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Tiger II (P)

2019-11-09T21:38:28Z

U8249517: /* Ammo racks */

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_b_tiger_IIp}}

== Description ==
[[File:GarageImage_TigerII(P).jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (or '''Tiger II (P)''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.

The Tiger II (H) remains one of the more potent foes a player could face in the Rank IV battles.

The Tiger II's cannon can maintain a very nice penetration even at long ranges (1,200 m-1,800m) while American and Soviet cannons usually cannot keep such high penetration over distance, so they prefer 700 m or less engagements where their guns will most likely destroy you in the first hit, so get used to long range engagements. Being comfortable with kilometer long shots is a must in this tank. At 800m you should still be within a safe distance (depending on what you are facing) but going under that is getting into the Allied guns' effective range.

'''''Difference between the [[Tiger II (H)|Henschel (H)]] and the [[Tiger II (P)|Porsche (P)]] turrets''''' 
The "Henschel" turret is slightly more resistant since it has a flat but thick plate in the front and a more effective gun mantlet. The "Porsche" turret is less armoured, has an exposed turret ring and a shot trap that can and will deflect shells to the weaker upper plate of the chassis. Commander's cupola on the "Henschel" turret is also thicker (150 mm, opposed to 100 mm on "Porsche" turret). Other than that both tanks are identical, but for obvious reasons the "Henschel" turret is more popular than the "Porsche" turret. The initial design is often misleadingly called the "Porsche" turret due to the belief that it was designed by Porsche for their prototype; in fact it was the initial Krupp design for both prototypes.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
'''Armour type:'''

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

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 150 mm (49°) ''Front glacis'' 100 mm (49°) ''Lower glacis''|| 80 mm (26°) ''Top'' 80 + 5 mm ''Bottom''|| 80 mm (28°) || 40 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm (17-57°) ''Turret front'' 120 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 82 mm (28-29°) || 80 mm (30°) 25 mm ''Turret underside'' || 40 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 100 mm || 40 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Turret front armour is only 100 mm thick, but it is rounded, with varying angles (between 0-55°). Middle part is unangled and is the weakest part of the turret.
* Turret has some major flaws, like a shot trap (''As mentioned in the "[[#Pros_and_cons|Pros and cons]]" section''), and exposed, vulnerable turret ring (80-100 mm thick and no angle at all).
* Commander's cupola on top of the turret is 100 mm thick, but quite well angled.
* Lower glacis is only 100 mm thick, but it is not a weakspot (over 200 mm effective angled).
* Machine gun port could be marked as close-range weakspot. Although most of it is still 150 mm thick, the angling is much worse. But targeting the turret is preferable.

=== Mobility ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armor weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 68.0 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | N/A || colspan="1" | 44 (AB)
|-
|42 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|904
|1,113
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|619
|700
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|13.29
|16.37
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|9.10
|10.29
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===
{{main|KwK 43 (88 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[KwK 43 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK 43]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 77 || -8°/+15° || ±180° || N/A
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 11.3 || 15.6 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 11.3 || 13.3 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 11.1 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 90°'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC ||237||234||222||207||194||181
|-
| Sprgr. L/4,5 || HE || 13 || 13 ||12||12||12||12
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 272 || 270 || 250 || 228 || 208 || 189
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC || 1,000 || 10 || 1.2 || 14 || 108.8 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. L/4,5 || HE || 820 || 11 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 935 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 600 || 7.6 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 1100 || +0° || 65° || 72° || 75°
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR ||1,200 || 7.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Tiger II (P) Ammo Racks.png|thumb|[[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] of the Tiger II (P).Note that racks 7 and 8 are ready racks.]]
Thanks to the ready rack feature found on this tank, the first and second ammo racks found in the back of the turret will always be full of ammo, making it the prime target for enemy tankers who are looking to detonate your ammo rack. Even solid shots like APCR and APDS that commonly pierce your front turret can make their way to the rear of the turret, potentially hitting the ready rack and can cause a critical hit to become a deadly one.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |6th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |7th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |8th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''70''' || 65 ''(+5)'' || 59 ''(+11)'' || 48 ''(+22)'' || 37 ''(+33)'' || 30 ''(+40)'' || 23 ''(+47)'' || 12 ''(+58)'' || 1 ''(+69)'' || style="text-align:left" | Yes
|-
|}

Both side empty: 23 ''(+47)''
'''Notes:'''

* Recommended ammo load is 23 to keep the hull empty and both ready racks full.
* 7th and 8th ammo racks are ready racks, and takes priority in being filled at the beginning of the battle, then fills 1 through 6 in that order.
* Full reload speed will be realized as long as ammo exists in either ready rack. If both ready racks are empty, a penalty to reload speed will occur.
* Simply not firing the main gun when it is loaded will load ammo from racks 1-6 into 8 then 7, as long as there is ammo in racks 1-6. Firing the main gun will interrupt the loading of the ready racks.

=== Machine guns ===
{{main|MG 34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[MG 34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG 34]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,000 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in the battles ==
====General play style====

The Tiger II is best used as a sniper (mainly due to its powerful gun); but when needed it can provide direct support for advancing units.

When used as a sniper, it is best that you find a position with a good overview of the battlefield. Keep your tank positioned directly towards the enemy and keep an eye out for any medium tanks trying to flank you (Tiger II has great frontal armour, do not be afraid to use it. However, keep in mind that the lower plate offers less protection and penetrations can easily cause fires due to the positioning of mechanical parts). It is best that you find cover behind a solid object and slightly rotate your vehicle e.g.: rotate your tank about 10-15 degrees from the enemy (your turret too). Positioning, combined with distance, can easily give you effective armour greater than 300 mm. When "sniping" it is best to wait for the enemy to expose their weak points, fire a steady, accurate shot and retreat to a safe position. Wait for your reload to be completed and slowly show your frontal plate (most of the players will engage even though the chances of penetration are low); once the enemy has fired, you can take your time and engage the tank while they reload.

Using the Tiger II to advance and to support the front line can be rather tricky. While this tank offers great firepower and superior frontal armour, you'll notice that it is hard to fight in urban areas. In situations like this, you will quickly realize that the high weight and sheer size of the tank can cause major problems. Almost any tank that is faster will easily outmaneouver the Tiger II and destroy it. To avoid this, it is best to stay in the back (not too far from your team), keeping your tank positioned at an angle and using "peek-a-boo" techniques. You should always look for a position that can protect you during the assault of small tanks, such as "U" shaped buildings where you can easily retreat and protect your weak points.

''Note that you have to find a tactic that suits your play style best; these are simple tips that should help you get started.''

'''''It is not a medium tank nor a tank destroyer:''''' 
This is a very heavy tank with an engine meant for a tank half its weight, so it moves slow and turns slow. It is not as reliable for close range combat as a medium tank and if you try brawl with it more than necessary you will find yourself quickly flanked by faster, more agile tanks and destroyed with side/rear shots. Also, soviet 122mm guns don't have the best penetration but if that shell gets into your tank you will not survive, and under 500m, it is going to get in.

This does not mean you should stay put in a single spot, or camp a location like a tank destroyer (which are designed to camp): you have mobility, so keep moving or you will attract a lot of attention, only to find out too late that someone took his sweet time to travel 1.5km to your position to deliver you a shell to the side.
====Tactics====
====== Know the specs======
'''''Know the gun and ammo:''''' 
Knowing what your gun and ammunition are capable of is very important; this translates into knowing what kind of ammo to use in every situation against any enemy tank.

Like most German tanks, the stock APCBC (PzGr 39/43) is a good all-around shell, effective at close and long range with good penetration and good fragmentation, it will be the one you will be using the most. For close range combat with very heavily armoured tanks you will need APCR shells (PzGr 40/43), its high penetration value at close range can be a threat even to some 8.0 BR tanks, but remember it is a solid shell with no explosive charge, so you will need to aim carefully for crew and vital components which means you will need to know where these are located exactly.

The recommended ammo ratio is 2/3 (two thirds) of APCBC and 1/3 (one third) of APCR.

In arcade battles ranging is quite easy since the game does it for you, in [[Realistic Battles|realistic]] and [[Simulator Battles|simulator]] however you do not have this advantage. Trying to "eyeball it" after 800m can be incredibly tricky in these game modes, but something you might not know is that your sights provide you with all the tools you need to land a shot on your first try on a target that can be as far as 2800m (2.8km). You just need to follow the formula: ''Target size in meters / mil number x 1000 = target range''

Your "target size" is the length or the width (depending on what side you are facing) of your target, the mils are displayed in your sights on the horizontal axis, you divide these 2 numbers and multiply the result by 1000 and you will get the exact distance in meters. Then you just have to adjust your aim using the vertical axis of your sights (that displays the bullet drop) and take the shot. If your numbers were correct, you will land the shot dead on.

'''''Know your enemy and know yourself:''''' 
This applies to all tanks in all honesty, you need to spend some time looking at the armour of any tank you might encounter and learning where possible weak spots are located and under what conditions (angle, distance) you can actually score a good hit; yes, the gun is extremely good, but '''don't expect miracles''', aim it right and it will serve you right.

Learning your enemies' reload rates, vital components and crew locations is also very important; if you learn where their ammunition is stored, you will be creating fireworks during the whole game.

Take care of reading about your enemy's different ammo options, remember that just looking at the penetration values under the short description is not enough, since most tanks will have better options when it comes to ammunition. Learn under what conditions (angle, distance) your tank is safe from all the available ammo for these certain tanks, then take measures to protect yourself.

====== Positioning ======
'''''Hide your noble parts:''''' 
Taking cover is very important for the Tiger II; if you happen to find a position where a piece of rubble covers your lower frontal hull plate you have just made yourself near indestructible from the front. You can also use some low profile friendly tank destroyers, however having enough clearance to shoot is important, so not all tank destroyers are suitable cover.

If you try to move ahead in the face of an enemy you will end with a dead transmission, a fire and possibly some knocked out crew members, or just destroyed. 
Explore the map, find places where craters, depressions in the ground, soft hills, rubble, rocks or artificial obstacles (such as trenches) will cover you while letting you shoot over it; the Tiger II has very nice gun depression, use it to your advantage. 
Remember that destructible environmental objects (like brick walls, fences, and even trees) will protect you from a single HEAT or HE shell hit, but nothing else, and you should not rely on it to cover your sides or as anything else than visual cover. 
Taking cover behind large rocks, hills, buildings or even ally heavy tanks while you perform repairs or reload can be very useful.

======Long range combat ======
'''''Tiger II+long distance =/= immortal:''''' 
An enemy that knows what he's doing will not engage you at distance with regular armour penetrating rounds, high calibre HEAT and HE rounds will very likely end your existence with a big boom if it manages to hit you.

A KV-2 or an ISU-152 shooting a 152mm HE shell will most likely destroy you on the first hit, the sheer size of the shell makes it extremely harmful to your tank at all distances, the vehicles capable of destroying your tank with HE rounds are however, most of the time, not very well armoured; Not armoured enough for your gun, at the very least, so you should be able to take them out at ease if you manage to shoot first. High caliber HEAT ammo is also unaffected by distance and if it penetrates it can cause heavy damage to your tank.

Remember a 122mm HE round hit can also cause you heavy damage or complete destruction.

======Teamplay======
'''''Don't be an easy-going loner, be a paranoid team-player:''''' 
Lone heavy tanks are dead heavy tanks, while on a game make sure to have some medium/light tank support to cover your sides and rear, you will be the one absorbing shots they cannot take and they will mop up whatever tries to come from the side (that will be, most of the time, medium or light tanks) and even if they can not take it out, they will warn you about it and you will be able to respond in time. If you can't get medium/light tank support, get yourself another heavy tank to support you, you know what's scarier than a Tiger II? Two of them.

Having support will give you peace of mind while shooting and let you concentrate on your target instead of being looking around you every 5 seconds like a paranoid, but then again, being paranoid is not a bad thing while driving this tank.

If you saw something rolling around and don't know what it is, assume the worst and act accordingly, if it happened to be an A.I T-26 you can laugh about it, but if you ignore it and it happened to be an enemy flanking wave you will regret it, since it will not only cost you your tank, it might cost you the game.

======Close quarter combat======
'''''While in close range, play it smart and always angle your tank. But not your turret:''''' 
Sometimes you have to get in close to the combat zone for many reasons, one of them being Urban combat where the abundance of cover denies you of very long range shooting. If you see yourself forced to close quarters combat (that is under 700m) you need to play smart, be mobile but take your time to wait for the enemy where they might be coming from, communicate enemy positions to your allies and have them communicate any enemy contacts back so you can set up ambushes and flanking maneuvers.

While in urban combat, long straight roads are a bane to the Tiger's health, look both sides before crossing and remember that your tank is capable of being the one delivering a penetrating blow, this allow for some long range shooting at certain locations. You might also find yourself suddenly in front of an enemy tank while turning around a corner, in this case a Tiger I would angle itself to maximize its effective armour thickness since it has flat armour, the Tiger II has the heavy armour of a Tiger I and the sloped armour of a Panther, so '''angling is usually unnecessary, but''' at this close range you will be easily destroyed from the front so you want to angle a bit so you have an increase in your effective armour thickness and this might save you from a shot in the lower frontal hull plate.

'''BUT, whatever you do, DO NOT''' angle your turret, your turret is not specially strong from the front, in fact the front of the turret is an all times favorite target for everyone and you'll get shot there a lot but it is far better to face the enemy directly since the plates on the side of the turret are very thin.

Being a fast and accurate shooter also helps while in close range, at this rank anything hitting you from under 500m will most likely destroy you, but you will also be able to penetrate anything so make sure to be the first one to shoot and make sure it lands where it hurts.

=====The stock Tiger II guide=====
Driving a recently unlocked tank is always difficult; the gun accuracy is terrible and the inability to repair in combat is extremely frustrating... but nothing is worse than the feeling impotence when watching your tank burn away even after defeating the enemy that caused the fire. In general the vehicle will underperform when stock, so don't say "I hate it" before you unlock all the modifications.

Only true effort can unlock the necessary modifications to remedy this or by utilising golden eagles. ''But let's assume you have more important things to buy with your golden eagles.''

Remember three very important points:

#You can not repair anything else than your tracks.
#Once you catch a fire, it is game over.
#All your research points should be prioritized into the Parts modifications. This modifications is number one priority.

Before entering the game '''make sure that you are researching parts''' and not Tracks or anything else, the ability to repair in combat is essential and will make your life far easier. But hey, if you don't have that modification yet, here are a few tips:

# Stay in or close by the capture circles.
#:Did you know that you can repair and replenish your ammo storage at the capture circles? No? Well, now you know it. Use this knowledge to your advantage.
#:If you get your gunshot, '''you can repair without the Parts modification''' by stopping your tank inside the capture zone. If you get your transmission or engine shot, and somehow you don't catch fire and happen to be near a capture zone, you can ask one of your allies to tow you to the capture zone. '''Remember''' that you must press the acceleration key (default: W) when someone is towing you, you won't move but it will unlock your brakes making you easy to move.
# Don't catch fire.
#:Don't, just don't. If you do it is game over, make sure to make as much damage as possible if you happen to catch fire.
# Sniping will depend largely on luck.
#:With a stock tank your accuracy will be terrible, so you will be forced to close quarters most of the time. Unlocking the modules that improve your accuracy will allow you to achieve 2000m long shots at ease so they should be your number 3 priority after Parts and FPE.
# Play smart.
#:If you use your tank in a smart way, take precautions and take advantage of its capabilities while keeping its limits in mind, you should not need to repair during a game at all
# Be helpful and merciful to your allies
#:Saw someone flip their tank? It reminds you of a turtle upside down struggling to set itself right, doesn't it? Funny, huh? Did you know that in nature, If a turtle flips and cannot right itself it dies slowly in desperation, an agony that can take several days? Not so funny anymore, huh?
#:Laugh out load, if you want when you see it, yes it is funny, but don't abandon the poor turtle to its fate, if you happen to be nearby, by all means please help the person in need for a friendly tow. The lesson here is: if you want help, be helpful.
#:If you want people to flip you over when you are upside down or pull you out of a trench, or pull your transmission-less self to a capture point so you can repair, do the same for others.

=====Performance in a 0.0 to 10.0 scale:=====

*3.0/10 Rusher: Trying to get to the cap point before a T-44 or a Panther? Keep dreaming. This is a slow slumbering beast that will struggle to achieve 40km/h even on a flat road, struggle to achieve 30km/h on flat cross country, struggle to achieve 20km/h on rough cross country and struggle to achieve 8km/h up a steep hill (that is, if you can climb it at all). Its engine was meant for a tank half its weight and size, so expect a slow tank.
*4.5/10 brawler: Its heavyweight, limited acceleration and high profile make it unsuitable for highly mobile close quarter battles, if the tank is on its own it will get easily flanked and destroyed by faster medium/light tanks better suited for these battles and most Allied tanks prefer close quarters while engaging the Tiger II, so it quickly becomes a turkey hunt. However, its great gun and heavy frontal armour add to its survivability and if the operator has medium tank support it can become a foothold for the team.
*6.0/10 flanker: Again, its high profile and low acceleration don't make it the best tank to flank and a medium tank is better suited for this, but it has a fairly good top speed (even if it takes a long time and a flat road to achieve it), its comparatively fast for a heavy tank, its heavy armour gives it extra survivability in case of a counter attack and if it manages to position itself on the enemy's flank, it can quickly reduce them to a pyrotechnia.
*7.4/10 Adamant: Its heavy frontal armour will often serve as a shield to your lighter allies, you will be capable of taking heavy hits and shrug off impacts that most medium tanks cannot take, it has some flaws and weak spots in the frontal armour that the enemy will take advantage of, but with some angling and planning this can be mitigated. Its side armour is, however, very weak.
*7.6/10 Sniper: Distance is this tank's friend, its gun has a very long effective range and its armour becomes impervious to most enemy weapons at long ranges, but not all of them and it is not by any means a tank destroyer which will have the upper hand over the Tiger II at very long ranges.
*9.0/10 Ambusher: Be it sitting still at the end of a street or waiting in the river while the enemy approaches the bridge, this tank will shoot 3 times or more before the enemy even realize what hit them, but you need to be accurate to be deathly and having support and/or a place to fall back to or a hull-down position is essential for an ambush.

====Specific enemies worth noting====

===== US Army vehicles =====
The Tigers' common enemies are going to be the [[M26|M26 Pershing]], an agile american medium tank with a 90 mm gun that can pierce some holes in your frontal armour from a medium range and can get in your flank in no time, but however has relatively low armour; the [[T32]], a heavier version of the Pershing with an impenetrable mantlet and night invulnerable upper glacis, and a far nastier version of that 90mm gun; the premium T28, american tank destroyer with incredibly strong frontal armour and a gun far superior to the Tiger II's (shoot the cupolas), the premium [[M26E1|M26E1]] and the [[M46_“Tiger”|Premium M46 "Tiger"]] American tanks which have very similar guns to the Tiger II.

A further nuisance is the [[M41A1|M41A1 Bulldog]]. While it will mostly only fire sub-calibre shells, these are a danger up to 1000m to the frontal turret armour. Experienced light tank drivers will try to flank the Tiger to get shots into the exposed hull ammo racks, the APDS shot usually setting these off with one shot, unlike the APCR the Bulldog also carries. If you are stuck in close quarters, try to get a shot off as fast as possible in order to immobilise or destroy it.

[[T95|T95]]: Use your ''medium tank'' to either outflank this enemy or put a few well aimed shots into the cupolas. Watch out for its traverse speed, as the ''Doom-turtle'' is shockingly fast to turn on the spot.

[[T29]]: Very good gun, penetrations are very deadly. Surprisingly resistant despite its weak hull armour, multiple shots will be necessary if you don't have a lucky shot. From the front, if you have the patience and finesse, a shot into the turret front to the right of the gun mantle will most likely result in an ammo rack.

===== Red Army vehicles =====
The [[IS-2_(1944)]] is a Soviet heavy tank with a large 122 mm cannon which you want to avoid. Both HE and APHE shells of the 122 mm cannon pose a threat and the turret armour can be quite trollish, often either bouncing shots or sometimes eating them up.

Succeeding the [[T-34-85]] is the [[T-44]], a sneakier and more armoured version of the former. It retains the excellent mobility while gaining better manoeuvrability and hull armour. Luckily it retains the 85mm, which however is quite enough to reliably deal with the Tiger's sides. Deal with them quickly before you need to turn the turret and expose you tank's weak side to the enemy. Like with the IS-2 the best place to shoot the T-44 is the turret and lower glacis, the T-44 also inheriting the bouncy turret, so aim well!

[[SU-100]]: Fast, mobile and armed with a gun rivaling that of your own tank, this tank destroyer is not to be underestimated. It can punch holes through your turret with ease. Fortunately they have little yet well angled armour, thus SU-100 drivers will often angle their armour to create areas of high angle equivalent to auto-bounce zones. In such cases aim for the less angled portion, side or front.

All three variants of the ISU series are big boxy targets with very nasty guns, yet are sluggish and have no angled armour. Look and sneeze at them, however often enough they will wait in ambush situations, so be prepared!

[[T-54_(1951)|T-54]] is rare but will still pop up in matches. If you have the time against them at close range, shoot at the turret front. At medium distances, you will need APCR or a very lucky shot.

===== British vehicles =====
British vehicles are some of the first to get APDS (The first being the [[Comet_I|A34 Comet]] at BR 5.3), and are therefore very dangerous due to their high penetration. The Tiger II will commonly face tanks like the [[FV4202]], [[Caernarvon|Caernarvon]] and the [[Centurion_Mk_3|Centurion Mk 3]], all of which have the [[Ordnance_QF_20-pounder_Mk.I_(84_mm)|84 mm 20-pdr gun]]. They can punch straight through your turret cheeks at long range with great accuracy. They also have sloped armour, which may bounce some of your shells if you aim poorly. You may also face tanks like the [[Tortoise|A39 Tortoise]], which is a very difficult penetrate from the front. It has thick, sloped armour and a high penetrating [[Ordnance_QF_32-pounder_(94_mm)|94 mm 32-pdr gun]]. At long range even your powerful 88 mm will struggle to take one out. You may also face tanks armed with the [[L7A1_(105_mm)|105 mm L7A1 gun]], like the [[Centurion_Mk_10|Centurion Mk 10]]. Tanks with this gun have massive penetration (over 300 mm) and so you will be an easy target for them. Luckily, most British tanks do not have explosive filler in their rounds. They will easily be able to take out your gunners/commander, but will struggle to incapacitate the driver from the front. This will give you the chance to use the tanks decent reverse speed to make your escape.

=====The worst enemy is yourself=====
This is true in a literal and figurative way if you keep telling yourself that you can't do it you won't do it. This tank is not easy to operate and it can be frustrating at times but it is a very good tank once you start using it properly and keep its limits and weaknesses in mind.

In the literal way, yes, '''your worst possible enemy is another Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B.''' They know the tank from the inside out just like you, long range and even taking cover wont help you since they have that same amazing gun and they know exactly where to hit, besides, when talking about distance: if you can hurt it, it can hurt you, and if it can't hurt you, you can't hurt it.

A Tiger II vs Tiger II fight usually ends in less than 25 seconds, sometimes lasting as little as 2 seconds using 2 shells or less to achieve the destruction of one of them. Sometimes you will find yourself exchanging shells for a whole game.

'''The only effective way to face a Tiger II with a Tiger II is to hit first''' and making sure the hit has a crippling effect on its firing capability (hitting the turret from the front for example, taking out the gunner and commander and possibly hitting ammo). If you happen to get hit like this from a Tiger II your only hope is to get to cover in less than 10 seconds (weapon reload time with an expert crew, maxed out loader and commander is 10.6 seconds) and run away to a safe location to repair since these hits will most likely destroy your turret ring and cannon breach.

