Dr. Erwin Aders (front row right) was head of Henschel’s Tiger I development and construction project and the Tiger’s chief designer, tours shop 5 in company with high ranking army officers on September 5th, 1942.
On 22 June 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The Germans were shocked to encounter Soviet T-34 medium and KV-1 heavy tanks which completely outclassed anything the Germans were then able to put into the field. The T-34 was almost immune frontally to every gun in German service except the 88mm FlaK 18/36 gun. The Panzer Mark III with the 50mm KwK 38 L/42 main armament could penetrate the sides of a T-34, but had to be very close to do so. To have any chance of penetrating the frontal armour the Panzer III had to close to suicidally short range. The KV-1 was even more heavily armoured and in consequence almost immune to anything but the 88mm FlaK 18/36. The emergence of the Soviet T-34 and KV-1 was a very unpleasant surprise and the shock of the discovery was later recalled by the lead Henschel designer Erwin Aders, “There was great consternation when it was discovered that the Soviet tanks were superior to anything available to the Heer.” In the scramble to come up with an strong defensive alternative to the Russian armour an immediate weight increase to 45 tonnes and an increase in gun calibre to 88mm was ordered. The due date for new prototypes was brought forward to 20th April 1942, Adolf Hitler’s birthday.
Porsche and Henschel submitted prototype designs, Tiger (P) and Tiger (H), and they were put through their paces at Rastenburg before Hitler. The Henschel design was accepted as the best overall design. The Porsche gasoline-electric hybrid power unit performed poorly on the day with frequent breakdowns. It also used large quantities of copper, a strategic war material which was in very short supply. The contract was duly awarded to Henschel & Sohn.
Unlike the later Panther tank however, the designs for the Tiger did not incorporate any of the design innovations incorporated into the T-34: the defensive benefits of sloping armour and the corresponding saving in terms of weight were absent from both the Henschel and the Porsche designs, with the thickness and weight of the Tiger’s armour making up for this oversight.
With the contract in the bag there was no time to loose and Henschel began production of the Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. H in August 1942 at its tank factory Henschelwerk III in Kassel-Mittelfeld.
A newly completed Tiger is lowered on to a railway carriage ready to commence its journey to the front.
The official designation from March 1943 onwards was Panzerkampfwagen VI SdKfz 181 Tiger Ausf E until Hitler’s order, dated February 27th, 1944, abolished the designation Panzerkampfwagen VI and ratified the use of the new designation Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E. This was to remain the official designation until the end of the war. For common use the name was frequently shortened to Tiger - the name purportedly given to the machine by its frustrated rival designer Ferdinand Porsche.
The firm of Henschel & Sohn was established in the early 1800s as a builder of locomotives and it was only during World War I that the firm undertook the business of armament manufacturing for the first time. The company kept up the new operations during the inter-war years and by the time Hitler was ready to re-arm Germany Henschel was ready and waiting to oblige. By the time of the second World War, the company was producing locomotives, tanks, diesel engines, trucks, aeroplanes and artillery pieces. Henschel manufactured all of the main battle tank types with the exception of the Panzer IV. This meant that at various times the Panzer I, II and III as well as the Panther, Tiger I and Tiger II all rolled off the Henschel production lines.
The firm of Henschel & Sohn incorporated three huge engineering works in and around Kassel. Werk I in Kassel was devoted to locomotive assembly and gun production, Werk II in the Rothenditmold area consisted of a large foundry, boiler and other locomotive component shops and Werk III in Mittelfeld was primarily devoted to tank assembly and component manufacture.
The Mittelfeld Werkes were situated on both sides of a railway line running north to south. Looking south, those buildings on the right side of the railway line were used for manufacturing locomotive components and truck and engine repair. The main storage area for tank components was also on the right side of the track including sheds that held Tiger hulls and turrets. On the right side of the track were 4 main shops numbered 1, 2, 3 and 5. (Shop 4 was planned but never built.). Tiger manufacturing took place in shops 3 and 5.
At its peak the factory employed a total of over 8000 workers for tank production. Sadly, extensive use was made of slave labour and the victims were treated abominably being effectively worked to death. The Henschel works were in production round the clock seven days a week. The labour force, both slave labourers and willing workers performed two exhausting 12 hour shifts but the night shift for a variety of reasons produced only 50% of the output of the day shift.
A manufacturing process known as the “takte” system was used in the assembly shops. That system relied on a timed rhythm for each step in the manufacturing process. There were nine steps or takte used in manufacturing the Tiger I. In surviving factory photos the reader should note the takte signs on the shop wall denoting which step is being performed in that location.
A particularly fine study of a Tiger I in profile.
NEW GERMAN TANKS
Extracted from Technical and Tactical Trends no. 18, 1943
Several new types of German tanks have been reported to be in existence:
a) Mark I (C) - No details are known but it is probable that this is a redesigned Mark I intended for airborne or landing operations. The original Mark I tank weighed about 6 tons.
b) Mark II Special - The original Mark II tank (weight about 9 tons) has for some time been considered obsolescent as a combat tank. The new tank probably has thicker armour and a more powerful engine. One of the most important features is that it is reportedly armed with the long-barrelled 50mm gun which is used in the new Mark III tanks. The result should be a comparatively light, fast tank with adequate striking power, probably suitable for use as a tank destroyer.
c) Mark VI - This is a heavy tank. No details other than the actual nomenclature are known, but it seems probable that this model is an entirely new departure in German tank design. It has been anticipated for some time that the Marks III and IV might be superseded by a new type incorporating the best features of each model and introducing features borrowed from British and possibly American designs. Having obtained a tank gun of first quality in the long-barrelled 75mm tank gun (40), the weapon mounted in the new Mark IV tanks, it is probable that this weapon or an 88mm weapon is the principal armament. The basic armour may be as thick as 80 or 100mm, and spaced armour, at least in front, is probably incorporated. There may also be skirting armour. Face-hardened armour is probably used, and the speed is not expected to be under 25mph.
Reports of a German heavy tank have been received over a considerable period of time. Apparently the most recent is the statement of a German captured in Tunisia. According to the prisoner, he belonged to an independent heavy tank battalion, which consisted of a headquarters company and two armoured companies. Each armoured company was equipped with nine 50 ton tanks. The tanks were armed with 88mm guns and were capable of a speed of 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) an hour. Whether or not this is the Mark VI tank is not known.