It, therefore, served as a stop-gap for German industry to develop a purpose-built heavy tank with improved features. The Tiger I was, in effect, a rushed job, bringing together parts from other programs in order to deliver a functional heavy tank with an 8.8 cm gun (L/56). A wooden mockup of the Tiger II showing a Krupp Serienturm production style turret with stereoscopic gun sights Source: Herbert Ackermans/German Archives Origins The Tiger II simply failed to deliver on the promise of a heavy breakthrough tank and never overcame its technical shortcomings, yet it retains the ability to capture the imagination of enthusiasts, modelers, and historians alike. These occasions, were, however, few and far between as units often could not get into position for lack of spares or fuel and, when crippled, often could not be recovered. When the Tiger II found the enemy and was operational for combat it provided good service for the German Army and proved to be a formidable opponent head-on with a combination of excellent gun and heavy armor. However, in reality, the tank proved to be a burden on the overstretched German armaments production system and on the military logistics required to support it, with more Tiger II’s destroyed by their own crews than by the Allies. Developed as a replacement for the Tiger I, its role was to be the heavy tank capable of breaking through an enemy line and smashing their defenses and tanks in the process. The Tiger II, often referred to as the King Tiger or even Bengal Tiger (Königstiger) was the largest and heaviest operational tank fielded by the German Army in WW2.
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