Tiger I

The Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I was a German heavy tank from World War 2. The Tiger has earned a legendary reputation as being indestructible. In reality, the tank was unreliable, slow and hard to manufacture.

Origins
When Germany attacked Russia in 1941, the Germans realised that their tanks were ineffective against the Soviet machines. Furthermore, Germany lacked a heavy tank, so Hitler agreed with Albert Speer to build a heavy tank. The tank was to mount the 88mm anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun and have thick armour. Two rival companies, Henshel and Porshe agreed to build two working prototypes by 1942. The two companies spent 11 months planning and building the prototypes and when the prototypes were unveiled, the Henshel tank was chosen, for it was believed that the Porshe tank was too ineffective. The Porshe chassis would be incorperated into the Ferdinand tank destroyer.

First Appearance
When the Tiger first appeared in North Africa at the end of 1942, there was no Allied weapon that could destroy it. The tank was deadly, for to destroy one, an M4 Sherman had to get within 600 metres. The Tiger could destroy a Sherman from over 2000 metres, which was a long distance. In January 1943, a group of 3 Tigers attacked the Allied base in Tunisia. A group of Allied tanks drove across a long field, with two hills in front of them, to engage the tanks. Unfortunately, there were two of the 3 Tigers on the hills.