War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

Panther G

2024-11-10T20:35:27Z

U102634358: I added the little section about the flat bottom of the gun mantlet.

{{About
| about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other vehicles of the family
|link-1 = Panzer V Panther (Family)
|usage-2 = other uses
|link-2 = Panther (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_g_panther
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''Panzerkampfwagen V Ausführung G (Panther G)''' ([[Abbreviations#.28DE.29 Sd.Kfz. Index|Sd.Kfz. Index:]] '''Sd.Kfz. 171''') is the third production variant of the iconic [[Panther tank (Family)|Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank family]]. The letter G was used to signify that this batch of tanks had a new, modified chassis. The most visible difference between the Panther G and the [[Panther A]] was a small increase in the thickness of the hull side armour plate to counter infantry anti-tank weapons. However, this added weight to the Panther, which was already overweight, so the lower frontal armour plate and hull belly armour plate thickness were reduced to compensate. Many other small improvements were made, but the general goal of the design was to simplify the manufacturing process so that more tanks could be produced as quickly as possible. Anothe improvement the Germans added was the flat bottom of the gun mantle. This was to compensate for the problem of shells richocheting off the bottom of the gun mantlet, directly into the tank's roof. The ventilation systems for the transmission, brakes, engine, and exhaust were redesigned, and the two parallel vertical pipes that emerged from the exhaust cover at the back of the Panther A tank hull were no longer required. Sheet metal coverings were gradually introduced beginning in June 1944 as a temporary remedy to assist in decreasing the red glow given off by the exhaust pipes at night. These were subsequently replaced by purpose-built Flammenvernichter flame suppressor exhaust mufflers beginning in October 1944. On September 9, 1944, factories received orders to cease using Zimmerit due to evidence that it had caused tank fires and a lack of confirmation of magnetic mine use by the Soviets and the Allied infantry.

Introduced in the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41, the Panther G is part of the next generation of medium tanks that officially superseded the [[Pz.IV (Family)|Panzer IVs]] in World War II. It was the most produced Panther variant, accounting for 2,961 of the total number of around 6,000 Panther tanks constructed during World War II. The Panther G's gameplay experience is quite identical to Panther A's, however, the maximum speed is slightly lower. The gun mantlet is also slightly modified, lowering the likelihood of successful enemy penetration into the turret crew compartment. The players can also use a commander's cupola-mounted MG34 light machine gun as a deterrence to hostile low-flying aircraft.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

The Panther G has excellent frontal armour, which can protect the crew from many of the kinetic shells found in this BR range (with the exception of chemical shells and large calibre kinetic shells). Panther G's survivability is excellent when played to its strengths in long-range engagement; avoid brawling with enemy tanks unless absolutely necessary. Although the turret cheek of all Panther medium tanks is a well-known weak spot, engaging the enemy from a mid- to long-distance can greatly mitigate this weakness because the enemy will struggle to effectively penetrate the weak spot as engagement distance increases. Furthermore, due to the unique curvature of the turret armour layout, the turret cheek can bounce many kinetic shells from the enemy as distance increases. Keep in mind that kinetic shells and APDS shells from the like of US M36 tank destroyers, UK tanks, and Swedish tanks will easily penetrate the frontal armour of all Panther tanks, necessitating greater caution when engaging such foes.

Panther A and Panther G differ in that Panther G has slightly improved side armour, with a 10 mm increase. Nonetheless, such enhancements are negligible and will not protect the Panther G from enemy tank side shots any more than the Panther A.

'''Armour type:'''

*Rolled homogeneous armour
*Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 80 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 50 mm (56°) ''Lower glacis'' || 50 mm (30°) ''Top'' 41.5 + 5 mm ''Lower'' || 40 mm (24°) || 17 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 100 - 120 mm ''Gun mantlet''|| 45 mm || 45 mm || 16 mm
|-
| Cupola || 80 mm || 80 mm || 80 mm || 16 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Turret mantlet now features a flat "chin" on the lower side, which while prevents shot traps, does present a vertical surface on the turret.
* Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armour plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
* Rear parts of the upper side hull armour have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armour.
* Belly armour front part is 18 mm thick while the back part is 15 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=930|rbMinHp=531|AoAweight=0.5}}

The Panther G's mobility is very similar to that of the previous Panther A, though it is slower due to its slightly weaker engine. The Panther G combines great mobility with excellent firepower thanks to its high-top speed and neutral steering. However, mobility is still lacking when compared to its contemporary era tanks, particularly the Soviet T-34-85. Most Panther enemies, such as Sherman and T-34-85, will have no trouble firing the first shot when they come face-to-face with Panthers unexpectedly. Maps with lots of cover should be played with caution as US M18 light tanks frequently appear in unexpected areas of the map at the start of a match. Overall, the Panther G should be played as a fast medium tank, taking advantage of its excellent frontal armour while not overly relying on it to take hits, and engaging the enemy from a distance with its excellent cannon.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK42]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 82 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 19.0 || 26.4 || 32.0 || 35.4 || 37.7 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.9 || 14.0 || 17.0 || 18.8 || 20.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK42 (75 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39/42, PzGr 40/42, Sprgr. 42}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
|-
| '''82''' || 80 ''(+2)'' || 74 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+20)'' || 50 ''(+32)'' || 38 ''(+44)''
|-
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| 26 ''(+56)'' || 22 ''(+60)'' || 12 ''(+70)'' || 4 ''(+78)'' || 1 ''(+81)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire both shells in the set.
* Right side empty: 50 ''(+32)'' shells, or both sides empty: 22 ''(+60)'' shells.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,700 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (150) || 900 || -10°/+25° || -60°/+160°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


'''Playing as Panther G:'''

Panther is a great "hunter"; locating the weak (slow, damaged, lone) tank and taking it out is one of the best ways to play the vehicle. Mobility is a big advantage and you should use it, especially againstt high-rank vehicles. You should find a suitable location and take it as soon as possible; when you do this, you can easily push off advancing enemy tanks while heavy tanks join the action. Just when you notice that you have strong enough backup it is time to retreat. Your role is not to fight directly but rather spot weaknesses in the enemy defence. Once you learn how to take advantage of the speed and a gun, you'll easily take out enemy targets by surprise.

However, this tank can only reach its full potential in Realistic and Historical battles where there are no spotting systems and where you can use it the way it's meant to be used.

Most of the heavy tanks are not fast enough to counter your attacks; however, this does not mean their turret is stuck. Be careful when approaching one and always try to have the advantage. It is not advised to attack enemy heavy tanks directly or frontally; this is where they have most of their armour and, most likely, will bounce anything you throw at them. It's better to retreat and try to find an alternative route before engaging the enemy.

Because Panthers, like other medium tanks, have weak side armour (20 mm autocannons can penetrate it), flanking is the best way to deal with them. Despite Panther G's significantly improved turret traverse speed, which greatly aids in reducing reaction time to sudden threats, all Panthers continue to struggle to get the first shot in against common enemies such as Shermans and T-34-85. Due to the rather violent rocking of the gun sight during abrupt stopping of the vehicle, it is not recommended to drive too fast in zones where enemy tanks are close by, as this significantly reduces gun sight stabilisation time.

'''Playing against Panther G:'''

When confronted with a Panther head-on, always shoot the right turret cheek to take out the gunner. This is one of the front armour weak points, but keep in mind that as the range increases, the shell may bounce. At short ranges, heavy guns like the 17-pounder can penetrate the lower glacis, and any large calibre (100 mm and up) can penetrate the upper glacis. Any British tank equipped with APDS can easily penetrate the upper glacis. At shorter ranges, the 17-pounder can also pass through the lower glacis. The Panthers will be easily penetrated from the front by the Soviet 122mm gun.

* '''Light tank''': Light tanks will be able to engage the Panther G much more easily than medium or heavy tanks due to their higher speed, increasing the chances of successful flanking. Common light tanks, such as the US M18, can easily penetrate the side armour, which is only 50 mm thick. The Panther has a tall and long side profile, making it even easier to spot and shoot at. All Panther series medium tanks have neutral steering and can traverse the hull on the spot, allowing them to respond to threats quickly.
* '''Medium tank''': The Panther series' greatest strengths are long-range engagements, as their excellent combination of thick frontal armour, great firepower, and decent mobility allows them to reach advantageous positions quickly enough to compete effectively against other medium tanks of similar BR. Close the combat distance and force close-range engagements with Panthers are always a good idea. This also helps to mitigate the disadvantages of Allied medium tank gun ammunition's lower penetration. The Panther series medium tank's turret cheek is a well-known weak spot that should be targeted quickly and accurately. In a close-quarters battle, aim for the Panther's gun mantlet, which is only 100 mm thick. It typically knocks out the gunner, cannon breech, commander, or loader. Due to the primitive one-plane stabiliser found in Shermans and the relatively stable gun sights found in T-34-85, Shermans and T-34-85s can usually pull off the first shot more effectively than Panthers. On an open map, never engage any Panthers from the front, as this will be detrimental.
* '''Heavy tank/tank destroyer''': Heavy tanks should still be played with caution, as the cannon on all Panther series medium tanks has a high penetration. Do not rely too heavily on armour unless you are certain that Panther will be unable to penetrate your frontal armour anywhere. Vehicles with powerful cannons, such as the IS-2, can easily penetrate a Panther's frontal armour, so players should aim to engage Panthers as soon as possible to reduce pressure on the friendly team.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Good frontal armour
* Good gun
* Good acceleration
* Good turret rotation
* Good accuracy while moving
* Access to APCR
* Lower part of the gun mantlet is stronger
* Tricolor camouflage as default is good for RB/SB modes

'''Cons:'''

* Downgraded engine, means this Panther variant is slower than the A and D model
* Despite having a redesigned gun mantlet, it still remains as a weak spot
* Lower glacis is still a weak spot. Will often catch fire if shot there
* Like all Panther variants, it has a poor reverse speed of only -4 km/h
* Is large for a medium tank
* Side armour is still weak despite being upgraded to 50 mm from previous models
* Ammo racks offer a great target
* You need some knowledge of your enemies to fully utilize this tank's capabilities

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Panther''' development started as far back as 1938 as a replacement to the [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV E|Panzer IVs]]. The program was called ''VK 20'' and it called for a 20 ton tracked vehicle design by Krupp, Daimler-Benz, and MAN. Krupp dropped out when the requirements changed to 30 tones in 1941 when the German encounters the Soviet [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks where the Panzer III and Panzer IV's performance have little effect due to its superior armour, mobility, and armament. The ''VK 20'' was abandoned for the ''VK 30.02'' in April 1942. Daimler-Benz design for this project looks similar to the T-34 with the turret far forward in the hull, plus the use of a diesel engine and external leaf spring suspension. MAN's design had a twin torsion bar, the interleaved suspension system (like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]]) with the turret situated in the middle of the hull, plus had a petrol Maybach engine. Hitler was reported to believe that the DB design was superior to the MAN design, and in a review between January to March 1942, Fritz Todt and Albert Speer also recommended the DB design. Then MAN revised their design, and a special commission by Hitler decided on the MAN design in May 1942, to which Hitler approved after reviewing it. One of the reasons the MAN was approved was that its turret was already in production while the DB used a completely new design. However, despite being built for a 30-ton design, Hitler decided to increase the armour on the MAN design and the weight went from 30 tons to 45 tons.

