The Jagdtiger ("Hunting Tiger"; officially designated Panzerjäger Tiger Ausf. B) is a German casemate-type heavy tank destroyer (Jagdpanzer) of World War II. It was built upon the slightly lengthened chassis of a Tiger II. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 186.
The 72-tonne Jagdtiger was the heaviest armored fighting vehicle (AFV) used operationally by any nation in WWII. It was armed with a 12.8 cm Pak 44 L/55 main gun which could out-range and defeat any AFV fielded by the Allied forces.
It saw service in small numbers from late 1944 until the end of the war on the Western and Eastern Front. Although 150 were ordered, only around 80 were produced. Due to its heavy weight and relatively weak drivetrain, the Jagdtiger was plagued with mobility and mechanical problems. Although the Jagdtiger could destroy Allied tanks over long distances from good ambush positions, it has been argued that they were a costly failure because of the effort needed to build and maintain them. Three Jagdtigers survive in museums.
Development With the success of the StuG III, Marder I, Marder II, and Marder III , German military leaders decided to use the chassis of existing armored fighting vehicles for self-propelled guns (serving as assault guns and tank destroyers). German tank destroyers of World War II used fixed casemates instead of fully rotatable turrets to reduce the cost, weight, and materials necessary for mounting large-caliber guns.
In early 1942, the Army General Staff requested a 128 mm gun be mounted on a self-propelled armored chassis. Firing tests of the 128 mm gun showed it to have a high percentage of hits. Smaller caliber guns, such as the ubiquitous 88 mm and the slightly larger 105 mm, were also tested.Schneider (1990)
By early 1943, a decision was made to install a 128 mm gun on either a Panther or Tiger I chassis as a heavy assault gun. The Panther chassis was considered unsuitable after a wooden mockup of the design was constructed. On 20 October 1943, another wooden mockup was constructed on a Tiger II heavy tank chassis, and presented to Hitler in East Prussia. Two prototypes were produced: one was fitted with the eight-roadwheel Porsche suspension system (serial number 305001) and another with the Henschel nine-overlapping roadwheel suspension system (serial number 305002),Ledwoch as used on the main-production Tiger IIs constructed by Henschel. They were completed in February 1944. It was originally designated as VI but was later renamed as the and received the Sd.Kfz. 186 designation as its inventory ordnance number.
Design
The was a logical extension of the creation of designs from tank designs, such as the or the from the Panzer IV and Panther tanks respectively, with a fully armored and enclosed casemate-style fighting compartment. The used a boxy superstructure, with its sides integral with the hull sides, on top of a lengthened Tiger II chassis. Unlike the , the 's casemate design did not extend its glacis plate upwards in one piece to the full height of the casemate's "roof" – it used a separate forward plate to form its casemate structure atop the hull roof, and mount its anti-tank gun. The resulting vehicle featured very heavy armor. It had armor on the front of the casemate and on the glacis plate.
As main armament, the vehicle mounted the 44 gun, 55 calibres in length. A MG 34 machine gun was mounted in the glacis plate of the hull. The main gun mount had a limited traverse of only ±10 degrees; the entire vehicle had to be maneuvered in order to aim outside this narrow field of fire. The main gun was sighted with a 2/1 optic while the hull machine gun was sighted with a 2 optic. The main gun used two-part ammunition, which meant that the projectile and its propellant charge were loaded into the breech separately, necessitating the need for two loaders. Additional armament consisted of a MG 42 machine gun on a 36 mount which could be installed on the engine deck for anti-aircraft purposes and a launcher mounted on the roof of the casemate which was used for close defense against infantry.
The 's immense weight, under-powered engine and relatively weak drivetrain caused breakdowns and other problems. More were lost to mechanical problems or lack of fuel than to enemy action.
Production
One hundred and fifty were initially orderedChamberlain & Doyle (1999), p. 144 but only between 70 and 85 were produced at the Nibelungenwerk at St. Valentin, from July 1944 to May 1945. Eleven of them, serial numbers 305001 and 305003 to 305012, were produced with the Porsche suspension (with eight road wheels per side); all the rest used the Henschel suspension with nine road wheels per side.
Important parts such as the tub, superstructure and drive wheels were supplied by the .Eisenwerke Oberdonau - Linz Details and production locations were known to the Allies through the resistance group around the later executed priest Heinrich Maier.Peter Broucek, Die österreichische Identität im Widerstand 1938–1945 (2008), p 163.Hansjakob Stehle. "Die Spione aus dem Pfarrhaus". In: Die Zeit. 5 January 1996. Prisoners from the St. Valentin concentration camp were used to build the tank.KZ-Außenlager St. Valentin
Production figures vary depending on source and other factors such as if prototypes are included and if those made after VE Day are included: approximately 48 from July 1944 to the end of December 1944; 36 from January to April 1945, serial numbers from 305001 to 305088.
+Production history by serial number Date Number produced Serial #February 1944 2 305001–305002July 1944 3 305003–305005August 1944 3 305006–305008September 1944 8 305009–305016October 1944 9 305017–305025November 1944 6 305026–305031December 1944 20 305032–305051January 1945 10 305052–305061February 1945 13 305062–305074March 1945 3 305075–305077April 1945 7 305078–305084May 1945 4 305085–305088
After serial number 305011 (September 1944), no Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste was factory applied.
