VK 45.01 (P)
VK 45.01 (P) | |
---|---|
Type | Prototype heavy tank |
Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Porsche |
No. built | 10 + 90 hulls, hulls converted to Ferdinand tank destroyers, 1 Tiger (P) served as command vehicle |
Specifications | |
Mass | 60 t (59 long tons; 66 short tons) |
Length | 9.54 m (31 ft 4 in)[1] |
Width | 3.40 m (11 ft 2 in) |
Height | 2.90 m (9 ft 6 in) |
Crew | 5 |
Armor | 20–100 mm (0.79–3.94 in) |
Main armament | 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 |
Secondary armament | 2 x 7.92 mm MG 34 |
Engine | 2 x 10 cylinder Porsche Type 101 310 PS (306 hp, 288 kW) each |
Suspension | Longitudinal torsion-bar |
Operational range | 105 km (65 mi) road |
Maximum speed | 35 km/h (22 mph) |
The VK 45.01 (P), also informally known as Tiger (P) or Porsche Tiger, was a heavy tank prototype designed by Porsche in Germany. With a dual engine gasoline-electric drive that was complex and requiring significant amounts of copper, it lost out to its Henschel competitor on trials, it was not selected for mass production and the Henschel design was produced as the Tiger I. Most of the already produced chassis were rebuilt as Elefant Panzerjager tank destroyers.
Development
On 26 May 1941,
The new Porsche tank, designated the VK 45.01 (P) was to be powered by twin
The VK 45.01 (P) chassis was later chosen to be the basis of a new heavy
Only one tank went into service as a command tank in the Ferdinand (Elefant) unit, and served in Panzerjäger Abteilung 653.[4] It was deployed in April 1944 and lost that subsequent July.[4]
The VK 45.01 (P)'s chassis and many of the Elefant's components were later used in developing the VK 45.02 (P) prototype heavy tank.[5]
Design
Ferdinand Porsche developed the spring rod roller carriage; there were 6 road wheels, each road wheel formed of an inner and outer paired wheel per axle. The six paired road wheels were divided into three 2-axle bogies per side, for a total of 12 individual wheels, 6 road wheels/axles, in 3 bogies. The wheels were not 'interleaved' like those of the Tiger I. The 57 to 59 tons combat weight in combination with 640 mm wide "slack-tracks" (KGS 62/640/130) using no return rollers, produced a ground pressure of about 1.06 kg / cm2.
The
Unlike the Henschel design's mid-hull mounting for the turret, the VK 45.01 (P) had its Krupp-designed turret mounted at the front. The turret, which mounted the 8.8 cm KwK 36 and a 7.92 mm MG 34 coaxial machine gun, was essentially the same Krupp design also used for Henschel's contract-winning VK45.01(H) prototype design. The first eight turrets produced had lower sides and a flat roof with raised centre section to allow the gun to be depressed through a larger arc.
Variants
- VK 45.01 (P) Test prototype
- VK45.01 chassis fitted with a concrete turret mockup to simulate the weight of the Krupp turret for testing purposes. Only 100 chassis were built.
- VK 45.01 (P) (Porsche Tiger)
- 10 VK45.01 tanks with the Krupp turrets and 8.8 cm KwK 36 guns were produced. Only one completed Tiger (P) with chassis number 150013 saw combat service as a command tank.
- Panzerjäger Tiger (P) "Ferdinand"
- 91 existing VK 4501 chassis were converted into Ferdinand jagdpanzers. The work was completed in just a few months from March to May 1943.
- Panzerjäger Tiger (P) "Elefant"
- In September 1943 all surviving Ferdinands were recalled to be modified. 48 of the 50 surviving vehicles were modified with additional armour, a new commanders cupola (from StuG III) and a new ball mounted frontal machine gun for self defense.
- Bergepanzer Tiger(P)
- A conversion of the VK 45.01 (P) chassis into recovery vehicles designated Bergepanzer Tiger (P). Only 3 were built.
- VK 45.01 "RammTiger"
- A proposed conversion of the VK 45.01 (P) chassis in a heavily armoured ramming vehicle armed with machine guns. 3 superstructures were completed but their fate is unknown as the project was cancelled in 1943.
References
- ISBN 978-1892848031.
- ^ "Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger (P)". Archived from the original on 18 February 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ^ "Panzer VI "Tiger" (P)". Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ^ a b Jentz and Doyle 1997, p. 54.
- ^ "VK4502(P)". Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
Bibliography
- Jentz, Thomas; Doyle, Hilary (1997). Panzerkampfwagen VI (P) (Sd. Kfz. 181) The History of the Porsche Type 100 and 101 also known as the Leopard and Tiger (P). Darlington: Darlington Productions. ISBN 978-1-8928-4803-1.
- Jentz, Thomas L. & Doyle, Hilary L. (2000). Germany's Tiger Tanks: D.W. to Tiger I. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-1038-6.
- Spielberger, Walter J. (2007). Tigers I and II and Their Variants. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Military History. ISBN 978-0-76432-780-3.