Jagdtiger

Panzerjäger Tiger Ausf. B

Jagdtiger (S/N 305020) while displayed at the U.S. Army Ordnance

Museum's former site at Aberdeen, Maryland, in 2008

Type Heavy tank destroyer

Place of origin Nazi Germany

Production history

Manufacturer Nibelungenwerk
(Steyr-Daimler-Puch)

Produced 1944–1945

No. built 70-88

Specifications

Mass 71.7 tonnes (158,000 lb)

(Henschel-suspension variant)
 Length 10.65 m (34 ft 11 in)
including gun

Width 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)

Height 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in)

Crew 6 (Commander, Gunner, Loader, Assistant

loader, Driver, Assistant driver)

Armor Casemate: 250 mm (9.84 in)

Hull: 150mm (5.90 in)
Side: 80mm (3.14 in)
Rear: 80mm (3.15 in)

Main 1 × 12.8 cm Pak 44 L/55

armament

Secondary 1 × 7.92 mm MG 34 (some later-built versions

armament
equipped with a single MG 42 anti-aircraft
machine gun-mount at the vehicle's rear)

Engine V-12 Maybach HL230 P30

700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)

Power/weight 9.8 PS (7.2 kW) / tonne

Suspension Torsion bar

Fuel capacity 860 L

Operational Road: 120 km (75 mi)

range
offroad: 80 km (50 mi)

Maximum speed 34 km/h (21 mph)

The Jagdtiger ("Hunting Tiger"; officially designated Panzerjäger

Tiger Ausf. B) is a German casemate-type heavy tank
 destroyer from World War II. It was built upon the slightly lengthened
chassis of a Tiger II. Its ordnance inventory designation
was Sd.Kfz. 186.
The 71-tonne Jagdtiger was the heaviest armored fighting
vehicle (AFV) used operationally by any participant nation of WWII and
is the heaviest combat vehicle of any type to achieve series production
during the conflict. The vehicle was armed with a 128 mm Pak 44
L/55 main gun which was capable of outranging and defeating any tank
or AFV fielded by the Allied forces.
It saw brief service in small numbers from late 1944 up until the end of
the war on both the Western and Eastern Front. Although 150 were
ordered, only around eighty were produced. Due to an excessive weight
and a significantly underpowered drivetrain system, the Jagdtiger was
continuously plagued with various mobility and mechanical problems.
At present, three Jagdtigers survive in different museums around the
world.

Contents

 1Development
 2Design
 3Production
 4Combat history
 5Survivors
 6Variants
 7See also
o 7.1Tanks of comparable role, performance and era
 8References
 9External links

Development[edit]
With the success of the StuG III, Marder I, Marder II, and Marder III in
the tank destroyer role, the military leadership of Nazi Germany decided
to use the chassis of existing armored fighting vehicles as the basis 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 significantly reduce the cost, weight, and
materials necessary for mounting large-caliber guns.

A wooden mockup of the Jagdtiger presented to Adolf Hitler on 20 October 1943, seen here behind the
Italian medium tank Carro Armato P 26/40

In early 1942, a request was made by the Army General Staff to mount a
128 mm gun 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. [1]

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 chassis, and presented to Hitler in East Prussia.
Two prototypes were produced: One was a version fitted with the eight-
roadwheel Porsche suspension system (Serial Number 305001) and
another version was equipped with the Henschel nine-overlapping
roadwheel suspension system (Serial Number 305002),  as used on the [2]

main-production Tiger IIs constructed by Henschel. They were

completed in February 1944. It was originally designated as Jagdpanzer
VI but was later renamed as the Jagdtiger  and received the Sd.Kfz. 186
[3]

designation as its inventory ordnance number.

Design[edit]
Rear deck and engine bay of Jagdtiger 305004 in The Tank Museum, Bovington. The two circular grilled
apertures at left and right are for the radiatorcooling fans.