The MAN design was made into a prototype in September 1942, when it was officially accepted after testing and named the '''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'''. Where it remained so until 1944, where Hitler removed the '''V''' in the designation for the name '''Panther'''. Production started in December 1942, though the early models suffered from reliability issues. The production plants expanded from MAN to Daimler-Benz, MNH, and Henschel for increased output. Despite that, production was often delayed due to Allied air bombing, which targeted the Maybach engine plant and DB, MAN, and MNH tank factories. Nevertheless, the total number of Panther tanks produced was 6,706, making the Panther the third most produced armoured fighting vehicle in Germany behind the Panzer IV and the StuG III.

===Design===
The MAN design for the Panther featured a heavily sloped armour design, with the front glacis plate being 80 mm thick (from the original 60 mm before the weight increase) and when sloped at 55 degrees, it was 140 mm effective in thickness. This made the Panther one of the best-armoured vehicle in World War II. The side armour of the Panther was way thinner at 40 mm that could be pierced very easily. Additional side armour in the form of Schürzen could be placed on the sides hanging to cover the suspension and hull side from being penetrated by Soviet anti-tank rifle fire. The Panther used the same engine as the Tiger I, the Mayback HL 210 P30 engine, and had a similar suspension system, the Schachtellaufwerk interleaved wheel system, which complicated maintenance issues. The tank used the formidable 7.5 cm Kwk42 cannon, which could destroy most of the allied tanks in service, though only possess a mediocre HE shell.

The '''Ausf. G''' variant was the last major variant designed and produced for the Panther, The Ausf. G retained many of the characteristics from the [[Panther A|Ausf. A]], such as the side-swinging commander's cupola and the ball mount machine gun for the assistant driver. The Ausf. G design removed the driver's front folding visor view on the front hull. The interior of the Ausf. G was also modified to hold 82 rounds instead of the usual 79 on the Ausf. A and [[Panther D|Ausf. D]]. The Ausf. G also introduced the newly designed Panther gun mantlet with a "chin" on the bottom to solve the shot trap issue, but some had the initial turret curved gun mantlet due to high demand. 2,953 Panther Ausf. G was produced from March 1944 to April 1945.

The Panther's rushed development and commitment into battle caused the design to have many flaws inhibiting its full potential. The most prominent flaw that lasted throughout the war was the weak final drive due to using a double spur system that made it more prone to failure from the Panther's torque requirements, which is averaged at around 150 km before failing. The Schachtellaufwerk suspension system, like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger]], suffered from over-engineering and complicating maintenance of the tank. Smaller problems in the tank included not having a dedicated periscope for the gunner, maintenance-heavy, fuel-hungry, and deteriorating armour quality as metal alloys in Germany began to run out.

Despite its heavier weight and slightly complex design, the cost of each Panther tank was not very high in relative to tanks with a price at 117,100 Reichmarks, compared to the 103,462 RM of Panzer IVs and 250,800 RM of the Tiger I. This made the tank rather economic for its fighting purposes despite being over-engineered.

===Combat usage===
The Panther was first issued to the Eastern Front, arming the 51st and 52nd Tank Battalions. Their usage presented mechanical problems of the Panther, forcing many of the early Panthers to be returned for rebuilding. Despite these issues, the Panther was deemed critical in the Battle of Kursk in Operation Citadel, Hitler delayed the operation so more Panthers can reach the front. 200 Panthers were ready in June 1943, but its combat debut was disappointing. The Panthers, which arrived last minute before the operation started, meant that the crew serving the tanks had little time to train with the new tanks. Two tanks were lost to motor fires right after disembarking from the trains at the front lines. 184 were operational at the start of the operation on July 5, this dropped to 40 within two days. According to Heinz Guderian, five days into the offensive, only 10 operation Panthers were available with 25 completely lost, 100 in need of repairs, and 60 per cent of those mechanical breakdowns were easily repaired. Those that did work during the campaign were able to cause heavy casualties on the Soviet tank forces, but the Panther's lethality was mitigated by its low number available. When the operation turned and the Soviet counteroffensive pushed the Germans away from Kursk, the Panther loss rose to 156 on August 11, with many more lost as the Soviet kept gaining ground. Perhaps the Panther's biggest role in Operation Citadel was delaying the start of the operation by two months to allow the Soviet defences to be bolstered beyond the German's expectations, causing the failure of the offensive.

After the failure at Kursk, improvements on the Panther helped its reliability rate. By March 1944, Guderian reported that most of the Panther's flaws were ironed out, but the final drive and other mechanical issues were still a major issue to front-line units. The Panthers served the rest of the war as quick-reaction forces to fight off Allied offensives on both fronts. On the Eastern Front, some 700 Panthers were committed to the battle at all times, though the number of operational vehicles varies depending on the situation. The Panthers were also sent to suppress the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Two were captured by the Polish forces, who used them against the German forces. The captured Panthers were used until they became immobilized and were destroyed to prevent recapture by the Germans.

On the Western Front, the Panthers began being present in large numbers after the Invasion of Normandy. 156 Panthers were initially present between two Panzer regiments, but this increased by seven regiments after the Allied invasion, boosting the strength to 432 tanks. The high number of Panther situated in France, mostly around Caen, and their performance against the Allied armour caused many Allied tankers to fear it as much as the Tiger tanks. However, the Panther's reliability problem was still evident as many Panthers were left abandoned by the crew when they broke down. The mechanical breakdown, partly from the flaws in the machine, can also be attributed to the poor crew training given, which showed by crew overburdening the transmission or lacking regular maintenance on the tank. The Allied assessment of the Panther was that its mobility on soft grounds was superior due to its wider tracks giving more flotation over the ground, and armour and firepower value was superior to anything they had, though it was inferior in the bocage terrain of France due to the constrained nature of the environment. The Panther participated in the famed Battle of Arracourt, where a total of 262 German tanks were committed to battle. The battle, against the mostly [[M4|M4 Sherman]], equipped 4th Armored Division, routed the Germans after they suffered heavy casualties, while the Allies only losing 32 armoured fighting vehicles, a testament on how crew training and tactical advantage have a big impact on tank warfare. The highest concentration of Panthers on the Western Front was 471 Panthers (336 operational) in the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), where it showed its prowess in open terrain due to its superior gun. The Panthers also took place in Operation Grief, being disguised as [[M10 GMC|M10 tank destroyers]] to trick American soldiers. All of these mocked up Panthers were destroyed in battle or scrapped after it. After the Ardennes Offensive, eight Panzer division with 271 Panthers were transferred to the Eastern Front to beat back the Soviet offensive. Only five Panther battalions, 96 Panthers for each battalion, remained on the Western Front to fight the Allies.

After the war, Panther still saw a use for some time in various countries. Bulgaria and Romania received Panthers from the Soviets as aid, which they used until the 1950s. France was the most notable user of the Panther tanks after World War II due to the large quantities of operable vehicles left behind by the Germans during the Normandy invasion. The French raised a regiment of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, when they were replaced by the new ARL 44 tanks. The Panther also influenced the French AMX 50 tank design, and its gun was derived onto the AMX 13 light tank. In 1947, an evaluation was written by the French War Ministry on the Panthers which even made their own assessment of the Panther that pointed out most of the flaws of the Panthers, especially the mechanical failure and the deficiency of the armour later in the war due to alloy shortages.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
In March 1944, the most numerous Pz.Kpfw. V Panther variant of the whole war entered production. A total of 3,126 tanks were built by April 1945. The Ausf. G variant had a simpler, more technologically advanced hull. The driver's hatch was removed from the front plate. The sides' angle of inclination was reduced to 30°, and their thickness was reduced to 50 mm. The thickness of the roof of the turret was increased to 30 mm. On vehicles released later, the shape of the gun mantlet was modified to prevent shells from ricocheting into the roof of the tank hull. The amount of shells carried for the gun was increased to 82 shots. Some of the vehicles were released with rollers featuring internal shock absorbers.

From March to April 1945, approximately 50 Panther Ausf. G tanks were equipped with the world's first mass-production active night vision device, the Sperber FG 1,250. These devices were mounted on the commander's cupola along with surveillance devices which allowed viewing areas from a distance of 200 m while driving. However, the tank's driver did not have such a device and had to follow the instructions of the commander. Tanks equipped with infrared devices made by the company Zeiss-Jena took part in battles on the Eastern and Western fronts. Tank subdivisions used them in conjunction with SdKfz.251/20 Uhu armoured vehicles equipped with 60 cm search lights to illuminate a zone of up to 700 m.

The Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf. G Panther tank was the best German tank of the Second World War and one of the best in the world. At the same time, the vehicle had a number of drawbacks. It was difficult and expensive both to manufacture and to operate.