You will be engaging the Tiger II with your Tiger II in arcade games for the most part, but also in realistic/simulator squadron battles where it is a very popular tank. Remember to read "how to destroy a Tiger II" below, there are more tips available on this topic there.

====Counter-tactics====

[[File:Tiger II Shooting Guide.jpg|400px|left|thumb|Colour-frames showing the viability of targets on the Königstiger.]]

A Tiger II is a formidable enemy when it's used correctly by its operator, but it's by no means indestructible under any conditions.

The first thing you want to do is deny the Tiger II of the advantage of its gun by getting as close as possible while keeping clear of its cannon (the closer you get, the better the penetration values for you and the Tiger II) most Tiger II operators will avoid getting flanked at all costs so you might find yourself forced to face one from the front. The biggest weak spot is the lower frontal hull plate, its slopped but only 100mm thick and behind it lies the transmission that likes to catch fires and create nasty shrapnel when destroyed, the shrapnel will fly inwards and if your shell is large enough they will take out the entire crew. However, this shot will most likely only leave the Tiger II unable to move for a minute and make his operator quite angry (at you) while his gun remains perfectly operational and before you have a chance reload you will most likely receive a very accurate shot from an irritated Tiger II operator.

The lower frontal plate is a good place to hit but it should be a second option, with this tank, you need to disable that gun as soon as possible, the turret is a very reliable target at close range, even with HEAT ammo you should be able to deliver a shot that will disable its firing capability for long enough for you to reload and shoot again. Using your best AP round for this is recommended since the frontal turret has a fairly thick (but flat) plate, if nothing else works try APCR.

Using high calibre HE rounds is also effective. The cupola is probably the best place to hit with a HE shell, since the explosion will deflect into the thin upper plate and destroy everything inside. It is not easy to hit, but if you manage to hit the cupola it's very unlikely it survives.

The Tiger II is very vulnerable to "Circling attacks", that means, running around it in circles and harass it with side shots. Its turret can turn quite fast (especially in arcade mode) but most medium tanks are fast enough to outrun it.

If you somehow manage to see an enemy Tiger II from the side, try to land a shot in the middle of the hull, near of the turret (not on the turret, the upper part of the hull), there's a good chance there will be ammo there, and if there isn't, you will either knock out the tank by taking out many crew members or cripple it heavily

=== Pros and cons ===
'''Pros:'''

* Upper glacis plate is extraordinarily tough, especially at a BR of 6.3. Don't expect anything but APDS or HEAT to get through it
* With its very high muzzle velocity, accuracy, penetration, post penetration damage, and fire rate, the KwK43 88mm cannon loaded with PzGr 39/43 is arguably the best gun at Rank 4
* One can argue that the KwK43 is infact a better overall cannon than the 105mm cannon on the the 10.5 Tiger II. While it doesn't have the post penetration damage of the 105, the KwK43 has nearly double the rate of fire, nearly the same penetration, and is still an APHE round
* PzGr 40/43 shells have extremely high muzzle velocity and armour penetration values at all ranges
* Turret is highly sloped and can cause some shots to bounce
* Good tank for one to master the Tiger II(H) while grinding its modules
* Despite its massive weight of 68 tons, the Tiger II P actually has a high top speed. You'll be right behind the medium tanks when when going into battle
* Provides a good learning curve for later German heavy tanks

'''Cons:'''

* While being sloped, the turret is this tanks biggest weakness. The armour thickness is underwhelming at best. There are even some Rank 2 tanks whose cannon are powerful enough to go right through the front of the turret face
* Unlike most tanks in the game, going hull down is not a valid tactic in this tank.
* If the tank is loaded with anything more than 48 rounds, the back of the turret will have ammunition in it. This can prove to be a fatal mistake
* Angling the turret doesn't always work
* This is a massive heavy tank. So unless you're going at the tanks top speed, don't expect to pull of any quick U-turns to deal with an unexpected threat
* Priority target by planes. Especially when in 6.3 BR games
* Large fuel tanks can cause frequent fires
* With the very low damage and penetration of the HEAT shells, they are essentially pointless to ever take into battle

== History ==

===Development===
Just before the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]] entered service in 1942, work has already begun for its successor. In 1937, Henschel was ordered to develop a heavy tank design, with Porsche following suit in 1939. Porsche developed their new heavy tank off of the failed [[VK 45.01 (P)|VK 4501 (P)]], churning out two models designated VK 4502 (P) named Type 180 and 181. The Type 180 had its turret mounted centrally while 181 had the turret mounted on the rear with the engine in the center (akin to the [[Ferdinand|Ferdinand tank destroyer]] layout). Both designs used the same components of the VK 4501 (P) and both designs were visually similar except for the turret locations and some mechanical parts, but these two designs never passed wooden prototypes.

Henschel, on the other hand, used a more conventional design in their tank layout, but the end result look no way similar to their previous heavy tank design [[Tiger E|Tiger I]]. The VK 4503 (H) as designated by them resembled a [[Panther G|Panther]] tank layout, with the transmission in the front along with the driving compartment, the turret in the center, and the engine in the rear. The design used many components from the Panther and the [[Panther II|Panther II]] in order to standardize production. The suspension system was also different from anything produced at the time, though still using a torsion-bar suspension, the wheels were arranged only in the overlapping method, no interleaving. This new ''Schachtellaufwerk'' design simplified maintenance and increased production by using less wheels than interleaved (only 9 each side) and with full-steel wheels that the later Tiger I models used to save rubber. The first wooden mock-up of the design was presented on October 20, 1943 to Hitler, to which it was approved for further development as the '''Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B''', or just '''Tiger II''' and '''Tiger B''' for short. The Henschel variant was more advantageous than the Porsche variant for being developed faster and has a faster production rate, thus it was destined to be approved for service. The Henschel design began production in the Henschel plant at Kassal and the first 3 working prototypes were churned out in December 1943. Full-scale production began on January 1944 and continued all the way until March 1945. Due to the late introduction and the amount of resources needed to construct the heavy tanks, only about 482 production models were produced in this time period, considerably less than its predecessor, Tiger I.

===Design===
The Tiger II is just massive in size. Weighing in at 68.5 tons, it is the heaviest tank to see service in World War II, beaten out as heaviest serving vehicle by the [[Jagdtiger|Jagdtiger]], which weighs 71.7 tons. The Tiger II front armour is 150 mm thick, and this is without sloping, with which it would be more than 200 mm thick ineffective. The thick front glacis armour was never penetrated by any Allied tank throughout the entire war. The side and rear armour is still 80 mm, which presented a weaker target, but still formidable at longer ranges. The gun on the Tiger II was the famous 8.8 cm KwK 43, which could defeat all Allied armour in World War II. The gun is sighted by the gunner with a ''Turmzielfernrohr 9d'' monocular sight that allows two magnifications, 2.5x and 5x. In practice, the gun is able to hit a target under 1 kilometers away 100% of the time.

The turret on this Tiger II is the production turret model by Krupp, colloquially known as the "Henschel" turret (hence the "H" in the name) despite that the Henschel company had no influence on the Krupp turret design. This turret replaced the flawed prototype ''[[Tiger II (P)|"Porsche" turret]]'', also by Krupp. The production model was a simplified turret, using more flat surfaces and a sleeker shape for easier production. The previously curved front of the turret is made into a thickened flat face that presents no shot trap and the protruding commander's cupola was flattened into the design. The turret is powered and could rotate under two settings, high and low. In low, the turret could be rotated a full 360 degrees in 60 seconds, and the same in 19 seconds at high. Though the engine could allow the turret to traverse in 10 seconds in full power, but this was not recommended to avoid straining the engine. The turret traverse is powered by pedals or a lever by the gunner and is fine enough with these methods that small adjustments with the manual traverse hand wheels are not necessary.

The Tiger II was still propelled by the V-12 Maybach HL230 gasoline engine, which powered the lighter [[Panther G|Panther]] and [[Tiger E|Tiger I]]. The increased weight of the tank made the engine underpowered, requiring extra care to make sure the engine does not fail. Despite that, the tank was capable of reaching a maximum speed of 41.5 kilometers per hour, making the Tiger II quite agile for its weight. However, the Tiger II consumes exorbitant amount of fuel and requires extensive maintenance to keep running, which impedes its combat effectiveness in the whole strategic viewpoint as it only had an operational range of about 120 kilometer per hour on cross country terrain. The heavyweight also causes multiple mechanical issues in the tank, the drive train is overburdened as it was intended for a lighter vehicle and multiple breakdowns were experienced in early Tiger II models. Though, these issues were ironed out over time with improvements, but still persist due to lack of supplies to maintain the tanks.

===Combat usage===
The Tiger II is organized into heavy tank battalions (''Schwere Panzer Abteilungen'') in the Wehrmacht and SS units, who first received them by February 1944. A standard battalion would have 45 Tiger IIs, with three in command and 14 in each of the three companies. A total of 14 battalions were employed during World War II in the Heer and SS, 11 assigned to the Heers and 3 to the SS. The original role of heavy tank battalions was to engage, breakthrough and destroy enemy armour on the offensive, but the changing war situation saw their role relegated to the defensive. The Tiger II's first recorded combat action was in the 1st Company of 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion in Normandy in July 1944, fighting back the Canadians during their offensive in Operation Atlantic, three Tiger IIs were lost, two from combat and one from becoming irrecoverable after falling into a bomb crater. However, by the end of the Normandy Campaign, all of the Tiger IIs in the 503rd were lost. The 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion had the Tiger II see first action in the Eastern Front on August 1944, where it resisted the Soviet Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive. It was here on the road to Oględów in August 12, 1944 that an ambush by a few [[T-34-85]]s destroyed three Tiger IIs easily and some more disabled. The destroyed Tiger IIs were attributed to ammunition explosions. Due to this incident, it was ordered that the crew do not store the cannon ammunition in the turret, though the enforcement of this order varies between units. Still, 16 Tiger IIs in the 501st became disabled or destroyed in a span of more than two weeks.

The Tiger II also played a part in Operation Panzerfaust, where the 503rd Battalion was stationed in Hungary to ensure it stayed in the Axis Alliance. These tanks stayed for 166 days and claimed a large number of Soviet vehicle kills for the loss of 25 Tiger IIs. The Tiger II continued to see action in most of the offensive and defensive actions in the last few months of World War II, such as in the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944, the Soviet Vistula-Oder and East Prussian Offensives in January 1945, and the German Lake Balaton Offensive in March 1945, Battle of the Seelow Heights in April 1945, and the Battle of Berlin that lasted until VE Day.

Tiger II's performance in battle was quite favourable in firepower and achieved a disproportionate kill-loss ratio. The 503rd SS Battalion claimed 500 kills for the loss of 45 Tiger IIs in the time span of January to April 1945. However, most of the Tiger II's losses were due to mechanical breakdowns or lack of fuel, so the crew abandoned these tanks and destroyed them to avoid enemy capture. Ultimately, however, while these tanks proved a menace in the battlefield, its overall strategic effect to the war is negligible like its predecessor due to the low number available.

===Survivors===
Today, there are 10 Tiger IIs in varying conditions left in the world. The most well known is the one at Musée des Blindés museum at Samur, France. This Tiger II is the only working version left in the world, this variant has the "Henschel" turret attached. Other notable places around the world that have the Tiger II is at the Bovington Tank Museum at England (which has a Porsche and a Henschel variant), Kubinka Tank Museum at Russia, and the (future) National Armor and Cavalry Museum in America.

=== In-game description ===
"In August 1942, the companies Nibelungenwerke, led by Ferdinand Porsche, and Henschel & Sohn AG, under the direction of Erwin Aders, received technical specifications for a tank with thicker armor than the Tiger I, placed at the same large angles of inclination as that on the T-34.
After testing, Porsche's prototype was rejected. However, by this point, 50 turrets had already been produced for the model. It was decided that these turrets would be used to equip the first 50 tanks with Henschel's hull design, which had equipment for underwater traversing. Porsche's turrets had a streamlined shape, and the commander's cupola was accommodated by a curved bulge on the turret's side. The turret's frontal armor had a thickness of 107 mm. All Tiger II(P) tanks had anti-magnetic Zimmerit paste applied on their vertical surfaces.

The first set of tanks, new vehicles with the Porsche turrets received on March 14, 1944, became the 316th company of the Panzer Lehr. Five tanks fought with the Panzer Lehr on the Western Front. The remaining tanks were received by the 503rd heavy tank battalion, which fought on the Western Front until 1944. After this, the two still-intact Tiger II(P) tanks fought in the battalion's battles on the Eastern Front during the autumn and winter of 1944–1945.

Thick armor plates, positioned at high angles of inclination, provided the tank very high protection against the majority of the anti-tank weapons of the time. However, the vehicle's high weight and lack of engine power caused the Tiger II to have low ride quality and overall low reliability. A serious drawback of the Porsche turret was its streamlined front, which was prone to making projectiles ricochet into the roof of the tank's hull.

The major opponent of the Tiger II(P) on the Western Front was enemy aircraft. Also, many vehicles were lost as a result of mechanical failure."

== Media ==
=== Skins and camouflages ===
Camouflages and skins for the Tiger B (H) from live.warthunder.com.

*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23tiger_b #tiger_b]
*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23pzkpfw_vi_ausf_b_tiger_iih #pzkpfw_vi_ausf_b_tiger_iih]
*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23tiger_ii #tiger_ii] The entirety fo Tiger B skins, but containing Porsche turret versions too. Lookout for the ''boxy'' turret for the correct camouflage.

Top five downloaded skins from live.warthunder.com:

* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/26203/ "Tiger II H - Semi fictional skin"]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/82288/ "Tiger II Henschel - Renewed skin "Moritz" - fictional camo"]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/45385/ "Tiger II Ardennes 1944 (Historical) s.SS-Pz. Abt. 501]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/83280/ "Tiger II (H) of sPzAbt 1./ 506 in the Eifel mountains, Germany, March 1945"]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/112731/ "Girls und Panzer Black Forest Peak Tiger II (H) Tank Skin and Dual-Camo."]

===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 ===
====Reviews====
{{Youtube-gallery|MOFu6PoiseE|Gameplay video "Crouching Tiger, Hidden...OH TITS! Fun & Intense Tank Battle!"}}

====The Vehicle====
{{Youtube-gallery|u5p3KCli6YM|Real life Tiger B from Saumur "Königstiger 2009" -Alain Le Pape|yn2q0E5vxqk|''Sound Recording: Tiger II'' -War Thunder|_dhPW_ksFcM|Tiger II starting, unloading and driving -Mgrg}}

== Read also ==

* Text of this page was written for the [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/232511-competition-wt-wiki-combat-training-closed/ Wiki competition "Combat training"] by [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/user/559224-remiak/ Remiak] [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/233326-wikicontest-panzerkampfwagen-tiger-ausf-b/ Link to original contest entry article.]
*[http://www.tankmuseum.org/museum-online/vehicles/object-e1952-33 Page of the Bovington Tank Museum on the "Sd Kfz 182 Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf B (E1952.33)"]

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

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

{{Germany heavy tanks}}

Tiger II (P)

2019-11-09T21:37:22Z

U8249517: /* Ammo racks */

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_b_tiger_IIp}}

== Description ==
[[File:GarageImage_TigerII(P).jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (or '''Tiger II (P)''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.

The Tiger II (H) remains one of the more potent foes a player could face in the Rank IV battles.

The Tiger II's cannon can maintain a very nice penetration even at long ranges (1,200 m-1,800m) while American and Soviet cannons usually cannot keep such high penetration over distance, so they prefer 700 m or less engagements where their guns will most likely destroy you in the first hit, so get used to long range engagements. Being comfortable with kilometer long shots is a must in this tank. At 800m you should still be within a safe distance (depending on what you are facing) but going under that is getting into the Allied guns' effective range.

'''''Difference between the [[Tiger II (H)|Henschel (H)]] and the [[Tiger II (P)|Porsche (P)]] turrets''''' 
The "Henschel" turret is slightly more resistant since it has a flat but thick plate in the front and a more effective gun mantlet. The "Porsche" turret is less armoured, has an exposed turret ring and a shot trap that can and will deflect shells to the weaker upper plate of the chassis. Commander's cupola on the "Henschel" turret is also thicker (150 mm, opposed to 100 mm on "Porsche" turret). Other than that both tanks are identical, but for obvious reasons the "Henschel" turret is more popular than the "Porsche" turret. The initial design is often misleadingly called the "Porsche" turret due to the belief that it was designed by Porsche for their prototype; in fact it was the initial Krupp design for both prototypes.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
'''Armour type:'''

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

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 150 mm (49°) ''Front glacis'' 100 mm (49°) ''Lower glacis''|| 80 mm (26°) ''Top'' 80 + 5 mm ''Bottom''|| 80 mm (28°) || 40 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm (17-57°) ''Turret front'' 120 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 82 mm (28-29°) || 80 mm (30°) 25 mm ''Turret underside'' || 40 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 100 mm || 40 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Turret front armour is only 100 mm thick, but it is rounded, with varying angles (between 0-55°). Middle part is unangled and is the weakest part of the turret.
* Turret has some major flaws, like a shot trap (''As mentioned in the "[[#Pros_and_cons|Pros and cons]]" section''), and exposed, vulnerable turret ring (80-100 mm thick and no angle at all).
* Commander's cupola on top of the turret is 100 mm thick, but quite well angled.
* Lower glacis is only 100 mm thick, but it is not a weakspot (over 200 mm effective angled).
* Machine gun port could be marked as close-range weakspot. Although most of it is still 150 mm thick, the angling is much worse. But targeting the turret is preferable.

=== Mobility ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armor weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 68.0 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | N/A || colspan="1" | 44 (AB)
|-
|42 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|904
|1,113
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|619
|700
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|13.29
|16.37
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|9.10
|10.29
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===
{{main|KwK 43 (88 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[KwK 43 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK 43]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 77 || -8°/+15° || ±180° || N/A
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 11.3 || 15.6 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 11.3 || 13.3 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 11.1 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 90°'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC ||237||234||222||207||194||181
|-
| Sprgr. L/4,5 || HE || 13 || 13 ||12||12||12||12
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 272 || 270 || 250 || 228 || 208 || 189
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC || 1,000 || 10 || 1.2 || 14 || 108.8 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. L/4,5 || HE || 820 || 11 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 935 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 600 || 7.6 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 1100 || +0° || 65° || 72° || 75°
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR ||1,200 || 7.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Tiger II (P) Ammo Racks.png|thumb|[[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] of the Tiger II (P).Note that racks 7 and 8 are ready racks.]]
Thanks to the ready rack feature found on this tank, the first and second ammo racks found in the back of the turret will always be full of ammo, making it the prime target for enemy tankers who are looking to detonate your ammo rack. Even solid shots like APCR and APDS that commonly pierce your front turret can make their way to the rear of the turret, potentially hitting the ready rack and can cause a critical hit to become a deadly one.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |6th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |7th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |8th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''70''' || 65 ''(+5)'' || 59 ''(+11)'' || 48 ''(+22)'' || 37 ''(+33)'' || 30 ''(+40)'' || 23 ''(+47)'' || 12 ''(+58)'' || 1 ''(+69)'' || style="text-align:left" | Yes
|-
|}

Both side empty: 23 ''(+47)''
Notes:

* Recommended ammo load is 23 to keep the hull empty and both ready racks full.
* 7th and 8th ammo racks are ready racks, and takes priority in being filled at the beginning of the battle, then fills 1 through 6 in that order.
* Full reload speed will be realized as long as ammo exists in either ready rack. If both ready racks are empty, a penalty to reload speed will occur.
* Simply not firing the main gun when it is loaded will load ammo from racks 1-6 into 8 then 7, as long as there is ammo in racks 1-6. Firing the main gun will interrupt the loading of the ready racks.

=== Machine guns ===
{{main|MG 34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[MG 34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG 34]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,000 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in the battles ==
====General play style====

The Tiger II is best used as a sniper (mainly due to its powerful gun); but when needed it can provide direct support for advancing units.

When used as a sniper, it is best that you find a position with a good overview of the battlefield. Keep your tank positioned directly towards the enemy and keep an eye out for any medium tanks trying to flank you (Tiger II has great frontal armour, do not be afraid to use it. However, keep in mind that the lower plate offers less protection and penetrations can easily cause fires due to the positioning of mechanical parts). It is best that you find cover behind a solid object and slightly rotate your vehicle e.g.: rotate your tank about 10-15 degrees from the enemy (your turret too). Positioning, combined with distance, can easily give you effective armour greater than 300 mm. When "sniping" it is best to wait for the enemy to expose their weak points, fire a steady, accurate shot and retreat to a safe position. Wait for your reload to be completed and slowly show your frontal plate (most of the players will engage even though the chances of penetration are low); once the enemy has fired, you can take your time and engage the tank while they reload.

Using the Tiger II to advance and to support the front line can be rather tricky. While this tank offers great firepower and superior frontal armour, you'll notice that it is hard to fight in urban areas. In situations like this, you will quickly realize that the high weight and sheer size of the tank can cause major problems. Almost any tank that is faster will easily outmaneouver the Tiger II and destroy it. To avoid this, it is best to stay in the back (not too far from your team), keeping your tank positioned at an angle and using "peek-a-boo" techniques. You should always look for a position that can protect you during the assault of small tanks, such as "U" shaped buildings where you can easily retreat and protect your weak points.

''Note that you have to find a tactic that suits your play style best; these are simple tips that should help you get started.''

'''''It is not a medium tank nor a tank destroyer:''''' 
This is a very heavy tank with an engine meant for a tank half its weight, so it moves slow and turns slow. It is not as reliable for close range combat as a medium tank and if you try brawl with it more than necessary you will find yourself quickly flanked by faster, more agile tanks and destroyed with side/rear shots. Also, soviet 122mm guns don't have the best penetration but if that shell gets into your tank you will not survive, and under 500m, it is going to get in.

This does not mean you should stay put in a single spot, or camp a location like a tank destroyer (which are designed to camp): you have mobility, so keep moving or you will attract a lot of attention, only to find out too late that someone took his sweet time to travel 1.5km to your position to deliver you a shell to the side.
====Tactics====
====== Know the specs======
'''''Know the gun and ammo:''''' 
Knowing what your gun and ammunition are capable of is very important; this translates into knowing what kind of ammo to use in every situation against any enemy tank.

Like most German tanks, the stock APCBC (PzGr 39/43) is a good all-around shell, effective at close and long range with good penetration and good fragmentation, it will be the one you will be using the most. For close range combat with very heavily armoured tanks you will need APCR shells (PzGr 40/43), its high penetration value at close range can be a threat even to some 8.0 BR tanks, but remember it is a solid shell with no explosive charge, so you will need to aim carefully for crew and vital components which means you will need to know where these are located exactly.

The recommended ammo ratio is 2/3 (two thirds) of APCBC and 1/3 (one third) of APCR.

In arcade battles ranging is quite easy since the game does it for you, in [[Realistic Battles|realistic]] and [[Simulator Battles|simulator]] however you do not have this advantage. Trying to "eyeball it" after 800m can be incredibly tricky in these game modes, but something you might not know is that your sights provide you with all the tools you need to land a shot on your first try on a target that can be as far as 2800m (2.8km). You just need to follow the formula: ''Target size in meters / mil number x 1000 = target range''

Your "target size" is the length or the width (depending on what side you are facing) of your target, the mils are displayed in your sights on the horizontal axis, you divide these 2 numbers and multiply the result by 1000 and you will get the exact distance in meters. Then you just have to adjust your aim using the vertical axis of your sights (that displays the bullet drop) and take the shot. If your numbers were correct, you will land the shot dead on.

