Tiger I

Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E
Tiger I in northern France, March 1944
Type	Heavy tank
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1942–45
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Erwin Aders Henschel & Son
Designed	1941
Manufacturer	Henschel
Unit cost	250,800 RM
Produced	1942–44
Number built	1,347
Specifications (RfRuK VK 4501H Ausf.E, Blatt: G-330)
Weight	54 tonnes (60 short tons)
Length	6.316 m (20 ft 8.7 in) 8.45 m (27 ft 9 in) gun forward
Width	3.56 m (11 ft 8 in)
Height	3.0 m (9 ft 10 in)
Crew	5
Armour	25–120 mm (0.98–4.72 in)
Main armament	1× 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 92 rounds
Secondary armament	2× 7.92 mm MG 34 4,500 rounds
Engine	Maybach HL230 P45 V-12 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)
Power/weight	13 PS (9.5 kW) / tonne
Suspension	torsion bar
Ground clearance	0.47 m (1 ft 7 in)
Fuel capacity	540 L (140 US gal) including reserve
Operational range	110–195 km (68–121 mi)
Speed	45.4 km/h (28.2 mph)

The Tiger I  listen  was a German heavy tank of World War II deployed from 1942 in Africa and Europe usually in independent heavy tank battalions. Its final designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E often shortened to Tiger. The Tiger I gave the Wehrmacht its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted the 8.8 cm KwK 36 gun (not to be confused with the 8.8 cm Flak 36). 1,347 were built between August 1942 and August 1944. Production was phased out in favour of the Tiger II.

While the Tiger I has been called an outstanding design for its time, it was over-engineered, using expensive materials and labour-intensive production methods. The Tiger was prone to certain types of track failures and breakdowns, and was limited in range by its high fuel consumption. It was expensive to maintain, but generally mechanically reliable. It was also difficult to transport, and vulnerable to immobilization when mud, ice and snow froze between its overlapping and interleaved Schachtellaufwerk-pattern road wheels, often jamming them solid. This was a problem on the Eastern Front in the muddy rasputitsa season and during extreme periods of cold.

The tank was given its nickname "Tiger" by Ferdinand Porsche, and the Roman numeral was added after the later Tiger II entered production. The initial designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H (‘‘Panzer VI version H’’, abbreviated PzKpfw VI Ausf. H) where 'H' denoted Henschel as the designer/manufacturer. It was classed with ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 182. The tank was later redesignated as PzKpfw VI Ausf. E in March 1943, with ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 181.