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| PzKpfw VI Ausf B Tiger II heavy tank. |
The Tiger II was a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, often shortened to Tiger B. The ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 182 (Sd.Kfz. 267 and 268 for command vehicles). It was also known informally as the Königstiger (Bengal tiger, lit. 'King Tiger') Allied soldiers often called it the King Tiger or Royal Tiger.
The Tiger II was the successor to the Tiger I, combining the latter's thick armor with the armor sloping used on the Panther medium tank. It was the costliest German tank to produce at the time. The tank weighed almost 70 tonnes (77 tons) and was protected by 100–185 mm (3.9–7.3 in) of armor to the front. It was armed with the long barreled (71 caliber) 8.8 cm KwK 43 anti-tank cannon. The chassis was also the basis for the Jagdtiger turretless Jagdpanzer anti-tank vehicle.
The Tiger II was issued to heavy tank battalions of the Army and the Waffen-SS. It was first used in combat by 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion during the Allied invasion of Normandy on 11 July 1944; on the Eastern Front, the first unit to be outfitted with the Tiger II was the 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion. Due to heavy Allied bombing, only 492 were produced.
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| Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II, France, 1944. |
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| Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II ‘Königstiger’ (Turret Nº 2-11) from the 2.Kompanie, schwere Panzer Abteilung 506, was captured by American troops and restored to running condition by Company B of the 129th Ordnance Battalion, 7th Armored Division, in Gereonsweiler, Germany, on 15 December 1944. The ‘Tiger’ took a hit to the base of the turret that jammed it at the 3 o’clock position. A heavy wrecking truck was used to ‘twist’ the turret to the forward position and the American soldiers, seen here, are probably engaged in a battlefield clearance operation. |
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| Tiger II (with damaged cannon) at the Henschel tank testing ground No.96 at Haustenbeck (Sennelager Training Aera) near Paderborn, Germany, June 1945. (Imperial War Museum photo BU 8018) |
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| Tiger II (missing upper portion of exhaust pipes) at the Henschel tank testing ground No.96 at Haustenbeck (Sennelager Training Area) near Paderborn, Germany, June 1945. (Imperial War Museum photo BU 8020) |
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| Tiger II and Kurt Arnoldt at the Henschel tank testing ground No.96 at Haustenbeck (Sennelager Training Area) near Paderborn, Germany, June 1945. (Imperial War Museum photo BU 8017) |
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| Members of the U.S. 129th Ordnance Battalion pull the gun barrel straight on the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II tank. 15 December 1944. (US Army Signal Corps photo) |
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| Members of the U.S. 129th Ordnance Battalion working on a captured Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II tank. The men replaced the final drive assembly and a section of track to get it to run. The tank was captured near Gereonsweiler, Germany. 15 December 1944. (US Army Signal Corps photo) |
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| Parade of a company newly-equipped with PzKpfw VI Ausf B Tiger II heavy tanks, late 1944. |
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| PzKpfw VI Tiger II unit. |
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| PzKpfw VI Tiger II heavy tank, knocked out by a bazooka shot in the side of the turret, Osterode, Germany, April 1945. Note the main gun round leaning against the turret side. |
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