The Jagdtiger was a logical extension of the creation

of Jagdpanzer designs from tank designs, such as the Jagdpanzer IV or
the Jagdpanther from the Panzer IV and Panther tanks respectively, with
a fully armored and enclosed casemate-style fighting compartment.
The Jagdtiger used a boxy superstructure, with its sides integral with the
hull sides, on top of a lengthened Tiger II chassis. Unlike the
Jagdpanther, the Jagdtiger'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 250 mm (9.8 in) armor on the front of the casemate
and 150 mm (5.9 in) on the glacis plate. The main gun mount had a
limited traverse of only 10 degrees; the entire vehicle had to be turned to
aim outside that narrow field of fire.
The Jagdtiger suffered from a variety of mechanical and technical
problems due to its immense weight and under-powered engine. The
vehicle had frequent breakdowns; ultimately more Jagdtigers were lost
to mechanical problems or lack of fuel than to enemy action. [1]

Production[edit]
Model of the eight-wheel, Porsche suspension variant

Model of the nine-wheel, Henschel suspension variant

One hundred and fifty Jagdtigers were initially ordered  but only [4]

between 70  and 85 were produced at the Nibelungenwerk at St.

[5]

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.  Details and production
[6]

locations were known to the Allies through the resistance group around
the later executed priest Heinrich Maier.  Prisoners from the St.
[7][8][9]

Valentin concentration camp were used to build the tank. [10]

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[citation needed]
Date Number Serial #
produced
February 1944 2 305001–305002
July 1944 3 305003–305005
August 1944 3 305006–305008
September 1944 8 305009–305016
October 1944 9 305017–305025
November 1944 6 305026–305031
December 1944 20 305032–305051
January 1945 10 305052–305061
February 1945 13 305062–305074
March 1945 3 305075–305077
April 1945 7 305078–305084
 May 1945 4 305085–305088
After serial number 305011 (September 1944), no Zimmerit anti-
magnetic paste was factory applied.

Combat history[edit]
Main articles: 512th Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion and 653rd Heavy
Panzerjäger Battalion
Only two heavy anti-tank battalions (schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung),
numbered the 512th and 653rd, were equipped with Jagdtigers, with the
first vehicles reaching the units in September 1944. About 20% were
lost in combat, with most destroyed by their own crews when
abandoned, chiefly due to various mechanical breakdowns or the chronic
lack of fuel in the final stages of the war.
The gun used two-part ammunition, which meant that the main projectile
and the cased propellant-charge were loaded into the gun-breech
separately. Two loaders were tasked with this work, one for each type.
Tiger I tank ace Otto Carius commanded the second of three companies
of Jagdtigers in schwere-Panzerjäger Abteilung 512. His postwar
memoir Tigers in the Mud provides a rare combat history of the
10 Jagdtigers put under his command. He states that the Jagdtigers were
not utilized to their full potential due to several factors, among them that
Allied air supremacy made it difficult to maneuver around and the
massive heavy gun needed to be re-calibrated from jarring after
travelling off-road for even short distances.  The vehicle was slow,
[11][Note 1]

having been equipped with the same engine as the already-

underpowered Tiger I and Tiger II, and the vehicle's transmissions and
differentials broke down easily because the whole 72-tonne vehicle
needed to rotate for the gun's traverse. The enormous 128mm main-gun
had to be locked down during the vehicle's maneuvers, otherwise its
mounting-brackets would have worn out too much for accurate firing
afterwards. As such, a crew-member had to exit the vehicle in combat
and unlock the gun from its frontally mounted gun travel-lock before
firing.  According to Carius, in combat, he recorded that a 128 mm
[12]
projectile went through the walls of a house and destroyed an American
tank behind it.[13]

Insufficient training of vehicle crews and their poor morale during the
last stage of the war were the biggest problems for Jagdtiger crewmen
under Carius's command. At the Ruhr Pocket,
two Jagdtiger commanders failed to attack an American armored
column about 1.5 km (1 mile) away in broad daylight for fear of
attracting an Allied air attack, even though the Jagdtigers were well-
camouflaged.  Both vehicles broke down while hurriedly withdrawing
[14]

through fear of the supposed air attack that did not materialize and one
was then subsequently destroyed by its crew. To prevent such a disaster,
at Siegen, Carius himself dug in his command vehicle on high ground.
An approaching American armored column avoided his prepared
ambush because nearby German civilians warned them of it.  Later, one
[15]

of his vehicles fell into a bomb crater at night and was disabled while
another was lost to a Panzerfaust attack by friendly Volkssturm militia
troops who never saw a Jagdtiger before and possibly misidentified it as
an Allied armored vehicle. [13]

