Tiger In Combat

Scores of unique photos of Tiger tanks Intricate and richly colored drawings, with special focus on markings and insignia Accompanying text lists units' combat strengths, equipment, commanders, and engagements By the end of World War II, the dreaded Tiger tank had achieved mythical, almost mystical status. In this much-sought-after volume on the Wehrmacht's numbered Tiger units, Wolfgang Schneider tells--in pictures--the story of these renowned tanks. Hundreds of photos depict Tigers in all situations and terrain, and a section of painstakingly detailed drawings brings the tanks to life in the metallic grays, snow whites, desert tans, and forest greens and browns that colored them. Modelers and buffs alike will delight in this impressive collection.

WWII began with a metallic roar as the German Blitzkrieg raced across Europe, spearheaded by the most dreaded weapon of the 20th century: the Panzer. No German tank better represents that thundering power than the infamous Tiger, and Otto Carius was one of the most successful commanders to ever take a Tiger into battle, destroying well over 150 enemy tanks during his incredible career.

This book tells—with firsthand accounts as well as numerous, never-before-seen photographs—the combat history of German Tiger Tank Battalion 503, the senior Tiger battalion of the German Army, equipped with both the Tiger I and the King Tiger. The unit saw action in the attempted relief of Stalingrad, the tremendous tank engagements at Kursk, and the bitter fighting to relieve German units encircled at the Tscherkassy Pocket. It then defended against the Allies in Normandy in 1944, and ended the war with desperate fighting in Hungary and Austria.

A pictorial history and analysis of the infamous World War II German tanks. The German Tiger I and Tiger II (known to the Allies as the King Tiger or Royal Tiger) were the most famous and formidable heavy tanks of the Second World War. In their day, their awesome reputation inspired such apprehension among Allied soldiers that the weaknesses of these brilliant but flawed designs tended to be overlooked. Anthony Tucker-Jones, in this illustrated history, tells the story of their conception and development and reconsiders their operational history, and he dispels the myths that have grown up around them. The Tigers were over-engineered, required raw materials that were in short supply, and were time-consuming to manufacture and difficult to recover from the battlefield. Only around 1,300 of the Tiger I and fewer than 500 of the Tiger II were produced, so they were never going to make anything more than a local impact on the outcome of the fighting on the Western and Eastern fronts. Yet the myth of the Tigers, with their 88mm guns, thick armor, and brutal profiles, has grown over time to the extent that they are regarded as the deadliest tanks of the Second World War. Anthony Tucker-Jones’s expert account of these remarkable fighting vehicles is accompanied by a series of color plates showing the main variants of the designs and the common ancillary equipment and unit markings. His book is an essential work of reference for enthusiasts.

"Although much is available about Tiger tanks' technical details and some of the most famous soldiers and units that employed them, until now, there has been little concerning the organization and tactical use of heavy tank battalions across the theaters in which they were employed. [Wilbeck] provides an in-depth look at heavy tank battalions' organizations and tactics, including the tactical doctrine by which these elite units were supposed to fight and case studies to illustrate how they were actually employed on the battlefield"--Page 4 of cover.

The first prototype for the Tiger tank was set to be ready for Hitlers birthday on April 20, 1942. The Henschel Company, competing with Porsche, produced the superior model, and by August of that year the formidable Tiger--or Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. H.--was in full production. This book takes us behind the scenes with the Tiger tank, reviewing the full history, the design and mechanics, and the mixed record of this machine, which was designed to outgun its Russian counterparts. Military writer Michael Green offers a close-up account--accompanied by photographs, diagrams, and maps--of how the Tiger tank operated, how it was armed, and where it succeeded brilliantly, as well as where it failed miserably. His book fills a fascinating niche in the history of military technology, and of the impact of technology on history itself.