge of turret production, was also informed to suspend turret production and wait until June 1 1 to decide on the follow-up.
165438+1At the beginning of October, henschel officially fought against Porsche Tigers. Both factories have mechanical problems with the Tiger Style, but there is no relevant record of the competition results. Later that month, Hitler ordered the remaining 90 Porsche Tiger bodies to be converted into assault guns (Ferdinand tank destroyers), and the turrets produced for Porsche Tiger were also transferred to henschel Tiger.
In the end, only one Tiger (P) (chassis number 1500 13) took part in actual combat as the command tank of Hoffman Prinberg, commander of the Army's 653 Tank Destroyer Battalion, with turret number 003.
This Tiger (P) also took part in the war, because the 653rd Battalion was equipped with an elephant tank destroyer (an improved version of Ferdinand), which was convenient for logistics maintenance. There is no specific record of the car; In July of the same year, he lost in the retreat. In addition, it is recorded that a tiger (P) also participated in the battle on the Eastern Front, but it was not a soldier but a Porsche employee who drove the tiger (P). However, according to the interview biography of The Forgotten Soldier, Sal, a German-French mixed-race soldier who served in the Great German Division, recalled that his army was supported by more than 20 Porsche Tiger-style vehicles: the engine noise made by their hot cars in the open field made you feel like you were in a huge racetrack.
Henschel "Tiger" Style
1939, after D.W.IA was designed in henschel, henschel Company manufactured D.W.2, a tank with a total combat weight of 32 tons, five crew members and a main gun of 75mm L/24 tank gun. 1940, the german high command requested the development of a new 30-ton heavy tank. After that, Porsche, Mann and Daimler-Benz all launched their own design schemes. The design scheme of henschel Company is based on the previous D.W.2, and the prototype number is VK300 1(H). At the request of the military, four cars were built for testing. At the same time, Dr. Porsche's design VK300 1(P) was also approved and was asked to make a prototype. After that, henschel made two or four prototypes in March and September of the following year. However, after a T-34/76 tank was captured in June 5438+065438+1October of that year, the tank was poor by comparison, so the project was cancelled. A similar 36-ton tank project VK360 1(H) was also cancelled for economic reasons.
194 1 year, the Germans began to develop tiger tanks. 1941may, henschel and Porsche respectively put forward their own design schemes, VK450 1(H) and VK450 1(P). All of them are equipped with 88mm KwK36 L/56 tank guns. There is evidence that they all use some achievements of previously developed 30-ton tanks. 1April 20th, 942 (Hitler's birthday), showing the prototype of two tiger tanks. Although Porsche's design used distinctive designs such as gasoline engine and longitudinal torsion bar, it did not meet the requirements after testing, and finally lost to the more conventional design of henschel Company. However, in order to prevent accidents, the military asked henschel Company to produce 90 chassis of VK450 1(P) (all of which were later converted into elephant self-propelled anti-tank guns).
It is worth noting that Tiger I has nothing to do with the so-called T-34 impact.
After Germany met the Soviet T-34 in Barbarossa, the existing German tanks seemed to be behind the times. Because of this, elwin Adler, a design technician in henschel, said, "Everyone was surprised when they knew that Soviet tanks were better than any Wehrmacht tanks". Because the design of Tiger I was only based on the heavy tank that was tested at that time, it was different from the Leopard design based on the combat experience and mechanical comparison after encountering T-34, so Tiger I did not adopt innovative designs such as oblique armor. But it makes up for it with heavy armor.
194 1 mid-term, henschel company decided to manufacture two prototype tanks: VK450 1(H 1) and VK450 1(H2). The H 1 model is equipped with a 88 mmwk 36 l/56 gun, and the turret designed by Krupp for VK450 1(P) is installed. The H2 model was equipped with a 75 mmwk 42 l/70 gun and a newly designed turret-there was only a wooden model at that time. 194 1 At the end of the year, henschel Company decided to concentrate on developing model H 1.
The delivery deadline is1April 20, 942, and the prototype will be reviewed by Hitler on that day, so all projects must be completed before this. However, the completion and delivery date of the engine was April 10, so the two companies had to carry out the integration project on the train desperately during the railway operation, only before the arrival, but still could not get the most satisfactory results. Despite this process, the Germans finally decided to use henschel's vehicles.
Henschel was originally developed as Pzkw VI Ausf. H, later changed to AUSF. E. and the standard number is only Sd. Kfz. 18 1, also known as tiger flapping I ",has started mass production. On August 5, 1942, it was given the number Panzerkamfwagenvih (SD. KFZ. 182)。
1942 10 June10, ferdinand porsche awarded him Tiger No.1.