'''''Know your enemy and know yourself:''''' 
This applies to all tanks in all honesty, you need to spend some time looking at the armour of any tank you might encounter and learning where possible weak spots are located and under what conditions (angle, distance) you can actually score a good hit; yes, the gun is extremely good, but '''don't expect miracles''', aim it right and it will serve you right.

Learning your enemies' reload rates, vital components and crew locations is also very important; if you learn where their ammunition is stored, you will be creating fireworks during the whole game.

Take care of reading about your enemy's different ammo options, remember that just looking at the penetration values under the short description is not enough, since most tanks will have better options when it comes to ammunition. Learn under what conditions (angle, distance) your tank is safe from all the available ammo for these certain tanks, then take measures to protect yourself.

====== Positioning ======
'''''Hide your noble parts:''''' 
Taking cover is very important for the Tiger II; if you happen to find a position where a piece of rubble covers your lower frontal hull plate you have just made yourself near indestructible from the front. You can also use some low profile friendly tank destroyers, however having enough clearance to shoot is important, so not all tank destroyers are suitable cover.

If you try to move ahead in the face of an enemy you will end with a dead transmission, a fire and possibly some knocked out crew members, or just destroyed. 
Explore the map, find places where craters, depressions in the ground, soft hills, rubble, rocks or artificial obstacles (such as trenches) will cover you while letting you shoot over it; the Tiger II has very nice gun depression, use it to your advantage. 
Remember that destructible environmental objects (like brick walls, fences, and even trees) will protect you from a single HEAT or HE shell hit, but nothing else, and you should not rely on it to cover your sides or as anything else than visual cover. 
Taking cover behind large rocks, hills, buildings or even ally heavy tanks while you perform repairs or reload can be very useful.

======Long range combat ======
'''''Tiger II+long distance =/= immortal:''''' 
An enemy that knows what he's doing will not engage you at distance with regular armour penetrating rounds, high calibre HEAT and HE rounds will very likely end your existence with a big boom if it manages to hit you.

A KV-2 or an ISU-152 shooting a 152mm HE shell will most likely destroy you on the first hit, the sheer size of the shell makes it extremely harmful to your tank at all distances, the vehicles capable of destroying your tank with HE rounds are however, most of the time, not very well armoured; Not armoured enough for your gun, at the very least, so you should be able to take them out at ease if you manage to shoot first. High caliber HEAT ammo is also unaffected by distance and if it penetrates it can cause heavy damage to your tank.

Remember a 122mm HE round hit can also cause you heavy damage or complete destruction.

======Teamplay======
'''''Don't be an easy-going loner, be a paranoid team-player:''''' 
Lone heavy tanks are dead heavy tanks, while on a game make sure to have some medium/light tank support to cover your sides and rear, you will be the one absorbing shots they cannot take and they will mop up whatever tries to come from the side (that will be, most of the time, medium or light tanks) and even if they can not take it out, they will warn you about it and you will be able to respond in time. If you can't get medium/light tank support, get yourself another heavy tank to support you, you know what's scarier than a Tiger II? Two of them.

Having support will give you peace of mind while shooting and let you concentrate on your target instead of being looking around you every 5 seconds like a paranoid, but then again, being paranoid is not a bad thing while driving this tank.

If you saw something rolling around and don't know what it is, assume the worst and act accordingly, if it happened to be an A.I T-26 you can laugh about it, but if you ignore it and it happened to be an enemy flanking wave you will regret it, since it will not only cost you your tank, it might cost you the game.

======Close quarter combat======
'''''While in close range, play it smart and always angle your tank. But not your turret:''''' 
Sometimes you have to get in close to the combat zone for many reasons, one of them being Urban combat where the abundance of cover denies you of very long range shooting. If you see yourself forced to close quarters combat (that is under 700m) you need to play smart, be mobile but take your time to wait for the enemy where they might be coming from, communicate enemy positions to your allies and have them communicate any enemy contacts back so you can set up ambushes and flanking maneuvers.

While in urban combat, long straight roads are a bane to the Tiger's health, look both sides before crossing and remember that your tank is capable of being the one delivering a penetrating blow, this allow for some long range shooting at certain locations. You might also find yourself suddenly in front of an enemy tank while turning around a corner, in this case a Tiger I would angle itself to maximize its effective armour thickness since it has flat armour, the Tiger II has the heavy armour of a Tiger I and the sloped armour of a Panther, so '''angling is usually unnecessary, but''' at this close range you will be easily destroyed from the front so you want to angle a bit so you have an increase in your effective armour thickness and this might save you from a shot in the lower frontal hull plate.

'''BUT, whatever you do, DO NOT''' angle your turret, your turret is not specially strong from the front, in fact the front of the turret is an all times favorite target for everyone and you'll get shot there a lot but it is far better to face the enemy directly since the plates on the side of the turret are very thin.

Being a fast and accurate shooter also helps while in close range, at this rank anything hitting you from under 500m will most likely destroy you, but you will also be able to penetrate anything so make sure to be the first one to shoot and make sure it lands where it hurts.

=====The stock Tiger II guide=====
Driving a recently unlocked tank is always difficult; the gun accuracy is terrible and the inability to repair in combat is extremely frustrating... but nothing is worse than the feeling impotence when watching your tank burn away even after defeating the enemy that caused the fire. In general the vehicle will underperform when stock, so don't say "I hate it" before you unlock all the modifications.

Only true effort can unlock the necessary modifications to remedy this or by utilising golden eagles. ''But let's assume you have more important things to buy with your golden eagles.''

Remember three very important points:

#You can not repair anything else than your tracks.
#Once you catch a fire, it is game over.
#All your research points should be prioritized into the Parts modifications. This modifications is number one priority.

Before entering the game '''make sure that you are researching parts''' and not Tracks or anything else, the ability to repair in combat is essential and will make your life far easier. But hey, if you don't have that modification yet, here are a few tips:

# Stay in or close by the capture circles.
#:Did you know that you can repair and replenish your ammo storage at the capture circles? No? Well, now you know it. Use this knowledge to your advantage.
#:If you get your gunshot, '''you can repair without the Parts modification''' by stopping your tank inside the capture zone. If you get your transmission or engine shot, and somehow you don't catch fire and happen to be near a capture zone, you can ask one of your allies to tow you to the capture zone. '''Remember''' that you must press the acceleration key (default: W) when someone is towing you, you won't move but it will unlock your brakes making you easy to move.
# Don't catch fire.
#:Don't, just don't. If you do it is game over, make sure to make as much damage as possible if you happen to catch fire.
# Sniping will depend largely on luck.
#:With a stock tank your accuracy will be terrible, so you will be forced to close quarters most of the time. Unlocking the modules that improve your accuracy will allow you to achieve 2000m long shots at ease so they should be your number 3 priority after Parts and FPE.
# Play smart.
#:If you use your tank in a smart way, take precautions and take advantage of its capabilities while keeping its limits in mind, you should not need to repair during a game at all
# Be helpful and merciful to your allies
#:Saw someone flip their tank? It reminds you of a turtle upside down struggling to set itself right, doesn't it? Funny, huh? Did you know that in nature, If a turtle flips and cannot right itself it dies slowly in desperation, an agony that can take several days? Not so funny anymore, huh?
#:Laugh out load, if you want when you see it, yes it is funny, but don't abandon the poor turtle to its fate, if you happen to be nearby, by all means please help the person in need for a friendly tow. The lesson here is: if you want help, be helpful.
#:If you want people to flip you over when you are upside down or pull you out of a trench, or pull your transmission-less self to a capture point so you can repair, do the same for others.

=====Performance in a 0.0 to 10.0 scale:=====

*3.0/10 Rusher: Trying to get to the cap point before a T-44 or a Panther? Keep dreaming. This is a slow slumbering beast that will struggle to achieve 40km/h even on a flat road, struggle to achieve 30km/h on flat cross country, struggle to achieve 20km/h on rough cross country and struggle to achieve 8km/h up a steep hill (that is, if you can climb it at all). Its engine was meant for a tank half its weight and size, so expect a slow tank.
*4.5/10 brawler: Its heavyweight, limited acceleration and high profile make it unsuitable for highly mobile close quarter battles, if the tank is on its own it will get easily flanked and destroyed by faster medium/light tanks better suited for these battles and most Allied tanks prefer close quarters while engaging the Tiger II, so it quickly becomes a turkey hunt. However, its great gun and heavy frontal armour add to its survivability and if the operator has medium tank support it can become a foothold for the team.
*6.0/10 flanker: Again, its high profile and low acceleration don't make it the best tank to flank and a medium tank is better suited for this, but it has a fairly good top speed (even if it takes a long time and a flat road to achieve it), its comparatively fast for a heavy tank, its heavy armour gives it extra survivability in case of a counter attack and if it manages to position itself on the enemy's flank, it can quickly reduce them to a pyrotechnia.
*7.4/10 Adamant: Its heavy frontal armour will often serve as a shield to your lighter allies, you will be capable of taking heavy hits and shrug off impacts that most medium tanks cannot take, it has some flaws and weak spots in the frontal armour that the enemy will take advantage of, but with some angling and planning this can be mitigated. Its side armour is, however, very weak.
*7.6/10 Sniper: Distance is this tank's friend, its gun has a very long effective range and its armour becomes impervious to most enemy weapons at long ranges, but not all of them and it is not by any means a tank destroyer which will have the upper hand over the Tiger II at very long ranges.
*9.0/10 Ambusher: Be it sitting still at the end of a street or waiting in the river while the enemy approaches the bridge, this tank will shoot 3 times or more before the enemy even realize what hit them, but you need to be accurate to be deathly and having support and/or a place to fall back to or a hull-down position is essential for an ambush.

====Specific enemies worth noting====

===== US Army vehicles =====
The Tigers' common enemies are going to be the [[M26|M26 Pershing]], an agile american medium tank with a 90 mm gun that can pierce some holes in your frontal armour from a medium range and can get in your flank in no time, but however has relatively low armour; the [[T32]], a heavier version of the Pershing with an impenetrable mantlet and night invulnerable upper glacis, and a far nastier version of that 90mm gun; the premium T28, american tank destroyer with incredibly strong frontal armour and a gun far superior to the Tiger II's (shoot the cupolas), the premium [[M26E1|M26E1]] and the [[M46_“Tiger”|Premium M46 "Tiger"]] American tanks which have very similar guns to the Tiger II.

A further nuisance is the [[M41A1|M41A1 Bulldog]]. While it will mostly only fire sub-calibre shells, these are a danger up to 1000m to the frontal turret armour. Experienced light tank drivers will try to flank the Tiger to get shots into the exposed hull ammo racks, the APDS shot usually setting these off with one shot, unlike the APCR the Bulldog also carries. If you are stuck in close quarters, try to get a shot off as fast as possible in order to immobilise or destroy it.

[[T95|T95]]: Use your ''medium tank'' to either outflank this enemy or put a few well aimed shots into the cupolas. Watch out for its traverse speed, as the ''Doom-turtle'' is shockingly fast to turn on the spot.

[[T29]]: Very good gun, penetrations are very deadly. Surprisingly resistant despite its weak hull armour, multiple shots will be necessary if you don't have a lucky shot. From the front, if you have the patience and finesse, a shot into the turret front to the right of the gun mantle will most likely result in an ammo rack.

===== Red Army vehicles =====
The [[IS-2_(1944)]] is a Soviet heavy tank with a large 122 mm cannon which you want to avoid. Both HE and APHE shells of the 122 mm cannon pose a threat and the turret armour can be quite trollish, often either bouncing shots or sometimes eating them up.

Succeeding the [[T-34-85]] is the [[T-44]], a sneakier and more armoured version of the former. It retains the excellent mobility while gaining better manoeuvrability and hull armour. Luckily it retains the 85mm, which however is quite enough to reliably deal with the Tiger's sides. Deal with them quickly before you need to turn the turret and expose you tank's weak side to the enemy. Like with the IS-2 the best place to shoot the T-44 is the turret and lower glacis, the T-44 also inheriting the bouncy turret, so aim well!

[[SU-100]]: Fast, mobile and armed with a gun rivaling that of your own tank, this tank destroyer is not to be underestimated. It can punch holes through your turret with ease. Fortunately they have little yet well angled armour, thus SU-100 drivers will often angle their armour to create areas of high angle equivalent to auto-bounce zones. In such cases aim for the less angled portion, side or front.

All three variants of the ISU series are big boxy targets with very nasty guns, yet are sluggish and have no angled armour. Look and sneeze at them, however often enough they will wait in ambush situations, so be prepared!

[[T-54_(1951)|T-54]] is rare but will still pop up in matches. If you have the time against them at close range, shoot at the turret front. At medium distances, you will need APCR or a very lucky shot.

===== British vehicles =====
British vehicles are some of the first to get APDS (The first being the [[Comet_I|A34 Comet]] at BR 5.3), and are therefore very dangerous due to their high penetration. The Tiger II will commonly face tanks like the [[FV4202]], [[Caernarvon|Caernarvon]] and the [[Centurion_Mk_3|Centurion Mk 3]], all of which have the [[Ordnance_QF_20-pounder_Mk.I_(84_mm)|84 mm 20-pdr gun]]. They can punch straight through your turret cheeks at long range with great accuracy. They also have sloped armour, which may bounce some of your shells if you aim poorly. You may also face tanks like the [[Tortoise|A39 Tortoise]], which is a very difficult penetrate from the front. It has thick, sloped armour and a high penetrating [[Ordnance_QF_32-pounder_(94_mm)|94 mm 32-pdr gun]]. At long range even your powerful 88 mm will struggle to take one out. You may also face tanks armed with the [[L7A1_(105_mm)|105 mm L7A1 gun]], like the [[Centurion_Mk_10|Centurion Mk 10]]. Tanks with this gun have massive penetration (over 300 mm) and so you will be an easy target for them. Luckily, most British tanks do not have explosive filler in their rounds. They will easily be able to take out your gunners/commander, but will struggle to incapacitate the driver from the front. This will give you the chance to use the tanks decent reverse speed to make your escape.

=====The worst enemy is yourself=====
This is true in a literal and figurative way if you keep telling yourself that you can't do it you won't do it. This tank is not easy to operate and it can be frustrating at times but it is a very good tank once you start using it properly and keep its limits and weaknesses in mind.

In the literal way, yes, '''your worst possible enemy is another Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B.''' They know the tank from the inside out just like you, long range and even taking cover wont help you since they have that same amazing gun and they know exactly where to hit, besides, when talking about distance: if you can hurt it, it can hurt you, and if it can't hurt you, you can't hurt it.

A Tiger II vs Tiger II fight usually ends in less than 25 seconds, sometimes lasting as little as 2 seconds using 2 shells or less to achieve the destruction of one of them. Sometimes you will find yourself exchanging shells for a whole game.

'''The only effective way to face a Tiger II with a Tiger II is to hit first''' and making sure the hit has a crippling effect on its firing capability (hitting the turret from the front for example, taking out the gunner and commander and possibly hitting ammo). If you happen to get hit like this from a Tiger II your only hope is to get to cover in less than 10 seconds (weapon reload time with an expert crew, maxed out loader and commander is 10.6 seconds) and run away to a safe location to repair since these hits will most likely destroy your turret ring and cannon breach.

You will be engaging the Tiger II with your Tiger II in arcade games for the most part, but also in realistic/simulator squadron battles where it is a very popular tank. Remember to read "how to destroy a Tiger II" below, there are more tips available on this topic there.

====Counter-tactics====

[[File:Tiger II Shooting Guide.jpg|400px|left|thumb|Colour-frames showing the viability of targets on the Königstiger.]]

A Tiger II is a formidable enemy when it's used correctly by its operator, but it's by no means indestructible under any conditions.

The first thing you want to do is deny the Tiger II of the advantage of its gun by getting as close as possible while keeping clear of its cannon (the closer you get, the better the penetration values for you and the Tiger II) most Tiger II operators will avoid getting flanked at all costs so you might find yourself forced to face one from the front. The biggest weak spot is the lower frontal hull plate, its slopped but only 100mm thick and behind it lies the transmission that likes to catch fires and create nasty shrapnel when destroyed, the shrapnel will fly inwards and if your shell is large enough they will take out the entire crew. However, this shot will most likely only leave the Tiger II unable to move for a minute and make his operator quite angry (at you) while his gun remains perfectly operational and before you have a chance reload you will most likely receive a very accurate shot from an irritated Tiger II operator.

The lower frontal plate is a good place to hit but it should be a second option, with this tank, you need to disable that gun as soon as possible, the turret is a very reliable target at close range, even with HEAT ammo you should be able to deliver a shot that will disable its firing capability for long enough for you to reload and shoot again. Using your best AP round for this is recommended since the frontal turret has a fairly thick (but flat) plate, if nothing else works try APCR.

Using high calibre HE rounds is also effective. The cupola is probably the best place to hit with a HE shell, since the explosion will deflect into the thin upper plate and destroy everything inside. It is not easy to hit, but if you manage to hit the cupola it's very unlikely it survives.

The Tiger II is very vulnerable to "Circling attacks", that means, running around it in circles and harass it with side shots. Its turret can turn quite fast (especially in arcade mode) but most medium tanks are fast enough to outrun it.

If you somehow manage to see an enemy Tiger II from the side, try to land a shot in the middle of the hull, near of the turret (not on the turret, the upper part of the hull), there's a good chance there will be ammo there, and if there isn't, you will either knock out the tank by taking out many crew members or cripple it heavily

=== Pros and cons ===
'''Pros:'''

* Upper glacis plate is extraordinarily tough, especially at a BR of 6.3. Don't expect anything but APDS or HEAT to get through it
* With its very high muzzle velocity, accuracy, penetration, post penetration damage, and fire rate, the KwK43 88mm cannon loaded with PzGr 39/43 is arguably the best gun at Rank 4
* One can argue that the KwK43 is infact a better overall cannon than the 105mm cannon on the the 10.5 Tiger II. While it doesn't have the post penetration damage of the 105, the KwK43 has nearly double the rate of fire, nearly the same penetration, and is still an APHE round
* PzGr 40/43 shells have extremely high muzzle velocity and armour penetration values at all ranges
* Turret is highly sloped and can cause some shots to bounce
* Good tank for one to master the Tiger II(H) while grinding its modules
* Despite its massive weight of 68 tons, the Tiger II P actually has a high top speed. You'll be right behind the medium tanks when when going into battle
* Provides a good learning curve for later German heavy tanks

'''Cons:'''

* While being sloped, the turret is this tanks biggest weakness. The armour thickness is underwhelming at best. There are even some Rank 2 tanks whose cannon are powerful enough to go right through the front of the turret face
* Unlike most tanks in the game, going hull down is not a valid tactic in this tank.
* If the tank is loaded with anything more than 48 rounds, the back of the turret will have ammunition in it. This can prove to be a fatal mistake
* Angling the turret doesn't always work
* This is a massive heavy tank. So unless you're going at the tanks top speed, don't expect to pull of any quick U-turns to deal with an unexpected threat
* Priority target by planes. Especially when in 6.3 BR games
* Large fuel tanks can cause frequent fires
* With the very low damage and penetration of the HEAT shells, they are essentially pointless to ever take into battle

== History ==

===Development===
Just before the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]] entered service in 1942, work has already begun for its successor. In 1937, Henschel was ordered to develop a heavy tank design, with Porsche following suit in 1939. Porsche developed their new heavy tank off of the failed [[VK 45.01 (P)|VK 4501 (P)]], churning out two models designated VK 4502 (P) named Type 180 and 181. The Type 180 had its turret mounted centrally while 181 had the turret mounted on the rear with the engine in the center (akin to the [[Ferdinand|Ferdinand tank destroyer]] layout). Both designs used the same components of the VK 4501 (P) and both designs were visually similar except for the turret locations and some mechanical parts, but these two designs never passed wooden prototypes.

Henschel, on the other hand, used a more conventional design in their tank layout, but the end result look no way similar to their previous heavy tank design [[Tiger E|Tiger I]]. The VK 4503 (H) as designated by them resembled a [[Panther G|Panther]] tank layout, with the transmission in the front along with the driving compartment, the turret in the center, and the engine in the rear. The design used many components from the Panther and the [[Panther II|Panther II]] in order to standardize production. The suspension system was also different from anything produced at the time, though still using a torsion-bar suspension, the wheels were arranged only in the overlapping method, no interleaving. This new ''Schachtellaufwerk'' design simplified maintenance and increased production by using less wheels than interleaved (only 9 each side) and with full-steel wheels that the later Tiger I models used to save rubber. The first wooden mock-up of the design was presented on October 20, 1943 to Hitler, to which it was approved for further development as the '''Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B''', or just '''Tiger II''' and '''Tiger B''' for short. The Henschel variant was more advantageous than the Porsche variant for being developed faster and has a faster production rate, thus it was destined to be approved for service. The Henschel design began production in the Henschel plant at Kassal and the first 3 working prototypes were churned out in December 1943. Full-scale production began on January 1944 and continued all the way until March 1945. Due to the late introduction and the amount of resources needed to construct the heavy tanks, only about 482 production models were produced in this time period, considerably less than its predecessor, Tiger I.

===Design===
The Tiger II is just massive in size. Weighing in at 68.5 tons, it is the heaviest tank to see service in World War II, beaten out as heaviest serving vehicle by the [[Jagdtiger|Jagdtiger]], which weighs 71.7 tons. The Tiger II front armour is 150 mm thick, and this is without sloping, with which it would be more than 200 mm thick ineffective. The thick front glacis armour was never penetrated by any Allied tank throughout the entire war. The side and rear armour is still 80 mm, which presented a weaker target, but still formidable at longer ranges. The gun on the Tiger II was the famous 8.8 cm KwK 43, which could defeat all Allied armour in World War II. The gun is sighted by the gunner with a ''Turmzielfernrohr 9d'' monocular sight that allows two magnifications, 2.5x and 5x. In practice, the gun is able to hit a target under 1 kilometers away 100% of the time.

The turret on this Tiger II is the production turret model by Krupp, colloquially known as the "Henschel" turret (hence the "H" in the name) despite that the Henschel company had no influence on the Krupp turret design. This turret replaced the flawed prototype ''[[Tiger II (P)|"Porsche" turret]]'', also by Krupp. The production model was a simplified turret, using more flat surfaces and a sleeker shape for easier production. The previously curved front of the turret is made into a thickened flat face that presents no shot trap and the protruding commander's cupola was flattened into the design. The turret is powered and could rotate under two settings, high and low. In low, the turret could be rotated a full 360 degrees in 60 seconds, and the same in 19 seconds at high. Though the engine could allow the turret to traverse in 10 seconds in full power, but this was not recommended to avoid straining the engine. The turret traverse is powered by pedals or a lever by the gunner and is fine enough with these methods that small adjustments with the manual traverse hand wheels are not necessary.

The Tiger II was still propelled by the V-12 Maybach HL230 gasoline engine, which powered the lighter [[Panther G|Panther]] and [[Tiger E|Tiger I]]. The increased weight of the tank made the engine underpowered, requiring extra care to make sure the engine does not fail. Despite that, the tank was capable of reaching a maximum speed of 41.5 kilometers per hour, making the Tiger II quite agile for its weight. However, the Tiger II consumes exorbitant amount of fuel and requires extensive maintenance to keep running, which impedes its combat effectiveness in the whole strategic viewpoint as it only had an operational range of about 120 kilometer per hour on cross country terrain. The heavyweight also causes multiple mechanical issues in the tank, the drive train is overburdened as it was intended for a lighter vehicle and multiple breakdowns were experienced in early Tiger II models. Though, these issues were ironed out over time with improvements, but still persist due to lack of supplies to maintain the tanks.