After the war, many French tank divisions were equipped with Panther tanks. Also, after the war, these tanks were used by Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia. France produced a modified version of the 75 mm KwK42 L/70 gun and installed it on light post-war French tanks.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_g_panther Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|y1S7jHyFxdA|'''The Shooting Range #34''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 02:36 discusses the Panther I.}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{TankManufacturer MAN AG}}
{{Germany medium tanks}}

Panther D

2024-11-10T19:56:39Z

U102634358: I added a strategy to how to use the panther in combat

{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other versions
|link-1 = Panzer V Panther (Family)
|usage-2 = other uses
|link-2 = Panther (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_d_panther
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''Panzerkampfwagen V Ausführung D (Panther D)''' ([[Abbreviations#.28DE.29 Sd.Kfz. Index|Sd.Kfz. Index:]] '''Sd.Kfz. 171''') is the first production variant of the iconic [[Panzer V Panther (Family)|Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank family]]. M.A.N. produced the first production series Panther D variant tank in January 1943. The initial [[VK 3002 (M)]] prototype was improved in several ways, including increasing the hull upper front armour plate thickness from 60 mm to 80 mm and inclined at 55 degrees. Due to the angle of the hull upper front armour plate, an enemy shell firing directly at the Panther from a head-on position would have to penetrate roughly 140 mm of armour plate. On the other hand, despite having a thicker hull upper front armour plate of 100 mm, the [[Tiger I (Family)|Tiger I]] tank only possessed 100 mm of effective armour. This is primarily because Tiger I's hull upper front armour plate is placed perpendicular to the shell impact angle. The inclusion of Panzerschürzen (side shirt armour) is another improvement. To protect the visible 40 mm chassis side armour between the top of the track and below the pannier, the German designers incorporated protective skirt armour constructed of 5 mm soft steel to protect against close-range penetration by Soviet anti-tank weaponry.

Introduced in the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41, the Panther D is the next generation of medium tanks that formally superseded the [[Pz.IV (Family)|Panzer IV medium tank family]] in the latter stages of World War II. Due to its massive, sloped upper front armour plate, the Panther D can easily knock out any opponent tank with its ranks while staying immune to most enemy return fire. However, since the turret is still rotated by hand, the traverse speed is slow, and close-range confrontations with adversaries in towns are not encouraged. Despite its large size in comparison to other tanks in its class, the Panther D is remarkably mobile and can reach the majority of strategic zones early in the battle.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

'''Armour type:'''

*Rolled homogeneous armour
*Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 80 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 60 mm (56°) ''Lower glacis'' || 40 mm (40°) ''Top'' 40 + 5 mm ''Lower'' || 40 mm (29-31°) || 16 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm (11-12°) ''Turret front'' 60-100 (7-80°) + 10 mm ''Gun mantlet''|| 45 mm (0-25°) || 45 mm (20-30°) || 16 mm
|-
| Cupola || 80 mm || 80 mm || 80 mm || 16 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick. The interleaved suspension wheels means that there are places where it will be a cumulative 20 + 20 mm extra armour.
* Belly armour is 16 mm thick.
* A 30 mm RHA plate separates the engine compartment from the crew compartment.
* Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armour plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
* Rear parts of the upper side hull armour have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armour.
* The gun mantlet ring around the gun barrel is 300 mm thick.
* [[Add-on Armor|Add-on armour]] adds tracks around the turret side and rear.
* Never try to angle the Panther, its side is too vulnerable, especially above the tracks

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,007|rbMinHp=575|AoAweight=0.45}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK42]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 79 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 5.7 || 7.9 || 9.6 || 10.6 || 11.3 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 3.6 || 4.2 || 5.1 || 5.6 || 6.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK42 (75 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39/42, Sprgr. 42}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
|-
| '''79''' || 77 ''(+2)'' || 71 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+17)'' || 53 ''(+26)'' || 44 ''(+35)''
|-
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| 35 ''(+44)'' || 31 ''(+48)'' || 16 ''(+63)'' || 4 ''(+75)'' || 1 ''(+78)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Turret and large sides empty: 31 ''(+48)'' shells

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,700 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The Panther has a much stronger front glacis armour than its heavy tank companion [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]], with ~140 mm effective thickness with sloping compared to the Tiger's 100 mm armour. However, only the frontal glacis is nigh impenetrable, the side armour and turret are very vulnerable and care must be taken to keep this safe. Make sure to have your front facing the enemy always, and don't flank too much.

One method is to exploit the Panther's long gun range with distance. Fight from a long distance from 800 m to 2,000 m away. At this range, the enemy's gun shells will lose most of their penetrative potential compared to the Panther's gun and will (hopefully) not be able to penetrate the Panther's weak point on the turret, plus you have the benefit of their lower aim accuracy due to distance. Of course, this scenario is very unlikely given the more close-oriented maps and games in War Thunder, so let's get to the alternative tactic...

In a more close-range tactic, stay with your allies. Allies will help you by covering your weak points on your sides. If you advance too far from your allies, the likelihood of your tank ending in a fiery ammunition explosion increases exponentially. Even in a close-range battle, try to maintain distance between you and the enemy tank to prevent them from easily flanking you and keep a range advantage to keep your weak points as hard to hit as possible. The slow turret traverse will also be a lower drawback at a longer range as you will not need to turn your turret as much to aim at different targets. Stay near the rear of the line while more mobile and aggressive allies charge forward and attract the enemy's attention so you can get the jump on them.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent cannon has a range of ammo for any type of enemy: great stock APCBC for common targets and HE for light vehicles
* Large ammo capacity allows polyvalent ammo loadouts
* Great accuracy and velocity allows easy long-range sniping.
* Heavily armoured frontal hull is immune to most guns at its battle rating, e.g. the 85 mm D-5T or 76 mm M1
* Fast top speed, good hull traverse. Can get to positions in time
* Adequate gun depression of -8° adapts most terrains well
* Has a wide range of effective camouflage to unlock. Suitable for almost every terrain/map
* Gun mantlet tends to sometimes absorb shells

'''Cons:'''

* Gun mantlet is only 100 mm thick, a huge and well-known weak spot to shoot at
* Very poor turret traverse making it hard to respond to flankers or to get the gun on target. For close-quarter combat, great situational awareness and fast reaction is required which isn't beginner friendly
* Side ammo racks are prone to detonation when hit
* Terrible reverse speed, not enough to get out of bad situations
* Weak side armour gets penetrated easily by Soviet APHEBC shells (e.g. BR-365A, BR-471). Cannot angle too much
* Lower glacis penetrations often start fires or break the transmission, leaving the tank immobile and vulnerable
* High profile for a medium tank makes it harder to hide
* Thin roof armour is vulnerable to [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|M2 Brownings]] which are widely seen on American planes
* Although heavily armoured, its hull can easily get penetrated frontally by Soviet 122 mm guns ([[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]], etc.), resulting in a knock-out out with a single shot
* The small calibre of the gun means the main APCBC shell has rather small amounts of explosive filler, resulting in it often being unable to one shot enemies
* The curved gun mantlet is a shot trap: it will deflect rounds into the weak hull roof armour

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Panther''' development started as far back as 1938 as a replacement to the [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV E|Panzer IVs]]. The program was called ''VK 20'' and it called for a 20 ton tracked vehicle design by Krupp, Daimler-Benz, and MAN. Krupp dropped out when the requirements changed to 30 tones in 1941 when the German encounters the Soviet [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks where the Panzer III and Panzer IV's performance have little effect due to its superior armour, mobility, and armament. The ''VK 20'' was abandoned for the ''VK 30.02'' in April 1942. Daimler-Benz design for this project looks similar to the T-34 with the turret far forward in the hull, plus the use of a diesel engine and external leaf spring suspension. MAN's design had a twin torsion bar, the interleaved suspension system (like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]]) with the turret situated in the middle of the hull, plus had a petrol Maybach engine. Hitler was reported to believe that the DB design was superior to the MAN design, and in a review between January to March 1942, Fritz Todt and Albert Speer also recommended the DB design. Then MAN revised their design, and a special commission by Hitler decided on the MAN design in May 1942, to which Hitler approved after reviewing it. One of the reasons the MAN was approved was that its turret was already in production while the DB used a completely new design. However, despite being built for a 30-ton design, Hitler decided to increase the armour on the MAN design and the weight went from 30 tons to 45 tons.

The MAN design was made into a prototype in September 1942, when it was officially accepted after testing and named the '''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'''. Where it remained so until 1944, where Hitler removed the '''V''' in the designation for the name '''Panther'''. Production started in December 1942, though the early models suffered from reliability issues. The production plants expanded from MAN to Daimler-Benz, MNH, and Henschel for increased output. Despite that, production was often delayed due to Allied air bombing, which targeted the Maybach engine plant and DB, MAN, and MNH tank factories. Nevertheless, the total number of Panther tanks produced was 6,706, making the Panther the third most produced armoured fighting vehicle in Germany behind the Panzer IV and the StuG III.

===Design===
The MAN design for the Panther featured a heavily sloped armour design, with the front glacis plate being 80 mm thick (from the original 60 mm before the weight increase) and when sloped at 55 degrees, it was 140 mm effective in thickness. This made the Panther one of the best-armoured vehicle in World War II. The side armour of the Panther was way thinner at 40 mm that could be pierced very easily. Additional side armour in the form of Schürzen could be placed on the sides hanging to cover the suspension and hull side from being penetrated by Soviet anti-tank rifle fire. The Panther used the same engine as the Tiger I, the Mayback HL 210 P30 engine, and had a similar suspension system, the ''Schachtellaufwerk'' interleaved wheel system, which complicated maintenance issues. The tank used the formidable 7.5 cm Kwk 42 cannon, which could destroy most of the allied tanks in service, though only possess a mediocre HE shell.

The '''Ausf. D''' variant was the first variant designed for the Panther, easily distinguishable by its drum-shaped commander cupola. The Ausf. D can also be distinguished by a unique machine gun port with a shape of a vertical "letterbox" flap from where the machine gun was fired (this was replaced by a standard ball mount in later variants). The Ausf. D also had the initial turret curved gun mantlet that was introduced to the Panther, though there were faults with the design as explained below. 842 Panther Ausf. D was produced from January to September 1943.

The Panther's rushed development and commitment into battle caused the design to have many flaws inhibiting its full potential. The most prominent flaw that lasted throughout the war was the weak final drive due to using a double spur system that made it more prone to failure from the Panther's torque requirements, which is averaged at around 150 km before failing. The curved gun mantlet design had an unfortunate tendency to ricochet deflected rounds into the roof, it was, however, not fixed until a new gun mantlet design with a flat "chin" shape was introduced on the [[Panther G|Panther G]]. The ''Schachtellaufwerk'' suspension system, like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger]], suffered from over-engineering and complicating maintenance of the tank. Smaller problems in the tank included not having a dedicated periscope for the gunner, lack of ventilation to the engine due to waterproofing, maintenance-heavy, fuel-hungry, and deteriorating armour quality as metal alloys in Germany began to run out.

