- Chapter 9 -
The problems of moving the Tiger tank from place to place were significant and were especially marked in relation to rail movement by rail. The Tiger’s width placed the vehicle at the very limits of the abilities of Europe’s rail systems to cope with the vehicle and special transit tracks had to be developed if the tanks were to be moved at all. In order to support the considerable weight of the Tiger, the tracks were an unprecedented 725mm (28.5in) wide. Which was too wide to be carried by rail. To meet rail-freight size restrictions, the outer row of wheels had to be removed and special 520mm (20in) wide transport tracks installed. With a good crew, a track change took 20 minutes. British intelligence was bolstered by the 1944 interrogation of a POW who had experience of the enormous difficulties entailed in moving the Tiger by rail.
Another early U.S. report on the German heavy Tiger tank, Pz. Kw. 6 was featured in Tactical and Technical Trends, 6th May 1943 while the Tunisian campaign was coming to a close. By now the Tiger I was becoming increasingly familiar on the battlefields and as a result the intelligence reports were increasingly accurate.
As German prisoners began to be taken in Tunisia so the knowledge available to the allies increased. Notes On Tank Tactics was derived from interrogations of these prisoners and was published in April 1943 by the R.A.C. liaison unit. By this stage more and more detail was beginning to emerge on the exact statistical role in which the Tiger I was employed in Tunisia.
The first reports of the Tiger I in combat in Tunisia had actually begun to filter in from January 1943. From the speed at which the German battlefield tactics were altered it appears fairly clear that the German tank crews were quickly disabused of the notion that the new tank was invincible. The Tiger I was without a doubt a strongly built tank with many superior attributes, but it could be easily destroyed by regular battlefield weaponry, especially if the crew were not constantly vigilant for attacks from the rear or the side. This further extract from a British intelligence report from M.I.10 dated September 1943 underlines the fact that the British were fast learning the weaknesses of the Tiger in action.
Routine maintenance of the Tiger I was incredibly difficult and required a mobile crane as it was necessary to remove the turret in order to change the gear box. This was a frustratingly frequent occurrence.
THE CONTEMPORARY VIEW NO. 7
PRISONER OF WAR DESCRIBES RAIL EMBARKATION
A PW states that the narrow loading tracks for Tiger tanks belong permanently on the special platform truck and are put back on it when the truck returns to its home station.
Tiger tanks only just fit on the width of the truck and are secured by laying wooden beams against the inner sides of the trucks and securing them to the flooring by means of heavy bolts passing through prepared holes.
One PW described the loading of Tiger tanks at Maille-Le-Camp (France) early in Feb 44 and the unloading a few days later at Ficulie (Italy).
“Conditions at both ends were very bad. Deep mud, rain or snow, and biting winds hindered operations and made the job very trying.
The 80 ton platform truck was shunted up to an end loading ramp and secured in position.
By means of an 18 ton half tracked towing vehicle, the narrow loading tracks were towed off the platform truck and manoeuvred into position on the ground in echelon and at the correct width apart. One broad track was then undone and the tank driven forward on one track so that the bogie wheels on the opposite side ran off the broad track onto the narrow track.
The intended joining point of the narrow track was between the driving sprocket and the ground. To bring the upper run of the track round the rear idler and over the tops of the bogie wheels, the sprocket hub was used as a capstan by passing a wire rope round it. With the broad track locked and the sprocket on the opposite side rotating slowly, the crew pulled on the end of the wire rope and so brought the track up and over.
Having joined the first narrow track, the broad track on the opposite side was undone and the tank driven forward on the narrow track until the bogie wheels ran over the second narrow track.
Once the tank was fitted with the narrow tracks, the crew had to remove the four outside bogie wheels on both sides.
When this had been done, the half tracked towing vehicle had to tow the broad tracks side by side in front of the loading ramp.
The Tiger was then driven forward so that it straddled the tracks on the ground. Wire ropes were attached to the two lifting eyes at the front of the turret, passed over the front armour and secured at their other ends to the tracks.
The Tiger was finally driven up the ramp, towing its own broad tracks underneath it between the narrow tracks. Once it was in position on the platform truck the ultimate operation was to bring up the overhanging ends of the broad tracks over the rear armour of the tank, a feat accomplished by wire ropes and pulleys, with the attendant towing vehicle providing the motive power.
Before the tank was ready to travel, the turret had to be traversed to approx 5 o’clock to allow for the right-handed tunnels which are mostly encountered on the route from France to Italy.”
The cumbersome process of preparing the Tiger I for rail transport included removing the outermost road wheels, changing the wide combat tracks to fit the narrow guage tracks shown here.
THE CONTEMPORARY VIEW NO. 8
GERMAN HEAVY TANK - Pz. Kw. 6
The accompanying sketch of the tank is based on photographs of a Pz. Kw. 6 knocked out on the Tunisian front.
The suspension system, which has only very briefly been described in Tactical and Technical Trends, is shown in the sketch The track is made of metal. To the far right in the sketch is the front-drive sprocket and to the far left, the rear Idler. There are no return rollers since the track rides on top of the Christie-type wheels, which are rubber rimmed. It will be noted that there are eight axles, each with three wheels to a side, or each with one single and one double wheel to a side. There are thus 24 wheels, or 8 single wheels and 8 double wheels, on each side of the tank. The system of overlapping is similar to the suspension system used on German half-tracks.