===Combat usage===
The Tiger II is organized into heavy tank battalions (''Schwere Panzer Abteilungen'') in the Wehrmacht and SS units, who first received them by February 1944. A standard battalion would have 45 Tiger IIs, with three in command and 14 in each of the three companies. A total of 14 battalions were employed during World War II in the Heer and SS, 11 assigned to the Heers and 3 to the SS. The original role of heavy tank battalions was to engage, breakthrough and destroy enemy armour on the offensive, but the changing war situation saw their role relegated to the defensive. The Tiger II's first recorded combat action was in the 1st Company of 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion in Normandy in July 1944, fighting back the Canadians during their offensive in Operation Atlantic, three Tiger IIs were lost, two from combat and one from becoming irrecoverable after falling into a bomb crater. However, by the end of the Normandy Campaign, all of the Tiger IIs in the 503rd were lost. The 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion had the Tiger II see first action in the Eastern Front on August 1944, where it resisted the Soviet Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive. It was here on the road to Oględów in August 12, 1944 that an ambush by a few [[T-34-85]]s destroyed three Tiger IIs easily and some more disabled. The destroyed Tiger IIs were attributed to ammunition explosions. Due to this incident, it was ordered that the crew do not store the cannon ammunition in the turret, though the enforcement of this order varies between units. Still, 16 Tiger IIs in the 501st became disabled or destroyed in a span of more than two weeks.

The Tiger II also played a part in Operation Panzerfaust, where the 503rd Battalion was stationed in Hungary to ensure it stayed in the Axis Alliance. These tanks stayed for 166 days and claimed a large number of Soviet vehicle kills for the loss of 25 Tiger IIs. The Tiger II continued to see action in most of the offensive and defensive actions in the last few months of World War II, such as in the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944, the Soviet Vistula-Oder and East Prussian Offensives in January 1945, and the German Lake Balaton Offensive in March 1945, Battle of the Seelow Heights in April 1945, and the Battle of Berlin that lasted until VE Day.

Tiger II's performance in battle was quite favourable in firepower and achieved a disproportionate kill-loss ratio. The 503rd SS Battalion claimed 500 kills for the loss of 45 Tiger IIs in the time span of January to April 1945. However, most of the Tiger II's losses were due to mechanical breakdowns or lack of fuel, so the crew abandoned these tanks and destroyed them to avoid enemy capture. Ultimately, however, while these tanks proved a menace in the battlefield, its overall strategic effect to the war is negligible like its predecessor due to the low number available.

===Survivors===
Today, there are 10 Tiger IIs in varying conditions left in the world. The most well known is the one at Musée des Blindés museum at Samur, France. This Tiger II is the only working version left in the world, this variant has the "Henschel" turret attached. Other notable places around the world that have the Tiger II is at the Bovington Tank Museum at England (which has a Porsche and a Henschel variant), Kubinka Tank Museum at Russia, and the (future) National Armor and Cavalry Museum in America.

=== In-game description ===
"In August 1942, the companies Nibelungenwerke, led by Ferdinand Porsche, and Henschel & Sohn AG, under the direction of Erwin Aders, received technical specifications for a tank with thicker armor than the Tiger I, placed at the same large angles of inclination as that on the T-34.
After testing, Porsche's prototype was rejected. However, by this point, 50 turrets had already been produced for the model. It was decided that these turrets would be used to equip the first 50 tanks with Henschel's hull design, which had equipment for underwater traversing. Porsche's turrets had a streamlined shape, and the commander's cupola was accommodated by a curved bulge on the turret's side. The turret's frontal armor had a thickness of 107 mm. All Tiger II(P) tanks had anti-magnetic Zimmerit paste applied on their vertical surfaces.

The first set of tanks, new vehicles with the Porsche turrets received on March 14, 1944, became the 316th company of the Panzer Lehr. Five tanks fought with the Panzer Lehr on the Western Front. The remaining tanks were received by the 503rd heavy tank battalion, which fought on the Western Front until 1944. After this, the two still-intact Tiger II(P) tanks fought in the battalion's battles on the Eastern Front during the autumn and winter of 1944–1945.

Thick armor plates, positioned at high angles of inclination, provided the tank very high protection against the majority of the anti-tank weapons of the time. However, the vehicle's high weight and lack of engine power caused the Tiger II to have low ride quality and overall low reliability. A serious drawback of the Porsche turret was its streamlined front, which was prone to making projectiles ricochet into the roof of the tank's hull.

The major opponent of the Tiger II(P) on the Western Front was enemy aircraft. Also, many vehicles were lost as a result of mechanical failure."

== Media ==
=== Skins and camouflages ===
Camouflages and skins for the Tiger B (H) from live.warthunder.com.

*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23tiger_b #tiger_b]
*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23pzkpfw_vi_ausf_b_tiger_iih #pzkpfw_vi_ausf_b_tiger_iih]
*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23tiger_ii #tiger_ii] The entirety fo Tiger B skins, but containing Porsche turret versions too. Lookout for the ''boxy'' turret for the correct camouflage.

Top five downloaded skins from live.warthunder.com:

* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/26203/ "Tiger II H - Semi fictional skin"]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/82288/ "Tiger II Henschel - Renewed skin "Moritz" - fictional camo"]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/45385/ "Tiger II Ardennes 1944 (Historical) s.SS-Pz. Abt. 501]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/83280/ "Tiger II (H) of sPzAbt 1./ 506 in the Eifel mountains, Germany, March 1945"]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/112731/ "Girls und Panzer Black Forest Peak Tiger II (H) Tank Skin and Dual-Camo."]

===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 ===
====Reviews====
{{Youtube-gallery|MOFu6PoiseE|Gameplay video "Crouching Tiger, Hidden...OH TITS! Fun & Intense Tank Battle!"}}

====The Vehicle====
{{Youtube-gallery|u5p3KCli6YM|Real life Tiger B from Saumur "Königstiger 2009" -Alain Le Pape|yn2q0E5vxqk|''Sound Recording: Tiger II'' -War Thunder|_dhPW_ksFcM|Tiger II starting, unloading and driving -Mgrg}}

== Read also ==

* Text of this page was written for the [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/232511-competition-wt-wiki-combat-training-closed/ Wiki competition "Combat training"] by [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/user/559224-remiak/ Remiak] [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/233326-wikicontest-panzerkampfwagen-tiger-ausf-b/ Link to original contest entry article.]
*[http://www.tankmuseum.org/museum-online/vehicles/object-e1952-33 Page of the Bovington Tank Museum on the "Sd Kfz 182 Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf B (E1952.33)"]

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

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

{{Germany heavy tanks}}

Tiger II (H)

2019-11-09T21:37:17Z

U8249517: /* Ammo racks */

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_b_tiger_IIh}}

== Description ==
[[File:GarageImage_TigerIIH.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (or '''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41. The Tiger II (H) remains one of the more potent foes a player could face in the Rank IV battles.

The Tiger II's cannon can maintain a very nice penetration even at long ranges (1,200 m - 1,800 m) while American and Soviet cannons usually cannot keep such high penetration over distance, so they prefer 700 m or fewer engagements where their guns will most likely destroy you in the first hit, so get used to long range engagements. Being comfortable with kilometre long shots is a must in this tank. At 800m you should still be within a safe distance (depending on what you are facing) but going under that is getting into the Allied guns' effective range.

'''''Difference between the Henschel (H) and the [[Tiger II (P)|Porsche (P)]] turrets''''' 
The "Henschel" turret is slightly more resistant since it has a flat but thick plate in the front and a more effective gun mantlet. The "Porsche" turret is less armoured, has an exposed turret ring and a shot trap that can and will deflect shells to the weaker upper plate of the chassis. Commander's cupola on the "Henschel" turret is also thicker (150 mm, opposed to 100 mm on "Porsche" turret). Other than that both tanks are identical, but for obvious reasons, the "Henschel" turret is more popular than the "Porsche" turret. The initial design is often misleadingly called the "Porsche" turret due to the belief that it was designed by Porsche for their prototype; in fact, it was the initial Krupp design for both prototypes.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and 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 || 150 mm (50-51°) ''Front glacis'' 100 mm (50°) ''Lower glacis''|| 80 mm (27°) ''Top'' 80 + 5 mm ''Bottom''|| 80 mm (28°) || 40 mm
|-
| Turret || 185 mm (8°) ''Turret front'' 200 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 80 mm (19-21°) || 80 mm (20°) || 44 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 150 mm || 150 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Commander's cupola on top of the turret is 150 mm thick and quite well angled.
* Lower glacis is only 100 mm thick, but it is not a weak spot (over 200 mm effective angled).
* Machine gun port could be marked as small close-range weak spot. Although most of it is still 150 mm thick, the angling is much worse.
* Some part of the turret side have track links on them, which gives an additional 30 mm of protection to the armour.
* A 30 mm turret ring plate is present.
* Belly armour front part is 40 mm thick while the rest is 25 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armor weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 68.0 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | N/A || colspan="1" | 44 (AB)
|-
|42 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|904
|1,113
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|619
|700
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|13.29
|16.37
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|9.10
|10.29
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===
{{main|KwK 43 (88 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[KwK 43 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK 43]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" |77|| -8°/+15° || ±180° || N/A
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' ||15.37||21.28||25.84||28.58||30.40
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 11.3 || 13.3 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|
|-
|9.75||8.63||7.95||7.50
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 90°'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC ||237||234||222||207||194||181
|-
| Sprgr. L/4,5 || HE || 13 || 13 || 12 ||12||12||12
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 272 || 270 || 250 || 228 || 208 || 189
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC || 1,000 || 10 || 1.2 || 14 || 108.8 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. L/4,5 || HE || 820 || 11 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 935 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 600 || 7.6 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 1100 || +0° || 65° || 72° || 75°
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR ||1,200 || 7.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Tiger II (H) Ammo Racks.png|thumb|[[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] of the Tiger II (H). Note that racks 7 and 8 are ready racks.]]
Thanks to the ready rack feature found on this tank, the first and second ammo racks found in the back of the turret will always be full of ammo, making it the prime target for enemy tankers who are looking to detonate your ammo rack. Even solid shots like APCR and APDS that commonly pierce your front turret can make their way to the rear of the turret, potentially hitting the ready racks and can cause a critical hit to become a deadly one.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |6th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |7th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |8th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''70''' || 65 ''(+17)'' || 59 ''(+28)'' || 48 ''(+39)'' || 37 ''(+50)'' || 30 ''(+57)'' || 23 ''(+64)'' || 12 ''(+70)'' || 1 ''(+76)'' || style="text-align:left" | Yes
|-
|}
Both side empty: 23 ''(+47)''
'''Notes:'''

* Recommended ammo load is 23 to keep the hull empty and both ready racks full.
* 7th and 8th ammo racks are ready racks, and takes priority in being filled at the beginning of the battle, then fills 1 through 6 in that order.
* Full reload speed will be realized as long as ammo exists in either ready rack. If both ready racks are empty, a penalty to reload speed will occur.
* Simply not firing the main gun when it is loaded will load ammo from racks 1-6 into 8 then 7, as long as there is ammo in racks 1-6. Firing the main gun will interrupt the loading of the ready racks.

=== Machine guns ===
{{main|MG 34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[MG 34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG 34]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,000 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in the battles ==
====General play style====

The Tiger II (H) is best used at mid to long ranges, where its' small weak spots are hardest to hit. It can, however, be put to work on the front lines, protecting medium tanks and tank destroyers - just be aware of your limited mobility, and ensure you have options should you get advanced upon by multiple enemies.

When used as a sniper, it is best that you find a position with a good overview of the battlefield. Keep your tank positioned directly towards the enemy and keep an eye out for any medium tanks trying to flank you (Tiger II has great frontal armour, do not be afraid to use it. However, keep in mind that the lower plate offers less protection and penetrations can easily cause fires due to the positioning of mechanical parts). It is best that you find cover behind a solid object and slightly rotate your vehicle e.g.: rotate your tank about 10-15 degrees from the enemy (your turret too). Positioning, combined with distance, can easily give you effective armour greater than 300 mm. When "sniping" it is best to wait for the enemy to expose their weak points, fire a steady, accurate shot and retreat to a safe position. Wait for your reload to be completed and slowly show your frontal plate (most of the players will engage even though the chances of penetration are low); once the enemy has fired, you can take your time and engage the tank while they reload.

Using the Tiger II to advance and to support the front line can be rather tricky. While this tank offers great firepower and superior frontal armour, you'll notice that it is hard to fight in urban areas. In situations like this, you will quickly realize that the high weight and sheer size of the tank can cause major problems. Almost any tank that is faster will easily outmanoeuvre the Tiger II and destroy it. To avoid this, it is best to stay in the back (not too far from your team), keeping your tank positioned at an angle and using "peek-a-boo" techniques. You should always look for a position that can protect you during the assault of small tanks, such as "U" shaped buildings where you can easily retreat and protect your weak points.
''Note that you have to find a tactic that suits your play style best; these are simple tips that should help you get started.''

'''''It is not a medium tank nor a tank destroyer:''''' 
This is a very heavy tank with an engine meant for a tank half its weight, so it moves slow and turns slow. It is not as reliable for close range combat as a medium tank and if you try to brawl with it more than necessary you will find yourself quickly flanked by faster, more agile tanks and destroyed with side/rear shots. Also, Soviet 122 mm guns don't have the best penetration but if that shell gets into your tank you will not survive, and under 500 m, it is going to get in.

This does not mean you should stay put in a single spot, or camp a location like a tank destroyer (which are designed to camp): you have mobility, so keep moving or you will attract a lot of attention, only to find out too late that someone took his sweet time to travel 1.5km to your position to deliver you a shell to the side.
====Tactics====
====== Know the specs======
'''''Know the gun and ammo:''''' 
Knowing what your gun and ammunition are capable of is very important; this translates into knowing what kind of ammo to use in every situation against any enemy tank.

Like most German tanks, the stock APCBC (PzGr 39/43) is a good all-around shell, effective at close and long range with good penetration and good fragmentation, it will be the one you will be using the most. For close range combat with very heavily armoured tanks you will need APCR shells (PzGr 40/43), its high penetration value at close range can be a threat even to some 8.0 BR tanks, but remember it is a solid shell with no explosive charge, so you will need to aim carefully for crew and vital components which means you will need to know where these are located exactly.

The recommended ammo ratio is 2/3 (two thirds) of APCBC and 1/3 (one third) of APCR.

In arcade battles ranging is quite easy since the game does it for you, in [[Realistic_Battles|realistic]] and [[Simulator_Battles|simulator]] however you do not have this advantage. Trying to "eyeball it" after 800m can be incredibly tricky in these game modes, but something you might not know is that your sights provide you with all the tools you need to land a shot on your first try on a target that can be as far as 2800m (2.8km). You just need to follow the formula: ''Target size in meters / mil number x 1000 = target range''

Your "target size" is the length or the width (depending on what side you are facing) of your target, the mils are displayed in your sights on the horizontal axis, you divide these 2 numbers and multiply the result by 1,000 and you will get the exact distance in meters. Then you just have to adjust your aim using the vertical axis of your sights (that displays the bullet drop) and take the shot. If your numbers were correct, you will land the shot right on.

'''''Know your enemy and know yourself:''''' 
This applies to all tanks in all honesty, you need to spend some time looking at the armour of any tank you might encounter and learning where possible weak spots are located and under what conditions (angle, distance) you can actually score a good hit; yes, the gun is extremely good, but '''don't expect miracles''', aim it right and it will serve you right.

Learning your enemies' reload rates, vital components and crew locations is also very important; if you learn where their ammunition is stored, you will be creating fireworks during the whole game.

Take care of reading about your enemy's different ammo options, remember that just looking at the penetration values under the short description is not enough, since most tanks will have better options when it comes to ammunition. Learn under what conditions (angle, distance) your tank is safe from all the available ammo for these certain tanks, then take measures to protect yourself.

====== Positioning ======
'''''Hide your notable weak spots:''''' 
Ensuring sufficient cover is available is very important for the Tiger II; if you happen to find a position where a piece of rubble covers your lower frontal hull plate you have just made yourself near indestructible from the front. You can also use some low profile friendly tank destroyers, providing there is suitable clearance to fire over them.

If you try to move ahead in the face of an enemy you will end with a disabled transmission, a fire and possibly some knocked out crew members or just destroyed. 
Explore the map, find places where craters, depressions in the ground, soft hills, rubble, rocks or artificial obstacles (such as trenches) will cover you while letting you shoot over it; the Tiger II has very nice gun depression, use it to your advantage. 
Remember that destructible environmental objects (like brick walls, fences, and even trees) will protect you from a single HEAT or HE shell hit, but nothing else, and you should not rely on it to cover your sides or as anything else than visual cover. 
Taking cover behind large rocks, hills, buildings or even ally heavy tanks while you perform repairs or reload can be very useful.

======Long range combat ======
'''''Long Range =/= Immortality''''' 
Any competent enemy will avoid regular AP rounds when engaging at long range; HEAT, some APDS, and high-calibre HE rounds are all capable of doing damage even at extreme ranges.

Ensure you account for the capabilities of what you're engaging; tank destroyers such as the ISU-152 can easily destroy your vehicle with their extremely high-calibre HE rounds, HESH such as that fired by the FV-4005 can also be deadly, and HEAT rounds, when up-tiered into tanks such as the M46, can effectively penetrate your upper plate even at range. Additionally, well-aimed APDS rounds from British tanks such as the Centurion and Conqueror are capable of penetrating, even at range.

Avoid exposing any more of your vehicle than absolutely necessary; with the impressive gun depression of the Tiger II (H), you should easily be able to make use of any available defilade or ridge that can protect your hull.

======Teamplay======
'''''Be a team player:''''' 
Lone heavy tanks are vulnerable heavy tanks, so it's always best to ensure you've got some support around when advancing or holding a strategic location. In close-quarters maps, were short to mid range engagements are the best you can hope for, try to be the front-liner, taking the shots you'll survive that your medium tank allies might not. They, in turn, should be able to assist you if enemies attempt to flank. Remember, however, that you're not invulnerable and it's not your job to save teammates that make mistakes. You should assume the worst about anything you encounter, too - tanks such as the T34, IS-2, etc can all easily destroy you at close ranges, so being efficient on your shots is extremely important - avoid panicking and giving tanks that ''can'' engage you comfortably a chance to fire back.

======Close-quarters combat======
'''''Expose only what's necessary:''''' 
Often, you'll have no choice but to engage in close quarters. It's far from ideal for a Tiger II, but it's still reasonably doable. As mentioned previously, avoid exposing your LFP, make use of any cover available, while maintaining a small amount of angling on your hull to maximise the effectiveness of the UFP. Avoid exposing the sides of your turret at all costs! Do not angle more than a few degrees either side to avoid the thin armour on the sides of the turret being penetrated.

Try to ensure you have some sort of escape route handy if things go sour - something preferably that you can cover with smoke to give you time to repair if necessary.

Attempt to set up ambushes where possible, using choke points and intersections where you will get the first shot reliably and enemies are unlikely to be able to react in time to save themselves.

=====The stock Tiger II guide=====
Driving a recently unlocked tank is always difficult; the gun accuracy is terrible and the inability to repair in combat is extremely frustrating... but nothing is worse than feeling powerless to stop your tank from burning to a crisp, even after defeating the enemy that caused the fire. In general, any vehicle will underperform when stock, so don't say "I hate it" before you unlock all the modifications.

Only true effort can unlock the necessary modifications to remedy this - or golden eagles ''(but let's assume you have more important things to buy with your golden eagles).''

Remember three very important points:

#You cannot repair anything else than your tracks.
#Once you catch fire, it is game over.
#All your research points should be prioritized into the Parts modifications. This modification is the number one priority.

'''Before entering the game''' '''make sure that you are researching parts,''' and not Tracks or anything else, as the ability to repair in combat is essential and will make your life far easier. If you don't have that modification yet, however, here are a few tips:

# Stay in or close by the capture circles.
#:Did you know that you can repair and replenish your ammo storage at the capture circles? No? Well, now you know it. Use this knowledge to your advantage.
#:If you get your gunshot, you can repair without the Parts modification by stopping your tank inside the capture zone. If you get your transmission or engine shot, and somehow you don't catch fire and happen to be near a capture zone, you can ask one of your allies to tow you to the capture zone. Remember that you must press the acceleration key (default: W) when someone is towing you, as it will unlock your brakes making you easier to move.
# Don't catch fire.
#:Avoid exposing anything that might risk fire at all costs. If you do catch alight, it's game over. Make sure to deal as much damage as possible if you do happen to catch fire.
# Prioritise your upgrades.
#:Stock tanks lack in all areas, however after Parts and FPE, there are a few upgrades that will noticeably upgrade how your vehicle handles:
#:* '''Adjustment of Fire''': Significantly increases the general accuracy of your main weapon. Particularly noticeable when firing at long range.
#:* '''Tracks''': Notable increase to the manoeuvrability of your vehicle. Particularly valuable in close-range maps.
# Play smart.
#:If you use your tank in a smart way, take precautions and take advantage of its capabilities while keeping its limits in mind, you should not need to repair during a game at all
# Help your allies, and they might help you.
#:Help out allies where possible - act as a shield for damage tanks, assist your squadmates in repairing, provide suppressing fire where possible, help stuck vehicles out.
#:By helping them out, you're not only likely securing your own assistance when needed, but you're also helping your team win the game - which, in the end, is the main objective.

=====Performance in a 0.0 to 10.0 scale:=====

*3.0/10 Rusher: Trying to get to the cap point before a T-44 or a Panther? Keep dreaming. This is a slow slumbering beast that will struggle to achieve 40km/h even on a flat road, struggle to achieve 30km/h on flat cross country, struggle to achieve 20km/h on rough cross country and struggle to achieve 8km/h up a steep hill (that is, if you can climb it at all). Its engine was meant for a tank half its weight and size, so expect a slow tank.
*4.5/10 brawler: Its heavyweight, limited acceleration and high profile make it unsuitable for highly mobile close quarter battles, if the tank is on its own it will get easily flanked and destroyed by faster medium/light tanks better suited for these battles and most Allied tanks prefer close quarters while engaging the Tiger II, so it quickly becomes a turkey hunt. However, its great gun and heavy frontal armour add to its survivability and if the operator has medium tank support it can become a foothold for the team.
*6.0/10 flanker: Again, its high profile and low acceleration don't make it the best tank to flank and a medium tank is better suited for this, but it has a fairly good top speed (even if it takes a long time and a flat road to achieve it), its comparatively fast for a heavy tank, its heavy armour gives it extra survivability in case of a counter attack and if it manages to position itself on the enemy's flank, it can quickly reduce them to pyrotechnics.
*7.4/10 Adamant: Its heavy frontal armour will often serve as a shield to your lighter allies, you will be capable of taking heavy hits and shrug off impacts that most medium tanks cannot take, it has some flaws and weak spots in the frontal armour that the enemy will take advantage of, but with some angling and planning this can be mitigated. Its side armour is, however, very weak.
*7.6/10 Sniper: Distance is this tank's friend, its gun has a very long effective range and its armour becomes impervious to most enemy weapons at long ranges, but not all of them and it is not by any means a tank destroyer which will have the upper hand over the Tiger II at very long ranges.
*9.0/10 Ambusher: Be it sitting still at the end of a street or waiting in the river while the enemy approaches the bridge, this tank will shoot 3 times or more before the enemy even realize what hit them, but you need to be accurate to be dangerous and having support and/or a place to fall back to or a hull-down position is essential for an ambush.