1943. In March, it obtained the number PanzerkampfwagenTigerAusf. E
On March 5th 1943, the serial number (SD.kfz. 18 1) of panzerkampfwageniger (8cm L/56) was obtained.
On September 7th 1944, the serial number of panzerkampfwagentiarausf.e (SD.kfz.181) was obtained. 1943 On May19, Section 6 of the German Weapons Bureau informed henschel that it was prepared to provide various German weapons and ammunition to Japan. Japan specifically asked for the design drawings, prototypes and franchise rights of Tiger tanks. If not, Panther will do. Germans basically agree that henschel has prepared a complete set of design drawings and two assembly instructions for microfilm (original 1+ copy 1).
On September 1943 and 1 day, AGK officially ordered henschel Company to prepare 1 Tiger tanks with complete weapons, ammunition and oil, and sent them to Mark Dubberke Army Armored Station in Boluo, Conus, and transported them to Japan. Germany decided to transport Tiger and Leopard tanks from Bordeaux, France to Japan in June1943+1October 10. Under the auspices of AGK, various developers, manufacturers and arms bureaus held secret consultations around export prices and drafted contracts.
At the end of September 1943, Japan has been urging Germany to deliver the goods quickly. During the transportation, Germany argued endlessly about the parts division scheme of Tiger tanks, and the final conclusion is as follows:
Remove the whole weight of the turret and crawler-36 tons, remove the driving wheel and running gear, but keep all the equipment inside and outside the vehicle-29 tons, the weight of the turret and artillery-11ton.
The traveling mechanism with driving wheels but without crawler belt weighs 7 tons, the driving wheels weigh 1 ton, the two sets of combat crawler belts 1 weigh 6 tons, and the two sets of transport crawler belts 1 weigh 5 tons.
1 94365438+1 October1,the quotation submitted by henschel company to AGK, said that1the total price of the tiger tank and 92 88mm shells, 4,500 machine gun bullets, 192 submachine gun bullets, Fu2 or Fu5 wireless motors and optical equipment. After the AGK abacus was smashed, the final offer of10.7 to Japan became 645,000 marks, which more than doubled. 65438+1October 65438+April, Mark Dubberke Armored Forces Station delivered this Tiger tank (chassis serial number 250455) to Bordeaux. Tiger arrived at Bordeaux Station on October 27th, 65438/KLOC-0, but the Germans claimed that it would take some time for the tanks to be delivered beyond the railway weight. In fact, it is reminding Japan: Japanese! Pay for it!
Original tiger tank export application submitted by henschel Company.
1On February 28th, 944, henschel Company received the payment of 645,000 marks from Showa Trading Co., Ltd., which was divided as follows:
Engine 13000 Deutsche mark
Transmission 8300 mark
Body 54,000 marks
Turret (with control tower and protective cover) 26,000 marks
20,000 mark turret assembly kit
A set of body assembly tools 124000 DM.
2 sets of tracks, 4 pieces, 7,000 marks
88 mm gun 1 door 22000 mark
All ammunition is 9000 marks
Optical equipment 2900 points
Radio equipment 3000 marks
MG34 Machine Gun Station 2 1 100 mark.
MP40 submachine gun 1 quite 75 points.
In addition to the payment of 300,000 Deutsche Mark and the packing fee, transportation fee and handling fee of 33 166 Deutsche Mark, the Germans still have a net profit of 3 1 1834 Deutsche Mark. Then there will be a spoils sharing meeting. After some competition, the distribution is as follows:
The German military took 80%, or 249,467 marks. Henschel Company draws 2.5%, or 7795.85 marks, as the handling fee.
The remaining 65,438+07.5% (DM 54,570.95) will be distributed to the developers of Tiger tanks as patent fees. The distribution of this 54570.95 mark is as follows:
Maibakh, the engine and transmission developer, received 7. 1%, or 3,874.54 marks.
Krupp, the developer of gun system and turret, got 22.7%, which is 187+0.
Vehicle structure developer henschel Company accounts for 70.2%, that is, 38,308,38+0 points.
In the end, Japan still didn't get the Tiger-on September 2 1 0944, the Armament Commander of the German Defence Force and the Commander-in-Chief of the Reserve Force issued the highest military secret notice Ib(2)No. 1 1646/44 of the headquarters through the Military Bureau, instructing that the export of Tiger tanks to Japan was prohibited. After that, the tiger was immediately confiscated, and it was written that it was lent to the German military. Was incorporated into the national defense forces and went to the front. The Germans finally fooled the Japanese. As for the Japanese, they didn't even get the tanks, so they paid enough money for two tiger tanks in vain.