Despite its heavier weight and slightly complex design, the cost of each Panther tank was not very high in relative to tanks with a price at 117,100 Reichmarks, compared to the 103,462 RM of Panzer IVs and 250,800 RM of the Tiger I. This made the tank rather economic for its fighting purposes despite being over-engineered.

===Combat usage===
The Panther was first issued to the Eastern Front, arming the 51st and 52nd Tank Battalions. Their usage presented mechanical problems of the Panther, forcing many of the early Panthers to be returned for rebuilding. Despite these issues, the Panther was deemed critical in the Battle of Kursk in ''Operation Citadel'', Hitler delayed the operation so more Panthers can reach the front. 200 Panthers were ready in June 1943, but its combat debut was disappointing. The Panthers, which arrived last minute before the operation started, meant that the crew serving the tanks had little time to train with the new tanks. Two tanks were lost to motor fires right after disembarking from the trains at the front lines. 184 were operational at the start of the operation on July 5, this dropped to 40 within two days. According to Heinz Guderian, five days into the offensive, only 10 operation Panthers were available with 25 completely lost, 100 in need of repairs, and 60 per cent of those mechanical breakdowns were easily repaired. Those that did work during the campaign were able to cause heavy casualties on the Soviet tank forces, but the Panther's lethality was mitigated by its low number available. When the operation turned and the Soviet counteroffensive pushed the Germans away from Kursk, the Panther loss rose to 156 on August 11, with many more lost as the Soviet kept gaining ground. Perhaps the Panther's biggest role in Operation Citadel was delaying the start of the operation by two months to allow the Soviet defences to be bolstered beyond the German's expectations, causing the failure of the offensive.

After the failure at Kursk, improvements on the Panther helped its reliability rate. By March 1944, Guderian reported that most of the Panther's flaws were ironed out, but the final drive and other mechanical issues were still a major issue to front-line units. The Panthers served the rest of the war as quick-reaction forces to fight off Allied offensives on both fronts. On the Eastern Front, some 700 Panthers were committed to the battle at all times, though the number of operational vehicles varies depending on the situation. The Panthers were also sent to suppress the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Two were captured by the Polish forces, who used them against the German forces. The captured Panthers were used until they became immobilized and were destroyed to prevent recapture by the Germans.

On the Western Front, the Panthers began being present in large numbers after the Invasion of Normandy. 156 Panthers were initially present between two Panzer regiments, but this increased by seven regiments after the Allied invasion, boosting the strength to 432 tanks. The high number of Panther situated in France, mostly around Caen, and their performance against the Allied armour caused many Allied tankers to fear it as much as the Tiger tanks. However, the Panther's reliability problem was still evident as many Panthers were left abandoned by the crew when they broke down. The mechanical breakdown, partly from the flaws in the machine, can also be attributed to the poor crew training given, which showed by crew overburdening the transmission or lacking regular maintenance on the tank. The Allied assessment of the Panther was that its mobility on soft grounds was superior due to its wider tracks giving more flotation over the ground, and armour and firepower value was superior to anything they had, though it was inferior in the bocage terrain of France due to the constrained nature of the environment. The Panther participated in the famed Battle of Arracourt, where a total of 262 German tanks were committed to battle. The battle, against the mostly [[M4|M4 Sherman]], equipped 4th Armored Division, routed the Germans after they suffered heavy casualties, while the Allies only losing 32 armoured fighting vehicles, a testament on how crew training and tactical advantage have a big impact on tank warfare. The highest concentration of Panthers on the Western Front was 471 Panthers (336 operational) in the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), where it showed its prowess in open terrain due to its superior gun. The Panthers also took place in Operation Grief, being disguised as [[M10 GMC|M10 tank destroyers]] to trick American soldiers. All of these mocked up Panthers were destroyed in battle or scrapped after it. After the Ardennes Offensive, eight Panzer division with 271 Panthers were transferred to the Eastern Front to beat back the Soviet offensive. Only five Panther battalions, 96 Panthers for each battalion, remained on the Western Front to fight the Allies.

After the war, Panther still saw a use for some time in various countries. Bulgaria and Romania received Panthers from the Soviets as aid, which they used until the 1950s. France was the most notable user of the Panther tanks after World War II due to the large quantities of operable vehicles left behind by the Germans during the Normandy invasion. The French raised a regiment of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, when they were replaced by the new ARL 44 tanks. The Panther also influenced the French AMX 50 tank design, and its gun was derived onto the AMX 13 light tank. In 1947, an evaluation was written by the French War Ministry on the Panthers which even made their own assessment of the Panther that pointed out most of the flaws of the Panthers, especially the mechanical failure and the deficiency of the armour later in the war due to alloy shortages.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
This combat vehicle was developed by the company MAN in 1941 and 1942 and was intended to become the Wehrmacht's primary tank. According to German classification, the Panther was considered a medium tank.

After the outbreak of war with the Soviet Union, German troops encountered the new Soviet T-34 and KV tanks, which were superior to all of the Wehrmacht's available models.

After examining the strengths and weaknesses of the Soviet tanks, German engineers added sloping armour and a new chassis with large rollers and wide treads to the project.

In the spring of 1942, MAN's prototype was approved and entered military service. This combat vehicle embodied the spirit of German tank construction: a front-mounted transmission compartment, rear engine compartment, and an individual, staggered torsion suspension designed by the engineer G. Kniepkamp. The tank's main armament was a 75 mm 7,5 cm KwK 42 L/70 tank gun produced by the company Rheinmetall-Borsig, with a long 70-calibre barrel.

The main advantage of this weapon was its high muzzle velocity, which gave it high accuracy and good penetration power. Its ability to knock tanks out was better than that of the majority of Soviet, American, and British tank guns. In this way, it even surpassed the famous 8,8 cm KwK 36 installed on the Tiger I.

Full-scale production of the tank began in January 1943. By September 1943, the companies Daimler-Benz AG, Henschel, and MAN had produced 850 Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf. D tanks.

The vehicle's combat debut was the Battle of Kursk, where the variant exhibited low technical reliability. For this reason, the tank's losses were very high. Hasty development and adoption of tanks featuring a new design contributed to numerous minor flaws.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_d_panther Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|E9574a7h9is|'''Panther D at BR 5.3 - Rewarding But Exhausting''' - ''Napalmratte''|y1S7jHyFxdA|'''The Shooting Range #34''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 02:36 discusses the Panther I.|9rUocSj2dHc|'''Tank Chats #16 Panther''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==


* [[wikipedia:Panther_tank|[Wikipedia] Panther tank]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Panzer-V_Panther.php <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Panzer V Panther]

{{TankManufacturer MAN AG}}
{{Germany medium tanks}}

Tiger H1

2024-11-10T16:10:11Z

U102634358: I have added some of the mechanical problems to the history as well as tips and tricks with smoke grenades and angling. I also added a picture of what proper angling should look like.

{{About
| about = German heavy tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Tiger I (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_h1_tiger
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H1 (Tiger H1)''' is the first (early-production) variant of the [[Tiger I (Family)|Tiger I heavy tank family]], designed and built by Henschel and used by the German Army during World War II. It offered the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle equipped with the 88 mm Kampfwagenkanone (KwK) 36 tank gun, developed from the 88 mm Flugabwehrkanone (FlaK) 36 anti-aircraft gun. Henschel and Ferdinand Porsche were ordered on May 26, 1941, to submit proposals for a 45-ton heavy tank that would be available by June 1942. Porsche developed an improved version of its VK 30.01 (P) prototype (which was originally intended to compete for the Panther contract), while Henschel developed two prototypes: the VK 45.01 (H) H1 with an 8.8 cm KwK36 L/56 tank gun and the VK 45.01 (H) H2 with a 7.5 cm KwK42 L/70 tank gun. The Henschel VK 45.01 (H) H1 prototype was accepted after evaluation, primarily because the Porsche [[VK 45.01 (P)]] prototype design used a petrol-electric transmission system that required large amounts of copper for the manufacture of its electrical drivetrain components, a strategic war material of which Germany had limited supplies. Early Tiger H1s with the Krupp-designed turret featured a high commander cupola. The Tiger H1 had many problems and mechanical issues, similar to the Panther D. One such complication was when the road wheel layout tended to get frozen and stuck in ice and mud during cold weather (mainly during the Battle of Rhzev and other winter battles in Russia). Later in the war, the design was modified, resulting in the [[Tiger E]], which had a new dome-shaped cast-armour commander's cupola and a ring installed on the commander's cupola to accommodate the mounting of an anti-aircraft light machine gun. There are additionally five S-Mine dischargers on the hull-roof, three on the left side and two on the right. Two Feifel air cleaner units designed for dusty environments are located on the hull's back. Between August 1942 and August 1944, a total of 1,347 units were constructed. The Tiger I was phased out of production after August 1944 in favour of the [[Tiger II (Family)|Tiger II]].

Introduced in the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41, the Tiger H1 was the German Army's first truly heavy tank during World War II, due mostly to combat experience against the French and British Matilda heavy tanks, which demonstrated that the German Army needed better armed and armoured tanks. Within 2,500 metres, Tiger H1 had higher penetration than the 75 mm KwK40 L/43 on the [[StuG III (Family)|Sturmgeschütz IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV (Family)|Panzer IVs]] but poorer penetration than the 75 mm KwK42 L/70 on the [[Panther tank (Family)|Panthers]]. At longer ranges, the 88 mm KwK36 L/56 performed better in terms of penetration and accuracy. The Tiger H1, capable of fighting any adversary at any range, is a true marvel of German engineering during World War II and will undoubtedly reward players well.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

[[File:TigerIHTank Armour Angling.png|right|thumbnail|The ideal angling of hull armour on {{PAGENAME}} for maximum effective armour all-around|300px]]
One may feel the need to charge head-on into battle, blaring that 88 mm gun as shells bounce off the front armour while the Schachtellaufwerk suspension system runs over the ground; this is a short-lived strategy.

