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German heavy tank Tiger II Königstiger (Bengal Tiger). The official German army designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, shortened to Tiger B.
Already in autumn of 1942 Heereswaffenamt (Army Ordnance Office) recommended to Henschel factory to work out a new type of a heavy tank which was to replace recently produced Tiger I tanks in the future. It was assumed that a new type of a tank would have an armour shaped similarly like in a Soviet tank T-34.
A 8,8 cm Kwk 43 L/71 gun of caliber of 88 mm was expected to be used as basic weaponry constructed in 1941 in Krupp plants in Essen. In January 1943 it was recommended to unify a heavy tank with a medium Panther tank whose production was about to be started by MAN factory soon. At the end of 1942 Nibelunenwerke AG in Saint Valentin in Austria were also included in the program of heavy tanks development. Professor Ferdninand Porsche introduced a project of VK 4502 (P) tank which was development of the previous construction of Nibelungen plants that is a heavy tank VK 4501 (P). Similarly in the case of VK 4501 (P) a drive were two engines of total power of 670 hp that move electric power generators which deliver electric power to two electric motors.
A competitive project developed by Henschel was based, to a large degree, on tested technological solutions used earlier during PzKpfw VI Tiger tank building. A tank armour was strengthened, front armour was of 150 mm thick, side armour of 80 mm and front armour of a tower as much as of 180 mm. In its appearcance the tank was much different from edgy and “boxy” Tiger I ausf E. It looked like Panther tank.
The construction of Tiger II tank was in many aspects similar to the Panther tank construction. It was driven by the same motor as late serial representatives of the Panther tank but it had much less useful power/weight ratio and as a result it was slower and less maneuverable. Moreover, Tiger II was reliable, gas-guzzling and its large size caused that it was difficult to move on the battlefield and mask. Many vehicles were abandoned or destroyed by their crews due to lack of fuel.
The biggest asset of Tiger II was its cannon which was able to destroy enemy tanks on great distances. All enemy tanks could be destroyed frontally at distances of up to 3000 m. The problem was that after starting a service by Tiger II large open spaces of Russia were not available for it which made German to use those tanks against their purpose. Equivalent to armament and armor, but about 20 tons lighter and more agile, would have been the Soviet IS-3, which was not used on the European battlefield. With their armament, but not the armor, the M26 Pershing and the IS-2 model 1944 were approximately equivalent.
Some weaknesses of the Königstiger:
– Inadequate armor – because of the lack of molybdenum in the German war economy, this was replaced by vanadium in the alloy of Tiger II armor, which considerably reduced the toughness of the steel. In the case of hits, there was often a break in the armor and a dangerous secondary fragmentation effect in the interior, despite the nominally stronger armor.
– High weight. Many bridges were therefore impassable for him.
– Extremely high fuel consumption. This became more and more a limiting factor towards the end of the war, because the tanks were left with empty tanks and had to be given up.
– Low speed. He could not follow fast-paced associations or (at the end of the war more frequently) could not retreat in time.
– Lack of movement of the turret. If the tank was tilted, it was often not possible to turn the turret because its motorization was too weak.
– Insufficient cooling
Armament: 88 mm gun KwK 43 L/71.
Total production: 492 tanks

Specifications

variant	Tiger II with Henschel turret (VK 4503)
crew	5
lenght	10286 mm
width	3755 mm
height	3090 mm
combat weight	69800 kg
turret weight	13500 kg
ground pressure	1,02 kg/cm2 (1,23 kg/cm2 transport tracks)
armor / angle:	hull:150 mm front, 100 mm front lower, 80 mm sides and rear, top and bottom: 40 mmturret:180 mm  front,  sides and rear: 80 mm, top: 44 mm
engine:	Maybach HL 230 P30, 750 hp at 3000 rpm. 12 cylinder, water-cooled, gasoline 23000 cm3. Weight: 1300 kg
transmission	Maybach OLVAR EG 40 12 16 B (Adler Frankfurt, Waldwerke Passau, Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen), 8 forward and 4 reverse
fuel	860 l
fuel consumption (road / off road) per 100 km	500 l / 700 l
tracks	Kgs 73/660/152 (transport), Kgs 73/800/152 (combat tracks)
max speed	38 km/h (15 – 20 off road)
range	170 km (120 km off-road)
grade	35°
trench crossing	2500 mm
vertical obstacle	850 mm
fording	1600 mm
ground clearance	495 mm
ammunition	84 – 86 rounds
secondary armament	2-3 x MG34 (or MG42)  (5850 rounds), 1 x MP40 or MP38
chassis numbers	280001 – 281493, 284001 – 284107
manufacturer	Henschel und Sohn Kassel