Combat history
Only two heavy anti-tank battalions (), numbered the 512th and 653rd, were equipped with , with the first vehicles reaching the units in September 1944. About 20% were lost in combat, with most destroyed by their crews when abandoned because of breakdowns or lack of fuel.
The first lost in combat was during the failed Operation Nordwind offensive in France in 1945. Despite its heavy armour, this was lost to American infantry using a bazooka, which at the time was considered ineffective against such a massive vehicle.
Tiger I tank ace Otto Carius commanded the second of three companies of in 512. His postwar memoir Tigers in the Mud provides a history of the 10 under his command. He said the were not utilized to their potential due to factors including Allied air supremacy making it difficult to maneuver and the heavy gun needing to be re-calibrated after travelling off-road even short distances.Carius (2003), p. 208This was attributed to the eight-wheel Porsche suspension proving unfit for off-road terrain, causing excessive vibrations. The nine-wheel Henschel suspension system from the King Tiger was thought to suffer less from this problem. It is unknown which type was fitted to the Carius commanded. The vehicle was slow, having the same engine as the already-underpowered Tiger I and Tiger II. The vehicles' transmissions and differentials broke down easily because the whole 72-tonne vehicle needed to rotate for the gun's traverse. The enormous 128 mm main-gun had to be locked down during the vehicle's maneuvers, otherwise its mounting-brackets would wear out too much for accurate firing afterwards. This meant a crew-member had to exit the vehicle in combat and unlock the gun from its frontally mounted gun travel-lock before firing.Carius (2003), p. 207 Carius said a 128 mm projectile went through the walls of a house during combat and destroyed an American tank behind it.Carius (2003), p. 214
Poor training and morale at the war's end were the biggest problems for crewmen under Carius's command. At the Ruhr Pocket, two commanders failed to attack an American armored column about away in daylight for fear of attracting an Allied air attack, even though the were well-camouflaged.Carius (2003), p. 210 Both vehicles broke down while hurriedly withdrawing from the supposed air attack that did not materialize and one had to be destroyed by its crew. To prevent such a disaster at Siegen, Carius dug in his command vehicle on high ground. An approaching American armored column avoided his ambush because nearby German civilians warned them of it.Carius (2003), p. 212 Later, one of his vehicles fell into a bomb crater at night and was disabled while another was lost to a attack by friendly militia troops who had never seen a before and mistook it for an Allied vehicle.
Near Unna, one climbed a hill to attack five American tanks 600 meters away, prompting two to retreat and the other three to open fire. The took several hits but none of the American projectiles could penetrate the thick frontal armor of the vehicle's casemate. However, the inexperienced German commander lost his nerve and turned around instead of backing away, thus exposing the thinner side armor, which was penetrated and all six crew members killed. Carius wrote that these crews were not trained or experienced enough to keep their thick frontal armour facing the enemy in combat.Carius (2003), p. 221
When trapped in the Ruhr Pocket, Carius ordered the guns of the remaining destroyed to prevent intact vehicles falling into Allied hands and then surrendered to American forces.Carius (2003), p. 224 The 10 of the 2nd Company of 512 destroyed one American tank for one lost to combat, one lost to friendly fire, and eight others lost to mechanical breakdown or destruction by their own crews to prevent capture by enemy forces.
On 17 January 1945, two used by the XIV Corps engaged a line of bunkers in support of assaulting infantry near Auenheim. On 18 January, they attacked four secure bunkers at a range of 1,000 meters. The armored cupola of one bunker burned out after two shots. A Sherman attacking in a counter-thrust was set afire by explosive shells. The two Jagdtigers survived the fight, having fired 46 explosive shells and 10 anti-tank shells.
In April 1945, 512 saw a great deal of action, especially on 9 April, where the 1st Company engaged an Allied column of Sherman tanks and trucks from hull-down positions and destroyed 11 tanks and over 30 unarmored or lightly armored targets, with some of the enemy tanks knocked out from a distance of more than 4,000 m. The unit lost one to Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers. During the next couple of days, the 1st Company destroyed a further five Sherman tanks before surrendering to US troops at Iserlohn. Meanwhile, the 2nd Company fought on with little gain. On 15 April 1945, the unit also surrendered at Schillerplatz in Iserlohn.Devey (1999)
Survivors Three survive, in US, UK and Russian museums:
(serial number 305004): The Tank Museum in England. One of the 11 Porsche–designed suspension-equipped variants, it was captured by British troops in April 1945 near the armour proving ground at Sennelager, Germany, where it was undergoing testing and trials. The third wheel-station (paired-wheel bogie) on the left side is missing. Zimmerit was applied to approximately 2 meters high on the superstructure and the German Balkenkreuz was painted in the mid-section of the vehicle's casemate's side. The earlier 18-tooth drive-sprocket version is found on this vehicle (later vehicles had 9-tooth drive sprockets).