====Specific enemies worth noting====

===== US Army vehicles =====
The Tigers' common enemies are going to be the [[M26|M26 Pershing]], an agile American medium tank with a 90 mm gun that can pierce some holes in your frontal armour from a medium range and can get in your flank in no time, but however has relatively thin armour; the [[T32]], a heavier version of the Pershing with an impenetrable mantlet and nigh invulnerable upper glacis, and a far nastier version of that 90mm gun; the premium T28, American tank destroyer with incredibly strong frontal armour and a gun far superior to the Tiger II's (shoot the cupolas), the premium [[M26E1|M26E1]] and the [[M46_“Tiger”|Premium M46 "Tiger"]] American tanks which have very similar guns to the Tiger II.

A further nuisance is the [[M41A1|M41A1 Bulldog]]. While it will mostly only fire sub-calibre shells, these are a danger up to 1000m to the frontal turret armour. Experienced light tank drivers will try to flank the Tiger to get shots into the exposed hull ammo racks, the APDS shot usually setting these off with one shot, unlike the APCR the Bulldog also carries. If you are stuck in close quarters, try to get a shot off as fast as possible in order to immobilise or destroy it.

[[T95|T95]]: Use your ''medium tank'' to either outflank this enemy or put a few well-aimed shots into the cupolas. Watch out for its traverse speed, as the ''Doom-turtle'' is shockingly fast to turn on the spot.

[[T29]]: Very good gun, penetrations are very deadly. Surprisingly resistant despite its weak hull armour, multiple shots will be necessary if you don't have a lucky shot. From the front, if you have the patience and finesse, a shot into the turret front to the right of the gun mantle will most likely result in an ammo rack.

===== Red Army vehicles =====
The [[IS-2_(1944)]] is a Soviet heavy tank with a large 122 mm cannon that you want to stay away from. Both HE and APHE shells of the 122 mm cannon pose a threat and the turret armour can be quite trollish, often either bouncing shots or sometimes eating them up.

Succeeding the [[T-34-85]] is the [[T-44]], a sneakier and more armoured version of the former. It retains excellent mobility while gaining better manoeuvrability and hull armour. Luckily it retains the 85mm, which however is quite enough to reliably deal with the Tiger's sides. Deal with them quickly before you need to turn the turret and expose your tank's weak side to the enemy. Like with the IS-2 the best place to shoot the T-44 is the turret and lower glacis, the T-44 also inheriting the bouncy turret, so aim well!

[[SU-100]]: Fast, mobile and armed with a gun rivalling that of your own tank, this tank destroyer is not to be underestimated. It can punch holes through your turret with ease. Fortunately, they have little yet well-angled armour, thus SU-100 drivers will often angle their armour to create areas of high angle equivalent to auto-bounce zones. In such cases aim for the less angled portion, side or front.

All three variants of the ISU series are big boxy targets with very nasty guns, yet are sluggish and have no angled armour. Look and sneeze at them, however often enough they will wait in ambush situations, so be prepared!

[[T-54_(1951)|T-54]] is rare but will still pop up in matches. If you have the time against them at close range, shoot at the turret front. At medium distances, you will need APCR or a very lucky shot.

===== British vehicles =====
British vehicles are some of the first to get APDS (The first being the [[Comet_I|A34 Comet]] at BR 5.3), and are therefore very dangerous due to their high penetration. The Tiger II will commonly face tanks like the [[FV4202]], [[Caernarvon|Caernarvon]] and the [[Centurion_Mk_3|Centurion Mk 3]], all of which have the [[Ordnance_QF_20-pounder_Mk.I_(84_mm)|84 mm 20-pdr gun]]. They can punch straight through your turret cheeks at long range with great accuracy. They also have sloped armour, which may bounce some of your shells if you aim poorly. You may also face tanks like the [[Tortoise|A39 Tortoise]], which is a very difficult penetrate from the front. It has thick, sloped armour and a high penetrating [[Ordnance_QF_32-pounder_(94_mm)|94 mm 32-pdr gun]]. At long range, even your powerful 88 mm will struggle to take one out. You may also face tanks armed with the [[L7A1_(105_mm)|105 mm L7A1 gun]], like the [[Centurion_Mk_10|Centurion Mk 10]]. Tanks with this gun have massive penetration (over 300 mm) and so you will be an easy target for them. Luckily, most British tanks do not have explosive filler in their rounds. They will easily be able to take out your gunners/commander but will struggle to knock out the driver from the front. This will give you the chance to use the tanks decent reverse speed to make your escape.

=====The worst enemy is yourself=====
This is true in a literal and figurative way if you keep telling yourself that you can't do it you won't do it. This tank is not easy to operate and it can be frustrating at times but it is a very good tank once you start using it properly and keep its limits and weaknesses in mind.

In a literal way, yes, '''your worst possible enemy is another Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B.''' They know the tank from the inside out just like you, long range and even taking cover wont help you since they have that same amazing gun and they know exactly where to hit, besides, when talking about distance: if you can hurt it, it can hurt you, and if it can't hurt you, you can't hurt it.

A Tiger II vs Tiger II fight usually ends in less than 25 seconds, sometimes lasting as little as 2 seconds using 2 shells or less to achieve the destruction of one of them. Sometimes you will find yourself exchanging shells for a whole game.

'''The only effective way to face a Tiger II with a Tiger II is to hit first''' and making sure the hit has a crippling effect on its firing capability (hitting the turret from the front, for example, taking out the gunner and commander and possibly hitting ammo). If you happen to get hit like this from a Tiger II your only hope is to get to cover in less than 10 seconds (weapon reload time with an expert crew, maxed out loader and commander is 10.6 seconds) and run away to a safe location to repair since these hits will most likely destroy your turret ring and cannon breech.

You will be engaging the Tiger II with your Tiger II in arcade games for the most part, but also in realistic/simulator squadron battles where it is a very popular tank. Remember to read "how to destroy a Tiger II" below, there are more tips available on this topic there.

====Counter-tactics====

[[File:Tiger II Shooting Guide.jpg|400px|left|thumb|Colour-frames showing the viability of targets on the Königstiger.]]

A Tiger II is a formidable enemy when it's used correctly by its operator, but it's by no means indestructible under any conditions.

The first thing you want to do is deny the Tiger II of the advantage of its gun by getting as close as possible while keeping clear of its cannon (the closer you get, the better the penetration values for you and the Tiger II) most Tiger II operators will avoid getting flanked at all costs so you might find yourself forced to face one from the front. The biggest weak spot is the lower frontal hull plate, its slopped but only 100mm thick and behind it lies the transmission that likes to catch fires and create nasty shrapnel when destroyed, the shrapnel will fly inwards and if your shell is large enough they will take out the entire crew. However, this shot will most likely only leave the Tiger II unable to move for a minute and make his operator quite angry (at you) while his gun remains perfectly operational and before you have a chance reload you will most likely receive a very accurate shot from an irritated Tiger II operator.

The lower frontal plate is a good place to hit but it should be a second option, with this tank, you need to disable that gun as soon as possible, the turret is a very reliable target at close range, even with HEAT ammo you should be able to deliver a shot that will disable its firing capability for long enough for you to reload and shoot again. Using your best AP round for this is recommended since the frontal turret has a fairly thick (but flat) plate if nothing else works try APCR.

Using high calibre HE rounds is also effective. The cupola is probably the best place to hit with a HE shell since the explosion will deflect into the thin upper plate and destroy everything inside. It is not easy to hit, but if you manage to hit the cupola it's very unlikely it survives.

The Tiger II is very vulnerable to "Circling attacks", that means, running around it in circles and harass it with side shots. Its turret can turn quite fast (especially in arcade mode) but most medium tanks are fast enough to outrun it.

If you somehow manage to see an enemy Tiger II from the side, try to land a shot in the middle of the hull, near of the turret (not on the turret, the upper part of the hull), there's a good chance there will be ammo there, and if there isn't, you will either knock out the tank by taking out many crew members or cripple it heavily

=== Pros and cons ===
'''Pros:'''

* With the turret face being 185mm thick and some tracks lining the sides, the Tiger II(H) has a much better turret than its predecessor.
* Like all other Tiger II's, the frontal hull armour is still extremely thick. Nearly impossible for anything but APDS and HEAT to punch through the upper glacis plate
* As will all tanks bearing the name Tiger, side scraping is still a good tactic to use on the battlefield
* 40 mm roof armour offers decent protection against lower-calibre air attacks and even artillery
* Even if an enemy shell does go through the lower glacis plate, the Tiger II's transmission sometimes acts as a buffer. This can lead to a completely unharmed crew
* Even at a BR of 6.7, Tiger II's KwK43 88 mm cannon is still great. It scores high marks in penetration, accuracy, damage, and fire rate. Arguably the best gun at Rank 4
* Decent gun depression of -8 degrees can have the tank utilize hull-down tactics to protect lower glacis
* Stock PzGr 39/43 shells are still the go-to anti-tank round. Great accuracy, penetration, and damage potential
* Fully upgraded, the Tiger II(H) has a high top speed and quick traversing turret. This will give you a fighting chance against medium and light tanks trying to flank
* Even when the turret is empty of ammunition, the Tiger II can still hold an impressive 48 shells. Running out of ammo is rarely an issue.
* Good reverse speed to withdraw from disadvantageous situations

'''Cons:'''

* Despite having a better turret than its predecessor, the overall turret armour of the Tiger II(H) is sub-par for the Rank. Nearly every tank the Tiger II can meet in battle can punch right through the turret sides and face
* This is a really big tank. Difficult to miss, even at long range
* Long and large gun barrel makes it easy to be spotted and damaged to prevent usage
* The lower glacis plate is only 100mm thick. Expect to lose the transmission, driver, and co-driver every so often
* With ammunition lining, both sides of the hull, shells that penetrate either side are extremely dangerous
* HEAT shells are inadequate to penetrate armour at this BR, might as well not bring any
* Carrying any more than 48 shells can prove fatal since ammo will be stored in the back of the turret
* Even when fully upgraded, the engine power is underwhelming for a tank that weighs 68 tons. This tank takes time to reach its top speed and struggles to climb hills
* While fast in a straight line, the Tiger II's manoeuvrability at low speeds is poor. Enemy mediums can take advantage of this
* This tank can be matched with tanks that have a 7.7 BR. Every tank in that BR bracket are post-war vehicles that have access to APDS or HEAT shells

== History ==
===Development===
Just before the [[Tiger_H1|Tiger I]] entered service in 1942, work has already begun for its successor. In 1937, Henschel was ordered to develop a heavy tank design, with Porsche the following suit in 1939. Porsche developed their new heavy tank off of the failed [[VK_45.01_(P)|VK 4501 (P)]], churning out two models designated VK 4502 (P) named Type 180 and 181. Type 180 had its turret mounted centrally while 181 had the turret mounted on the rear with the engine in the centre (akin to the [[Ferdinand|Ferdinand tank destroyer]] layout). Both designs used the same components of the VK 4501 (P) and both designs were visually similar except for the turret locations and some mechanical parts, but these two designs never passed wooden prototypes.

Henschel, on the other hand, used a more conventional design in their tank layout, but the end results look no way similar to their previous heavy tank design [[Tiger_E|Tiger I]]. The VK 4503 (H) as designated by them resembled a [[Panther_G|Panther]] tank layout, with the transmission in the front along with the driving compartment, the turret in the centre, and the engine in the rear. The design used many components from the Panther and the [[Panther_II|Panther II]] in order to standardize production. The suspension system was also different from anything produced at the time, though still using a torsion-bar suspension, the wheels were arranged only in the overlapping method, no interleaving. This new ''Schachtellaufwerk'' design simplified maintenance and increased production by using fewer wheels than interleaved (only 9 each side) and with full-steel wheels that the later Tiger I models used to save rubber. The first wooden mock-up of the design was presented on October 20, 1943, to Hitler, to which it was approved for further development as the '''Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B''', or just '''Tiger II''' and '''Tiger B''' for short. The Henschel variant was more advantageous than the Porsche variant for being developed faster and has a faster production rate, thus it was destined to be approved for service. The Henschel design began production in the Henschel plant at Kassel and the first 3 working prototypes were churned out in December 1943. Full-scale production began on January 1944 and continued all the way until March 1945. Due to the late introduction and the number of resources needed to construct the heavy tanks, only about 482 production models were produced in this time period, considerably less than its predecessor, Tiger I.

===Design===
The Tiger II is just massive in size. Weighing in at 68.5 tons, it is the heaviest tank to see service in World War II, beaten out as heaviest serving vehicle by the [[Jagdtiger|Jagdtiger]], which weighs 71.7 tons. The Tiger II front armour is 150 mm thick, and this is without sloping, with which it would be more than 200 mm thick ineffective. The thick front glacis armour was never penetrated by any Allied tank throughout the entire war. The side and rear armour are still 80 mm, which presented a weaker target, but still formidable at longer ranges. The gun on the Tiger II was the famous 8.8 cm KwK 43, which could defeat all Allied armour in World War II. The gun is sighted by the gunner with a ''Turmzielfernrohr 9d'' monocular sight that allows two magnifications, 2.5x and 5x. In practice, the gun is able to hit a target under 1 kilometre away 100% of the time.

The turret on this Tiger II is the production turret model by Krupp, colloquially known as the "Henschel" turret (hence the "H" in the name) despite that the Henschel company had no influence on the Krupp turret design. This turret replaced the flawed prototype ''[[Tiger II (P)|"Porsche" turret]]'', also by Krupp. The production model was a simplified turret, using more flat surfaces and a sleeker shape for easier production. The previously curved front of the turret is made into a thickened flat face that presents no shot trap and the protruding commander's cupola was flattened into the design. The turret is powered and could rotate under two settings, high and low. In low, the turret could be rotated a full 360 degrees in 60 seconds, and the same in 19 seconds at high. Though the engine could allow the turret to traverse in 10 seconds in full power, this was not recommended to avoid straining the engine. The turret traverse is powered by pedals or a lever by the gunner and is fine enough with these methods that small adjustments with the manual traverse hand wheels are not necessary.

The Tiger II was still propelled by the V-12 Maybach HL230 gasoline engine, which powered the lighter [[Panther G|Panther]] and [[Tiger E|Tiger I]]. The increased weight of the tank made the engine underpowered, requiring extra care to make sure the engine does not fail. Despite that, the tank was capable of reaching a maximum speed of 41.5 kilometres per hour, making the Tiger II quite agile for its weight. However, the Tiger II consumes exorbitant amount of fuel and requires extensive maintenance to keep running, which impedes its combat effectiveness in the whole strategic viewpoint as it only had an operational range of about 120 kilometres per hour on cross country terrain. The heavy weight also causes multiple mechanical issues in the tank, the drive train is overburdened as it was intended for a lighter vehicle and multiple breakdowns were experienced in early Tiger II models. Though, these issues were ironed out over time with improvements but still persist due to lack of supplies to maintain the tanks.

===Combat usage===
The Tiger II is organized into heavy tank battalions (''Schwere Panzer Abteilungen'') in the Wehrmacht and SS units, who first received them by February 1944. A standard battalion would have 45 Tiger IIs, with three in command and 14 in each of the three companies. A total of 14 battalions were employed during World War II in the Heer and SS, 11 assigned to the Heers and 3 to the SS. The original role of heavy tank battalions was to engage, breakthrough and destroy enemy armour on the offensive, but the changing war situation saw their role relegated to the defensive. The Tiger II's first recorded combat action was in the 1st Company of 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion in Normandy in July 1944, fighting back the Canadians during their offensive in Operation Atlantic, three Tiger IIs were lost, two from combat and one from becoming irrecoverable after falling into a bomb crater. However, by the end of the Normandy Campaign, all of the Tiger IIs in the 503rd was lost. The 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion had the Tiger II see the first action in the Eastern Front on August 1944, where it resisted the Soviet Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive. It was here on the road to Oględów on August 12, 1944, that an ambush by a few [[T-34-85]]s destroyed three Tiger IIs easily and some more disabled. The destroyed Tiger IIs were attributed to ammunition explosions. Due to this incident, it was ordered that the crew do not store the cannon ammunition in the turret, though the enforcement of this order varies between units. Still, 16 Tiger IIs in the 501st became disabled or destroyed in a span of more than two weeks.

The Tiger II also played a part in Operation Panzerfaust, where the 503rd Battalion was stationed in Hungary to ensure it stays in the Axis Alliance. These tanks stayed for 166 days and claimed a large number of Soviet vehicle kills for the loss of 25 Tiger IIs. The Tiger II continued to see action in most of the offensive and defensive actions in the last few months of World War II, such as in the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944, the Soviet Vistula-Oder and East Prussian Offensives in January 1945, and the German Lake Balaton Offensive in March 1945, Battle of the Seelow Heights in April 1945, and the Battle of Berlin that lasted until VE Day.

Tiger II's performance in battle was quite favourable in firepower and achieved a disproportionate kill-loss ratio. The 503rd SS Battalion claimed 500 kills for the loss of 45 Tiger IIs in the time span of January to April 1945. However, most of the Tiger II's losses were due to mechanical breakdowns or lack of fuel, so the crew abandoned these tanks and destroyed them to avoid enemy capture. Ultimately, however, while these tanks proved a menace in the battlefield, its overall strategic effect to the war is negligible like its predecessor due to the low number available.

===Survivors===
Today, there are 10 Tiger IIs in varying conditions left in the world. The most well known is the one at Musée des Blindés museum at Samur, France. This Tiger II is the only working version left in the world, this variant has the "Henschel" turret attached. Other notable places around the world that have the Tiger II is at the Bovington Tank Museum at England (which has a Porsche and a Henschel variant), Kubinka Tank Museum at Russia, and the (future) National Armor and Cavalry Museum in America.

=== In-game description ===
"This version of the tank was equipped with Erwin Aders's turret model, which had a simpler design than the Porsche turret. This allowed the forward armor to be reinforced up to 180 mm, at an inclination of 10°. The turret's front plate was straightened, which prevented shells from ricocheting into the roof of the tank's hull. The ammunition capacity was increased from 72 to 84 shots. As an additional weapon for protection against enemy infantry, the tank was equipped with a Nähkampfgerät 26 mm mortar, with smoke, fragmentation, and fragmentation-incendiary rounds. The tank's weight was around 68 tons, but due to the design of its chassis, its cross-country ability across rough terrain was satisfactory. The use of wide tank treads reduced the tank's ground pressure, when compared to that of the Tiger I, from 1.09 to 1.06 kg/cm². Until September 1944, Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste was applied to the tank's vertical surfaces.

Production of the tanks was always being delayed due to Allied bombing runs or lack of materials. In total, around 490 of the tanks were produced from January 1944 to March 1945. The factories of the Henschel company reached a reasonably high rate of assembly—building a Tiger II, from start to finish, took 15 days.

The Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. B was the most powerful tank in production during World War II, as well as the last heavy tank produced by Nazi Germany. Due to its extremely powerful 88 mm 8,8cm KwK 43 L/71 gun, it was able to effectively defeat any of the Allies' tanks.

This combat vehicle had a number of serious shortcomings, such as low operational mobility, high weight, low technical reliability, low maneuverability, and limited fuel capacity."

== Media ==
=== Skins and camouflages ===
Camouflages and skins for the Tiger B (H) from live.warthunder.com.

*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23tiger_b #tiger_b]
*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23pzkpfw_vi_ausf_b_tiger_iih #pzkpfw_vi_ausf_b_tiger_iih]
*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23tiger_ii #tiger_ii] The entirety fo Tiger B skins, but containing Porsche turret versions too. Lookout for the ''boxy'' turret for the correct camouflage.

===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|u5p3KCli6YM|Real life Tiger B from Saumur "Königstiger 2009" -Alain Le Pape|yn2q0E5vxqk|''Sound Recording: Tiger II'' -War Thunder|dhPW_ksFcM|Tiger II starting, unloading and driving -Mgrg}}

== Read also ==

*[http://www.tankmuseum.org/museum-online/vehicles/object-e1952-33 Page of the Bovington Tank Museum on the "Sd Kfz 182 Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf B (E1952.33)"]
* Text of this page was written for the [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/232511-competition-wt-wiki-combat-training-closed/ Wiki competition "Combat training"] by [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/user/559224-remiak/ Remiak] [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/233326-wikicontest-panzerkampfwagen-tiger-ausf-b/ Link to original contest entry article.]

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

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

{{Germany_heavy_tanks}}

Jagdpanther G1

2019-10-25T19:56:13Z

U8249517: /* Ammo racks */

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_panzerjager_panther}}
{{About
| about = tank destroyer '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = the premium version
| link-1 = Bfw. Jagdpanther
| usage-2 = the other vehicles of the family
| link-2 = Panther tank (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{Break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German tank destroyer {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===

The armour of the Jagdpanther in itself is average but can be utilized to become extremely effective due to ricochet mechanics.

Lighter shells (i.e. 76mm M1 from the Sherman, 88mm L/56 from the Tiger I, 90mm M3 from the Jackson/Pershing) will have issues with shells ricocheting off the front plate due to the angle of the tank's upper frontal plate. However, heavier and/or higher velocity shells (SU-152, IS-2, T29/T34 are examples of tanks that will not experience this problem very much) will not have this issue due to the weight or velocity compensating for the increased slope and penetrating anyway (that is not to say that these types of shells cannot bounce, it is just much rarer due to their weight and high velocities.)

The best way to use the Jagdpanther's armour is to find a small hill where you can angle the front of your tank upwards to where your gun can still fire back at incoming enemies, but also have your frontal armour maximized (due to the fact that your frontal armour will be at a higher angle for incoming shells, which will dramatically increase the odds of a shell ricocheting. ) Just be sure not to allow your bottom plate to be shown, as it is a potential weak point of the tank.

The side and rear armour of the Jagdpanther is extremely thin (AA guns often can penetrate) and should be protected at all costs (as your ammunition is also stored in the sides.)

'''Armour type:'''

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

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (slope angle) !! Roof (Slope angle)
|-
| Hull || 80 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 60 mm (54°) ''Bottom glacis''|| 40 + 5 mm || 40 mm (24-26°) || 25 mm
|-
| Superstructure || Same as Hull || 50 mm (26-29°)|| 40 mm (36°) || 25 mm (85°)
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

*Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick, though the interleaved pattern of the wheels provides cumulative 20 mm protection.
*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 is 20 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===

This tank has decent mobility overall, however, there is one major downfall of this tank: its reverse speed. This tank cannot relocate quickly due to it's extremely slow reverse speed, so it is best to gain a position where this is not often necessary in the first place.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armor weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 46.0 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | N/A || colspan="1" | 60 (AB)
|-
|55 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|994
|___
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|619
|700
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|21.61
|__.__
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|13.46
|15.22
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===


{{main|PaK 43 (88 mm)}}

The main armament of the Jagdpanther is the PaK 43 88 mm gun, which is one of the best all-around tank weapons at it's BR. With an 11-second reload (not including Ace crew), it is accurate as well as causing large amounts of damage during a penetrating hit, as it also contains explosive filler that detonates once inside the hull of the target.

;'''Available ammunition types'''

*The '''stock''' ammunition you get (PzGr 39/43) is by far the most useful ammunition for this tank and should be the primary type you carry thought your battles.

*The '''HE round''' (Sprgr) is ineffective against armoured targets, and should only either be carried for AA guns or not carried at all.

*'''Hl.Gr 39''' is a HEAT round; it serves very little purpose, as it lacks enough penetration to penetrate tanks from the front (or even side at the B.R this tank is in).

*'''PzGr 40/43''' is the APCR round of this tank; although on paper it appears to be a significant improvement in penetration capabilities, in reality, it is often ineffective for two reasons;

The amount of damage the shell creates within the hull of tank upon penetration is very little, with little to no shrapnel being created by a penetration. This makes a direct hit onto a critical module (such as a Gunner or Ammunition) a necessity for this ammunition, which can be sometimes difficult depending on the enemy you are facing.

