| Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Ferdinand | |
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| Type | Tank destroyer |
| Place of origin |  Nazi Germany |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 65 tonnes |
| Length | 8.14 m over gun |
| Width | 3.38 m |
| Height | 2.97 m |
| Crew | 6 (driver, radio-operator, commander, gunner, two loaders) |
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| Armor | 200 mm |
| Primary armament |
8.8 cm PaK 43/2 L/71, also known as StuK 43/1 |
| Secondary armament |
7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun (after modification) |
| Engine | 2×Maybach HL 120 petrol 2×300 hp (2×220 kW) |
| Power/weight | 9 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | longitudinal torsion-bar |
| Operational range |
150 km (road), 90 km (cross-country) |
| Speed | 30 km/h |
The Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Elefant (Sd.Kfz. 184) was a Panzerjäger (tank hunter) of the German Wehrmacht in World War II. They were originally built under the name Ferdinand, after their designer, Ferdinand Porsche.
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Development
The design evolved from cruder, improvised designs of 1941-42, as well as the later, but still defective, Marder designs. The chassis was created from the 90 Porsche Tiger I models already built with new tracks and an all-steel wheel arrangement: three twin bogies on side sprung torsion bars driven from the rear breast. The engines were placed in the middle of the hull to give room for the armament at the rear in a simple box structure on top of this chassis. The driver and radio operator were in a separate compartment at the front. An 88 mm PaK 43/2 L/71 gun was fitted. This gun was not the same famous 88 mm gun that had found fame as an anti-aircraft gun and improvised anti-tank gun in the Western Desert, but an improved version developed by Krupp as a possible replacement--and did not enter production as a flak. This new gun had a much longer barrel (giving higher muzzle velocity) and fired a different, longer cartridge than the Flak 18 or 36 guns. This gave the 88mm L/71 significantly improved armor penetration ability. As fitted the gun was capable of only 25° traverse and a similarly limited elevation.
Production
Porsche AG had manufactured about one hundred chassis for their proposal of the Tiger tank, the 'Porsche Tiger' in the Nibelungenwerke factory in St. Valentin, Austria. Since the competing Henschel Tiger design was chosen for production, the Porsche chassis were no longer required for the Tiger. It was therefore decided that the Porsche chassis were to be used as the basis of a new heavy tank destroyer, mounting Krupp's newly developed 88 mm Pak 43/2 anti-tank gun. This precise long-range weapon was supposed to take out enemy tanks before they reached their own range of effective fire. Ninety-one chassis were converted (chassis number 150010 to 150100). The two Porsche air cooled engines in each vehicle were replaced by two 300 hp Maybach HL 120 TRM engines powering two generators that drove two electric motors which in turn powered the drive sprockets. The electric motors also acted as the vehicle's steering unit. This so called "petro-electrical" drive delivered a quarter mile to the gallon off road and a third of a mile to the gallon on road at a maximum speed of 6 mph off road and 18 mph on road. Besides the high fuel consumption and the poor performance the drive system was also maintenance-intensive; the sprockets for example had to be changed every 300 miles. Add-on armor of 100 mm was bolted to the front plates, increasing the plate's thickness to 200 millimetres and adding another 5 tons of weight. A large housing for the gun and most of the vehicle's crew was mounted in the rear end of the vehicle. As the engines were placed in the middle, the radio operator and the driver were separated from the rest of the crew and could only be addressed through radio. The work was completed in just a few months from March to May 1943. In September 1943 all surviving Ferdinands were recalled to be modified based on battle experience gained in the Battle of Kursk. During October and November 1943 forty-eight of the fifty surviving vehicles were modified by addition of a ball-mounted MG 34 in the hull front (to improve anti-infantry ability), a commander's cupola (modified from the standard StuG III cupola) for improved vision and the application of Zimmerit paste. This and other minor armor changes increased the weight from 65 to 70 t. These improved vehicles were then unofficially called Elefant, and this became the official name by Hitler's orders of May 1, 1944. 3 (5) Bergepanzer Tiger (P) armoured recovery vehicles were converted in Autumn 1943. One (three) from a Tiger (P) prototype and two from battle-damaged Ferdinands not suitable for the Elefant modification.
