eT) a) Panzerjager Tiger (P) ElefantProfessor Porsche's frst attempt 10 create an armoured fighting vehicle resulted in two prototypes of the Porsche type “ ‘as tt was internallycalled, th 100" or, “Leopard”. Panzerjager Tiger (P) Elefant by W. J. Spielberger DURING the battle north of Orel, Russia, in 1943, a Russian tank column marched far out of reach of, conventional German anti-tank fire on a northerly course towards Karatschew. The tanks were barely visible at a distance of more than three miles and the Germans seemed unable to interfere with this troop movement, which was threatening their exposed flank ‘Then, at this critical moment, a company of German self-propelled anti-tank equipment, using a vehicle called “Ferdinand” was called up to intercede. Fire was opened against the Russian vehicles in spite of the distance and soon eight of them were destroyed. Another victory for the incredible German 88 mm. gun was ready for the history book. This long- barrelled 88 mm. anti-tank gun, or “8,8 cm, Pak 43/2 L/71”, as the Germans called it, was one of the ‘most outstanding weapons of World War II. Intended originally for anti-aircraft purposes, it was soon recognised as a potent anti-tank weapon and was eventually mounted, slightly modified, in the turret of Tiger B (Profile 68). ‘An earlier version of the gun, the Flak 36, with a barrel length of L/56, had already been modified and mounted in the turret of the original Tiger model (Profile 2) as early as 1941. In the meantime, Heeresfla Units, unprotected and towed by soft-skinned, half- track tractors, had attempted to protect infantry and other units against the numerous Russian” tank attacks. They had suffered unbearable losses. Only if able to engage their enemies at the proper distance could their success be assured. But the towed gun with its awkward and time-consuming positioning prob- Jems was no solution and soon attempts were made to provide the weapon with a self-propelled mount. The only chassis readily available at this time were Panzer IL and IV. Since neither of them were originally intended and suitable for SP use, a composite chassis ‘was designed, utilising chassis and hull components of both vehicles. An anti-tank version, called “Nashorn”, 2 mounted the 8,8 cm. Pak 43/1 L/71. Despite their open and only thinly-armoured superstructure, these vehicles were quite successful. They were replaced by an excellent vehicle, the fully-enclosed and adequately armoured “Jagdpanther” in 1944. This unit was beyond a doubt one of the most versatile and effective tank destroyer vehicles of its time. It remained in production until the war came to a close. The vehicle described in this Profile also mounted the same weapon. It was a direct outgrowth of the “Tiger” development. Never intended originally as a self-propelled mount for the long-barrelled 88 mm. gun, it turned out to bea technically most complicated and unreliable vehicle. It came into existence almost by a freak of nature and it should only serve as an example so far as its unique chassis design is con- cerned. As a complete unit, the “Elefant” must be considered a failure. This is Said despite the fact that your author was engaged as design engineer on this, project and that he participated actively in the action in Russia, described at the beginning of this Profile. DEVELOPMENT HISTORY Professor Porsche's first attempt to create a military vehicle dates back as far as the days of World War i Then working for the Austrian Daimler factory, he motorised the heavy Austrian artillery with four- wheel tractors capable of pulling enormous loads. They incorporated mixed petrol-electric drive systems, a solution which later became the trade mark of Porsche armoured fighting vehicles. His independent company, created in 1930 in Stuttgart, acted as a design office for various international automotive concerns, Among others, he received, in 1939, an order from the Ordnance Department to participate in an attempt to find a successor vehicle for the standard Panzer IV. A vehicle was required which, having a total weight of 25 to 30 metric tons, had to be capable of carrying either the 75 mm, tank gun ora 105 mm. high velocity weapon. Porsche's solution produced a vehicle with two parallel installed a Cooled petrol engines, coupled to an electric dynamo supplying electric motors driving the front sprockets. Steering and gear-shifting were effected electrically. ‘The suspension incorporated torsion bars in a new and unique way. Two prototypes were built at the Nibelungenwerke of St. Valentin in Lower Austria. They carried the internal designation “Leopard”, or Porschetype “100”, (Ordnance designation VK 3001 Py). ‘The appearance of the Russian T-34 rendered most of these attempts useless and forced Porsche to abandon this project in favour of a heavier vehicle, capable of mounting the 88 mm. gun. This was done in anticipation of even heavier