The Tiger H1 should be played more like a bulky medium tank rather than a heavy tank despite its status, supporting allies from the sideline or from a distance rather than leading directly from the front. This is due to the poor armour arrangement, most of the thickness of the tank is concentrated on the front face of the tank and leaves the sides exposed, especially since this model of tiger has a 'boxier' design. This is even more important to remember as ammunition is stowed along the sides the tank, protected by the inferior side armor. One must remain a distance, exploit the 88 mm long-distance power, and maintain a diamond-shape compound angling to maximize armour thickness against the trailing enemy shells that will inevitably come towards the Tiger's way. A great way to protect your Tiger is to angle the armor. A good way to remember how to angle effectively is to look at the status picture at the bottom left of your screen. The barrel (pointing at the enemy) should be aligned with the corner of the track. After you have aligned it like this, you are free to move the turret and barrel. A picture of this is at the right side of your screen, and it is titled "Tiger H1 angled properly".
[[File:Tiger H1 angled.png|thumb|Tiger H1 angled properly]]

The Tiger H1 is equipped with 12 smoke grenades that can help cover the vehicle while it escapes or repairs. Smoke grenades discharge in 2 salvos of 6 (3 to each side of the turret) covering a 120° sector 10 m in front of the vehicle. The grenades deploy smoke in 4 seconds and last 25 seconds. Both salvos are separated by a 1-minute reload time. Remember to only deploy smoke when you know approximately where the enemy is. If you lose sight of the enemy tank due to being blinded by the smoke, this could lead to death very quickly.

The commander cupola is tall and weak: this can lead APHE shells to detonate inside, knocking out at best the loader or even the commander, loader, and gunner.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 102 mm (9°) ''Front plate'' 62 mm (80°) ''Front glacis'' 102 mm (25°) ''Lower glacis''|| 82 mm ''Top'' 62 mm ''Bottom''|| 82 mm (9°)|| 26 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 90 - 200 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 82 mm || 82 mm || 26 mm
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 80 mm (cylindrical) || 26 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Turret front covered by gun mantlet has variable thickness depending on exact place, ranging from 90 to 200 mm of armour.
* Turret side (about 1/3) is covered by attached tracks, adding additional 30 mm of armour.
* While the hull side of the tank is 82 mm, the side where the suspension is located is only 62 mm thick so be aware of this weak point.
* On paper, the best angle is roughly 38.8° with armour all-round being from the front 130 mm.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 839|rbMinHp= 575}}

Speed is not the strong suit of the Tiger H1. While the Tiger H1 can generate speed on flat surfaces, it does this very slowly. When stopping, do not expect a burst of power when moving from a complete stop. Like most heavy tanks, the Tiger H1 does not take well to hills. Inclines can quickly bog down the heavy Tiger HI, so try to avoid them when ever possible. However, when on a hill, the Tiger H1 can use the hill's decline to your advantage to build up speed quickly in order to get across open areas.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

For Tier I modifications obtain the vital "Parts" and "Horizontal Drive" modifications as the former will give the Tiger the ability to repair and the latter will provide a much-needed boost to the Tiger's slow turret traverse rate.

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK36 (88 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK36 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK36]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 92 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+16° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 9.71 || 13.44 || 16.32 || 18.05 || 19.20 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 7.10 || 8.40 || 10.20 || 11.30 || 12.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* '''PzGr 39''': The go-to shell for all Tiger H1 drivers as this is arguably the best. It will do incredible damage to any tank shot by it, except SPAA, or any extremely thin armoured vehicles. Heavier tanks like the IS-1, IS-2, or American heavy tanks are able to resist the round at longer ranges, but well-placed shots from close range or sides will do the job. All other medium and light tanks will be history as soon as this shell make contact with them. This shell, however, will almost always over-penetrate all but the most armoured SPAA vehicles, so it is best to use HE or machine gun fire on thin-skinned vehicles.
* '''PzGr ''': This shell is also very useful. It has very similar characteristics as PzGr 39, but sacrifices some penetration for about 150% more Explosive Filler, meaning even more damage than already powerful PzGr 39. It is recommended to carry some of these shells and use them regularly, as the penetration is still enough to deal with most targets (at least when being down-tiered), and switch to PzGr 39 when shooting targets far away, or those that are heavily armoured.
* '''Hl.Gr. 39''': On paper the HEAT rounds don't bring anything new to the table, however they can be used as a substitute for the HE shells due to the greater explosive mass and still gives a fighting chance if caught with pants down.
* '''Sprgr. L/4.5''': The HE shell is completely ineffective against all but SPAA or the AI artillery on the Kursk and Ash River maps, and the machine gun mounted on the Tiger has proven quite capable of dealing with these. Keep a small supply of this shell on hand if planning to flank the enemy and take out their SPAA or artillery, but avoid them for everything else.

{{:KwK36 (88 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39, Pzgr., Hl.Gr 39, Sprgr. L/4.5}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''92''' || 76 ''(+16)'' || 60 ''(+32)'' || 44 ''(+48)'' || 28 ''(+64)'' || 24 ''(+68)'' || 20 ''(+72)'' || 16 ''(+76)'' || 12 ''(+80)'' || 6 ''(+86)'' || 0 ''(+92)'' || No
|-
|}
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]
'''Notes''':

* As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire both shells in the set
* Large sides empty: 28 ''(+64)'' shells.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 4,350 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The main role of the Tiger tank was to eliminate enemy tanks at a far range, similar to behaving like a sniping tank, or a Tank Destroyer. Nonetheless, the Tiger can excel at brawling with other tanks at medium, even possibly against two [[Panther D|Panther]] tanks to close range and escape undamaged. It's recommended to not stay in one place for too long or risk getting outflanked, spotted, or bombed.

While guns like the Soviet [[D-5T (85 mm)|85 mm]] cannon can easily penetrate the Tiger at close range, the Tiger can stay nearly invulnerable at long range. The 88 can take out any tank on Rank 3 at any combat range but may have problems with the [[IS-1]]'s 120 mm front armour at some ranges. When having to close in a bit, it is generally advisable to angle the hull to the sides by about 30°, improving the armour rating enough that it can keep away 85 mm shells very well, even at closer ranges. The {{PAGENAME}} is still vulnerable to the [[SU-152|SU-152s]] howitzer and its HE shell at any range. So whenever encountering these heavy-calibre vehicles, it should be prioritized and eliminated first.

The Tiger's hull has many flat areas that can be easily penetrated. To maximize the angles and thus the protection, the tank should be angled about 40º to either side. An easy way of angling your tank is to make sure the corner of the hull is pointed at the enemy. The side armour is strong enough for such angling, and is flat as well. The turret is more complicated. It features many pieces of armour that overlap and such, and as such will either be exceptionally strong or be penetrated easily. As such, avoid relying on the turret to absorb shells. On the other hand, opponents will also try to avoid hitting the turret, as there is a chance to not penetrate.

Mobility-wise the {{PAGENAME}} is pretty good for a heavy tank. It is much faster than a [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)|KV-1]] and about as equally fast as the [[IS-1]], although medium tanks like the [[T-34-85]] can easily outmanoeuvre all three at close range. Try to use the Tiger's mobility to keep a distance rather than for closing in on a target. Don't be afraid to use the speed to fall back if necessary as the Tiger cannot survive close range engagements on open terrain vs. mediums, due to the slow turret and the vulnerability to the 85 mm guns on Soviet medium tanks.

The Tiger has a very bad turret traverse, it is recommended to get the "Turret Drive" traverse modification as fast as possible. Even then, the Tiger will have to turn the tank in the direction of the traverse to make the most of the time to quickly engage a target. What makes this worse is the smoke grenade launchers in the hull, which would interfere with the gun depression at certain turret angles. This, together with very exposed ammo racks on both sides (though one side can be emptied by reducing the ammo stowage) means that facing multiple enemies at once is almost a certain end to the Tiger tank. The best option is to take cover from one tank and fire on the other.

As far as ammo is concerned, the default PzGr 39 will be the standard AP rounds many players will use. The second AP round available, the Pzgr., is also a good round to use against the enemy as the shell contains more explosive filler than the default, but suffers from a lower penetration value compared to the PzGr 39. This shell is better for penetrating light/medium tanks like the M24 Chaffee and the M4A2 (76) Sherman. The HEAT rounds offer consistent penetration at all ranges including more than 2,000 m. However, they provide less damage upon penetration. HEAT rounds usually are usually not used as the primary ammunition type for this sole reason. Upgrading the tank should mainly be dedicated to turret traverse, hull traverse (as this is needed even with the turret traverse upgrade) and engine upgrades. The Tiger's 88 has massive destructive power. Unlike the other German tank of its rank, all armed with 75 mm guns, the Tiger can easily knock out all the mediums like the T-34s, M4 Shermans with a single shot, and still be a threat against heavy tanks like the IS-1s. If it doesn't destroy a tank in one hit, most of the enemy crew will be wounded or incapacitated. The best place to aim with the 88 is either at the gunner's side of the enemy turret to incapacitate an enemy's firepower, or between the driver and the gunner which would usually wound or knock out most of the enemy crew at once. Attacking from the side also presents a good shot opportunity, as the best shot placement is right below the turret on the hull where most of the tank ammunition are stored, giving a big chance for an ammo-rack explosion.

When driving the Tiger, plan ahead on where it will drive. Even with engine and track modifications, the {{PAGENAME}} is still a heavy tank and a 90 degree or more turn will almost always mean an immediate standstill as the tank try to make the change in movement. Even small adjustments can knock the speed down a bit. Thus, knowing the terrain and destination is of the utmost importance to preserve its mobility to its fullest extent. Having the Tracks, Filters, Engine, Transmission, and Brakes modifications will help exponentially making turns, however, as mentioned earlier, it still is heavy and slow, and you need to plan ahead when driving the Tiger, and avoid sharp turns.

