The FReeper Foxhole's TreadHead Tuesday - PanzerKampfwagen VI - Tiger I - Mar. 2nd, 2004

www.wargamer.com ^

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

...................................................................................... ...........................................

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PanzerKampfwagen VI
Tiger I

The most famous German battle tank, the Tiger generated an aura of invincibility giving it a psychological advantage of great value. This reputation was justified by events such as the action in which SS-Obersturmführer Wittmann, commanding a Tiger on the Villers Bocage road in Normandy on 13 June 1944, destroyed 25 half-tracks and tanks, effectively blocking the road and halting the advance of a complete armoured division. At that time the British and Americans called every German panzer a "Tiger", although most of them were PzKpfw IV. Few would claim it as the best tank of all time, but it showed the way to the Panther and Tiger II which went a long way towards making up in firepower and effectiveness for the numerical deficiency in armor with which the German army had to face the Allied forces in the closing stages of WWII.


Henschel's VK3601 prototype

The Tiger tank originated from developments started in 1937, when Henschel were instructed to design and construct a 30- to 33-ton tank prototype as possible successor to the PzKpfw IV. The new vehicle was known as the DW1 (Durchbrüchwagen, breakthrough vehicle). However, after one chassis with interleaved road wheel suspension had been built, trials were suspended to allow work to be carried out on a further design for a 65-ton tank, the VK6501. The VK6501 was itself a further development of the original PzKpfw VI NbFz. This project was cancelled to resume development of the DW 1. The improved model, the DW2, weighed 32 tons, accommodated a crew of five, and had to be armed with the short 75mm gun. Trials were carried out until 1941, when Henschel, Porsche, MAN and Daimler-Benz were invited to submit designs for a new vehicle in the same class and weight as the DW2.


Porsche's VK4501 prototype at Rastenburg

The Henschel version (VK3001H) was a continued development of the DW2, which superstructure resembled that of the PzKpfw IV, and had seven interleaved road wheels. It was planned to mount the 75mm L/48 gun in this vehicle, but the appearance of the Russian T-34 with its 76mm gun made the vehicle already obsolete and development was discontinued. The Porsche version (VK3001P) was a turretless prototype with several new features such as petrol-electric drive. With the order for the VK3001 an additional order has been placed for a 36-ton tank, the VK3601, which specifications included a powerful, high velocity gun, heavy armor and a maximum speed of at least 40 km/h. These specifications had been personally proposed by Hitler, who was impressed by the French "Char B1 bis" and the British Matilda I. Experimentel work on both the VK3001 and VK3601 was stopped when a further order for a 45-ton tank was received in May 1941. Designated VK4501, the intended vehicle was to mount a tank version of the 88mm gun, and the prototype should be ready in time for Hitler's birthday on 20 April 1942, when a demonstration was to be staged.


The early production Tiger I ausf. H with 'Feifel' air cleaning system at rear

Henschel decided to incorporate the best features of their VK3001H and VK3601H project into the new design as time was limited, while Porsche incorporated as many as possible of the design features from their VK3001P model. The demonstration of the two competing prototypes, the VK4501H and VK4501P, took place before Hitler at Rastenburg, when the Henschel design was considered to be superior. The new vehicle was designated PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf. E. The Tiger was subsequently in production for two years, from August 1942 until August 1944, and in this period a total of 1350 vehicles were delivered out of 1376 ordered, indicative of the fact that the Tiger was conceived primarily as a fighting machine and not as a mass-production machine. Ninety Porsche Tigers were also ordered, partly as safeguard against delays or failure of the Henschel Tiger, of which the chassis was eventually used as basis for the heavy tank destroyer Ferdinand/Elefant. These vehicles made their unsuccessful battle debut in the Kursk tank battle.


Tiger with the old cupola....Tiger with the new cupola with rotating hatch

The Tiger I was the first German combat tank to be fitted with overlapping road wheel suspension, arranged with triple overlapping and interleaved wheels of a steel disc type with solid rubber tyres. The overlapping wheel system was adopted for optimum weight distribution. There were eight independently sprung torsion bar axles on each side, with the right hand axles trailed aft and the left hand axles led forward in order to carry all axles inside the hull. This resulted in an extremely soft and stable ride for a tank of this weight and size. Two types of track were used, one 725mm in wide was fitted for combat conditions, and a narrower one of 520mm in wide for travel and transportation. When the narrow tracks were fitted the outer wheels were removed from each suspension unit.