vehicles expected to appear from the arsenals of both the Russians and the Western Allies. The outdated tank weaponry used by the Germans at the beginning of the Russian cam- paign called for a drastic reappraisal, with a demand for an armour penetration of at least 100 mm. from distance of 1,500 metres. The selection of gun calibre was left to the manufacturer. But, meanwhile, the 88 mm, gun had established itself,” to such an extent that it appeared most likely to be considered as the standard tank weapon for new German tank designs, The Walfenamt insisted, however, that, lesser calibres of 6 em. or 7,5 cm. should be afforded the same opportunity, provided they achieved the same performance. The thinking behind this order was based upon the fact that such weapons could be installed within smaller turret rings, thus allowing for a reduced overall weight. Given frontal armour of 80 mm. and side armour of 60 mm., a reduction in turret ring diameter from 1,850 mm. (73 in.) to 1,650 mm. (65 in.) would have lowered the weight of the turret by almost 2-2 tons. Equal armour penetr tion with smaller weapons, however, called for utilisation of tapered bore designs using tungsten steel ammunition. These were in too short supply and could not be considered. Conventional weapons had to be used. Thus, Krupp of Essen received an order from the Ordnance Department, in July 1941, to develop a tank gun derived from the 88 mm. anti- aircraft gun with a barrel length of 4,930 mm. (L/56).. This was originally intended only for the Porsche vehicle VK 4501 which was ordered as_a parallel design to the Henschel VK 3601 (Profile 2) on May 26th 1941. It appeared for a time that two distinct Vehicles would emerge from these orders—passed down from Hitler himself—both with production beginning May-June 1942, namely a Porsche type (VK 4501 P) with an 8,8 cm. gun and the Henschel vehicle (VK_ 3601), with the tapered bore weapon 0725. But, since tungsten steel was no longer avail- able, the ‘Krupp turret, originally intended for the Porsche vehicle only, had to be used for the Henschel, the pressing timetable allowing no other solution. Thus, the Henschel vehicle was also developed as a 45 ton unit (VK 4501 H) and eventually became the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger 1 (H)—later (E) (Profile 2) Porsche relied to a large extent upon his experience gained during the development of the VK 3001, the Type 100. Additional new ideas were incorporated, but petrol-electric drive was retained. The design of the air-cooled power plants created almost insur- mountable difficulties. Hitler, however, had insisted that both vehicles were to be developed side by side, This unit was intended to replace the Panzer IV and was equipped with to air-cooled V-10 engines which drove electrically the 10 front sprockets. During intensive field trials the Porsche type “100" was also used to supply the Porsche type “IOI with electric current ‘during the inital field testing of the Porsche Tiger. a common practice of the Waffenamt. Pronounced controversies developed between Dr. Porsche and the Ordnance Department over these ‘years, and were never entirely resolved. Interesting as Porsche's technical solution for such a heavy vehicle may have appeared, the actual vehicle turned out to be most complicated. And, because it had to be put in pro- duction without the benefit of extensive trials, it could only be put into service with combat units after costly re-development and basic changes. In fact, only a few of the 90 vehicles originally authorised and put in production were actually completed as battle tanks, They were designated Panzerkampfwagen VI, VK 4501 (P), Tiger (P), THE PROTOTYPE TRIALS On 19th March 1942, Armament Minister Speer reported to Hitler that, commencing in October 1942, 60 Porsche and 25 Henschel Tiger tanks would be completed. Prototypes of both vehicles were demon- strated before Hitler on 20th April 1942. Only twelve months had gone by from the moment the order was received to the date of completion of the prototypes. It was an extremely short time in the development of such a. sophisticated weapon, and it is perhaps not surprising that the simpler, more conventional Henschel vehicle was chosen as the basis of the new battle tank.A wooden mock-up of the hull with a spacious driver compart ‘ment showing their tanks for the isdro-pnewmate steering ‘item The rear-driven vehicle allowed for a more spacious, driver compartment. This wooden mock-up ‘also. indicates the. hull ‘machine gun and the tensioning devices for the tracks. Two of these air-cooled engines were coupled with an electric -enerator and installed nthe limited-spaced engine compartment Of the Tiger tank Clearly visible are the two air fans for the ‘engine. mounted on the generator. Some of these engines, which gave satisfactory results during trials, were actually mounted in some of the