The {{PAGENAME}} is also best used on the flanks of the current maps, as these are usually more open and allow good use of its armour and excellent gun. The centre of the map would seem more logical as there are a lot of enemies, but as has already been established a Tiger taking fire from multiple directions won't last long. Going in a flank and taking down light and medium tanks is an easy task for this beast, and thus a flank can be easily secured if the {{PAGENAME}} is driven carefully. Then, work the {{PAGENAME}} into the enemy sides and rear of the main force in the centre, doing much more damage than if the Tiger faced the force head-on because a shot to the side and rear will set most enemies alight if not outright exploding the ammunition. Able to destroy vehicles in one hit, the Tiger can quickly jump from target to target and eliminate a good number of enemies in its lifespan.

The Tiger H1 is very effective at long range, and should be used accordingly. Players should try to avoid point blank fights with other tanks, since this will often result in the vulnerable sides being exposed. As a sniper or flanker, the tank is wonderful and as long as its sides are not exposed, it will last a long time.

There will be many hard eggs to crack such as the IS- Series, T-34 Series, American Jumbos, and several other tanks that will give the {{PAGENAME}} trouble.

* The Russians have many tanks at this BR able to handle the Tiger H1 easily. The main tank at this BR is usually the T-34-85. While it may have very thin armour that is easy to penetrate, it is easy to angle and the T-34 is a flanking machine. It will drive circles around the Tiger so it needs to be destroyed quickly. The IS- Heavy tanks are the second worst nightmare situation, with thick armour and a huge gun. If the IS tank is not destroyed first, it will definitely destroy the Tiger.
* The American Jumbos are similar to the T-34. The 75 mm variant would have trouble to penetrate the Tiger's armour at long ranges, but caution needs to be exercised when they are armed with a 76 mm gun.
* The Japanese tanks all have very thin armour that the 88 mm gun can easily penetrate through with no problem, but their guns at this BR all have enough penetration to deal with the {{PAGENAME}} if it gets a hit on.

'''Against the Tiger H1:'''

'''Light tank''': when dealing with a Tiger I, you must utilise your superior speed and agility to your advantage, to compensate for your weak firepower. If your penetration is less than 100 mm, then manoeuvre to the Tiger's side as that is where you can destroy it. The upper part of the hull side is 80 mm thick, without any angling, meaning that light tanks such as [[M24 (Family)|M24]] can reliably penetrate there. Even the reserve [[BT-5]] can punch through that armour section, though guns with less post-penetration damage will have to shoot several times to ensure that all crew are knocked out. The lower section of the hull side is only 60 mm, meaning that even if the player does not have a high tier light tank and can only use low tier tanks like the M3A3 Stuart, that area can still be penetrated. The Tiger's turret turns slowly, but still be careful to move out of its gun's way. Facing a Tiger I is a hard job because it can penetrate most places on your light tank so a frontal strike against it has a high chance of failing.

'''Medium tank''': with a medium tank, you can more confidently target the Tiger's frontal weak spots. Medium tanks such as [[M4A3 (76) W]], [[T-34-85]], and [[Sherman Firefly]] can all pierce through the Tiger's frontal hull armour when it is not angling. The turret armour is way harder to penetrate as it has some complex bulges, leading to the shells being absorbed. However, an experienced Tiger commander will angle its hull, stacking up the effective thickness to more than ~130 mm thus making it immune to all the above medium tanks. Now, if you cannot flank, aim for the commander's cupola. An explosive-packed shell through there will knock out ~1-3 crew in the turret. If the gunner is knocked out, wait for around 12 seconds for it to replenish a new gunner, then shoot at the cupola again. You can also try breaking the gun barrel, since the muzzle brake is quite large and therefore easier to catch onto shells, damaging the barrel. Note, it is better to avoid shooting at the lower front plate as the transmission behind it will absorb all incoming shells for the crew. Throughout this whole process, the player should be very careful not to get hit as the 88 mm cannon is very potent against most tanks.

'''Heavy tank/tank destroyer''': with a more powerful cannon and perhaps better armour, the player can finally duel the Tiger I with relative ease. For a heavy tank or tank destroyer who sacrifices mobility and/or armour just for superior firepower (e.g. [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]], [[ISU-122]]), a Tiger H1 can be penetrated in the hull even if it is angling. Still, do not shoot at the turret and lower front plate where the shells tend to do no damage. Also, try aiming for armour plates that are free of any obstruction, because vehicles who can easily penetrate the Tiger usually have a large calibre gun, their large shells will be bounced or lose penetration should the shell edge impact anything. For example, if you shoot at a Tiger who is facing you, target the dead center of the upper front plate where there is nothing but armour, instead of aiming right next to the driver's port where the armour blocks sticking out will absorb the shell.

'''SPAA''': anti-aircraft guns at this BR cannot really penetrate the Tiger I's armour effectively, but thanks to their fast-firing autocannons SPAAs are great for breaking the Tiger's gun barrel and tracks, assisting your teammates in destroying it. If no supporting fire is near, drop an artillery strike after immobilising the Tiger. Some SPAAs (e.g. [[Phòng không T-34]], [[M42 Duster (Family)|M42]]) have access to AP shells, any shell with more than 60 mm penetration is adequate to penetrate the lower side of the hull. Other than this area, the minimum thickness is 80 mm which is hard for any SPAA. This is an advantage of the Tiger I, although its flat armour performs poorly against heavier cannons, its all-round armour protection is fairly effective against low-penetrating vehicles like SPAAs.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* The gun mantlet, MG port and driver's port are particularly hard to penetrate due to their complex, varying shape and thickness
* Decent cannon with adequate accuracy and a range of shells to choose. Stock shell has great penetration and damage, and can knock out common opponents easily with a single shot (e.g. [[T-34-85]], [[M4A2 (76) W]], [[IS-1]], [[M6A1]]). Has another AP that sacrifices a bit penetration for more TNT
* One of the fastest heavy tanks with its top speed of 45 km/h, meaning it can get to some positions quickly alongside friendly medium tanks.
* The box-like hull shape gives the ability to angle. When angling the hull at around 40° and placing yourself far from the enemies (at least 500 m away) the Tiger H1 can resist common tanks like the 76 mm Shermans, T-34-85s and [[M36 Jackson (Family)|M36]]
* Good reverse speed and hull traverse allows it to quickly angle for deflecting shells
* -8° gun depression works well in most hilly terrain
* The rear is surprisingly hard to penetrate, partially due to the slightly-angled armour and partly due to the large exhaust pipes which seem to deflect shells
* The strong gun makes it easy to destroy most opponents at the its battle rating with a single shot, even M4A3E2 Jumbo, as long as you carefully aim for the machine gun port
* The tank is equipped with smoke grenades, which can help escape an undesirable situation alive

'''Cons:'''

* Weak and vertical armour protection. If not angling the Tiger H1 can get destroyed easily by the T-34-85 or 76 mm Sherman. Even if the {{PAGENAME}} is angling, the [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]] can still knock it out with a single shot easily
* The upper front plate is extremely vulnerable if it is not angled. It will be penetrated by any vehicle at its BR
* Struggles to penetrate heavy targets frontally like the [[M4A3E2]], [[M26 (Family)|M26]] and [[IS-2 (1944)]]
* Rather slow acceleration limits its short range manoeuvrability
* Slow turret traverse makes it hard to respond to flankers quickly. The [[M18 GMC]] is very common at this BR
* Ammo storage at the hull sides are very easy to explode when hit
* Commander's cupola is tall and easy to penetrate
* Is a big and tall target, easy to get spotted and shot at
* S-Mine dischargers on the hull limits gun depression in certain areas
* Tracks are rather loud so enemies will most times hear you and will be alert, so surprise attacks will be difficult

== History ==

===Development===
The Tiger I heavy tank was arguably the most infamous tank of World War II. The design for this tank began as early as January 1937 when Henschel & Sohn worked on a large "breakthrough" called the "Durchbruchwagen" that weighed about 30 tons on request by the German military.<ref name="ImagesOfWarTiger">Anthony Tucker-Jones. Images Of War Special: Tiger I & Tiger II Great Britain: Pen & Sword Military, 2013</ref> The request was modified over time for more armour and better gun that increased the weight to 36 tons, but this project was dropped in 1938 in favour of the better prototypes VK 30.01(H) and VK 36.01(H). These new prototypes were the start of the usage of the Schachtellaufwerk wheel arrangements, but these also never passed prototype stages and were both cancelled in 1942.

During the development of the prototypes above, the German invasion of France showed that the Allied tanks such as the Somua, Char B1, and [[Matilda Mk II|Matilda II]] were impervious to their current anti-tank weaponry and a need for better armoured and armed tanks was emphasized. So on May 26, 1941, Henschel and Porsche were asked to submit designs for a 45-ton heavy tank that was to be ready for demonstration by June 1942. During their development in June 1941, Germany initiated Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union and was shocked by appearance of the [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)|KV-1]] tanks that were invulnerable to all but the most potent anti-tank weapon in German inventory, one of which was the [[KwK36 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK36 cannon]]. The potency of the 88 mm cannon against the heavily armoured tanks that the Germans faced had Hitler ordered that the heavy tank design undertaken by Henschel and Porsche to utilize the 88 mm as its main armament instead of a 75 mm cannon.

The designs of the tank were finalized and ready for demonstration on April 20, 1942, Hitler's birthday, and showed the VK 45.01(H) and the [[VK 45.01 (P)]]. The demonstration and subsequent evaluations on the two designs determined that the Henschel variant was superior to the Porsche variant, proving more reliable, more mobile, and more easily produced than the Porsche. This caused the Henschel variant to be adopted as the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger and production started in August 1942. The Porsche variant had many chassis produced as Ferdinand Porsche thought the design would win, so the chassis was instead used in the [[Ferdinand]] tank destroyer.

===Design===
What perhaps made the Tiger I so unique in tank development and German doctrine is a change of focus between the three characteristics of the tank; with more emphasis to firepower and armour than to mobility. The Tiger I contained the large 88 mm KwK36 cannon which was very accurate and powerful, being able to penetrate every Allied armour present at its introduction. The armour on the Tiger I was also one of the greatest at the time, with an astounding 102 mm of armour on the front hull armour, 82 mm on the side superstructure and rear, and 120 mm on the gun mantlet. The armour was vertical faced so no sloping benefits were present like on the [[Panther D|Panther]]. All these armour thicknesses proved invulnerable to most Allied anti-tank weaponry at the time, requiring more creative methods in a shot placement to disable the tank. The mobility, while taken with less emphasis in the development, was still respectable at the time as the tank weighed about 57 metric tons, about 20 tons more than other country's main tanks, yet is able to keep up a speed of 38 km/h (Maximum speed was 45 km/h, but an engine governor was installed to preserve the engine life).