Although the stat card shows that the penetration does increase, due to the overall weight of the shell decreasing, sloped armour is much more difficult to penetrate (which at this battle rating is very common.) This makes this shell somewhat useless as a result, with the standard ammunition (PzGr 39/43) being far more effective against slopped armour.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[PaK 43 (88 mm)|88 mm PaK 43]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 60 || -8°/+14° || ±11° || N/A
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 7.04 || 9.75 || __.__ || __.__ || 13.93
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 4.76 || 5.60 || __.__ || __.__ || 8.00
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|
|-
| 11.05 || __.__ || __.__ || 8.50
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 0° Angle of Attack'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC ||237|| 234 ||222|| 207 ||194||181
|-
| Sprgr. L/4,5 || HE || 13 || 13 || 12 ||12||12||12
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 272 || 270 || 250 || 228 || 208 || 189
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC || 1,000 || 10.16 || 1.2 || 14 || 108.8 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. L/4,5 || HE || 820 || 9 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 698 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 600 || 7.64 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 1,100 || +0° || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 1,130 || 7.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Jagdpanther Ammoracks.png|thumb|254x254px|[[Ammo racks|Ammoracks]] of the Jagdpanther.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''60''' || 43 ''(+17)'' || 25 ''(+35)'' || 19 ''(+41)'' || 1 ''(+59)'' || style="text-align:left" | Yes
|-
|}

Right side empty: 19 ''(+41)''

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|MG 34 (7.92 mm)}}

The machine gun on this tank is functional but is not powerful enough to cause much damage to even lightly armoured targets (such as AA vehicles).

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[MG 34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG 34]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Hull mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,000 (150) || 900 || -5°/+10° || -10°/+5°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The '''Jagdpanther''' is best used defensively, to cover capture points and prevent their capture, and cover friendly tank advances. It's highly recommended to hide the lower frontal plate in this tank, as it has a frontal mounted transmission which will set the tank on fire if shot, as well as destroying the transmission. It's also strongly advised to use this tank at long range, and change position often.

It is important to keep in mind that the Jagdpanther's armour is sloped. Using it on the side of a hill facing the enemy is extremely dangerous since this would decrease the angle at which the frontal armour and sloped and thus negate a large part of its survival capabilities. By hiding behind buildings, trees and bushes, or on top of a hill, you optimise it's fighting capabilities. A well-positioned Jagdpanther is very hard to destroy. In addition, using the Jagdpanther in a diamond position (with your right side facing the enemy) will mean that your most important crew members are better protected (driver, gunner, commander) since they are on the other side.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Good mobility
* Excellent firepower with great long-range sniping abilities
* Armour of a [[Panther A|Panther]], so adequately armoured
* Unlike earlier Tank destroyers as the [[StuG III G|StuG]]s, [[Jagdpanzer IV]]s, [[Marder III H|Marder]]s and [[Jagdpanzer 38(t)|Hetzer]]; it has five crew, rather than four
* Front of the Jagdpanther makes it easy to attach a lot of camouflage to conceal the tank destroyer
* Gunsight has an enhanced zoom level
* Has fully functional hull machine gun
* Since it is an SPG, it requires fewer spawn points in realistic battles than a normal tank

'''Cons:'''

* Bad reverse speed
* Panther hull armour isn't as effective against enemies it would face, rounds like the APDS from the 20 pdr can easily penetrate
* Front-mounted transmission. Can catch fire and immobilizes vehicle when shot through lower frontal plate
* Like most Tank Destroyers, it lacks a turret
* A lot bigger than the [[StuG III G|StuG III]], [[Jagdpanzer IV]]s, and the [[Jagdpanzer 38(t)|Hetzer]], so may need to get used to the size and how to conceal it
* Penetration from the sides would often mean lethal as sides are littered with ammo

== History ==

===Development===
Nazi Germany created the formidable 8.8 cm Pak 43 anti-tank gun, a longer version of the 8.8 cm Kwk 36. 2 attempts were made to fit this gun onto a self-propelled configuration, the first was [[Ferdinand|Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Ferdinand]] (later Elefant) and the second was the [[Nashorn]]. However, the Ferdinand was too heavy and unreliable while the Nashorn was too small and underpowered to propel such a gun. The '''Jagdpanther''' was proposed in late 1942, as a tank destroyer from the [[Panther D|Panther]] chassis that could mount the formidable 8.8 cm Pak 43 with good armour and speed. The tank destroyer was created and designated '''SdKfz 173''' and was demonstrated to Hitler on October 1943. Production then started in January 1944 under the simpler name '''Jagdpanther''' by Hitler rather than using the longer '''8.8 cm Pak 43/3 auf Panzerjäger Panther'''.

Throughout its production life of January 1944 to 1945, 415 total of these vehicles were made. MIAG produced 270 from January 1944 to the end of the war, MNH produced 112 from November 1944, and MBA produced 37 from December 1944. The supposed goal was 150 Jagdpanther produced a month, but Germany's deteriorating situation made this impossible. The Jagdpanthers were made in two variants, '''G1''' and '''G2'''. The G1 had a small internally bolted main gun and modified Panther Ausf. An engine deck while the G2 had a larger simplified, outer bolted mantlet with a modified Panther Ausf. G engine deck. A proposal to mount the 12.8 cm Pak 80 was mentioned but never came around to production.

The Jagdpanther was a rather good design as a tank destroyer, it had a good power-to-weight ratio and had a gun that could destroy any Allied tank in service in the war. It did not suffer as much reliability problems due to being based on the later model [[Panther G|Panther Ausf. G]], which had most of the initial problems fixed. It also used an improved transmission and final drive (the two sources of most Panther issues) that was planned for the Panther II.

===Combat Usage===
Jagdpanthers were assigned to heavy tank destroyer battalions in the Western Front and Eastern Front, though most of the Jagdpanthers were sent to deal with the Soviet onslaught, where it first saw combat action. In Normandy, few of these vehicles were encountered by the Western Allies, though 12 were deployed in one occasion by the 654 schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung against British units. One instance in July 30, 1944 saw three Jagdpanthers engage and destroy 10-11 Churchill tanks in about two minutes, though two of them were abandoned by the crew due to damage. The 654th was the only battalion to have a full complement of Jagdtigers of about 42 Jagdpanthers at the Western Front, the 559th battalion only had 10 to 14 of these vehicles. The largest concentration of the Jagdpanther on the west was during the Ardennes Offensive of about 20 vehicles combat-ready.

After the end of World War II with Nazi Germany's fall, the Jagdpanther and its original Panther configuration saw service with France. The Jagdpanthers served France from 1945 to the 1960s.

=== In-game description ===
"One of the most powerful and most successful German tank destroyers of World War II. This tank destroyer was designed by the company MIAG and was based on the Pz.Kpfw. V Panther tank. From October 1943 to April 1945, the MIAG, MNH, and MBA factories produced a total of 413 Jagdpanthers.

The Jagdpanther was mass-produced in three variants which differed in the following ways.

The first variant was the early version of the G1 self-propelled gun, produced from January to September 1944. These vehicles had an 88 mm 8,8 cm Pak 43/2 gun with a one-piece barrel. The gun was fixed to the front armor with bolts inside the vehicle. Anti-magnetic Zimmerit paste was applied to the vehicle's vertical surface in its characteristic squares. Also, this variant lacked a snorkel. The plate covering the engine either completely lacked an opening or had an opening which was plugged closed.

The second variant was the standard G1, which had an 88 mm 8,8 cm Pak 43/3 gun with a composite barrel. This tank destroyer also received a new gun mantlet. Zimmerit was not applied. Heat shields were installed around the exhaust pipe, and the guide wheels had a larger diameter.
The third variant was the G2, which was equipped with a new gun mantlet reinforced with bolts. An armored plate taken from the Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf. G Panther tank was installed over the engine. The trenching tool and cleaning rod tube was moved to the rear.

This tank destroyer was a very effective weapon against all types of Soviet and Allied tanks. It was used on the Western and Eastern fronts until the end of the war.

For a heavy vehicle, the Jagdpanther had good speed and maneuverability. On the other hand, this self-propelled vehicle inherited a number of disadvantages from the tank it was based on, primarily low mechanical reliability and relatively thin side armor."

== Media ==

Skin and Camouflages for the [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=germany&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=tank_destroyer&vehicle=germ_panzerjager_panther Jagdpanther] in Warthunder Live.

== See also ==


* [[Bfw. Jagdpanther]] - Premium version of the Jagdpanther.

== External links ==


* [http://storage.net-fs.com/hosting/3912593/3/index.htm 3D Experience - Jagdpanther interior]
* [[Wikipedia:Jagdpanther|[Wikipedia<nowiki>]</nowiki> Jagdpanther]]

{{Germany tank destroyers}}

Panther F

2019-10-25T19:54:41Z

U8249517: /* Ammo racks */

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_f_panther}}
{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other uses
|link-1 = Panther (Disambiguation)
|usage-2 = other vehicles of the family
|link-2 = Panther tank (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' ('''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat?''

''If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''

=== Mobility ===
''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.''

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|KwK 44 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[KwK 44 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK 44]]
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 82 || -8°/+20° || ±180°
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 14.28 || 19.76 || __.__ || __.__ || 28.24
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 8.93 || 10.50 || _.__ || _.__ || 15.00
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 8.71 || _.__ || _.__ || 6.7
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 0° Angle of Attack'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || APCBC ||191|| 188 || 173 || 156 || 140 || 126
|-
| PzGr 40/42 || APCR || 226 || 225 || 198 || 169 || 144 || 123
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || HE || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || 935 || 6.8 || 1.2 || 25 || 28.9 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| PzGr 40/42 || 1,120 || 4.75 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || 700 || 5.74 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 725 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Panther F Ammo Racks.png|thumb|300x300px|[[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] of the Panther F.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |6th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |7th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |8th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |9th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |10th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''82''' || 80 ''(+2)'' || 74 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+20)'' || 50 ''(+32)'' || 38 ''(+44)'' || 26 ''(+56)'' || 22 ''(+60)'' || 12 ''(+70)'' ||4 ''(+78)'' || 1 ''(+81)'' || style="text-align:center" | Yes
|-
|}

Right side empty: 50 ''(+32)'' or both sides empty: 22 ''(+60)''

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|MG 34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[MG 34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG 34]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,000 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==
''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they can be substituted with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

*

'''Cons:'''

*

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. This section may also include the vehicle's devblog entry (if applicable) and the ingame encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== Encyclopedia Info ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

=== In-game description ===
In the autumn of 1944, production of a new variant of the Panther was planned, the Ausf. F variant. This version had stronger front armor on its hull (80 mm), its sides (50 mm), and the front part of its roof (25 mm). The Schmalturm 605 turret, developed by the company Daimler-Benz AG, was slightly smaller than the standard Panther turret. This allowed the forward armor to be reinforced up to 120 mm, at an inclination of 20°. The sides of the new turret had a thickness of 60 mm and an inclination of 25°, and the thickness of the gun mantlet reached 150 mm. Stereoscopic rangefinders produced by the company Zeiss were mounted on the sides of the turret. The vehicle was armed with a 75 mm KwK 42/1 L/70 or KwK 44/1 L/70 gun in a new mantlet.

A project was launched to equip the Panther with the longer 75 mm KwK L/100. Instead of a directional machine gun, the radio operator/gunner used an MP 44 assault rifle. Production plans stipulated that production Ausf. F tanks would only be released with road wheels with internal shock absorbers. During mass production, the tank was supposed to be fitted with a periscope sight with an optical stabilizer. Each tank could, if necessary, be equipped with an FG 1250 night vision device.

In October 1944, production of the Ausf. F was set to launch in the Daimler-Benz plant in Berlin in March 1945. But by January 1945, a single Panther Ausf. G prototype with a Schmallturm turret was ready. Due to the overall difficulty of Germany's situation at the time, only a few prototypes with a narrow turret and 8 tank hulls had been constructed by the end of the war. Some sources indicate that several Ausf. F variants were completed by Daimler-Benz between April 20 and 23, 1945, and they may have been used in combat operations.

== Media ==
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== 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;''
* ''encyclopedia page on the tank;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Germany medium tanks}}

File:Ammoracks Panther F.png

2019-10-25T19:54:19Z

U8249517:

Panther F Ammo Racks

Panther F

2019-10-25T19:52:36Z

U8249517: /* Armaments */

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_f_panther}}
{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other uses
|link-1 = Panther (Disambiguation)
|usage-2 = other vehicles of the family
|link-2 = Panther tank (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' ('''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before [[Update 1.41]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat?''

''If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''

=== Mobility ===
''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.''

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|KwK 44 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[KwK 44 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK 44]]
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 82 || -8°/+20° || ±180°
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 14.28 || 19.76 || __.__ || __.__ || 28.24
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 8.93 || 10.50 || _.__ || _.__ || 15.00
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 8.71 || _.__ || _.__ || 6.7
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 0° Angle of Attack'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || APCBC ||191|| 188 || 173 || 156 || 140 || 126
|-
| PzGr 40/42 || APCR || 226 || 225 || 198 || 169 || 144 || 123
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || HE || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || 935 || 6.8 || 1.2 || 25 || 28.9 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| PzGr 40/42 || 1,120 || 4.75 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || 700 || 5.74 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 725 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Ammoracks Panther G.png|right|thumbnail|300px|[[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] of the Panther G.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |6th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |7th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |8th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |9th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |10th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''82''' || 80 ''(+2)'' || 74 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+20)'' || 50 ''(+32)'' || 38 ''(+44)'' || 26 ''(+56)'' || 22 ''(+60)'' || 12 ''(+70)'' ||4 ''(+78)'' || 1 ''(+81)'' || style="text-align:center" | Yes
|-
|}

Right side empty: 50 ''(+32)'' or both sides empty: 22 ''(+60)''

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|MG 34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[MG 34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG 34]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,000 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==
''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they can be substituted with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''
*

'''Cons:'''
*

== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. This section may also include the vehicle's devblog entry (if applicable) and the ingame encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== Encyclopedia Info ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

=== In-game description ===
In the autumn of 1944, production of a new variant of the Panther was planned, the Ausf. F variant. This version had stronger front armor on its hull (80 mm), its sides (50 mm), and the front part of its roof (25 mm). The Schmalturm 605 turret, developed by the company Daimler-Benz AG, was slightly smaller than the standard Panther turret. This allowed the forward armor to be reinforced up to 120 mm, at an inclination of 20°. The sides of the new turret had a thickness of 60 mm and an inclination of 25°, and the thickness of the gun mantlet reached 150 mm. Stereoscopic rangefinders produced by the company Zeiss were mounted on the sides of the turret. The vehicle was armed with a 75 mm KwK 42/1 L/70 or KwK 44/1 L/70 gun in a new mantlet.

A project was launched to equip the Panther with the longer 75 mm KwK L/100. Instead of a directional machine gun, the radio operator/gunner used an MP 44 assault rifle. Production plans stipulated that production Ausf. F tanks would only be released with road wheels with internal shock absorbers. During mass production, the tank was supposed to be fitted with a periscope sight with an optical stabilizer. Each tank could, if necessary, be equipped with an FG 1250 night vision device.

In October 1944, production of the Ausf. F was set to launch in the Daimler-Benz plant in Berlin in March 1945. But by January 1945, a single Panther Ausf. G prototype with a Schmallturm turret was ready. Due to the overall difficulty of Germany's situation at the time, only a few prototypes with a narrow turret and 8 tank hulls had been constructed by the end of the war. Some sources indicate that several Ausf. F variants were completed by Daimler-Benz between April 20 and 23, 1945, and they may have been used in combat operations.

== Media ==
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== 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;''
* ''encyclopedia page on the tank;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Germany medium tanks}}

Panther A

2019-10-25T19:17:20Z

U8249517: /* Ammo racks */

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther}}
{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other uses
|link-1 = Panther (Disambiguation)
|usage-2 = other vehicles of the family
|link-2 = Panther tank (Family)
}}

==Description==

[[File:GarageImage PantherA.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' ('''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.

Like any Panther, the Panther A features a broad, sloping upper glacis, and the curved gun mantle. Its main distinguishing factors from the [[Panther D]] or the [[Panther G]] are; A new cupola (compared to the Ausf. D), and the normal, rounded gun mantle (compared to the chinned one on the Ausf. G).

== General info ==
=== Survivability and 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°) || 16 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 65 -100 mm ''Gun mantlet''|| 45 mm || 45 mm || 16 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 80 mm || 16 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

*Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armor plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
*Rear parts of the upper side hull armor have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armor.

Due to its weak side armour (20mm autocannons can penetrate it), flanking is the best option to deal with any Panther. However, should the Panther be forced to face it frontally, shoot the right turret cheek to take out the gunner. This is one of the weakest places frontally, only ("only") 100mm thick. Heavier guns such as the 17 pdr can penetrate the lower glacis at short ranges, and any large calibre (100 mm and up) can penetrate the upper glacis.

Any British tank that fires APDS can penetrate the upper glacis. The 17 pounder can sometimes go through the lower glacis at shorter ranges too. Any standard AP or APHE shell of a calibre above the 80-90mm range (aka 100mm and above) will penetrate the Panther anywhere frontally.

=== Mobility ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armour weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 44.8 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | N/A || colspan="1" | 61 (AB)
|-
|55 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|1,085
|1,336
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|619
|700
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|24.22
|29.82
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|13.82
|15.62
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|KwK 42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[KwK 42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK 42]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 79 || -8°/+20° || ±180° || N/A
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 14.3 || 19.8 || _.__ || _.__ || _.__
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 14.3 || 16.8 || _.__ || _.__ || _.__
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 9.6 || _.__ || _.__ || _.__
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 90°'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || APCBC ||191||188||173||156||140||126
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || HE ||11||11||11||11||11||11
|-
| PzGr 40/42 || APCR || 226 || 225 || 198 || 169 || 144 || 123
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || APCBC || 935 || 6.8 || 1.2 || 25.0 || 28.9 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || HE || 700 || 5.7 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 725 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| PzGr 40/42 || APCR || 1120 || 4.8 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
|}

[[File:Panther A Ammo Racks.png|thumb|Ammo Racks of the Panther A.]]

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |6th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |7th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |8th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |9th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |10th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''79''' || 77 ''(+2)'' || 71 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+17)'' || 53 ''(+26)'' || 44 ''(+35)'' || 35 ''(+44)'' || 31 ''(+48)'' || 16 ''(+63)'' ||4 ''(+75)'' || 1 ''(+78)'' || style="text-align:center" | Yes
|-
|}
Turret and large sides empty: 31 (+48)

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|MG 34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[MG 34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG 34]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 2,700 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in the battles ==

As with all other Panther-series Medium Tanks, it is best played in a supporting role or as a front-line offensive Tank due to its agility. The Cannon mounted is more than forgiving and powerful enough to destroy any potential target, so use it to an advantage; Long-range shooting is effective as the muzzle velocity is extremely high, owing to the long-barreled 75mm, the penetration values are more than capable of punching through any opposing armour, and the shell weight will, if the Shell penetrates, consistently deal decent amounts of Crew and Module damage, if not immediately make the target on combat ineffective.

This tank, however, owing to its "Mailbox" gun mantlet design, is not good combatant frontally, especially at its BR; many enemy tanks will find the gun mantlet a juicy target. Never engage in extended frontal skirmishes with enemy tanks; instead, use the high mobility as much as possible. Don't stay in one place as much as possible, shoot and scoot before the enemy can react shoot through the mantlet.

=== Pros and cons ===

'''Pros:'''

* Excellent Mobility
* Good gun for long-range fighting
* Good sloped frontal armour
* Has access to APCR ammo
* Good accuracy while moving
* Almost 300% faster turret rotation than the previous D model
* Fastest turret rotation from all Panther models
* Fastest Panther model
* Decent gun elevation angles
* Reasonably cheap repair cost
* Best acceleration from all Panther models
* As with all Panther models, gun sight is on parallel with the gun (SB)

'''Cons:'''

* Gun mantlet is still an obvious weak spot
* Ammo racks offer a great target
* Terrible reverse speed of only -4 km/h
* Weak-side and rear armour
* Lower glacis is also a weak spot and often catches fire when shot there
* High profile
* Roof armour is still the same as the D model, only 16 mm

== 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-armored 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, only possess a mediocre HE shell.

The '''Ausf. A''' variant was the second variant designed for the Panther, The old drum-shaped cupola on the [[Panther D|Ausf. D]] had been replaced by a side-swinging hatch that didn't require the commander to expose himself to open or close the hatch. The Ausf. A introduced the standard ball mount for the assistant driver's machine gun, replacing the "letterbox" flap design on the Ausf. D. The Ausf. A also had the initial turret curved gun mantlet that was introduced to the Panther, though there were faults with the design as explained below. Other small improvements of the Ausf. A over the Ausf. D was improved reliability by ironing out several mechanical issues. 2,192 Panther Ausf. A was produced from August 1943 to June 1944.

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, 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.

=== In-game description ===
"In the fall of 1943, production of the Ausf.A variant of the Pz.Kpfw. V tank began. The Verstandigungsoeffnung hatch, which allowed for communication with infantry and for pistol fire from inside, was removed from the new turret. Vehicles of this variant were given the simpler monocular TZF-12А sight, as well as the commander's cupola used by the Tiger I tank. The hull's front plate was equipped with a traditional ball-mount directional machine gun instead of the inefficient letterbox flap gun used earlier. To strengthen the chassis, the road wheels received an increased number of bolts. The engine and transmission cooling systems were improved.

A viewport was installed on the roof of the turret, along with a close-combat device (antipersonnel fragmentation grenade launchers). Tanks released at a later date had a modified exhaust system. Some Panther Ausf. A tanks were equipped with experimental infrared night vision devices. All of the tanks of this variant had their vertical surfaces coated with Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste.
From August 1943 to May 1944, about 2,000 of these tanks were released.

Beginning in 1943, the Red Army captured a small number of Panther tanks (of several variants). These tanks were then used by several of the USSR's armored divisions, including, for example, Lieutenant Sotnikov's division. This tank was known as a dangerous enemy to Soviet tank forces, and captured vehicles were considered a thing of great luck. They were given to the most experienced and effective crews as recognition of their incredible merit. To keep the German tanks in good condition, Soviet tank divisions used captured German mechanics. In 1944, a technical manual for the Panther was published in Russian, for distribution to the crews."

== Media ==
[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23panther_a Skins and camouflages for the ''Panther A'' from live.warthunder]

===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|9rUocSj2dHc|Bovington Tank Museum Tank Chats: Panther}}

== Read 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.''

''ETC.''

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

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

{{Germany medium tanks}}

Panther D

2019-10-25T19:16:56Z

U8249517: /* Ammo racks */

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_d_panther}}
{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other uses
|link-1 = Panther (Disambiguation)
|usage-2 = other vehicles of the family
|link-2 = Panther tank (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_PantherD.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' ('''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41. Beginning a new generation of German tanks, the Panther medium tank was one of the most iconic tanks of World War II with its high power [[KwK 42 (75 mm)|75 mm gun]] and heavy front sloping armour.

The Panther is not like the [[Pz.IV H|Panzer IV]] you have become accustomed to in the line-up. The Panther D was historically made to fight in a long distance with its long 75 mm KwK 42 gun. Close distance is not the greatest ally for the Panther, with its weak side armour and gun mantlet, it can be easily penetrated by most other tanks at its rank if it can get these points. Thus, Panther should be played with a self-established "safe boundary" around the tank to stay safe from flankers. Despite that, as a front brawler, it excels due to the strong front armour and speed.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and 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
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 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.