electrically-operated Tiger tanks, but production of the engine was never started, since official opinion in Berlin favoured a 16-cylinder X Diesel engine. ‘The Porsche Type 101 engine was an air-cooled, four-stroke petrol engine, with carburettors and ‘magneto-ignition. The cylinders were arranged in “V" form, and the engine was fitted with overhead valves actuated through push rods. Its maximum output was 320 b.h.p., at 2,500 r.p.m. With a bore of 115 mm, anda stroke of 145 mm., total displacement This unit was destined to become the main tank engine starting in’ 1945, War conditions, however, eliminated any attempt for ‘mass production. amounted to 15,060 cc. A total of ten cylinders was provided. The five-throw crankshaft was supported in six lead-bronze bearings. The forked connecting rods ran on a common, interchangeable bearing shell. A divided oil sump was incorporated. Engine cooling was effected through a double rotary blower driven from a pinion on the generator shaft through a jointed shaft. An oil cooler was installed. Solex down-draught carburettors of the type 50 JFF II were mounted. Fuel was stored in one tank of 115 gallons (520 litre) capacity, mounted above the generator. It was sup- plied through two feed pumps directly to the carburettors. The hull of the tank-destroyer vehicle consisted, after re-arrangement, of a driver compartment, pr viding seats for both the driver and radio operator, an engine compartment, housing two parallel Maybach engines of 300 h.p. each, and a fighting compartment, where the commander, gunner and two loaders were lated. A separate transmission compartment con- tained two electric motors, one for each driving sprocket. Both sides of the engine compartment held the two fuel tanks with a total capacity of 240 gallons, Siemens-Schuckert of Berlin supplied the electrical components, namely the generator and the two electric drive motors. Each track was driven inde- pendently. Each of the electric motors was linked to the rear driving sprocket through a geared drive. Steering, while hydro-pneumatic assisted, was effected electrically by means of controls installed in the driver compartment. A reduction ratio for the final drive of 16,75 : 1 was obtained, allowing for a top speed of 12:5 m.p.h. The gearbox was electrically operated and three speed ratios were available in either direction. PORSCHE SUSPENSION The most interesting feature of the vehicle was, without a doubt, the suspension. It consisted of a rear drive sprocket, ‘six bogie wheels, and a front idler 5© JAMES LEECH PANZERJAGER TIGER (P ELEFANT) Sd Kez 184metres en)Three new “Elefants” of the frst production run during test tials at the Alkett factory in Berlin. Note the gun manclet is still without the additional protection applied later on. orders to the German armament industry and the use of captured enemy equipment stabilised to a certain extent conditions on the front and again established a balance of power. Two categories of new anti-tank weapons emerged from this situation, One was the lightly armoured self-propelled gun mounted on an almost obsolete tank chassis. Most of these vehicles had their fighting compartment open on the top. The other solution provided for well-thought out, well- armoured and fully-enclosed_ full-tracked vehicles, eliminating the rotating turret, and with their guns ‘mounted in limited traverse. Both units existed side by side for almost two years before the latter became predominant. Eventually these vehicles replaced to a large extent the conventional battle tank as German tactics responded to the defensive nature of warfare toward the end of the European conflict. The Ferdi- nand or, as it was later called, the Elefant, was some- thing in between. The necessity of having to use all conceivable means to balance the situation forced the Germans to utilise all available equipment. Ninety chassis were around; they had to be used, They became equipment for two battalions of an armoured regiment (Panzer Abteilung 654). Each battalion had three companies plus a headquarters and supply section. Each company, again, consisted of three platoons with four Elefants each. The headquarters company had two Elefants, one Panzer III and other soft-skinned vehicles. With reserve units allocated to these outfits, the total number of tank destroyer vehicles per battalion amounted to 44. They were intended to be used for break-through of defensive lines and for engagement against enemy tanks, ant tank guns and artillery. Normally, two companies attacked in two front echelons, while the third com- pany acted as a back-up unit. JULY OFFENSIVE, 1943 On Sth July 1943 the great German offensive started in the area of Bjelgorod in Russia. A total of 17 armoured, three armoured infantry and 16 infantry divisions ‘attacked in a pincer movement against heavily fortified Russian positions in an attempt to change the course of the war. All