Girls und Panzer Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Tiger II
Spoiler warning!
This Wiki contains detailed information regarding the Girls und Panzer universe.
Proceed with Caution!


"It's Miss Erika on her tank, The Königstiger!"
―Yukari

The Tiger II (official designation: Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B; ordnance inventory designation: Sd.Kfz. 182), also known as Königstiger (German name for Bengal tiger; mistranslated by Allied soldiers/intelligence as King Tiger), was a German heavy tank and the successor of the Tiger I. Carrying the most effective gun and armor, it became one of the most famous tanks of the war. It first appeared in the anime in Episode 10.


History[]

From 1937-1943 a new project had been started to gradually create new heavy tanks, with two manufacturers involved during the development (Henschel and Porsche). After the introduction of the Tiger I in 1942, they received a new order to develop a new, heavier tank with higher performance than the current Tiger I. The Henschel Tiger II was selected for production, being more conventional than the complicated Porsche Tiger II.

Tigerii008cw 19a

King Tiger Ausf. B

The tank was armed with a longer 8.8 cm gun than the Tiger I's, the 8.8 cm KwK L/71 Gun, with very high penetration values at long distance and protected by 150 mm sloped frontal armor. The early version was fitted with a rounded frontal turret (called a "Porsche" Turret) which had a conspicuous shot trap; later, the late version had an upgraded, flatter turret (called a "Henschel" turret) which solved the problem. The propulsion system was based on the Maybach HL 230 P30 engine, which however was underpowered and featured high fuel consumption. The suspension was a torsion bar design, with road wheels only overlapping and not interleaved as on the Tiger I.

The Tiger II proved to be difficult to produce, and costly to maintain, with its high fuel consumption and careful maintenance. By 1945, a total of 492 Tiger IIs had been built. Also, with the war turning against Germany, every Tiger II lost in combat was irreplaceable. Some have suggested that the resources spent for the Tiger II would have been better to be spent to produce cheaper, more cost-effective vehicles such as StuG III and Hetzer. The Tiger II came with a tank destroyer variant, one of the most powerful vehicles produced during the WWII, the Jagdtiger.

Weighing in at about 70 tons, the Tiger II was assigned only to separate heavy tank battalions. After initial teething troubles and reliability issue, both on the Western and the Eastern Front, it proved to be superior to any allied tanks operational at the time. Its gun could defeat any Allied tanks from a distance, while its frontal armor was very strong to deflect the enemy fire. But due to its low mobility, it could be easily flanked by fast tanks.

The tank was subjected to some proposed upgrades. One of them was a engine upgrade from HL230 P30 to HL234, which increases the engine power by a significant margin. The Sla.16 diesel engine was mounted in a Tiger II as a prototype but it didn't go for practical use because of the effects of war in the economy of the country. Arguably the most controversial upgrade proposal of the Tiger II is the mounting of the 10.5 cm KwK L/68 in replace of the 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 as its main gun, but was not a practical solution from the ground up due to the narrowness of the turret, needing for another loader, and other factors. Other minor upgrades were also proposed by ultimately rejected due to the end of the war in Europe.

In Girls und Panzer[]

Kuromorimine Girls' Academy operated some Tiger IIs (recognizable as the model produced from June to September 1944 by the nine sprocket teeths and the car jack at the rear). It's effectively used as a long range tank sniper and breakthrough tank, although it easily suffers from high fuel consumption and dislodged road wheels.

During the finals against Ooarai Girls Academy, 2 Tiger II were fielded, one of which was commanded by Kuromorimine's vice commander Erika Itsumi. The Tiger II proved lethal at long range; during the ambush from the forest, they were attempting to snipe Ooarai's flag tank (Panzer IV), but accidentally took out the Type 3 Chi-Nu instead.

Its weakness was revealed when, attempting to pursue the fleeing Ooarai force, one of Erika's road wheels got disconnected and fell off; this was pointed out by Darjeeling as the trade off for fielding heavy tanks to counter Pravda Girls High School, concluding that Kuromorimine was less able to cope with the mobile warfare employed by Ooarai due to that decision.

During the battle in the urban area, the Tiger IIs were seen splitting up in formation with some Panthers and Jagdpanzer IVs behind them to chase the remaining Ooarai tanks such as the Duck Team's Type 89B, while Erika's Tiger II and other Kuromorimine tanks tried to break through the barricade of the Tiger (P) to where the two flag tanks were fighting. Erika's Tiger II eventually forced its way into the area by climbing over the knocked out Tiger (P) to pass through faster, but it was just too late to affect the outcome of the flag tank duel.

Trivia[]

  • The tank was informally called the Königstiger (German name for the Bengal Tiger) by Germans, which was mistranslated by Allies as Royal Tiger and sometimes wrongfully called King Tiger.
  • The Tiger II is one of the few tanks with the Tiger I, B1 bis, and BT-42 to possess a steering wheel.

References[]

Gallery[]

Main article: Tiger II/Gallery
Tanks ☰ 
Light Tanks and Tankettes Poland7TPFranceAMR-35FinlandBT-42UKCrusaderItalyCV.33FranceFT-17UKHarry HopkinsUnited StatesM22 LocustUnited StatesM24 ChaffeeUKMark VIGermanyPanzer IICzechoslovakiaPanzer 38(t)FranceR35SovietT-60SovietT-70UKTetrarchPolandTK TanketteJapan2Type 2 Ka-MiJapan2Type 94 TanketteJapan2Type 95 Ha-GoJapan2Type 97 Te-Ke
Medium Tanks UKCenturionUnited StatesM3 LeeUnited StatesM4 ShermanItalyM13/40UKMatilda IIItalyP26/40GermanyPanzer IIIGermanyPanzer IVGermanyPanzer V "Panther"AustraliaSentinelFranceSOMUA S35SovietT-34SovietT-44Japan2Type 89BJapan2Type 3 Chi-NuJapan2Type 97 Chi-Ha
Heavy Tanks FranceARL 44FranceB1 BisUKBlack PrinceUKChurchillSovietIS-2SovietKV-1SovietKV-2United StatesM26 PershingUKMark IVGermanyNeubaufahrzeugGermanyPanzer VI "Tiger"GermanyPanzer VI Ausf. B "Tiger II"GermanyPanzer VIII "Maus"GermanyVK45.01 Porsche Tiger
Tank Destroyers GermanyElefantGermanyHetzerSovietISU-152GermanyJagdpanzer IVGermanyJagdpantherGermanyJagdtigerRomaniaMareșalItalySemovente da 75/18GermanyStuG IIIUnited StatesT28 Super-Heavy Tank
Self-Propelled Artillery GermanyKarl-Gerät 040
Main Battle Tank Japan2Type 10
Advertisement