Tigers in northern Russia (winter 1943-1944)
and in Normandy along the 'Carpet Bomber Alley'

Through this type of suspension gave a superior ride, it also had its drawbacks, one being that the interleaved wheels were liable to become packed with mud and snow during winter fighting, and if ignored until frozen this could jam the wheels. The Russians discovered this and took advantage by timing their attacks for dawn, when the vehicles were likely to have become immobilised during the night's frost. Very late production Tigers had steel disc type wheels with resilient internal rubber spring rims of the type fitted to the Tiger II. In these Tigers, the outside run of wheels was omitted, reducing both the icing-up problem and the overheating problem of the axle bearing.


A Tiger tank with a rough white winter scheme (winter 1943-1944)

The Tiger was technically the most sophisticated and best engineered vehicle of its time. The hull was divided in four compartments: the forward two housed the driver and hull gunner/radio-operator, the centre was the fighting compartment, and the engine compartment was at the rear. The driver sat on the left and steered by means of a wheel which acted hydraulically on the differential steering unit. Emergency steering was provided for by two steering levers on either side of the driver operating disc brakes. A visor was provided for the driver and was opened by a sliding shutter worked from a handwheel. Fixed episcopes were provided in both the driver's and radio-operator's escape hatches. The gearbox separated the two forward compartments, with the radio-operator seated on the right. He had a standard MG34 in a ball mounting in the front vertical plate, and had his radio sets mounted on a shelf to the operator's left.


The Tiger I crossing a devastated battlefield, in full killer-hunting action. Note the BT 7, in the background, destroyed. A second Tiger follows just behind.These Tigers are from sPzAbt.502.

The Tiger's centre fighting compartment had a floor suspended from the turret by three steel tubes and rotated with the turret. The breech mechanism of the 88mm gun reached almost to the inside rear turret wall, dividing the turret into two. Like the hull, the turret was a simple structure; the sides and rear were formed from a single 82mm thick plate curved horseshoe fashion. The front was joined by two 100mm thick rectangular bars, and the upper and lower edges of the turret sides converged towards the front to allow for movement of the mantlet. The turret roof was a single shaped 26mm thick plate, bent slightly forward of the centre line to match the sides at the front. External turret fittings were three 90mm smoke generators on either side towards the front and two stowage bins either side of the centre line at the rear. Two types of cupola were fitted to the Tiger; the original type had five vision slits and was of plain cylindrical appearance, while the later type had seven episcopes and had a less prominent hatch which swung out to the side.


Changing a broken torsion bar was heavy mechanical work while many road wheels had to be removed

In order to simplify assembly and allow the use of heavy armor plate, flat sections were used throughout the hull. Hull and superstructure were welded, in contrast to previous tanks were a bolted joint was used between hull and superstructure. The front and rear superstructure was in one unit and interlocking stepped joints, secured by welding, were used in construction of both the lower hull and superstructure. The top front plate of the hull covered the full width of the vehicle and permitted a turret ring to be fitted width enough to accomodate the 88mm gun. The Tigers used in North Africa, and in Russia in summer, were fitted with the feifel air cleaner system. This was attached to the rear of the hull and linked to the engine over the engine cover plate. The tropical Tigers were known as the Tiger (Tp), but the feifel air system was soon discontinued to simplify production. The first production Tiger's were equipped for a totally submerged wading with Snorkel breathing, but this proved an expensive luxury and was discarded.

[Samwise]

No work this morning. :^)

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning CJ.

Planes, planes, planes...What? You got a thing about planes? LOL. No comment on tanks this Tread Head Tuesday? ;-)

[Colonel_Flagg]

Good morning!

Now there's a tank! :)

[CholeraJoe]

Tanks are ok. They make peachy targets for A-10's.