of the Elefants assigned to Army Group Model participated. But they could not fulfill their obligations. Mechanically unreliable because of the complicated technical layout, short of ammunition because of limited storage and unable to defend themselves against determined close- range attacks, they were never able to utilise the potential of their powerful gun, The attack bogged down after six miles and most of the vehicles which could not be retrieved fell into Russian hands during the ensuing counter-attacks. Removal of incapacitated These Armoured Recovery Vehicles lacked the supplementary armour of the tank destroyer version.eto Two “Elefants” knocked out during the summer offensive in Russia in 1943. Assigned to the Army group Model, they were unable 10 provide enough momentum for the German attack. Determined Russian resistance stopped the offensive and forced the Germans ‘imo a defensive, which never stopped until the war came 0 an end. equipment from the battlefield was a trying task, since the 18 t. half-track tractors normally used for this purpose proved unable to move these heavy vehicles. However the bulk of them were somehow recovered, reconditioned and re-used on other parts Of the front. They disappeared rather rapidly from the scene because of spare-part shoriages, and the fact that copper for the electrical components was in too short a supply. Removed from the Eastern Front, some of the units saw action in Italy in 1944, where road conditions soon made it impossible for these vehicles to operate. They were either abandoned, captured, or destroyed by their own crews. To sum up, it should be emphasised that the prototype Porsche vehicles served a definite technical purpose, namely to explore all possibilities of a petrol- electric drive train. This development found its climax in the adaption of its features during the construction, of the largest armoured fighting vehicle ever built, the 187 ton PzKpfw Maus. It was proven beyond any doubt, however, that a strictly technical solution, without consideration for military necessities, could only be a compromise at the best, and these findings were rather drastically demonstrated during the brief battlefield appearance of the Elefant. Bartle experience in Stalingrad prompted Hitler to demand a Vehicle eguipped with a superstructure capable of ramming and destroying. buildings. An order 10 Porsche created a wooden ‘mock-up to support such a proposal Thus, we can conclude that we have been intro- duced io an interesting armoured fighting vehicle, reflecting in its own way the genius of its designer, Professor Dr. F. Porsche, who had proved yet again that he could master any conceivable area of mechanical design. © W. J. Spielberger, 1967. Armour in Profile Series Editor: Stevenson Pugh. SPECIFICATION PANZERJAGER TIGER (P) ELEFANT General Bentgnation: 98 em. Panzerjsger 43/2 (L/71) Tiger P (SKF 184), row! Siecommander, gunner, twa loaders, radio operator, driver. Bustle weight: 65 mevric on Powerlweighe rato“ 616 b.npC0n Ground pressure: 3-4 bg in angst overalls 26,8 in Beige: fe 10 in Widens te Fin ‘Trek eanerees 8 f 9 ‘Track wide 35 in ‘Armament Ff armament: One 88 cm, SWuK 492 L/1in limited traverse, centre ‘Actliaey armament’ One machine gun 34 loosely sowed inside vehi “wo fubsmachine guns 38, (Later vehicles with baltmounted machine on 34 in'the bow) ‘Traverse and elevation by hand wheels through gunner. Fring sratem' Electric primer operated by erigger Ammunision Sorounds for 88 rom. gun 480 rounds for 75 mk machine gun S04 rounds for 9’mm sub-machine Eun Sighting and Vision Min aramenc: One SF. Zt. ta binocular telescope, Commanders Taleseope Brive? Telescope, PRINTED IN ENGLAND by Gothic Press Ltd., London. Communication WT Sc Transmitcer|ecsver[inercom): Fu Sand Fu 2. ium—molybdenum armour Conatruccion, superstructure partially interlocked Phe “Auseentic welding Hall Nose 100-4100 mm, ‘Alwelse front plate 100-100 mm. 11, lower sider je BO, mm. vertical rear 80 min 95%, COP 50 mm: horizontal, stom 204.30 mm. horizon Supersructure: Front 200 mm. 22%, sides 80 mm SI, rear 0 rom. 19, Foot 30 em, Engines: Two Maybach “HL 120 TRM™, galing 60° V-I2 elinder, ratercaoled 11 6) em, togecher 590 bhp 33,000 rp. eek eas in eg in on ache of ch enue rare enerator and) wo electrical dee ‘motors. Final drive ratio 16,751 Suspension Three Dagies exch Sith two Doyle wheels each per si ‘Mounted on primary and secondary arms, incorporating longitudinal Seeck-rimmed road wheel, 31 in. diameter ‘racks Type Kes 62/640/190, cae mangancee steel, 109 links per track Bahn. wide, track piteh 8 to Electrical System 12Hdynams. Two 12, bateriesI20 Ah, Bosch BNG 4724.4 hp. Performance Flaximum rotd speed: 125 mph Groseountry speed: mon Bosimom graiene: 2" ‘Trench crossing: 10 fe 6 in Wading depth af Read rng street: 95 miles. Cross-country: $5 mils. © Profile Publications Ltd., Groat Bookham, Surrey, England.