All Teeth and No Bite? Just How Threatening Was the German Tiger?

Max_Calibre, on 22 April 2022 - 03:03 PM, said: My answers in Red   Just Typical Russian/ Soviet propaganda bias here from WG jeez why does WG even try this rubbish on the World we all KNOW actual REAL facts from WW2 this WG (copy text) below is just old propaganda to pretend justify Soviet might and strength  **Soon, the Tiger had to face the powerful IS-2 and the ISU-152—armed with powerful 122 mm and 152 mm armaments, respectively. They were highly effective at destroying enemy Tigers. The Soviets also developed the 85 mm anti-tank gun, which was mounted on the ferociously mass-produced T-34s to form the T-34-85. Later came the SU-85, which could effectively knock out Tigers from a greater distance** The 17-pounder gun, mounted on the Sherman Firefly and some M10 tank destroyers, was the British answer to the Tiger problem and could effectively penetrate their armor. Over 2,000 were produced, while the 90 mm guns of the American M36 tank destroyer—later of the M26 Pershing—also demonstrated a capable counterthreat.   IS-2 and ISU-152 could easily destroy a Tiger I without any issues. Otto Carius told me that they were really concerned about IS-2 and ISU-152. In fact, his tank was hit once by an ISU-152. It´s not Propanga, it´s  what happened during WWII.   Fact - the German Tiger Tank (just the Tank design & performance, not the Regime) was 10 years or more advanced than anything the Allies or Soviets had. Yes and no. Quantity over quality. It was already discussed by several historians several times. Yes, it was a good tank, but it was a good tank also mainly thanks to the experimented crews. Fact - Tiger Tank was a mobile HT & Sniper Tank Destroyer that destroyed All & Every Allied Tank & Heavy Tank from the Second world War from 1500mtrs to 2000mtrs with a Impressive Accuracy and Power unknown before. NO. The Tiger I NEVER fired at 1500 or 2000 meters. Could it destroy enemy tanks at such distances? Yes. Did the German crews fire at those distances? NO in normal conditions. They have orders to save as much ammo as possible. Firing at these distances was just a waste of ammo. Otto Carius told me, for example. Also, it´s even written in the Tigerfibel. Of course, each action was different and on some rare occasions German crews destroyed enemies at long distances but it was not the general rule. Knispel, for example, only destroyed one tank at 3.000 meters. Fact - It Terrified the Allies & Soviet Tank crews its only weakness was get Close-in and encircle the Tiger ~ Only If the German Tiger Crews allowed this to happen a big 'If'. No. The German Tiger crews were not ubiquitous or omniscient. Michael Wittmann´s fate is a very good example of it. Fact - Its Main 88mm Gun once it pentrarated Any Tank of Any Nation 100% destruction and many times it went clean through one side of the Enemy Tank and exited the other side at huge velocity. Yes, the 88 could destroy any enemy vehicle. It´s also mentioned in the article... Fact - Its Frontal armor (Flat but very thick) could withstand any Shell from Any Tank Allied & Soviet from 500mtrs (at 1000mtrs everything bounced, everything. Many Tiger I were destroyed with side hits as you know. Also a lucky shot even from tanks that couldn´t penetrate frontally the Tiger could put a Tiger I out of action with a lucky shot, for example, this is what happened to the Tiger 131. A Tiger I could be destroyed by frontal hits from IS-2 or ISU-152 at long distances. Also, Firefly could easily penetrate frontally the Tiger I. Fact - If the German Army had the Tiger Heavy Tank just 2 years earlier and in many 1000,s numbers. Not really. The tank was very expensive to produce and there was a lack of material. Also, everyone who knows just a little bit about WW2 knows that the peak of production of the German industry was in 1944-45 when Speer was in charge.   Yes at the "End" of the War the British had developed in a hurry the 17lb Gun which could penetrate a Tiger Tank at last,  but still had to get close uncomfortably within 1000mtrs (unlike the Tiger) *And the Pershing American HT Tank only appeared in late 1945 and in battle for less than 2 months then War ended .. and only in small numbers,  ** The soviet IS2 had to get close within 500mtrs to reliably hit the target to destroy it, from 1000mtrs+ accuracy was bad, same again for the ISU -152 accuracy was average at best but better than a IS-122   Yes, the accuracy of Soviet guns was terrible, but a single shot could destroy a Tiger I without issues.   jeez you would think that WG would be a more balanced attitude today in 2022 but with 'you know what war going on'  hey ho.   It´s fine to talk and discuss History instead of just dropping toxic comments on the forum complaining about a historical article that is just showing the reality of the Tiger I in WW2. Of course, the matter is quite complex and there are very good books out there with much more information. This is just a general article to give you guys a general overview of this interesting topic.