The tank is provided with two tracks, a wide one (2 ft, 4.5 in) and a narrow one (just under 2 ft). The wide track is the one used in battle, the narrow being for administrative marches and where manoeuvrability and economy of operation take precedence over ground pressure. The dotted line in the sketch of the suspension system indicates the outer edge of the narrow track. When the narrow track is used, the eight wheels outside the dotted line can be removed.
THE CONTEMPORARY VIEW NO. 9
USE OF Pz. Kw. VI (‘TIGER’)
(a) Information obtained from PW indicates that the Pz. Kw. VI was chiefly used in Tunisia to support other armoured units, and mention was made of its employment as mobile artillery. As a support tank it was always used in rear of lighter units. In one reported skirmish however, the lighter Pz. Kw. IIIs and IVs formed the spearhead of the advance; as soon as our tanks came within range the German ‘spearhead’ tanks deployed to the flanks, leaving the heavier Pz. Kw. VI tanks to engage.
(b) A PW who was with RHQ7 Pz. Regiment in Tunisia for sometime states that there were some 20 Pz. Lw. Vis in the regiment. When on the march ten of these moved with the main column, the others moving on the flanks. According to this PW, the tactics in the attack were to seek to engage enemy tanks from hull-down positions at short ranges, even down to 250 yards. On the other hand, this prisoner also reports an engagement in which two Pz. Kw. Vis brought indirect fire to bear, observation being carried out by an artillery FOO, each tank opening with one round of smoke. In confirmation of this there is another A.F.H.Q. report which speaks of this exploitation by Pz. Kw. VI gunners of the great range of their 8.8 cm guns.
(c) 30 Military Mission also reports the use of Pz. Kw. VI in squadron strength on various parts of the Russian Front, especially the South-West.
(d) In conversation with Gerneral Martel, Marshal Stalin stated that in Russia, as in the desert, the Pz. Kw. VI went into battle in rear of a protective screen of lighter tanks.
(e) An A.F.H.Q. training instruction states that the size and weight of the Pz. Kw. VI present many problems. PW indicated that extensive reconnaissance of terrain, bridges etc., was necessary before operations with this tank could be undertaken. Bridges had to be reinforced in many cases, and it was necessary for the ‘going’ to be good for the effective employment of the Pz. Kw. VI.
THE CONTEMPORARY VIEW NO. 10
TIGERS BOLDLY USED
This is a standard Tiger tank - or, as the Germans designate it, Pz. Kpfw. Tiger. (The Roman numeral “VI” has been dropped.)
At first his Tigers were very boldly used and, once they were sure that their flanks were secured, they drove straight on. After several of these tanks had been knocked out, however, the crews appeared to be less enterprising and were inclined to use their tanks as mobile pillboxes. The fact remains, however, that in an armoured attack the Tiger tank must be regarded as a very formidable fighting component and, given adequate flank protection, will add very effective weight to the enemy firepower.
In the defensive the Pz. Kw. VI, usually well sited in a covered and defiladed position, was a particular danger. Despite the comparatively slow traversing rate of its turret, the Pz. Kw. VI proved an extremely good defensive weapon and could effectively cover a wide area with anti-tank fire. It was often used in good hull-down positions over very difficult ground, which made it hard for the Sherman to deal with it, and no amount of artillery fire could force it out.
Pz. Kw. VIIIs and IVs rarely took up good defensive positions on their own, but were used to watch the flanks of positions occupied by Pz. Kw. VIs. They were often used in small groups to counter-attack from concealed positions on the flank, from a cactus or olive grove or down a wadi. The terrain forced the enemy to employ rush tactics in close formation, and resulted in these counter-attacks being suitably dealt with.
Tank recovery requires a special note. It was often affected on the spot with speed and courage by attaching tow ropes to the casualties and towing them away by other tanks. Special trips at night were made by tanks to recover casualties (20 Jan BOU ARADA, and 1 Feb ROBAA). Where the enemy held the battlefield, tractors were brought up and the whole area cleared of recoverable casualties, both theirs and ours, in a very short time. The speed with which the recovery plan was made and carried out made action by our demolition squads very difficult, and where tank casualties were in no-man’s land and unapproachable by day, the enemy would get out to them the moment darkness fell. Sometimes (eg ROBAA, BOU ARADA) as much as a company of infantry was used to hold off our patrols or stage a diversion while recovery was in progress. The enemy used tanks against our Churchills and was quick to take advantage of an unprotected flank
A broken down Tiger I being towed by two Sd.Kfz. 9. The convolutd arrangement was the only means by which a broken donw Tiger I could be officially recovered.
THE CONTEMPORARY VIEW NO. 11
GEAR BOX TROUBLE
If a Tiger tank has gearbox trouble, it is customary to dismantle the flexible couplings in the half-shaft drives and to tow it out of the immediate battle area by another Tiger, using two tow ropes secured in ‘X’ formation to correct the tendency of the towed tank to sway.
Should, however, the track on a Tiger have ridden up over the sprocket teeth, the tractive effort required to move it is so great that two Tigers pull in tandem, each towing with crossed tow ropes.
Illustration showing the tools and methods of running gear maintenance from Tigerfibel. Although the need to change road wheels was a frequent and frustrating occurrance, by far the largest share of the mechanical problems resulted from the gear box, the repair of which necessitated the removal of the turret by a mobile crane.