The first Jagdtiger lost in combat was during the failed Operation

Nordwind offensive in France in 1945. Rather embarrassingly for what
was the most heavily armored vehicle to serve in World War Two, this
particular Jagdtiger was lost not to combat with other armored vehicles
or aircraft but by American infantry using a bazooka, which at the time
was considered an underpowered and ineffective weapon to counter such
a massive vehicle. [16]

Near Unna, one Jagdtiger climbed a hill to attack five American tanks

600 meters away, leading to two withdrawing and the other three
opening fire. The Jagdtiger took several hits but none of the American
projectiles could penetrate the 250 mm (9.8 in) thick frontal armor of the
vehicle's casemate. However, the inexperienced German commander
then lost his nerve and turned around instead of backing down, thus
exposing the thinner side armor, which was eventually penetrated and all
six crew members were lost. Carius wrote that it was useless when the
crews were not trained or experienced enough to have the thick frontal
armor facing the enemy at all times, if possible, in combat. [17]

When unable to escape the Ruhr Pocket, Carius ordered the guns of the
remaining Jagdtigers destroyed (to prevent intact vehicles falling into
Allied hands) and then surrendered to American forces.  The
[18]

10 Jagdtigers of the 2nd Company of Panzerjagerabteilung 512

destroyed one American tank for one Jagdtiger 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 Jagdtigers used by the Wehrmacht's XIV
Corps engaged a bunker-line 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 fight was set afire by
explosive shells. The total combat saw the usage by the two vehicles of
46 explosive shells and 10 anti-tank shells, with no losses to
the Jagdtigers.
In April 1945, s.Pz.Jäg.Abt.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 having been knocked out from a distance of more than 4,000 m.
The combat unit only lost one Jagdtiger in this incident, after Allied
ground-attack P-47 fighters appeared. During the next couple of days,
the 1st Company destroyed a further five Sherman tanks before having
to surrender to US troops at Iserlohn. Meanwhile, the 2nd Company still
fought on but with little results gained. On 15 April 1945, the unit
surrendered at Schillerplatz in Iserlohn.
[19]

Survivors[edit]
Three Jagdtigers survive in museums around the world, one each in the
US, the UK and Russia:
British-captured Jagdtiger in The Tank Museum, the UK

 Jagdtiger (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
[20]

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).

Jagdtiger (serial number 305020) on display at the former US Army Ordnance Museum in 2007

 Jagdtiger (serial number 305020): National Armor & Cavalry

Museum in Fort Benning, Georgia. It was produced in October 1944
and was attached to the 3rd Company of the s.Pz.Jg.Abt 653, bearing
the vehicle-number of 331. It was captured by American troops
near Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany in March 1945. Shell
damage is still visible on the gun mantlet, glacis plate and lower-nose
armor. This vehicle used the later-version nine-tooth drive
sprockets  for use with the 'contact shoe' and 'connector link'-
[21]
 style continuous track it shared with the Tiger II on which it was
based.

Kubinka Tank Museum's Jagdtiger on display in Russia

 Jagdtiger (serial number 305083): Kubinka Tank

Museum near Moscow. This vehicle, equipped with the standard
Henschel-built running gear, was acquired by Soviet forces when
a Kampfgruppe (battle-group) of the s.Pz.Jg.Abt 653 equipped with
four Jagdtigers surrendered to the Red Army in Amstetten,
Austria on 5 May 1945. This Jagdtiger, not coated with Zimmerit,
was acquired in mint condition with complete sideskirts and the later
nine-tooth drive sprockets. Twelve hooks on both sides of the
superstructure were designed to carry six pairs of track-links (all
spare tracks on either side missing on this vehicle). All of the
Jagdtiger's repair-tools are also missing, but it still retains the MG
42 anti-aircraft gun mount on the rear engine-deck (recent
photographs show that this specific machine gun-mount has since
been removed, leaving only its mounting-base). [21]

Variants[edit]
Aside from the 11 early vehicles with a Porsche suspension, the only
variant developed was the Sd.Kfz.185.

 8.8 cm PaK 43 Jagdtiger - The difference was that the gun used
was the 8.8 cm Pak 43 rather than the 12.8 cm Pak 44. This was due
to shortages of the latter weapon. The variant did not enter production
.
[22]