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| The Tiger was technically the most sophisticated and best engineered vehicle of its time. The hull was divided in four compartments: the forward two housed the driver and hull gunner/radio-operator, the centre was the fighting compartment, and the engine compartment was at the rear. The driver sat on the left and steered by means of a wheel which acted hydraulically on the differential steering unit. Emergency steering was provided for by two steering levers on either side of the driver operating disc brakes. A visor was provided for the driver and was opened by a sliding shutter worked from a handwheel. Fixed episcopes were provided in both the driver's and radio-operator's escape hatches. The gearbox separated the two forward compartments, with the radio-operator seated on the right. He had a standard MG34 in a ball mounting in the front vertical plate, and had his radio sets mounted on a shelf to the operator's left. |
| The Tiger's centre fighting compartment had a floor suspended from the turret by three steel tubes and rotated with the turret. The breech mechanism of the 88mm gun reached almost to the inside rear turret wall, dividing the turret into two. Like the hull, the turret was a simple structure; the sides and rear were formed from a single 82mm thick plate curved horseshoe fashion. The front was joined by two 100mm thick rectangular bars, and the upper and lower edges of the turret sides converged towards the front to allow for movement of the mantlet. The turret roof was a single shaped 26mm thick plate, bent slightly forward of the centre line to match the sides at the front. External turret fittings were three 90mm smoke generators on either side towards the front and two stowage bins either side of the centre line at the rear. Two types of cupola were fitted to the Tiger; the original type had five vision slits and was of plain cylindrical appearance, while the later type had seven episcopes and had a less prominent hatch which swung out to the side. |
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| In order to simplify assembly and allow the use of heavy armor plate, flat sections were used throughout the hull. Hull and superstructure were welded, in contrast to previous tanks were a bolted joint was used between hull and superstructure. The front and rear superstructure was in one unit and interlocking stepped joints, secured by welding, were used in construction of both the lower hull and superstructure. The top front plate of the hull covered the full width of the vehicle and permitted a turret ring to be fitted width enough to accomodate the 88mm gun. The Tigers used in North Africa, and in Russia in summer, were fitted with the feifel air cleaner system. This was attached to the rear of the hull and linked to the engine over the engine cover plate. The tropical Tigers were known as the Tiger (Tp), but the feifel air system was soon discontinued to simplify production. The first production Tiger's were equipped for a totally submerged wading with Snorkel breathing, but this proved an expensive luxury and was discarded. |
| The 88mm KwK 36 gun had ballistic characteristics similar to those of the famous FLAK 88mm high velocity AA gun from which it was derived. The principal modifications were the addition of a muzzle brake and electric firing. A MG34 was co-axially mounted in the left side of the mantlet and was fired by mechanical linkage from a foot pedal operated by the gunner. The weight of the barrel was balanced by a large coil spring housed in a cylinder on the left hand front of the turret. Elevation and hand traverse were controlled by handwheels to the right and left of the gunner respectively and an additional traverse was provided for the commander's use in an emergency. The hydraulic power traverse was controlled by a rocking footplate operated by the gunner's right foot. |
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| Because of the turret's weight, traverse was low-geared both in hand and power. It took 720 turns of the gunner's handwheel to move the turret through 360o and power traverse through any large arc demanded a good deal of footwork and concentration by the gunner. Allied tanks were often able to take advantage of this limitation to get in the first shot when surprising a Tiger from the side or rear. In fact, this became almost standard procedure for engaging a Tiger, one tank attracting its attention from the front while one or two others attempted to work around to the more vulnerable flanks or rear. However, the fact that there were never sufficient Tigers to go round was probably the greatest comfort that opposing forces could take from their appearance. |
| Early production Tiger's were fitted with 'S' mine dischargers on top of the superstructure, a total of five being mounted in various positions. These devices were installed for protection against infantry attacking with anti-tank weapons as magnetic mines. The 'S' mine was an anti-personnel bomb shaped like a jam jar and shot into the air where it exploded and scattered its content of steel balls. However, when the turret design was amended in late 1943 to incorporate a periscope similar to the Panther, a standard Nahverteidigungswaffe (close defence weapon) was fitted in the turret roof in place of the extractor fan, which was itself moved to the centre. This weapon had all-round traverse and was internally loaded. |
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| At the time of its debut in service in late 1942, the Tiger was an outstanding design among its contemporaries by virtue of its powerful gun and armor protection of up to 100mm thick. These factors made the 56-ton Tiger the most formidable fighting vehicle then in service. It was, however, relatively costly to produce in terms of man-hours and difficult to adapt for mass production. In January 1944, the heavier and superior Tiger II went into production with the result that fewer Ausf. E models were produced until production stopped in August 1944. |
| To Tiger page III |