The tank utilized a torsion-bar suspension system in a Schachtellaufwerk overlapping pattern, making the Tiger one of the first German tank design to use the pattern. While the design gave the Tiger I great flotation due to the use of a wider track for lower ground pressure, it had disadvantages in environment and maintenance. In the Eastern Front, mud and other foreign objects could be jammed in between the overlapping wheels, which would freeze in the winter and jam the wheels; the overlapping wheels also were a hassle to change out, in order to replace one wheel in the inside of the suspension, it requires the removal of at least nine other wheels in order to access it. The first 250 Tiger tanks used a Maybach V-12 HL210 engine with 650 hp before switching over to the more powerful Maybach V-12 HL230 engine with 700 hp. The engine proved adequate in propelling the tank but was still considered underpowered for the tank weight.

The Tiger I, as innovative as it is to tank warfare, was a strain on German war production. The tank was over-engineered, taking much more man-hour and materials for its worth as a war machine. Cost-wise, two [[Pz.IV G|Panzer IVs]] or four [[StuG III G|StuG IIIs]] can be built for the cost of one Tiger I. The tank was also expensive to maintain and took lots of fuel to run. These attributed to the low number of only 1,354 Tiger Is produced from 1942 to August 1944.<ref name="ImagesOfWarTiger">Anthony Tucker-Jones. Images Of War Special: Tiger I & Tiger II Great Britain: Pen & Sword Military, 2013</ref>

===Variants===
There are three main production Tiger I variants known today, the "early-production", "mid-production", and "late-production" models. The Early-production model, designated as the Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. H, were the first few batches and are distinguished by their drum-style cupola with an over-swinging hatch. The model also had two vehicle lights on the front side of the tank and dished steel wheels with rubber tyres. The Mid-production featured Zimmerit paste and a side-swinging cupola with accommodation for a machine gun mounted on the cupola. The vehicle light was also changed to just one placed right in the front of the hull armour. The mid-production was also redesignated in May 1943 as the [[Tiger E|Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. E]]. Late-production models featured the removal of the Zimmerit paste as there was an assumed flaw with it, and the overlapping wheels were instead made into interleaving with full-steel road wheels as well, in a manner similar to the [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]].

Other specialized variants of the Tiger I was produced as well. A small number of demolition carrier models were field-made in Italy, where it had its main gun replaced by a crane to carry demolition to clear minefields or destroy obstacles. The demolition carrier version was interpreted by Allied intelligence as a BergeTiger, an armoured recovery vehicle, though it is not known if it ever saw service in this role. Another specialized variant produced in 1944 in some numbers was the [[Sturmtiger]], an heavy assault gun with a 38 cm rocket launcher made from a depth charge. 19 of these were made and saw use in all fronts, though its most noteworthy combat action was in the Warsaw Uprising.

===Combat usage===
In its introduction, Hitler ordered the new Tigers to be used in the Leningrad siege in September 1942. However, as the faults of the tank were still not yet fully ironed out at this stage, the mechanical unreliability and the unsuitable terrain caused one of the Tiger Is to be stuck in the swamps and abandoned by its users. This example was then captured by the Red Army and tipped off the Allies of the development of the new Tiger tanks and so developments in countermeasures began. In North Africa, the Tigers saw the first action against the Western Allies in Tunisia in December 1942. Its impact there left an impression on the Allied armour forces, but its myth as an invulnerable tank was shattered when two Tigers were taken out by the British [[Ordnance QF 6-pounder Mk.III (57 mm)|6-pounder anti-tank guns]]. The total loss in that campaign was seven Tigers by February 1943.

Once mass-numbers of Tiger Is were available, they were employed in heavy tank battalions that were to be deployed in breakthrough operations or counter-attacks. Field experience with the Tiger showed that the Tiger's heavyweight proved a nuisance in operational mobility, an example being that small bridges were unable to support the Tiger tank's weight. An attempt to remedy this was to use a snorkel device so the tank could ford rivers as deep as four metres, however, this system was phased out of later production models for cost-savings. The Tiger suffered reliability problems in all of its service life that impeded its effectiveness and its high fuel usage limited its combat operations. Armour recovery of the vehicle was also terrible as three heavy recovery half-tracks were required to tow the tank away, causing a strain on the German support line to keep the Tiger tanks in running order. Despite that, the Tiger I proved superior in terms of armour and armament against the Allies and created massive losses among their armoured forces, causing many soldiers to keep an eye out for the infamous "Tigers".

The impact the Tiger had on the battlefield as the superior tank at its introduction created fame to the commanders and crew operating this tank, further fueling the Tiger's reputation in the war as a killing machine. Some Tiger units were able to achieve kill ratios up to 10:1, and some even higher. Some notable Tiger aces known were Kurt Knispel (168 tank kills), Otto Carius (150+), Johannes Bölter (139+), and Michael Wittmann (138).

However, as the war progressed and the impact of the Tiger's surprise in Kursk and Italy has dissolved, Allied developments gave forth more capable tanks able to defeat the Tiger I tanks. The Soviets solution was to up-gun their [[T-34 (1942)|T-34s]] with an [[D-5T (85 mm)|85 mm gun]] to make the [[T-34-85]], and the Western Allies with the [[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm]] and [[Ordnance QF 17-pounder (76 mm)|17-pounders]] on the [[M4A1 (76) W|M4 Sherman]] and [[Sherman Firefly|Firefly]] respectively. The Tiger went as an highly-invulnerable tank design into a simple heavy tank as the war went on, and it was replaced by the more powerful and more heavily armoured [[Tiger II (H)|Tiger II]] in 1944. Despite its replacement, many Tiger I models still saw use up until the end of World War II.

===Survivors===
Due to the low number of Tiger Is created during the war (1,354, compared to [[Pz.IV H|Panzer IV]]'s 8,550 and the [[M4|M4 Sherman]]'s ~50,000), very few intact Tiger I pieces are left in the world. Today, only seven tanks in various conditions are existent in the world. The most famous of these is the Tiger 131, captured by the British in Tunisia in April 1943, when the crew abandoned the tank due to a [[Ordnance QF 6-pounder Mk.III (57 mm)|6-pounder]] shot from a [[Churchill Mk III|Churchill tank]] jamming the gun mantlet and turret ring, causing it to be unable to aim. The intact sample is also famous for being the only fully operational Tiger I in the world due to a reconstruction effort by the Bovington Tank Museum in the 1990s. However, the Tiger 131 does not run on its original Maybach HL210 engine, as it was taken out to be used as a separate display; rather, it uses the HL230, which was mostly used for the Tiger II. It is still there as a display and remains the museum's most popular exhibit.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
Work on the creation of a heavy tank began in 1937. Only after the attack on the USSR were the tactical and technical requirements needed for this new war machine met. The tank was designed by the Henschel company, led by Erwin Aders.

Production was handled by Henschel and Weggman factories, which made about 450 tanks from July 1942 to August 1943.

The first 495 vehicles included equipment that enabled the crossing of water obstacles up to 4 metres deep. Beginning with the 251st tank, the Maybach HL 230 P30 engine (600 hp) was replaced with a Maybach HL 230 P45 (700 hp). The Tiger was armed with an 88 mm 8,8 cm KwK36 L/56 gun, which was a tank version of the famous Flak 18/36 anti-aircraft gun. In the spring and summer of 1943, the tank received smoke grenade launchers and mortars for launching anti-personnel mines.

The Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger entered service with heavy tank battalions. The tanks were first used in the fall of 1942, on the Leningrad front, in the 502nd heavy tank battalion. In December 1942, in North Africa, Tigers entered service with the 501st battalion.

The first tanks which arrived often broke, owing to the haste with which they were put into mass production. The vehicle was very heavy, with low manoeuvrability. It consumed 10 liters of fuel every 1 km. A full fuel tank, 567 liters, was enough for only two and a half hours of combat work, which was one of the tank's major drawbacks. But this was all compensated for by the battle machine's simplicity and ease of operation. Tank operators who served in Tigers were constantly praising its transmission and steering. The tank's armour also gave the crew a high chance of surviving battle, even if the tank was disabled.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_h1_tiger Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|ryx7Uxo_3X0|'''The Shooting Range #250''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 03:40 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|tcIeR_s6fp8|'''The Shooting Range #204''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 04:50 discusses the Tiger I and the VK 45.01 (P).|9_txEPailKc|'''The Shooting Range #92''' - ''Tactics & Strategy'' section at 10:50 discusses the Tiger I.|QEz1MgTjUAw|'''Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger Ausf. H1''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|kFQd8TYt6Ew|'''Tank Chats #17 Tiger I''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==


;Related development

* [[Tiger E]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/4528-profile-pz-kpfw-vi-tiger-ausf-h1-en|[Vehicle Profile] Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger Ausf. H1]]
* [[wt:en/news/2641--en|[Vehicle Profile] Pzkpfw VI "Tiger" Ausf. H1]]
* [[wikipedia:Tiger_I|[Wikipedia] Tiger I]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Panzer-VI_Tiger.php <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf.E (Sd.Kfz.181) Tiger I]
* [https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=72 <nowiki>[Military Factory]</nowiki> SdKfz 181 Panzer VI / Tiger I]

=== References ===
<references />

{{Germany heavy tanks}}

File:Tiger H1 angled.png

2024-11-10T15:56:49Z

U102634358:

This is a picture from one of my games when I was angling my tiger properly.

