The tanks often could not get into position for lack of spares or fuel and, when crippled, often could not be recovered. However, the beast entered the war too late and it became a burden on the overstretched German supplies and logistics. In 1944 it was first used in combat by 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion against the Allied invasion of Normandy and by the 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion to resist the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive on the Eastern Front. Tiger II was issued to heavy tank battalions of the Army and the Waffen-SS. Those combination earned it a formidable reputation on the batlefield. It combined the thick armour of the Tiger 1 with the armour sloping used on the Panther medium tank, and was armed with a devastating long barrelled 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 anti-tank cannon. It was the largest and heaviest operational tank fielded by the German Army in WW2.ĭeveloped as a replacement for the Tiger I from 1941, its role was to be the heavy tank capable of breaking through the enemy line.The tank weighed almost 70 tonnes, and was protected by 100 to 185 mm (3.9 to 7.3 in) of armour to the front. B, was also known under the informal name Königstiger, which was incorrectly translated as King Tiger by Allied soldiers. The Tiger II, officially designated as Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf.
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