=== Mobility ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armor weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 44.8 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | 0.5 || colspan="1" | 61 (AB)
|-
|55 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|1,007
|1,240
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|575
|650
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|22.48
|27.68
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|12.83
|14.51
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|KwK 42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[KwK 42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK 42]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 79 || -8°/+20° || ±180° || N/A
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 5.71 || 7.91 || _.__ || _.__ || 11.29
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 3.57 || 4.20 || _.__ || _.__ || 6.00
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 9.62 || _.__ || _.__ || 7.40
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 0° Angle of Attack'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || APCBC || 191 || 188 || 173 || 156 || 140 || 126
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || HE || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || 935 || 6.8 || 1.2 || 25 || 28.9 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || 700 || 5.74 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 725 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

===== Ammo racks =====
[[File:Panther D Ammo Racks.png|thumb|317x317px|[[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] of the Panther D.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |6th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |7th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |8th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |9th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |10th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''79''' || 77 ''(+2)'' || 71 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+17)'' || 53 ''(+24)'' || 44 ''(+33)'' || 35 ''(+42)'' || 31 ''(+46)'' || 16 ''(+61)'' ||4 ''(+73)'' || 1 ''(+78)'' || style="text-align:center" | Yes
|-
|}

Turret and large sides empty: 31 (+48)

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|MG 34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[MG 34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG 34]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 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 is very vulnerable and care must be taken to keep this safe.

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 qualities 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 on 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 small 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:'''

* Very good top speed, good acceleration
* High-velocity shell ensures less shell-drop
* Excellent long-range capabilities
* Two colour camouflage as standard camouflage
* Additional armour that covers a large part of the turret sides
* Large tracks, good for scaling cliffs and moving through rough terrain
* Plays similarly to the Panzer IV, and features a good learning curve if one has mastered the late Panzer IV models
* Very adaptable, can be played as several roles
* Excellent turning capabilities when on the move
* Retains its momentum after turning and fast acceleration

'''Cons:'''

* Extremely slow reverse
* Turns extremely slow when standing still
* Very slow turret traverse speed, makes dealing with unexpected threats nearly impossible
* With the horrible reverse speed and terrible turret traverse, close quarters brawling borders on suicidal
* Weak cannon barrel and breech
* Vulnerable in the gun mantlet & front turret
* Roof armour is only 16 mm thick
* Weak in the sides and rear
* Ammo racks litter the sides of the tank
* Frontal armour is easily penetrated by British APDS rounds, which become more common at this battle rating

== 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.

=== In-game description ===
"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 armor 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-caliber 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."

== Media ==

===Live.Warthunder===

* [http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23panther_d '''Skins''' and '''camouflages''' for the Panther D from live.warthunder.com.]
* [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|9rUocSj2dHc|Bovington Tank Museum Tank Chats: Panther}}

==References==
<references />

== 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;''
* ''encyclopedia page on the tank;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Germany medium tanks}}

Panther A

2019-10-25T19:15:09Z

U8249517: /* Ammo racks */

Panther D

2019-10-25T19:15:03Z

U8249517: /* Ammo racks */

File:Ammoracks Panther A.png

2019-10-25T19:12:12Z

U8249517:

Panther A Ammo Racks

Panther D

2019-10-25T18:11:42Z

U8249517: Ammo Racks

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_d_panther}}
{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other uses
|link-1 = Panther (Disambiguation)
|usage-2 = other vehicles of the family
|link-2 = Panther tank (Family)
}}

== Description ==

[[File:GarageImage_PantherD.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' ('''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41. Beginning a new generation of German tanks, the Panther medium tank was one of the most iconic tanks of World War II with its high power [[KwK 42 (75 mm)|75 mm gun]] and heavy front sloping armour.

The Panther is not like the [[Pz.IV H|Panzer IV]] you have become accustomed to in the line-up. The Panther D was historically made to fight in a long distance with its long 75 mm KwK 42 gun. Close distance is not the greatest ally for the Panther, with its weak side armour and gun mantlet, it can be easily penetrated by most other tanks at its rank if it can get these points. Thus, Panther should be played with a self-established "safe boundary" around the tank to stay safe from flankers. Despite that, as a front brawler, it excels due to the strong front armour and speed.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and 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
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 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.

=== Mobility ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armor weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 44.8 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | 0.5 || colspan="1" | 61 (AB)
|-
|55 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|1,007
|1,240
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|575
|650
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|22.48
|27.68
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|12.83
|14.51
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===

{{main|KwK 42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[KwK 42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK 42]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 79 || -8°/+20° || ±180° || N/A
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 5.71 || 7.91 || _.__ || _.__ || 11.29
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 3.57 || 4.20 || _.__ || _.__ || 6.00
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 9.62 || _.__ || _.__ || 7.40
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 0° Angle of Attack'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || APCBC || 191 || 188 || 173 || 156 || 140 || 126
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || HE || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || 935 || 6.8 || 1.2 || 25 || 28.9 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || 700 || 5.74 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 725 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

===== Ammo racks =====
[[File:Panther D Ammo Racks.png|thumb|317x317px|[[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] of the Panther D.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |6th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |7th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |8th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |9th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |10th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''79''' || 77 ''(+2)'' || 71 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+17)'' || 53 ''(+24)'' || 44 ''(+33)'' || 35 ''(+42)'' || 31 ''(+46)'' || 16 ''(+61)'' ||4 ''(+73)'' || 1 ''(+78)'' || style="text-align:center" | Yes
|-
|}

Turret and large sides empty: 32 (+47)

=== Machine guns ===

{{main|MG 34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[MG 34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG 34]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 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 is very vulnerable and care must be taken to keep this safe.

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 qualities 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 on 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 small 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:'''

* Very good top speed, good acceleration
* High-velocity shell ensures less shell-drop
* Excellent long-range capabilities
* Two colour camouflage as standard camouflage
* Additional armour that covers a large part of the turret sides
* Large tracks, good for scaling cliffs and moving through rough terrain
* Plays similarly to the Panzer IV, and features a good learning curve if one has mastered the late Panzer IV models
* Very adaptable, can be played as several roles
* Excellent turning capabilities when on the move
* Retains its momentum after turning and fast acceleration

'''Cons:'''

* Extremely slow reverse
* Turns extremely slow when standing still
* Very slow turret traverse speed, makes dealing with unexpected threats nearly impossible
* With the horrible reverse speed and terrible turret traverse, close quarters brawling borders on suicidal
* Weak cannon barrel and breech
* Vulnerable in the gun mantlet & front turret
* Roof armour is only 16 mm thick
* Weak in the sides and rear
* Ammo racks litter the sides of the tank
* Frontal armour is easily penetrated by British APDS rounds, which become more common at this battle rating

== 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.

=== In-game description ===
"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 armor 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-caliber 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."

== Media ==

===Live.Warthunder===

* [http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23panther_d '''Skins''' and '''camouflages''' for the Panther D from live.warthunder.com.]
* [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|9rUocSj2dHc|Bovington Tank Museum Tank Chats: Panther}}

==References==
<references />

== 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;''
* ''encyclopedia page on the tank;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Germany medium tanks}}

Tiger II (P)

2019-10-24T17:57:04Z

U8249517: ammo racks

{{Specs-Card|code=germ_pzkpfw_VI_ausf_b_tiger_IIp}}

== Description ==
[[File:GarageImage_TigerII(P).jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
{{break}}
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (or '''Tiger II (P)''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German heavy tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.

The Tiger II (H) remains one of the more potent foes a player could face in the Rank IV battles.

The Tiger II's cannon can maintain a very nice penetration even at long ranges (1,200 m-1,800m) while American and Soviet cannons usually cannot keep such high penetration over distance, so they prefer 700 m or less engagements where their guns will most likely destroy you in the first hit, so get used to long range engagements. Being comfortable with kilometer long shots is a must in this tank. At 800m you should still be within a safe distance (depending on what you are facing) but going under that is getting into the Allied guns' effective range.

'''''Difference between the [[Tiger II (H)|Henschel (H)]] and the [[Tiger II (P)|Porsche (P)]] turrets''''' 
The "Henschel" turret is slightly more resistant since it has a flat but thick plate in the front and a more effective gun mantlet. The "Porsche" turret is less armoured, has an exposed turret ring and a shot trap that can and will deflect shells to the weaker upper plate of the chassis. Commander's cupola on the "Henschel" turret is also thicker (150 mm, opposed to 100 mm on "Porsche" turret). Other than that both tanks are identical, but for obvious reasons the "Henschel" turret is more popular than the "Porsche" turret. The initial design is often misleadingly called the "Porsche" turret due to the belief that it was designed by Porsche for their prototype; in fact it was the initial Krupp design for both prototypes.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
'''Armour type:'''

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

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 150 mm (49°) ''Front glacis'' 100 mm (49°) ''Lower glacis''|| 80 mm (26°) ''Top'' 80 + 5 mm ''Bottom''|| 80 mm (28°) || 40 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm (17-57°) ''Turret front'' 120 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 82 mm (28-29°) || 80 mm (30°) 25 mm ''Turret underside'' || 40 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 100 mm || 40 mm
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Turret front armour is only 100 mm thick, but it is rounded, with varying angles (between 0-55°). Middle part is unangled and is the weakest part of the turret.
* Turret has some major flaws, like a shot trap (''As mentioned in the "[[#Pros_and_cons|Pros and cons]]" section''), and exposed, vulnerable turret ring (80-100 mm thick and no angle at all).
* Commander's cupola on top of the turret is 100 mm thick, but quite well angled.
* Lower glacis is only 100 mm thick, but it is not a weakspot (over 200 mm effective angled).
* Machine gun port could be marked as close-range weakspot. Although most of it is still 150 mm thick, the angling is much worse. But targeting the turret is preferable.

=== Mobility ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
|-
! Weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Add-on Armor weight (tons)
! colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 68.0 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | N/A || colspan="1" | 44 (AB)
|-
|42 (RB/SB)
|-
! colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|904
|1,113
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|619
|700
|-
! colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
|-
! colspan="1" | Mode
!Stock
!Upgraded
|-
|''Arcade''
|13.29
|16.37
|-
|''Realistic/Simulator''
|9.10
|10.29
|-
|}

== Armaments ==
=== Main armament ===
{{main|KwK 43 (88 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[KwK 43 (88 mm)|88 mm KwK 43]]
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
|-
| colspan="3" | 77 || -8°/+15° || ±180° || N/A
|-
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
|-
! style="width:4em" |Mode
! style="width:4em" |Stock
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| ''Arcade'' || 11.3 || 15.6 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
| ''Realistic'' || 11.3 || 13.3 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
|-
| 11.1 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
|-
|}

===== Ammunition =====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration''' '''''in mm''''' '''@ 90°'''
|-
! 10m
! 100m
! 500m
! 1000m
! 1500m
! 2000m
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC ||237||234||222||207||194||181
|-
| Sprgr. L/4,5 || HE || 13 || 13 ||12||12||12||12
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110 || 110
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR || 272 || 270 || 250 || 228 || 208 || 189
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="11" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" |Velocity in m/s
! rowspan="2" |Projectile Mass in kg
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
''in m:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
''in mm:''
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):''
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° from horizontal:''
! colspan="3" | ''Ricochet:''
|-
! 0%
! 50%
! 100%
|-
| PzGr 39/43 || APCBC || 1,000 || 10 || 1.2 || 14 || 108.8 || +4° || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. L/4,5 || HE || 820 || 11 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 935 || +0° || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Hl.Gr 39 || HEAT || 600 || 7.6 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 1100 || +0° || 65° || 72° || 75°
|-
| PzGr 40/43 || APCR ||1,200 || 7.3 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +1.5° || 66° || 70° || 72°
|-
|}

===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
[[File:Tiger II (P) Ammo Racks.png|thumb|[[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] of the Tiger II (P).Note that racks 7 and 8 are ready racks.]]
Thanks to the ready rack feature found on this tank, the first and second ammo racks found in the back of the turret will always be full of ammo, making it the prime target for enemy tankers who are looking to detonate your ammo rack. Even solid shots like APCR and APDS that commonly pierce your front turret can make their way to the rear of the turret, potentially hitting the ready rack and can cause a critical hit to become a fatal one.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full ammo
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |4th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |5th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |6th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |7th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |8th rack empty
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual discrepancy
|-
|| '''70''' || 65 ''(+5)'' || 59 ''(+11)'' || 48 ''(+22)'' || 37 ''(+33)'' || 30 ''(+40)'' || 23 ''(+47)'' || 12 ''(+58)'' || 1 ''(+69)'' || style="text-align:left" | Yes
|-
|}

Notes:

* Recommended ammo load is 23 to keep the hull empty and both ready racks full.
* 7th and 8th ammo racks are ready racks, and takes priority in being filled at the beginning of the battle, then fills 1 through 6 in that order.
* Full reload speed will be realized as long as ammo exists in either ready rack. If both ready racks are empty, a penalty to reload speed will occur.
* Simply not firing the main gun when it is loaded will load ammo from racks 1-6 into 8 then 7, as long as there is ammo in racks 1-6. Firing the main gun will interrupt the loading of the ready racks.

=== Machine guns ===
{{main|MG 34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="7" | [[MG 34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG 34]]
|-
! colspan="7" | ''Coaxial mount''
|-
! colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity (Belt capacity)
! rowspan="1" | Fire rate (shots/minute)
! rowspan="1" | Vertical guidance
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal guidance
|-
| colspan="4" | 3,000 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in the battles ==
====General play style====

The Tiger II is best used as a sniper (mainly due to its powerful gun); but when needed it can provide direct support for advancing units.

When used as a sniper, it is best that you find a position with a good overview of the battlefield. Keep your tank positioned directly towards the enemy and keep an eye out for any medium tanks trying to flank you (Tiger II has great frontal armour, do not be afraid to use it. However, keep in mind that the lower plate offers less protection and penetrations can easily cause fires due to the positioning of mechanical parts). It is best that you find cover behind a solid object and slightly rotate your vehicle e.g.: rotate your tank about 10-15 degrees from the enemy (your turret too). Positioning, combined with distance, can easily give you effective armour greater than 300 mm. When "sniping" it is best to wait for the enemy to expose their weak points, fire a steady, accurate shot and retreat to a safe position. Wait for your reload to be completed and slowly show your frontal plate (most of the players will engage even though the chances of penetration are low); once the enemy has fired, you can take your time and engage the tank while they reload.

Using the Tiger II to advance and to support the front line can be rather tricky. While this tank offers great firepower and superior frontal armour, you'll notice that it is hard to fight in urban areas. In situations like this, you will quickly realize that the high weight and sheer size of the tank can cause major problems. Almost any tank that is faster will easily outmaneouver the Tiger II and destroy it. To avoid this, it is best to stay in the back (not too far from your team), keeping your tank positioned at an angle and using "peek-a-boo" techniques. You should always look for a position that can protect you during the assault of small tanks, such as "U" shaped buildings where you can easily retreat and protect your weak points.

''Note that you have to find a tactic that suits your play style best; these are simple tips that should help you get started.''

'''''It is not a medium tank nor a tank destroyer:''''' 
This is a very heavy tank with an engine meant for a tank half its weight, so it moves slow and turns slow. It is not as reliable for close range combat as a medium tank and if you try brawl with it more than necessary you will find yourself quickly flanked by faster, more agile tanks and destroyed with side/rear shots. Also, soviet 122mm guns don't have the best penetration but if that shell gets into your tank you will not survive, and under 500m, it is going to get in.

This does not mean you should stay put in a single spot, or camp a location like a tank destroyer (which are designed to camp): you have mobility, so keep moving or you will attract a lot of attention, only to find out too late that someone took his sweet time to travel 1.5km to your position to deliver you a shell to the side.
====Tactics====
====== Know the specs======
'''''Know the gun and ammo:''''' 
Knowing what your gun and ammunition are capable of is very important; this translates into knowing what kind of ammo to use in every situation against any enemy tank.

Like most German tanks, the stock APCBC (PzGr 39/43) is a good all-around shell, effective at close and long range with good penetration and good fragmentation, it will be the one you will be using the most. For close range combat with very heavily armoured tanks you will need APCR shells (PzGr 40/43), its high penetration value at close range can be a threat even to some 8.0 BR tanks, but remember it is a solid shell with no explosive charge, so you will need to aim carefully for crew and vital components which means you will need to know where these are located exactly.

The recommended ammo ratio is 2/3 (two thirds) of APCBC and 1/3 (one third) of APCR.

In arcade battles ranging is quite easy since the game does it for you, in [[Realistic Battles|realistic]] and [[Simulator Battles|simulator]] however you do not have this advantage. Trying to "eyeball it" after 800m can be incredibly tricky in these game modes, but something you might not know is that your sights provide you with all the tools you need to land a shot on your first try on a target that can be as far as 2800m (2.8km). You just need to follow the formula: ''Target size in meters / mil number x 1000 = target range''

Your "target size" is the length or the width (depending on what side you are facing) of your target, the mils are displayed in your sights on the horizontal axis, you divide these 2 numbers and multiply the result by 1000 and you will get the exact distance in meters. Then you just have to adjust your aim using the vertical axis of your sights (that displays the bullet drop) and take the shot. If your numbers were correct, you will land the shot dead on.

'''''Know your enemy and know yourself:''''' 
This applies to all tanks in all honesty, you need to spend some time looking at the armour of any tank you might encounter and learning where possible weak spots are located and under what conditions (angle, distance) you can actually score a good hit; yes, the gun is extremely good, but '''don't expect miracles''', aim it right and it will serve you right.

Learning your enemies' reload rates, vital components and crew locations is also very important; if you learn where their ammunition is stored, you will be creating fireworks during the whole game.

Take care of reading about your enemy's different ammo options, remember that just looking at the penetration values under the short description is not enough, since most tanks will have better options when it comes to ammunition. Learn under what conditions (angle, distance) your tank is safe from all the available ammo for these certain tanks, then take measures to protect yourself.

====== Positioning ======
'''''Hide your noble parts:''''' 
Taking cover is very important for the Tiger II; if you happen to find a position where a piece of rubble covers your lower frontal hull plate you have just made yourself near indestructible from the front. You can also use some low profile friendly tank destroyers, however having enough clearance to shoot is important, so not all tank destroyers are suitable cover.

If you try to move ahead in the face of an enemy you will end with a dead transmission, a fire and possibly some knocked out crew members, or just destroyed. 
Explore the map, find places where craters, depressions in the ground, soft hills, rubble, rocks or artificial obstacles (such as trenches) will cover you while letting you shoot over it; the Tiger II has very nice gun depression, use it to your advantage. 
Remember that destructible environmental objects (like brick walls, fences, and even trees) will protect you from a single HEAT or HE shell hit, but nothing else, and you should not rely on it to cover your sides or as anything else than visual cover. 
Taking cover behind large rocks, hills, buildings or even ally heavy tanks while you perform repairs or reload can be very useful.

======Long range combat ======
'''''Tiger II+long distance =/= immortal:''''' 
An enemy that knows what he's doing will not engage you at distance with regular armour penetrating rounds, high calibre HEAT and HE rounds will very likely end your existence with a big boom if it manages to hit you.

A KV-2 or an ISU-152 shooting a 152mm HE shell will most likely destroy you on the first hit, the sheer size of the shell makes it extremely harmful to your tank at all distances, the vehicles capable of destroying your tank with HE rounds are however, most of the time, not very well armoured; Not armoured enough for your gun, at the very least, so you should be able to take them out at ease if you manage to shoot first. High caliber HEAT ammo is also unaffected by distance and if it penetrates it can cause heavy damage to your tank.

Remember a 122mm HE round hit can also cause you heavy damage or complete destruction.

======Teamplay======
'''''Don't be an easy-going loner, be a paranoid team-player:''''' 
Lone heavy tanks are dead heavy tanks, while on a game make sure to have some medium/light tank support to cover your sides and rear, you will be the one absorbing shots they cannot take and they will mop up whatever tries to come from the side (that will be, most of the time, medium or light tanks) and even if they can not take it out, they will warn you about it and you will be able to respond in time. If you can't get medium/light tank support, get yourself another heavy tank to support you, you know what's scarier than a Tiger II? Two of them.

Having support will give you peace of mind while shooting and let you concentrate on your target instead of being looking around you every 5 seconds like a paranoid, but then again, being paranoid is not a bad thing while driving this tank.

If you saw something rolling around and don't know what it is, assume the worst and act accordingly, if it happened to be an A.I T-26 you can laugh about it, but if you ignore it and it happened to be an enemy flanking wave you will regret it, since it will not only cost you your tank, it might cost you the game.

======Close quarter combat======
'''''While in close range, play it smart and always angle your tank. But not your turret:''''' 
Sometimes you have to get in close to the combat zone for many reasons, one of them being Urban combat where the abundance of cover denies you of very long range shooting. If you see yourself forced to close quarters combat (that is under 700m) you need to play smart, be mobile but take your time to wait for the enemy where they might be coming from, communicate enemy positions to your allies and have them communicate any enemy contacts back so you can set up ambushes and flanking maneuvers.

While in urban combat, long straight roads are a bane to the Tiger's health, look both sides before crossing and remember that your tank is capable of being the one delivering a penetrating blow, this allow for some long range shooting at certain locations. You might also find yourself suddenly in front of an enemy tank while turning around a corner, in this case a Tiger I would angle itself to maximize its effective armour thickness since it has flat armour, the Tiger II has the heavy armour of a Tiger I and the sloped armour of a Panther, so '''angling is usually unnecessary, but''' at this close range you will be easily destroyed from the front so you want to angle a bit so you have an increase in your effective armour thickness and this might save you from a shot in the lower frontal hull plate.

'''BUT, whatever you do, DO NOT''' angle your turret, your turret is not specially strong from the front, in fact the front of the turret is an all times favorite target for everyone and you'll get shot there a lot but it is far better to face the enemy directly since the plates on the side of the turret are very thin.

Being a fast and accurate shooter also helps while in close range, at this rank anything hitting you from under 500m will most likely destroy you, but you will also be able to penetrate anything so make sure to be the first one to shoot and make sure it lands where it hurts.

=====The stock Tiger II guide=====
Driving a recently unlocked tank is always difficult; the gun accuracy is terrible and the inability to repair in combat is extremely frustrating... but nothing is worse than the feeling impotence when watching your tank burn away even after defeating the enemy that caused the fire. In general the vehicle will underperform when stock, so don't say "I hate it" before you unlock all the modifications.

Only true effort can unlock the necessary modifications to remedy this or by utilising golden eagles. ''But let's assume you have more important things to buy with your golden eagles.''

Remember three very important points:

#You can not repair anything else than your tracks.
#Once you catch a fire, it is game over.
#All your research points should be prioritized into the Parts modifications. This modifications is number one priority.

Before entering the game '''make sure that you are researching parts''' and not Tracks or anything else, the ability to repair in combat is essential and will make your life far easier. But hey, if you don't have that modification yet, here are a few tips:

# Stay in or close by the capture circles.
#:Did you know that you can repair and replenish your ammo storage at the capture circles? No? Well, now you know it. Use this knowledge to your advantage.
#:If you get your gunshot, '''you can repair without the Parts modification''' by stopping your tank inside the capture zone. If you get your transmission or engine shot, and somehow you don't catch fire and happen to be near a capture zone, you can ask one of your allies to tow you to the capture zone. '''Remember''' that you must press the acceleration key (default: W) when someone is towing you, you won't move but it will unlock your brakes making you easy to move.
# Don't catch fire.
#:Don't, just don't. If you do it is game over, make sure to make as much damage as possible if you happen to catch fire.
# Sniping will depend largely on luck.
#:With a stock tank your accuracy will be terrible, so you will be forced to close quarters most of the time. Unlocking the modules that improve your accuracy will allow you to achieve 2000m long shots at ease so they should be your number 3 priority after Parts and FPE.
# Play smart.
#:If you use your tank in a smart way, take precautions and take advantage of its capabilities while keeping its limits in mind, you should not need to repair during a game at all
# Be helpful and merciful to your allies
#:Saw someone flip their tank? It reminds you of a turtle upside down struggling to set itself right, doesn't it? Funny, huh? Did you know that in nature, If a turtle flips and cannot right itself it dies slowly in desperation, an agony that can take several days? Not so funny anymore, huh?
#:Laugh out load, if you want when you see it, yes it is funny, but don't abandon the poor turtle to its fate, if you happen to be nearby, by all means please help the person in need for a friendly tow. The lesson here is: if you want help, be helpful.
#:If you want people to flip you over when you are upside down or pull you out of a trench, or pull your transmission-less self to a capture point so you can repair, do the same for others.