VK 3002 (M)

2024-11-10T14:48:32Z

U102634358:

{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_vk_3002m
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''VK 3002 (M)''' is a medium tank prototype created for the German Wehrmacht during World War II by the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (MAN) in response to a proposal by the Ministry of Armaments and War Production for a 30-ton tank to be used by the German Army in 1941. Daimler-Benz also created its project, known as the VK 3002 (DB), as a competitive prototype. Germany expected to face a weaker opponent when it attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941. The Wehrmacht was taken by surprise by the [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]]'s sloping armour and the heavily armoured [[KV-1 (Family)|KV-1]]. German Generaloberst Heinz Guderian first proposed that a direct replica would be the most efficient way to combat the T-34. The Army Weapons Department rejected this due to difficulty in creating sufficient quantities of diesel engines and steel alloy. The Daimler-Benz VK 3002 (DB) was first ordered into production with an initial goal of 200 tanks, mainly due to Hitler's preference for the design. The Waffenprufamt 6 committee, on the other hand, preferred the more traditional (in terms of German design and engineering) MAN VK 3002 (M) and placed orders for it in May 1942, before secretly cancelling the VK 3002 (DB) order. While the VK 3002 (DB) could have been less expensive and easier to construct, the Waffenprüfamt 6 committee preferred the MAN VK 3002 (M)'s roomier turret and more cutting-edge suspension. The MAN VK 3002 (M) also used the same engine as the Tiger I heavy tank, making production and maintenance easier. It also had larger tracks, which would aid in ground pressure on soft terrain. The VK 3002 (M) was built but never saw combat.

Introduced in [[Update "Drone Age"]], the VK 3002 (M) is the prototype for what would ultimately become the iconic [[Panther tank (Family)|Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank family]] for the German Army during World War II. The VK 3002 (M) tank was designed ahead of its time and includes various advanced features, such as overlapping road wheels that disperse pressure more evenly when going over soft terrain. When compared to Allied tanks, the VK 3002 (M) has unrivalled firepower and precision thanks to its long-barrelled 75 mm Kampfwagenkanone (KwK) 42 L/70 tank gun. However, since the turret is cranked by hand, the traverse speed is poor, and close-quarters battles with enemy tanks in towns are not encouraged. To make the most of this tank's powerful main gun, use it as a long-range sniper.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

The armour layout is very similar to a standard Panther, though significantly weaker for the front plate (60 mm instead of 80 mm thick) and the turret (80 mm for the turret front and 50 mm for the mantlet instead of the 100 mm on the Panther A). It is adequate against low-velocity projectiles, but its armour should not be relied upon much, unless the distance between you and the target is large. Unlike the Panther A, angling on the VK 3002 is helpful, angling some 15-20 degrees will make the hull almost entirely immune to Soviet 85 mm cannons, which the tank will commonly face. The same procedure goes against most American cannons. Of course, if they aim at the turret, you'll end up penetrated, but the good thing is that this prototype shares the same good post-penetration survivability of a Panther, due to the driver and machine gunner being far from the turret, even the Soviet 85 mm APHE rounds will not usually knock it out from a turret penetration.

Despite having thick armour, the VK 3002 (M) is not impenetrable. It has a very powerful upper front armour plate, yet an experienced player will rarely approach one from the front. Instead, they'll attempt to flank the vehicle, which is exceptionally easy when the VK is attacking alone. The tank's frontal armour, as powerful as it is, can still be penetrated at short distances by well-aimed shots from tanks commonly seen at its BR, such as the [[T-34-85]] or the [[IS-1]]. However, it can deflect most rounds fired at it from afar, further improving the VK 3002 (M)'s long-distance combat capabilities.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)
* Cast homogeneous armour (cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 60 mm (55°) || 40 mm (40°) ''Top'' 40 mm ''Bottom'' || 40 mm (30°) || 10-16 mm
|-
| Turret || 80 mm (12°) ''Turret front'' 99-158 mm (7-56°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 45 mm (21°) || 45 mm (25°) || 16 mm (5°)
|-
| Cupola || 110 mm || 110 mm || 110 mm || 16 mm
|-
|}

'''Notes:''' 


=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}

The VK 3002 (M) has reasonable forward mobility, but sharp turns cause it to slow down significantly. Furthermore, the neutral steering found on Panther tanks is absent, and the reverse speed is subpar. Because close quarter mobility is not a strong point with this tank, you should aim to keep your distance from the enemy. Otherwise, enemy medium and light tanks will flank you easily since your turret traverse speed is also too slow to allow you to react.

{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 1,007|rbMinHp= 575}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK42 (75 mm)}}

The VK 3002 (M)'s 75 mm cannon grants the vehicle an edge over most other vehicles seen at its BR, especially at longer ranges thanks to its high shell velocity and low projectile mass. The characteristics of this gun, paired with its relatively long reload and the VK 3002 (M)'s poor turret rotation speed, render the vehicle a powerful opponent on longer ranges, but a lacklustre tank in close combat due to its lack of flexibility most other mediums at its BR have. The VK 3002's hull turning speed is slow as well, due to its very slow reverse speed. The stock reload speed of 9.6s and turret rotation speed of 7.9°/s allows the VK 3002 (M) to be easily flanked by more agile opponents, and destroyed due to its thin side armour. Both of these cons make the VK 3002 very unsuitable for close range combat. The player's ammunition load should be composed of mostly the stock APCBC shells, with a few HE rounds in case one meets a vehicle vulnerable to them.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK42]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 79 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | - || 5.7 || 7.9 || 9.6 || 10.6 || 11.3 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 3.6 || 4.2 || 5.1 || 5.6 || 6.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK42 (75 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39/42, Sprgr. 42}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
|-
| '''79''' || 76 ''(+3)'' || 70 ''(+9)'' || 64 ''(+15)'' || 58 ''(+21)'' || 51 ''(+28)'' || 45 ''(+34)''
|-
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! 11th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
!
|-
| 41 ''(+38)'' || 31 ''(+48)'' || 21 ''(+58)'' || 11 ''(+68)'' || 1 ''(+78)''|| No
!
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
* If you pack 21 ''(+58)'' shells, it will keep most of the hull empty of ammo.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,700 (150) || 900 || - || -
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The VK 3002 (M) serves as a proper and useful introduction to the Panther line. Its lacklustre reload speed and poor turret traverse speed restrict it to a more passive playstyle, while the high muzzle velocity and low projectile mass allow it to excel at long-distance engagements. However, most maps will force the player to fight in tight, often urban environments. On those maps, the VK 3002 (M) works best when used as a support vehicle, owing to its low versatility yet high frontal armour and a powerful cannon. Staying close to teammates allows the VK to fight without the fear of being flanked, which should be the player's main concern. Leading an assault or pushing deep behind enemy lines should generally be avoided, unless the match is close to being over and the player has to act fast in order to score any more points.

When fighting a VK 3002 (M), the player should try to avoid frontal engagements and use the opponent's poor mobility to flank the vehicle and destroy it with what is usually a single shell to the 40 mm thick side armour, enough to detonate the ammunition magazine. When driving a Heavy Tank with limited mobility, the player should instead attempt to hit the VK's gun mantlet, which in most cases will immediately knock out all three crew members manning the turret, rendering the VK 3002 (M) defenseless. If that's impossible, a single shell to the commander's cupola will knock out two, and occasionally all three of the turret crew. Heavy Tanks with powerful enough cannons, such as the [[Tiger H1]] can usually penetrate the VK 3002 (M) directly from the front, knocking out most if not all of the tank's crew members with ease. In a medium tank, the player can generally allow themselves to attempt a flanking attack, which is significantly easier in RB, thanks to the player's invisibility on the minimap. In urban environments, most medium tanks are at an advantage of speed and agility, which as a result lets the player get behind the VK, allowing it to take out its turret crew with one shot, then follow it up with a round to the side armour, detonating the ammunition. Another method in a medium tank is to knock out its tracks. With the tracks knocked out, the VK 3002 (M) can easily be flanked due to its very poor turret rotation speed. Then, you can put a shot into the side armor, or rear of the turret to knock out the VK's crew easily. In a light tank or SPAA, the player's high mobility allows it to easily flank the VK, provided they have the element of surprise, and attack its thin side armour to knock out the vehicle. If that's impossible, the player should destroy the VK 3002 (M)'s gun barrel with continuous fire, then its track, after which they should either look for a way to attack the enemy from the side and rear, or back away.

A frontal engagement against the VK 3002 (M) should be started with the element of surprise, as the VK's long 75 mm can easily knock out most tanks at its BR with only one shell to the front. Ensuring that the enemy player driving the VK 3002 (M) is not currently paying attention to your position, or is preferably fighting another ally, can solve this problem.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* High speed on flat terrain and satisfactory agility
* Deadly cannon with 192 mm maximum penetration, can frontally penetrate any tank it can face (e.g. IS-2, M4A3E2, Churchill VII, etc)
* 75 mm cannon has flat trajectory and high shell velocity, beginner-friendly for long range engagements
* Frontal armour is immune against some lower-tier tanks like [[T-34 (Family)|T-34-76]], 75 mm [[M4]], [[M24 (Family)|M24]], etc.
* Has smoke grenades, helpful to conceal the tank
* With default camo, it is very easy to blend in in urban environments and snow

'''Cons:'''

* Has big and tall silhouette of the Panther family, very easy to get hit
* Frontal armour can still get penetrated by most common foes (e.g. [[T-34-85]], [[Avenger]], [[M36 GMC|M36]], [[M18 Hellcat (Family)|M18]], etc)
* Poor -4 km/h reverse speed can prevent the player from retreating into cover
* Side & rear armour are flat and thin (~40 mm), easily penetrable by SPAAs and light vehicles (e.g. [[ZSD63/PG87|ZSD63]], [[M24 (Family)|M24]], etc)
* Slow turning ability (no neutral steering)
* Slow turret traverse

== History ==

The VK 3002 (M) was MAN's attempt at designing a breakthrough medium tank, which was needed at the time due to the Pz. III and IV's inability to effectively combat the T-34. On May 13th, 1942, the tank's design, alongside with Daimler-Benz's version, were submitted to the Ministry of Armaments and War Production. Despite the Daimler-Benz prototype's lower cost, the MAN design was chosen due to the more spacious turret and more modern suspension. Furthermore, the MAN variant used the same engine as the [[Tiger H1]], which helped with production and maintenance. The newly chosen design was slightly modified, and then entered production under the official designation - '''Pz. Kpfw. V''' [[Panther D]].

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_vk_3002m Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|VPhzn19gKiY|'''The Shooting Range #325''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:29 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.}}

== See also ==


;Related development

* [[Panzer V Panther (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/7815-development-vk-30-02-m-the-cub-roars-en|[Devblog] VK 30.02 (M): The Cub Roars]]

{{TankManufacturer MAN AG}}
{{Germany medium tanks}}