Steel Division Wiki
Advertisement

For the Steel Division: Normandy 44 unit see SD:Königstiger (P)

Königstiger is a German Tank unit in Steel Division II.

Background[ | ]

Main article: Tiger

The Tiger tank had been a formidable foe during the early years of the war, but the Allies were starting to catch up. Indeed, new Soviet tanks such as the ISU-152 and the T-34-85 were appearing on the Eastern front, while the British and the Americans were busy developing improved tank designs and upgunning existing variants. A new Tiger version was ordered in January 1943 that could mount the formidable KwK 43 88mm gun as well as sport more armour.

Henschel was the company which was responsible for manufacturing German vehicles and aircraft like, amongst others, the Panzer III and the Henschel Hs 129 ground attack aircraft. Vying with a rival company, Porsche, to produce a viable Tiger II design, the Henschel company won the contract to manufacture Tiger IIs in 1943 and indeed would be the sole manufacturer of Tiger IIs during the Second World War. The first fifty early turrets were (misleadingly) called Porsche turrets and contained flaws, the most severe of which was that it created a shot trap. Despite this, they were mounted onto the tank chassis and saw action. The improved Henschel turret eliminated the shot trap, and other improvements were introduced. The latter was to become the standard production model. Production figures remained low throughout 1944 and 1945, and only about 500 Königstigers were produced before the war ended.

The Tiger II design stressed German engineering to its breaking point. It was a complex tank to manufacture and maintain and was like most German heavy tanks underpowered and prone to breaking down. Many Tiger IIs were abandoned not through enemy action but due to mechanical failure. However, when it did arrive on the battlefield, it proved to be a formidable foe and a serious threat. There are no combat reports of its front armour ever being penetrated, though a 17-pdr using APDS ammunition could theoretically pierce the front of a Tiger II at close ranges of 500m. The heavy tank was deployed during the twilight years of Nazi Germany on the Western and the Eastern front.

21. Panzer (SD2) was supported by elements from s.Panzer-Abteilung 503.

Kampfgruppe von Tettau commanded elements of s.Panzer Abteilung 506.

Strategy[ | ]

Click here to add a strategy!


Behind the scenes[ | ]

  • The camouflage pattern on the tank is based on the camouflage used in July 1944 by Tigers of the schwerer Panzer-Abteilung 503 (503rd heavy tank battalion) in Normandy.
Advertisement