Tiger (P) Heavy Tank (GE076) includes one Tiger (P) Heavy Tank. Germany started work on a 27-tonne heavy breakthrough tank in 1937. Like the British Matilda, the French Char B, and the Soviet T-35, this tank was intended to breach WWI-style trench lines so that the light and medium tanks could fight a mobile battle. Check out the Tiger (P) in the online store here...

Mid-war Monsters In our research we have uncovered lots of really interesting experimental tanks. Some were just designs that were never completed. Others were completed as prototypes, and some even saw small-scale field testing! These tanks were weird and wonderful, ranging from a 100-ton monster and a First World War relic, to a tank with two side-by-side main guns, an armoured car weighing more than a tank, and a machine-gun armed light tank with the armour of a heavy tank! Learn more about Mid-war Monsters here... Download a PDF on fielding the Tiger (P) Heavy Tank in Flames Of War here... Download the Mid-war Monsters mission pack here...

After three successively heavier designs, the 45-tonne VK4501 specification was given to both Porsche and Henschel in May 1941. The Porsche prototype, now known as the Tiger (P), was finished in April 1942. Its suspension consisted of six pairs of steel-tyred rubber-cushioned road wheels with rear drive sprockets instead of the more usual front sprockets. Two air-cooled V-10 engines drove generators that powered an electric motor for each drive sprocket.

Porsche vs. Henschel The competition between Porsche and Henschel to produce the next German heavy tank had been intense and the resulting designs were very similar. Both had the same armour specifications and mounted the same gun in the same Krupp-designed turret. The differences were mainly mechanical. Porsche preferred longitudinal torsion bars that saved space over Henschel’s transverse torsion bars, steel-tyred road wheels, and a new Petrol-electric transmission to solve the problem of moving such a heavy vehicle. The basic principle of the petrol-electric transmission is that the each petrol engine spins a dynamo to generate electricity. This then powers an electric motor that powers the drive sprocket. In theory the result is a smooth transmission with no need to change gear and plenty of torque. In practice the system proved to complicated and unreliable.

This sophisticated design had huge theoretical advantages, but proved to be troublesome in practice. As production of both designs was scheduled to begin in July, there was little time for testing or fixing the problems with the petrol-electric drive. With five tanks built, production was halted to enable the problems to be sorted out. The Henschel works was delighted when its production order was increased to compensate.

Protected Ammo Many tanks are destroyed not by the enemy shell but by their own ammunition being hit by white-hot fragments of armour and exploding. The chances of this were minimised by providing a safe place for stowing ammunition within the vehicle, such as an armoured compartment or inside a water-filled jacket. If forced to bail out, crews of tanks with protected ammunition are far more confident when it comes to remounting their vehicle quickly. Tanks with Protected Ammo re-roll all failed Motivation Tests to Remount Bailed Out vehicles in the Starting Step (see page 102 of the main rulebook).

By February 1943 many of the mechanical problems had been resolved and Hitler ordered the massive 8.8cm L/71 PaK43 to be fitted to ninety Porsche Tiger tanks as the Ferdinand assault gun in time for the Battle of Kursk.  Designed & Painted by James Brown

The Tiger (P) Heavy Tank in Flames Of War

Armour     Name Mobility Front Side Top Equipment and Notes Weapon Range ROF Anti-tank Firepower   Tiger (P) Slow Tank 9 8 2 Co-ax MG, Hull MG, Protected ammo, Unreliable, Wide tracks. 8.8cm KwK36 gun 40"/100cm 2 13 3+ Slow traverse.

Unreliable Whether poorly designed, unsuitable for the conditions, or requiring more maintenance than current supply considerations will allow, these vehicles have a significant chance of breakdown when pushed too hard. If an Unreliable vehicle attempts to move At the Double, roll a die. On a roll of 1 the vehicle becomes Bogged Down.

Wide Tracks Some excellent tank designs have successfully utilised wider tracks, allowing them to cross almost any terrain. If a vehicle with Wide Tracks becomes Bogged Down while attempting to cross Rough Terrain, roll again. On a roll of 4+ the vehicle immediately frees itself and continues moving.

Slow Traverse Most tanks were either fitted with power traverse or had turrets that were light enough to be quickly swung by hand. Some designs suffered from heavy turrets lacking power traverse. Tanks with slow traverse add +1 to the score required to hit when shooting any turret-mounted weapon except an AA MG at targets that are entirely behind a line drawn across the front of the tank’s turret before they rotate their turret to face the target.