=====Performance in a 0.0 to 10.0 scale:=====

*3.0/10 Rusher: Trying to get to the cap point before a T-44 or a Panther? Keep dreaming. This is a slow slumbering beast that will struggle to achieve 40km/h even on a flat road, struggle to achieve 30km/h on flat cross country, struggle to achieve 20km/h on rough cross country and struggle to achieve 8km/h up a steep hill (that is, if you can climb it at all). Its engine was meant for a tank half its weight and size, so expect a slow tank.
*4.5/10 brawler: Its heavyweight, limited acceleration and high profile make it unsuitable for highly mobile close quarter battles, if the tank is on its own it will get easily flanked and destroyed by faster medium/light tanks better suited for these battles and most Allied tanks prefer close quarters while engaging the Tiger II, so it quickly becomes a turkey hunt. However, its great gun and heavy frontal armour add to its survivability and if the operator has medium tank support it can become a foothold for the team.
*6.0/10 flanker: Again, its high profile and low acceleration don't make it the best tank to flank and a medium tank is better suited for this, but it has a fairly good top speed (even if it takes a long time and a flat road to achieve it), its comparatively fast for a heavy tank, its heavy armour gives it extra survivability in case of a counter attack and if it manages to position itself on the enemy's flank, it can quickly reduce them to a pyrotechnia.
*7.4/10 Adamant: Its heavy frontal armour will often serve as a shield to your lighter allies, you will be capable of taking heavy hits and shrug off impacts that most medium tanks cannot take, it has some flaws and weak spots in the frontal armour that the enemy will take advantage of, but with some angling and planning this can be mitigated. Its side armour is, however, very weak.
*7.6/10 Sniper: Distance is this tank's friend, its gun has a very long effective range and its armour becomes impervious to most enemy weapons at long ranges, but not all of them and it is not by any means a tank destroyer which will have the upper hand over the Tiger II at very long ranges.
*9.0/10 Ambusher: Be it sitting still at the end of a street or waiting in the river while the enemy approaches the bridge, this tank will shoot 3 times or more before the enemy even realize what hit them, but you need to be accurate to be deathly and having support and/or a place to fall back to or a hull-down position is essential for an ambush.

====Specific enemies worth noting====

===== US Army vehicles =====
The Tigers' common enemies are going to be the [[M26|M26 Pershing]], an agile american medium tank with a 90 mm gun that can pierce some holes in your frontal armour from a medium range and can get in your flank in no time, but however has relatively low armour; the [[T32]], a heavier version of the Pershing with an impenetrable mantlet and night invulnerable upper glacis, and a far nastier version of that 90mm gun; the premium T28, american tank destroyer with incredibly strong frontal armour and a gun far superior to the Tiger II's (shoot the cupolas), the premium [[M26E1|M26E1]] and the [[M46_“Tiger”|Premium M46 "Tiger"]] American tanks which have very similar guns to the Tiger II.

A further nuisance is the [[M41A1|M41A1 Bulldog]]. While it will mostly only fire sub-calibre shells, these are a danger up to 1000m to the frontal turret armour. Experienced light tank drivers will try to flank the Tiger to get shots into the exposed hull ammo racks, the APDS shot usually setting these off with one shot, unlike the APCR the Bulldog also carries. If you are stuck in close quarters, try to get a shot off as fast as possible in order to immobilise or destroy it.

[[T95|T95]]: Use your ''medium tank'' to either outflank this enemy or put a few well aimed shots into the cupolas. Watch out for its traverse speed, as the ''Doom-turtle'' is shockingly fast to turn on the spot.

[[T29]]: Very good gun, penetrations are very deadly. Surprisingly resistant despite its weak hull armour, multiple shots will be necessary if you don't have a lucky shot. From the front, if you have the patience and finesse, a shot into the turret front to the right of the gun mantle will most likely result in an ammo rack.

===== Red Army vehicles =====
The [[IS-2_(1944)]] is a Soviet heavy tank with a large 122 mm cannon which you want to avoid. Both HE and APHE shells of the 122 mm cannon pose a threat and the turret armour can be quite trollish, often either bouncing shots or sometimes eating them up.

Succeeding the [[T-34-85]] is the [[T-44]], a sneakier and more armoured version of the former. It retains the excellent mobility while gaining better manoeuvrability and hull armour. Luckily it retains the 85mm, which however is quite enough to reliably deal with the Tiger's sides. Deal with them quickly before you need to turn the turret and expose you tank's weak side to the enemy. Like with the IS-2 the best place to shoot the T-44 is the turret and lower glacis, the T-44 also inheriting the bouncy turret, so aim well!

[[SU-100]]: Fast, mobile and armed with a gun rivaling that of your own tank, this tank destroyer is not to be underestimated. It can punch holes through your turret with ease. Fortunately they have little yet well angled armour, thus SU-100 drivers will often angle their armour to create areas of high angle equivalent to auto-bounce zones. In such cases aim for the less angled portion, side or front.

All three variants of the ISU series are big boxy targets with very nasty guns, yet are sluggish and have no angled armour. Look and sneeze at them, however often enough they will wait in ambush situations, so be prepared!

[[T-54_(1951)|T-54]] is rare but will still pop up in matches. If you have the time against them at close range, shoot at the turret front. At medium distances, you will need APCR or a very lucky shot.

===== British vehicles =====
British vehicles are some of the first to get APDS (The first being the [[Comet_I|A34 Comet]] at BR 5.3), and are therefore very dangerous due to their high penetration. The Tiger II will commonly face tanks like the [[FV4202]], [[Caernarvon|Caernarvon]] and the [[Centurion_Mk_3|Centurion Mk 3]], all of which have the [[Ordnance_QF_20-pounder_Mk.I_(84_mm)|84 mm 20-pdr gun]]. They can punch straight through your turret cheeks at long range with great accuracy. They also have sloped armour, which may bounce some of your shells if you aim poorly. You may also face tanks like the [[Tortoise|A39 Tortoise]], which is a very difficult penetrate from the front. It has thick, sloped armour and a high penetrating [[Ordnance_QF_32-pounder_(94_mm)|94 mm 32-pdr gun]]. At long range even your powerful 88 mm will struggle to take one out. You may also face tanks armed with the [[L7A1_(105_mm)|105 mm L7A1 gun]], like the [[Centurion_Mk_10|Centurion Mk 10]]. Tanks with this gun have massive penetration (over 300 mm) and so you will be an easy target for them. Luckily, most British tanks do not have explosive filler in their rounds. They will easily be able to take out your gunners/commander, but will struggle to incapacitate the driver from the front. This will give you the chance to use the tanks decent reverse speed to make your escape.

=====The worst enemy is yourself=====
This is true in a literal and figurative way if you keep telling yourself that you can't do it you won't do it. This tank is not easy to operate and it can be frustrating at times but it is a very good tank once you start using it properly and keep its limits and weaknesses in mind.

In the literal way, yes, '''your worst possible enemy is another Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B.''' They know the tank from the inside out just like you, long range and even taking cover wont help you since they have that same amazing gun and they know exactly where to hit, besides, when talking about distance: if you can hurt it, it can hurt you, and if it can't hurt you, you can't hurt it.

A Tiger II vs Tiger II fight usually ends in less than 25 seconds, sometimes lasting as little as 2 seconds using 2 shells or less to achieve the destruction of one of them. Sometimes you will find yourself exchanging shells for a whole game.

'''The only effective way to face a Tiger II with a Tiger II is to hit first''' and making sure the hit has a crippling effect on its firing capability (hitting the turret from the front for example, taking out the gunner and commander and possibly hitting ammo). If you happen to get hit like this from a Tiger II your only hope is to get to cover in less than 10 seconds (weapon reload time with an expert crew, maxed out loader and commander is 10.6 seconds) and run away to a safe location to repair since these hits will most likely destroy your turret ring and cannon breach.

You will be engaging the Tiger II with your Tiger II in arcade games for the most part, but also in realistic/simulator squadron battles where it is a very popular tank. Remember to read "how to destroy a Tiger II" below, there are more tips available on this topic there.

====Counter-tactics====

[[File:Tiger II Shooting Guide.jpg|400px|left|thumb|Colour-frames showing the viability of targets on the Königstiger.]]

A Tiger II is a formidable enemy when it's used correctly by its operator, but it's by no means indestructible under any conditions.

The first thing you want to do is deny the Tiger II of the advantage of its gun by getting as close as possible while keeping clear of its cannon (the closer you get, the better the penetration values for you and the Tiger II) most Tiger II operators will avoid getting flanked at all costs so you might find yourself forced to face one from the front. The biggest weak spot is the lower frontal hull plate, its slopped but only 100mm thick and behind it lies the transmission that likes to catch fires and create nasty shrapnel when destroyed, the shrapnel will fly inwards and if your shell is large enough they will take out the entire crew. However, this shot will most likely only leave the Tiger II unable to move for a minute and make his operator quite angry (at you) while his gun remains perfectly operational and before you have a chance reload you will most likely receive a very accurate shot from an irritated Tiger II operator.

The lower frontal plate is a good place to hit but it should be a second option, with this tank, you need to disable that gun as soon as possible, the turret is a very reliable target at close range, even with HEAT ammo you should be able to deliver a shot that will disable its firing capability for long enough for you to reload and shoot again. Using your best AP round for this is recommended since the frontal turret has a fairly thick (but flat) plate, if nothing else works try APCR.

Using high calibre HE rounds is also effective. The cupola is probably the best place to hit with a HE shell, since the explosion will deflect into the thin upper plate and destroy everything inside. It is not easy to hit, but if you manage to hit the cupola it's very unlikely it survives.

The Tiger II is very vulnerable to "Circling attacks", that means, running around it in circles and harass it with side shots. Its turret can turn quite fast (especially in arcade mode) but most medium tanks are fast enough to outrun it.

If you somehow manage to see an enemy Tiger II from the side, try to land a shot in the middle of the hull, near of the turret (not on the turret, the upper part of the hull), there's a good chance there will be ammo there, and if there isn't, you will either knock out the tank by taking out many crew members or cripple it heavily

=== Pros and cons ===
'''Pros:'''

* Upper glacis plate is extraordinarily tough, especially at a BR of 6.3. Don't expect anything but APDS or HEAT to get through it
* With its very high muzzle velocity, accuracy, penetration, post penetration damage, and fire rate, the KwK43 88mm cannon loaded with PzGr 39/43 is arguably the best gun at Rank 4
* One can argue that the KwK43 is infact a better overall cannon than the 105mm cannon on the the 10.5 Tiger II. While it doesn't have the post penetration damage of the 105, the KwK43 has nearly double the rate of fire, nearly the same penetration, and is still an APHE round
* PzGr 40/43 shells have extremely high muzzle velocity and armour penetration values at all ranges
* Turret is highly sloped and can cause some shots to bounce
* Good tank for one to master the Tiger II(H) while grinding its modules
* Despite its massive weight of 68 tons, the Tiger II P actually has a high top speed. You'll be right behind the medium tanks when when going into battle
* Provides a good learning curve for later German heavy tanks

'''Cons:'''

* While being sloped, the turret is this tanks biggest weakness. The armour thickness is underwhelming at best. There are even some Rank 2 tanks whose cannon are powerful enough to go right through the front of the turret face
* Unlike most tanks in the game, going hull down is not a valid tactic in this tank.
* If the tank is loaded with anything more than 48 rounds, the back of the turret will have ammunition in it. This can prove to be a fatal mistake
* Angling the turret doesn't always work
* This is a massive heavy tank. So unless you're going at the tanks top speed, don't expect to pull of any quick U-turns to deal with an unexpected threat
* Priority target by planes. Especially when in 6.3 BR games
* Large fuel tanks can cause frequent fires
* With the very low damage and penetration of the HEAT shells, they are essentially pointless to ever take into battle

== History ==

===Development===
Just before the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]] entered service in 1942, work has already begun for its successor. In 1937, Henschel was ordered to develop a heavy tank design, with Porsche following suit in 1939. Porsche developed their new heavy tank off of the failed [[VK 45.01 (P)|VK 4501 (P)]], churning out two models designated VK 4502 (P) named Type 180 and 181. The Type 180 had its turret mounted centrally while 181 had the turret mounted on the rear with the engine in the center (akin to the [[Ferdinand|Ferdinand tank destroyer]] layout). Both designs used the same components of the VK 4501 (P) and both designs were visually similar except for the turret locations and some mechanical parts, but these two designs never passed wooden prototypes.

Henschel, on the other hand, used a more conventional design in their tank layout, but the end result look no way similar to their previous heavy tank design [[Tiger E|Tiger I]]. The VK 4503 (H) as designated by them resembled a [[Panther G|Panther]] tank layout, with the transmission in the front along with the driving compartment, the turret in the center, and the engine in the rear. The design used many components from the Panther and the [[Panther II|Panther II]] in order to standardize production. The suspension system was also different from anything produced at the time, though still using a torsion-bar suspension, the wheels were arranged only in the overlapping method, no interleaving. This new ''Schachtellaufwerk'' design simplified maintenance and increased production by using less wheels than interleaved (only 9 each side) and with full-steel wheels that the later Tiger I models used to save rubber. The first wooden mock-up of the design was presented on October 20, 1943 to Hitler, to which it was approved for further development as the '''Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B''', or just '''Tiger II''' and '''Tiger B''' for short. The Henschel variant was more advantageous than the Porsche variant for being developed faster and has a faster production rate, thus it was destined to be approved for service. The Henschel design began production in the Henschel plant at Kassal and the first 3 working prototypes were churned out in December 1943. Full-scale production began on January 1944 and continued all the way until March 1945. Due to the late introduction and the amount of resources needed to construct the heavy tanks, only about 482 production models were produced in this time period, considerably less than its predecessor, Tiger I.

===Design===
The Tiger II is just massive in size. Weighing in at 68.5 tons, it is the heaviest tank to see service in World War II, beaten out as heaviest serving vehicle by the [[Jagdtiger|Jagdtiger]], which weighs 71.7 tons. The Tiger II front armour is 150 mm thick, and this is without sloping, with which it would be more than 200 mm thick ineffective. The thick front glacis armour was never penetrated by any Allied tank throughout the entire war. The side and rear armour is still 80 mm, which presented a weaker target, but still formidable at longer ranges. The gun on the Tiger II was the famous 8.8 cm KwK 43, which could defeat all Allied armour in World War II. The gun is sighted by the gunner with a ''Turmzielfernrohr 9d'' monocular sight that allows two magnifications, 2.5x and 5x. In practice, the gun is able to hit a target under 1 kilometers away 100% of the time.

The turret on this Tiger II is the production turret model by Krupp, colloquially known as the "Henschel" turret (hence the "H" in the name) despite that the Henschel company had no influence on the Krupp turret design. This turret replaced the flawed prototype ''[[Tiger II (P)|"Porsche" turret]]'', also by Krupp. The production model was a simplified turret, using more flat surfaces and a sleeker shape for easier production. The previously curved front of the turret is made into a thickened flat face that presents no shot trap and the protruding commander's cupola was flattened into the design. The turret is powered and could rotate under two settings, high and low. In low, the turret could be rotated a full 360 degrees in 60 seconds, and the same in 19 seconds at high. Though the engine could allow the turret to traverse in 10 seconds in full power, but this was not recommended to avoid straining the engine. The turret traverse is powered by pedals or a lever by the gunner and is fine enough with these methods that small adjustments with the manual traverse hand wheels are not necessary.

The Tiger II was still propelled by the V-12 Maybach HL230 gasoline engine, which powered the lighter [[Panther G|Panther]] and [[Tiger E|Tiger I]]. The increased weight of the tank made the engine underpowered, requiring extra care to make sure the engine does not fail. Despite that, the tank was capable of reaching a maximum speed of 41.5 kilometers per hour, making the Tiger II quite agile for its weight. However, the Tiger II consumes exorbitant amount of fuel and requires extensive maintenance to keep running, which impedes its combat effectiveness in the whole strategic viewpoint as it only had an operational range of about 120 kilometer per hour on cross country terrain. The heavyweight also causes multiple mechanical issues in the tank, the drive train is overburdened as it was intended for a lighter vehicle and multiple breakdowns were experienced in early Tiger II models. Though, these issues were ironed out over time with improvements, but still persist due to lack of supplies to maintain the tanks.

===Combat usage===
The Tiger II is organized into heavy tank battalions (''Schwere Panzer Abteilungen'') in the Wehrmacht and SS units, who first received them by February 1944. A standard battalion would have 45 Tiger IIs, with three in command and 14 in each of the three companies. A total of 14 battalions were employed during World War II in the Heer and SS, 11 assigned to the Heers and 3 to the SS. The original role of heavy tank battalions was to engage, breakthrough and destroy enemy armour on the offensive, but the changing war situation saw their role relegated to the defensive. The Tiger II's first recorded combat action was in the 1st Company of 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion in Normandy in July 1944, fighting back the Canadians during their offensive in Operation Atlantic, three Tiger IIs were lost, two from combat and one from becoming irrecoverable after falling into a bomb crater. However, by the end of the Normandy Campaign, all of the Tiger IIs in the 503rd were lost. The 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion had the Tiger II see first action in the Eastern Front on August 1944, where it resisted the Soviet Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive. It was here on the road to Oględów in August 12, 1944 that an ambush by a few [[T-34-85]]s destroyed three Tiger IIs easily and some more disabled. The destroyed Tiger IIs were attributed to ammunition explosions. Due to this incident, it was ordered that the crew do not store the cannon ammunition in the turret, though the enforcement of this order varies between units. Still, 16 Tiger IIs in the 501st became disabled or destroyed in a span of more than two weeks.

The Tiger II also played a part in Operation Panzerfaust, where the 503rd Battalion was stationed in Hungary to ensure it stayed in the Axis Alliance. These tanks stayed for 166 days and claimed a large number of Soviet vehicle kills for the loss of 25 Tiger IIs. The Tiger II continued to see action in most of the offensive and defensive actions in the last few months of World War II, such as in the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944, the Soviet Vistula-Oder and East Prussian Offensives in January 1945, and the German Lake Balaton Offensive in March 1945, Battle of the Seelow Heights in April 1945, and the Battle of Berlin that lasted until VE Day.

Tiger II's performance in battle was quite favourable in firepower and achieved a disproportionate kill-loss ratio. The 503rd SS Battalion claimed 500 kills for the loss of 45 Tiger IIs in the time span of January to April 1945. However, most of the Tiger II's losses were due to mechanical breakdowns or lack of fuel, so the crew abandoned these tanks and destroyed them to avoid enemy capture. Ultimately, however, while these tanks proved a menace in the battlefield, its overall strategic effect to the war is negligible like its predecessor due to the low number available.

===Survivors===
Today, there are 10 Tiger IIs in varying conditions left in the world. The most well known is the one at Musée des Blindés museum at Samur, France. This Tiger II is the only working version left in the world, this variant has the "Henschel" turret attached. Other notable places around the world that have the Tiger II is at the Bovington Tank Museum at England (which has a Porsche and a Henschel variant), Kubinka Tank Museum at Russia, and the (future) National Armor and Cavalry Museum in America.

=== In-game description ===
"In August 1942, the companies Nibelungenwerke, led by Ferdinand Porsche, and Henschel & Sohn AG, under the direction of Erwin Aders, received technical specifications for a tank with thicker armor than the Tiger I, placed at the same large angles of inclination as that on the T-34.
After testing, Porsche's prototype was rejected. However, by this point, 50 turrets had already been produced for the model. It was decided that these turrets would be used to equip the first 50 tanks with Henschel's hull design, which had equipment for underwater traversing. Porsche's turrets had a streamlined shape, and the commander's cupola was accommodated by a curved bulge on the turret's side. The turret's frontal armor had a thickness of 107 mm. All Tiger II(P) tanks had anti-magnetic Zimmerit paste applied on their vertical surfaces.

The first set of tanks, new vehicles with the Porsche turrets received on March 14, 1944, became the 316th company of the Panzer Lehr. Five tanks fought with the Panzer Lehr on the Western Front. The remaining tanks were received by the 503rd heavy tank battalion, which fought on the Western Front until 1944. After this, the two still-intact Tiger II(P) tanks fought in the battalion's battles on the Eastern Front during the autumn and winter of 1944–1945.

Thick armor plates, positioned at high angles of inclination, provided the tank very high protection against the majority of the anti-tank weapons of the time. However, the vehicle's high weight and lack of engine power caused the Tiger II to have low ride quality and overall low reliability. A serious drawback of the Porsche turret was its streamlined front, which was prone to making projectiles ricochet into the roof of the tank's hull.

The major opponent of the Tiger II(P) on the Western Front was enemy aircraft. Also, many vehicles were lost as a result of mechanical failure."

== Media ==
=== Skins and camouflages ===
Camouflages and skins for the Tiger B (H) from live.warthunder.com.

*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23tiger_b #tiger_b]
*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23pzkpfw_vi_ausf_b_tiger_iih #pzkpfw_vi_ausf_b_tiger_iih]
*[http://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?q=%23tiger_ii #tiger_ii] The entirety fo Tiger B skins, but containing Porsche turret versions too. Lookout for the ''boxy'' turret for the correct camouflage.

Top five downloaded skins from live.warthunder.com:

* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/26203/ "Tiger II H - Semi fictional skin"]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/82288/ "Tiger II Henschel - Renewed skin "Moritz" - fictional camo"]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/45385/ "Tiger II Ardennes 1944 (Historical) s.SS-Pz. Abt. 501]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/83280/ "Tiger II (H) of sPzAbt 1./ 506 in the Eifel mountains, Germany, March 1945"]
* [http://live.warthunder.com/post/112731/ "Girls und Panzer Black Forest Peak Tiger II (H) Tank Skin and Dual-Camo."]

===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 ===
====Reviews====
{{Youtube-gallery|MOFu6PoiseE|Gameplay video "Crouching Tiger, Hidden...OH TITS! Fun & Intense Tank Battle!"}}

====The Vehicle====
{{Youtube-gallery|u5p3KCli6YM|Real life Tiger B from Saumur "Königstiger 2009" -Alain Le Pape|yn2q0E5vxqk|''Sound Recording: Tiger II'' -War Thunder|_dhPW_ksFcM|Tiger II starting, unloading and driving -Mgrg}}

== Read also ==

* Text of this page was written for the [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/232511-competition-wt-wiki-combat-training-closed/ Wiki competition "Combat training"] by [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/user/559224-remiak/ Remiak] [https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/233326-wikicontest-panzerkampfwagen-tiger-ausf-b/ Link to original contest entry article.]
*[http://www.tankmuseum.org/museum-online/vehicles/object-e1952-33 Page of the Bovington Tank Museum on the "Sd Kfz 182 Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf B (E1952.33)"]

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

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

{{Germany heavy tanks}}

Jagdpanther G1

2019-10-24T15:50:18Z

U8249517: Ammo racks