"FIRST OF ALL, THIS TANK WILL BE USED AS A HEAVY HAMMER FOR ATTACKING FORTIFICATIONS, SO ITS FRONT MUST BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND MOST OF THE ANTI-TANK FIRE, AND ON THE SIDE IT MUST ALSO BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND THE ATTACK OF 75MML40 LEVEL GUNS, AND SECONDLY, ITS FIRE MUST BE ABLE TO DESTROY ALMOST ALL TARGETS, 75MM LEVEL GUNS CAN NO LONGER COMPLETE THIS TASK, SO THIS BREAKTHROUGH TANK MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH AT LEAST 88MM LONG-BARRELED GUNS. Its powertrain must reach at least 500 horsepower or more. The weight of the body is controlled at about 50 tons. The chassis of this tank had to be a promising improvement, and the gun circle had to be large enough to be ready for a later change to a larger caliber gun. Tanks must be as simple as possible and have good maintenance performance. Improve the stability of the tank. Soon the major factories received the tender letter from the German War Department, and the technical indicators on it shocked many manufacturers. In their opinion, this span is really a bit large.

SUBSEQUENTLY, THEY REFINED THE TEST NUMBERS AND THE WAR DEPARTMENT'S TENDER AND CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE LEVEL OF PROTECTION ON THE FRONT MUST BE AT LEAST 80 MM AND THE INCLINATION OF MORE THAN 45 DEGREES TO BLOCK MOST OF THE ANTI-ARMOR ARTILLERY. Because the technology of the other side is also improving, the Germans came to this conclusion after referring to the design performance of the 88MML56 cannon they were developing. AND THE SIDE WANTS TO BLOCK THE GENERAL 75MML40 LEVEL GUNS TO REACH A VERTICAL THICKNESS OF ABOUT 60 TO 80MM, OF COURSE, IF IT IS TILTED, IT CAN BE LOWERED. IN ADDITION, THE PROTECTION OF THE FRONTAL RUNNING SHIELD OF THE TURRET MUST REACH MORE THAN 120MM. BY THE WAY, ANOTHER POINT IS THAT THE BOTTOM OF THE HULL SHOULD HAVE ABOUT 20MM OF ARMOR.

"This. TO ACHIEVE SUCH A LEVEL OF DEFENSE, IT WOULD ALSO REQUIRE AN ENGINE OF MORE THAN 500 HP AND A LONG-BARRELED 88MM GUN. Actually only give the standard of 50 tons, this requirement is really difficult to achieve. German designers have expressed their unacceptability. But there's a clever guy who spotted something wrong. That is, this tank does not have strict regulations on the space inside the hull and the amount of ammunition reserved. In other words, if necessary, the weight can be reduced by reducing the amount of ammunition and the comfort of the personnel.

Henschel decisively reduced the planned reserve of the new tank from about 90 rounds to 50 to 60 rounds. The space for people has also been reduced accordingly. But it was not enough to achieve this, and after minor improvements, the Germans began to think about changes in the general design, first of all, the first point was to begin to seriously consider the problems of the rear of the gearbox, the front of the turret. Without the propeller shaft across the entire body, the height of the vehicle can naturally be reduced, which can also save some weight. The running gear still uses the same single-torsion bar suspension as the historical Tiger tank. However, the load wheels use double staggered load wheels instead of the historical triple staggered load wheels. And because Germany has more fuel in this plane, it uses diesel engines, and its power, fuel consumption and other performance improvements also lead to a decrease in the weight of the tank. So one is also called a tiger. But tanks, much more powerful than the historical tigers, have finally appeared.

Eventually, the Tiger tank, which was named No. 5, began to be designed after the end of the Italian Civil War. Compared with the historical situation that the Tiger family had no other combat vehicle derivatives except for the Tiger Tank and the Assault Tiger, the Tiger of this plane can be described as a thriving man. When designing the Tiger tank, the Germans also considered designing other models on this chassis. One of the most important of the various variant vehicles is the heavy tank destroyer known as the Tiger.

The most important task of the Tiger Hunter is to destroy the opponent's heavy tanks that the Tiger cannot defeat. At the same time, because there is no turret. So its artillery can be even more huge. Armor protection will also be better. THE GERMANS CONSIDERED TWO TYPES OF ARTILLERY WHEN DEVELOPING THIS TANK, ONE WAS THE 88MM GUN WITH A LONGER BARREL, SIMILAR TO THE HISTORICAL 88MML71. ANOTHER OPTION IS TO REPLACE IT WITH A 105MML52 GUN. The former can have a larger reserve of ammo. and higher reload speeds, which were initially designed to be reloaded. The rate of fire and the amount of ammunition are definitely compared to the coffee table. The only advantage is that grenades are very effective against cover targets. After all, it's not just the opposing tank that the tank needs to face. There are also a large number of field fortifications. So the power of the grenade must also be considered.

PROPONENTS OF THE 105MM CLAIMED THAT A 105MM CANNON COULD BE DEVELOPED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE USE OF A FULLY LOADED CANNON. OPPONENTS ARGUE THAT THE 105MM IS TOO BIG AND TOO HEAVY. It is not suitable for filling in confined spaces at all. AND THEN THE OTHER PARTY RIDICULED EACH OTHER, THINKING THAT THE SHELLS OF THE 88MM SUPER-LONG BARRELED GUN WERE VERY LONG. It is also not suitable for loading inside the car. (Historically, the shells of King Tiger's 88MML71 guns were about 1.2 meters long if you count the cartridges.) Because of the dispute between the two sides, it caused a difficult birth of the Tiger Hunter tank destroyer. And in the end, what is unexpected is that this controversy finally led to the creation of another kind of heavy tank, which is the strong tiger self-propelled mortar that was later called a bunker killer and a flesh grinder!

