Tiger-P – The Porsche Tiger
Tiger-P
What is this Tiger-P Tank?
The VK 45.01 (P), also known as the Tiger-P or Porsche Tiger, was a heavy tank prototype created by Porsche in Germany that used a gasoline-electric drive system.
Was it launched?
No. It was not chosen for mass production after losing in trials to a Henschel competitor, and the Henschel design was manufactured as the Tiger I. The majority of the existing chassis were refurbished into Elefant tank destroyers.
Progress
Origin
On May 26, 1941, Henschel and Porsche were given the task of designing a 45-ton heavy tank that could carry the high-velocity 8.8 cm Kwk 36 L/56 gun, which was based on the German 88 mm Flak 37 antiaircraft gun. Krupp was supposed to supply the same turret for both the Henschel and Porsche tanks.
Porsche and Henschel logos
Porsche
The Porsche company updated the VK 30.01 (P) medium tank prototype and transferred pieces from it to the new tank.
Plan for the new Tiger-P tank
The new Porsche tank, codenamed VK 45.01 (P), was to be propelled by two V-10 air-cooled Porsche Type 101 gasoline engines attached to the tank’s rear. Each of the twin engines would then power a separate generator, one for each side of the tank, which in turn would power each of two electric motors, one for each track from the rear-drive sprocket.
Was it a success?
No. The engines and drive train were mainly new and unconventional designs for a tank (with the exception of a few early trials) and were prone to breaking down or requiring frequent repair due to their underdevelopment.
What were the obstacles?
In addition to the increasing demands of the U-boat fleet (which used very similar diesel-electric transmissions that worked perfectly well), it was difficult for the Third Reich to obtain additional amounts of quality copper to build whole new fleets of vehicles with electric drives. While it was relatively easy to obtain quality copper to build a single prototype, once series production began, it became more difficult.
What happened to the Tiger-P tank?
Because of the above issues, as well as the fact that trials revealed the tank to be less agile than its rival, Henschel’s equally armed and more conventional VK 45.01 (H) H1 prototype, which became the Tiger I, was chosen for production instead.
Was the Tiger-P a total waste?
No. The VK 45.01 (P) or the Tiger-P chassis was later chosen as the foundation for a new heavy Jagdpanzer (although classified a Panzerjäger) to be known as the Ferdinand and to carry the larger, longer 88 mm Pak 43/2 gun.
What were the other uses?
In the Ferdinand (Elefant) unit, just one tank served as a command tank, and it was assigned to Panzerjäger Abteilung 653. The chassis of the VK 45.01 (P) and several Elefant components were later utilized to develop the VK 45.02 (P) prototype heavy tank.
Design of the Tiger-P
Tiger-P
The spring rod roller carriage
The spring rod roller carriage was designed by Ferdinand Porsche, and it had six road wheels, each consisting of an inner and outer paired wheel per axle. The six paired road wheels were split into three 2-axle bogies per side, totaling 12 individual wheels (6 road wheels/axles) in three bogies.
Was Tiger-P similar to the Tiger 1?
No. Unlike the Tiger I, the wheels were not ‘interleaved.’ The ground pressure was roughly 1.06 kg / cm2 because of the 57 to 59 tons combat weight combined with 640 mm wide “slack-tracks” (KGS 62/640/130) with no return rollers.
The drive system
The specially created gasoline-electric drive-by Ferdinand Porsche entered “uncharted ground” for road vehicles, resulting in significant development challenges with the drive system. The two Porsche Type 101 air-cooled V-10 engines, each mated to a Siemens-Schuckert 500 kVA generator, provided the necessary electric power to run each of the two Siemens 230 kW (312.7 PS) individual-output electric motors.
What were the changes they did to the Tiger-P?
A mechanical power transmission system and gearbox could be omitted in this drive system since a 3-step speed switch took over the work. The power from the electric motors was transferred to the rear-drive wheels through a 15: 1 final drive.
The fuel tanks
The fuel tanks held 520 liters of gasoline and provided a 105-kilometer driving range. During braking maneuvers, the driver was aided by two compressed air tanks in the front crew compartment area.
Turret
Unlike the Henschel design, which had the turret positioned in the middle of the hull, the VK 45.01 (P) had the turret mounted in the front. The turret, which housed an 8.8 cm KwK 36 and a 7.92 mm MG 34 coaxial machine gun, was based on the same Krupp design as Henschel’s contract-winning VK45.01(H) prototype.
The first-ever turrets
The first eight turrets had lower sidewalls, a flat roof, and a raised center part to allow the gun to be depressed over a broader arc.
Modifications / Variants
Tiger-P
VK 45.01 (P) Prototype test
For testing purposes, a VK45.01 chassis was modified with a concrete turret dummy to simulate the weight of the Krupp turret. There were just 100 chassis made.
45.01 (P) VK 45.01 (P) VK 45.01 (P) V (Porsche Tiger)
There were ten VK45.01 tanks built with Krupp turrets and 8.8 cm KwK 36 cannons. Only one completed Tiger (P) command tank, chassis number 150013, saw combat service.
Panzerjäger Tiger-P “Ferdinand”
91 existing VK 4501 chassis were transformed into Ferdinand jagdpanzers by Panzerjäger Tiger (P) “Ferdinand.” From March to May 1943, the work was completed in just a few months.
“Elefant” Panzerjäger Tiger-P
All remaining Ferdinands were recalled in September 1943 to be modified. For self-defense, 48 of the 50 vehicles that survived were modified with increased armor, a new commander’s cupola (from the StuG III), and a new ball-mounted frontal machine gun.
Tiger-Bergepanzer (P)
The VK 45.01 (P) chassis was converted into Bergepanzer Tiger rescue vehicles (P). Only three were constructed.
“RammTiger” VK 45.01
The VK 45.01 (P) chassis would be converted into a strongly armored ramming vehicle with machine guns. The project was canceled in 1943, therefore the fate of the three superstructures is unknown.