Usage
The units were deployed at a company level, sometimes sub-divided into platoons, with infantry or tanks to protect the vulnerable flanks of the vehicles. On the attack, this Jagdpanzer was a first-strike vehicle, while in defence, they often comprised a mobile reserve used to blunt enemy tank assaults.
Combat history
All but two of the 91 available Ferdinands were put to use in the Battle of Kursk, the first combat the Ferdinand saw. Although they destroyed many Russian tanks, they performed quite poorly in other respects. Within the first 4 days nearly half of the vehicles were out of service, mostly due to technical problems and mine damage to tracks and suspensions. Actual combat losses to direct Soviet action were very low as the Ferdinand's very thick armor protected it from almost all Soviet anti tank weaponry. However, at this point in its development the Ferdinand lacked a machine gun or any secondary armament, making it vulnerable to attack by infantry. One Ferdinand was lost to a hit to its side armor from the Soviets' new SU-152 assault gun (source: The Combat History of schwere Panzer Abteilung 653, by Karlheinz Munch, pages 67-69). Most total losses of the Ferdinand occurred during the Soviet counter-offensive after the Kursk offensive, many damaged Ferdinands had to be abandoned as they were too heavy to tow and others were lost to mechanical breakdown during the retreat. The surviving vehicles saw further limited action on the Dniepr front during late 1943. At this point they were recalled and modified at the works in Austria and received the name Elefant. While the modifications improved the vehicles, some problems could never be fully fixed. In 1944 the Elefants served on the Italian front but were rendered rather ineffective, as their weight of nearly 70 tons didn't allow them to use most Italian roads and bridges. Due to a permanent lack of spare parts most of the units were not destroyed in battle but abandoned and blown up by their own crews. One company of Ferdinands saw action during the Soviets' January 1945 Vistula-Oder Offensive in Poland and the very last surviving vehicles were in combat at Zossen during the Battle of Berlin. In terms of kills per loss, the Ferdinand/Elefant might well have been the most successful tank-destroyer employed during the war, reaching an average ratio of approximately 10:1. However, this impressive ratio is primarily due to its extreme relationship between firepower and protection which gave it an enormous advantage when used in a defensive role. Its mobility and mechanical reliability left, as described, a lot to be asked for, giving its crew only limited possibilities to move across the battlefield, outmaneuver its enemies and fire from excellent positions.
Survivors
Only two of these unique and intimidating vehicles survived the war - one Ferdinand was captured at Kursk and is now at the huge Kubinka Tank Museum outside Moscow; one Elefant was captured at Anzio by the Americans and is part of the United States Army Ordnance Museum's collection which is not currently on display.
Trivia
The modern Bundeswehr has also given the name "Elefant" to a tank transporter.
External links
- Information about the Panzerjäger Tiger(P) "Ferdinand/Elefant" at Panzerworld
- WWII Vehicles
- Achtung Panzer web site.
- Photogallery
- Very large Russian photo gallery (grayknight.narod.ru)
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| Tanks | Panzer I • Panzer II • Panzer III • Panzer IV • Panther • Tiger I, II • Panzer 35(t) • Panzer 38(t) |
| Self-propelled artillery | Wespe • Hummel • Grille • Panzerwerfer • Wurfrahmen 40 |
| Assault guns | StuG III • StuG IV • StuH 42 • Brummbär • Sturmtiger |
| Tank destroyers | Panzerjäger I • Marder I , II , III • Hetzer • Jagdpanzer IV • Jagdpanther • Nashorn • Jagdtiger • Elefant |
| Half-tracks | SdKfz 2 • 4 • 6 • 7 • 10 • 11 • 250 • 251 • 252 • 253 • 254 |
| Armored cars | Sdkfz 221/22/23 • Sdkfz 231/32/34/63 • ADGZ |
| Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns | Flakpanzer IV: Möbelwagen, Wirbelwind, Ostwind, Kugelblitz • Flakpanzer 38(t) |
| Prototypes | Maus • E- series • Panther II • Heuschrecke 10 • Neubaufahrzeug • Sturer Emil |
| Proposed designs | Panzer VII 'Löwe' • Panzer IX • Panzer X • Ratte • Monster |
| German armored fighting vehicle production during World War II | |