And the famous ones in history、It can be described as extreme. The Assault Tiger self-propelled gun, which used a 15-inch mortar gun, was different. THE GERMAN TIGER SELF-PROPELLED GUN ARMAMENT WAS A SPECIALLY DEVELOPED 240MM MORTAR. THE FIRING RANGE OF THIS MORTAR IS ABOUT 12KM, AND ITS ROLE IS BEYOND THE RANGE OF DIRECT FIRE. Provide high-power warp support firepower for forward troops. THE DEFENSE OF THIS SELF-PROPELLED MORTAR IS NOT OUTSTANDING, AND IT CAN ONLY WITHSTAND 75MML40 CLASS GUNS. And when firing, it was also necessary to switch from a state of march to a state of shelling. However, the high rate of fire and the powerful 150KG heavy mortar shells allow it to tear through almost all defenses with ease, whether it is against infantry or support points, it is a good hand, plus it can be on call. So much so that within the German Army it was called the "land dive bomber"!

But it was not in the field environment that made this self-propelled cannon famous, but in urban warfare, and in the South Asian and European theaters of World War II, this weapon was not too many, but it was a powerful weapon that became the final word in several siege battles. There has been a record of a strong tiger cannon directly knocking a company of defenders to pieces along with the bunkers they were holding on to in battle. In defensive operations, the self-propelled artillery of the strong tiger under the protection of reinforced concrete bunkers made the attacker pay an extremely heavy price. Of course, this is a later story, so I won't mention it for the time being.

However, although the strong tiger has a strong reputation, it is obviously not the best support artillery in the tiger family. AFTER THE START OF WORLD WAR II, THE GERMAN ARMY HAD A SELF-PROPELLED LONG-RANGE GUN WITH THE BEST MOBILITY AND BEST PROTECTION IN THE WORLD, WHICH WAS THE GERMAN 170MM HEAVY SELF-PROPELLED GUN CALLED THE LONG-LEGGED TIGER BY THE AMERICANS, TO PUT IT BLUNTLY, A K18 170MM LONG-RANGE GUN WAS PUT ON THE TIGER-STYLE TURF, AND THEN AN ARMORED SHELL THAT COULD BE SHRAPNEL-PROOF. HOWEVER, WITH ITS PROTECTION AGAINST THE CLOSE BOMBARDMENT OF HEAVY GRENADES AND THE MAXIMUM FIRING RANGE OF NEARLY 30KM OF THE K18 170MM GUN, THIS ARTILLERY REALLY MADE THE ALLIED ARTILLERY SUFFER A LOT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 2 WAR. The biggest feature of this artillery is that it can fight and run, and better protection allows this kind of artillery to have a certain chance to withdraw from the battlefield even if it is covered by the opponent's firepower, so it gives people a feeling in the battle that they can't be killed no matter how they fight, and even in the radio monitoring of the Allied forces, they have heard many times that the German high-level has issued a battle order to a long-legged tiger artillery company that has been covered by their own artillery 3 times! A few minutes later, the long-legged tigers that would have been destroyed will shoot deadly shells from a corner of the horn.

AFTERWARDS, SOMEONE ONCE ASKED WHY THE DESIGNERS OF THE LONG-LEGGED TIGER FINALLY CHOSE THE 170MM HEAVY GUN FOR THE LONG-LEGGED TIGER. Later one of the designers explained it this way: "For long-range artillery, range is life. Without taking into account the use of certain particularly strong targets, the longer the range of the artillery, the safer it is. ORIGINALLY, THERE WERE TWO TYPES OF ARTILLERY IN THE LONG-LEGGED TIGER'S ALTERNATIVE WEAPONS, ONE WAS THE K18 170MM CANNON. THE OTHER IS THE LADY 18 210MM HEAVY HOWITZER, THE LATTER HAS A MASS OF 121 KG, WHILE THE FORMER HAS ONLY 68 KG. However, the effective range of the MRS18 howitzer is only less than 17 kilometers, which is too close, and the opponent's 6-inch cannon can be suppressed lightly, and considering the loading speed, the 170MM cannon's unit time projection is not lower than the latter. ”

IN FACT, THERE IS ANOTHER REASON WHY THE GERMANS DID NOT EXPLAIN, THAT IS, IT IS A BIT DIFFICULT TO INSTALL A NON-HEAVY TANK CHASSIS FOR THE 170MM CANNON. The largest German half-track in World War II was 18 tons. THIS CHASSIS COULD HARDLY ACCOMMODATE A 170MM CANNON, BOTH IN SIZE AND IN WEIGHT.

IN ADDITION TO THE TIGER TANK, TIGER HUNTER TANK DESTROYER, STRONG TIGER SELF-PROPELLED MORTAR, AND LONG-LEGGED TIGER 170MM CANNON. The Germans also built non-combat vehicles such as repair vehicles and ammunition supply vehicles from the Tiger chassis. The role is to provide all kinds of support in these ferocious tigers. In addition to this, the German Army, realizing that the Air Force may be unreliable at some point, intends to design self-propelled anti-aircraft guns on the Tiger chassis. HOWEVER, CONSIDERING THAT THE MEDIUM TANK CHASSIS FOR 40MM OR 75MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS, OR EVEN A HALF-TRACK WITH SOME PROTECTION, COULD ACCOMMODATE IT, THERE WAS NO NEED TO USE A PRECIOUS HEAVY TANK CHASSIS, SO IN THE END, IT WAS ABANDONED.

Both in terms of actual combat and design, the Tiger tank and its derivative combat vehicles were very successful, and made outstanding contributions to the establishment of the German Army in the early days of World War II. But with the level of effort in the Tiger plan, the Germans soon discovered a serious problem, that is, production could not keep up!

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