An excellent analysis of the German Königstiger tank, its advantages and disadvantages

The Second World War marked a great qualitative leap in tanks, turning them into an indispensable weapon.

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The German Army stood out at the beginning of the war for its use of tanks, using them to great effect in its famous Blitzkrieg strategy (lightning war). In 1943, Germany launched one of the largest and heaviest tanks of the war, the Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, also known as the Königstiger or King Tiger. The initial version of this large tank weighed 68.5 tons (more than the modern American M1A2C SEP v3 Abrams tank), while the final version weighed 69.8 tons. This was a serious drawback when looking for bridges capable of supporting its weight.

The Königstiger first saw combat on 18 July 1944 in the Battle of Normandy, proving to be a very difficult tank to beat by its Western rivals due to its thick armour and powerful 88mm cannon. Between 1944 and 1945 Germany produced 492 units of the Königstiger, a quantity far inferior to the 6,000 Panzer V Panther and 1,347 Panzer VI Tiger that the German Army received.

One of the drawbacks of the Königstiger was that it was very expensive and complex to produce, which was a disadvantage in itself. Consider, for example, that the USA produced more than 49,000 Sherman tanks and during the war the USSR produced 57,000 T-34s. Both tanks were qualitatively inferior to the Königstiger, but in the end, quantity won out over quality.

On the other hand, the Königstiger suffered from transmission problems, which led to many tanks being abandoned at the front. Furthermore, the tank's logistical footprint was enormous compared to its rivals, with considerable fuel consumption and complex maintenance. Among its advantages, in addition to those mentioned above, it should be noted that the Königstiger was a very advanced tank for its time, and had it been produced in greater numbers, it would have been a serious problem for the Allied forces.

If you want to know more about the advantages and disadvantages of this tank, today Blue Paw Print has published an excellent video analyzing the Königstiger, showing what this armored vehicle was like, how it worked, its armament and how it operated on the battlefield, as well as the reasons that led to its failure:

You can see some screenshots from this awesome video here, as a preview. The video looks at the Königstiger with the production Krupp turret, erroneously known as the Henschel turret. It was the heaviest Königstiger model.

A size comparison between the Königstiger and its American counterpart the M-26 Pershing heavy tank, which saw combat in 1945. The M-26 weighed 41.7 tons, 28 tons less than its German rival.

The interior of the Königstiger's turret. This video takes a detailed look at how the gun works.

The turret ammunition rack held 22 rounds. The tank chassis had racks for an additional 66 rounds.