The Pz.Kpfw VI (Sd.Kfz.181) Tiger is a German heavy tank from World War II, one of the most famous combat vehicles of that time. The command of the German Panzerwaffe had the idea of creating a heavy tank from the beginning of the war, but the first attempts in the form of the centuries-old Neubaufahrzeuge tank turned out to be unsuccessful. In 1939 and 1940 they were conducted ineffectively, but after the clash with the T-34 and KW-1 on the eastern front, work on the new heavy tank sped up. On April 20, 1942, the prototype of the new tank, under the designation VK 4501 (H), underwent field trials in the presence of Adolf Hitler and was put into mass production shortly after. The first production versions were designated Pz.Kpfw VI Ausf.H1 (later Ausf.E). In the course of production, in the years 1942-1945, the tank was systematically modified by, for example, adding Feifell dust filters, different placement of headlights, modernization of optical equipment, changes to the commander's turret, etc. The drive was provided by a Maybach HL230 P45 12-cylinder carburetor engine with a capacity of 700 HP. The Pz.Kpfw VI tank, although it did not have such a contoured front hull as the T-34 or Pantera, was a heavily armored vehicle (frontal armor up to 120mm), armed with a very effective KwK 36 L / 56 88mm gun, which earned the reputation of being the most effective tank of the Second World War. It was a vehicle much better than the Allied M4 or Churchill and the Soviet T-34/76. He could also easily fight the IS-2 or M-26, surpassing them with the effectiveness of the main armament. On the other hand, the Pz.Kpfw VI had some disadvantages - first of all, it was extremely time-consuming to produce and had a very complicated suspension. In the later period of the war, the quality of the Tiger's armor also deteriorated, which resulted from the lack of access to the molybdenum deposits by the German economy. Despite these drawbacks, the Tiger on the battlefields proved to be a very effective weapon. He successfully fought in Tunisia, the Kursk Arch, Normandy and on the Eastern Front. Technical data: length (with a barrel): 8.45m, width: 3.7m, height: 2.93m, engine power: 700KM, weight: 56.9 t, range (on the road): 100km, maximum speed (on the road) ): 38 km / h, armament: 1 88 mm KwK 36 L / 56 gun, 3 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns.
Michael Wittmann was born in April 1914 and died in August 1944 at the age of 30. He was a German lower officer of the armored forces within the Waffen-SS. He is widely recognized as one of the best and most effective tankers of World War II. Michael Wittmann served in the Reichschwehr and later in the Wehrmacht in 1934-1936. In 1936 he applied for his accession to the SS, and in April 1937 he was assigned to the regiment (later division) of Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler. In 1938, he participated in the occupation of the Sudetenland and in the Anschluss of Austria. It is almost certain that he did not take part in the campaigns in Poland (1939) and France (1940). He took part in the fighting only during Operation Barbarossa in 1941. In the period 1941-1943 he fought on the Eastern Front in the StuG III self-propelled gun, achieving considerable success in fighting Soviet armored weapons. In 1943, he "switched" to the Tiger tank and in such a vehicle, as the commander of an armored platoon, he took part in the Operation Citadel on the Kursk Arch. In January 1944 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. In April 1944 he was transferred to the 101st Heavy Tank Battalion of the SS, where he commanded the 2nd company of this battalion. As part of this unit, he fought in Normandy from June to August 1944. There, he achieved his greatest success, destroying 21 British armored vehicles at Villers-Boccage on June 13, 1944, with only one tank at his disposal. Michael Wittmann died on August 8, 1944 in the Caen area. During his service, he probably destroyed 138 tanks and 132 anti-tank guns.