[Colonel_Flagg]

And you even found the Sturmtiger. :)

[GailA]

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone in the FOXHOLE!
ThreadHead Tuesday!

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. Good morning feather.

[snippy_about_it]

Here you are. Good morning from the Foxhole this fine day.

[snippy_about_it]

An A-10 takes off from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, for another sortie in support of the war on terrorism. The high-pitch whine of its engines overhead means firepower and protection to coalition forces on the gound and possible swift and certain death to the enemy.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Gail, now there is a great kite!

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on March 02:
1316 Robert II the Steward, King of Scotland (1371-90)
1409 John II French duke of Alençon/co-fighter of Jeanne d'arc
1459 Adrian VI [Adriaan F Boeyens], Netherlands, Pope (1522-23)
1481 Franz von Sickingen German knight
1545 Sir Thomas Bodley England, diplomat/scholar
1760 Camille Desmoulins France, journalist/pamphleteer/revolution leader
1769 DeWitt Clinton (Governor/Senator-NY)
1793 Sam Houston 1st president of Texas (1836-38, 1841-44)
1810 Leo XIII [Vincenzo G Pecci], 256th pope (1878-1903)
1824 Henry Beebee Carrington Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1912
1828 Jefferson Columbus Davis Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1879
1829 Carl Schurz Major General (Union volunteers) journalist/political reformer/Civil War general
1876 Pius XII [Euhenio MGG Pacelli], 260th Pope (1939-58)
1900 Kurt J Weill Dessau Germany, composer/Brecht collaborator (Mahogany)
1902 Edward Uhler Condon atomic scientist (Manhattan Project)
1904 Dr Seuss [Theodor Geisel] children's book author (Green Eggs and Ham, Horton Hears a Who!)
1909 Mel Ott 1st National League-er to hit 500 homeruns, hall of famer (New York Giants)
1917 Desi Arnaz Santiago Cuba, singer/actor (Ricky Ricardo-I Love Lucy)
1919 Jennifer Jones [Phyllis Isley] Tulsa OK, actress (Farewell to Arms)
1923 "Doc" Watson bluegrass musician
1923 Robert H Michel (Representative-Republican-IL, 1957- )
1926 Murray Newton Rothbard economist/Libertarian Party founder
1928 Philip K Dick writer
1931 Duane F Graveline Newport VT, astronaut
1931 Mikhail S Gorbachev Privolnoye USSR, Soviet Secretary-General (1985-91)
1931 Tom Wolfe Richmond VA, journalist/author (Right Stuff)
1942 John Irving Exeter NH, writer (World According to Garp)
1942 Lou Reed [Louis Firbank] Freeport NY, vocalist/guitarist (Walk on the Wild Side, Velvet Underground)
1943 George Benson jazz/blues guitarist (Breezin', This Masquerade)
1949 Eddie Money [Mahoney] Brooklyn NY, singer/guitarist (Take Me Home Tonight)
1949 Gates McFadden actress (Beverly Crusher-Star Trek Next Generation)
1949 Rory Gallagher Ballyshannon Ireland, rock guitarist (See Here)
1952 Laraine Newman Los Angeles CA, comedienne/actress (Saturday Night Live)
1955 Jay Osmond Ogden UT, singer (Osmond Brothers, Donny & Marie)
1959 Larry Stewart Paducah KY, country singer (Restless Heart-Wheels)
1962 Terry Steinbach New Ulm MN, catcher (Oakland A's)
1975 Arleen McDonald Miss Mississippi-USA (1997)

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Deaths which occurred on March 02:
0986 Lotharius King of France (954-86), dies at 44
1127 Charles the Good, Count of Vlanderen, murdered
1333 Wladyslaw IV the Short One/Great, duke/king of Poland, dies
1797 Horace [Horatio] Walpole British horror writer, dies at 79
1855 Nicholas I Pavlovitch tsar of Russia (1825-55), dies at 58
1895 Ismail Pasha kedive of Egypt (1863-79), dies at 64
1939 Howard Carter British archaeologist/Egyptologist (King Tut), dies at 65
1957 Harry E Soref inventor (padlock), dies at 70
1972 Bill Lawrence news anchor (ABC), dies at 56
1973 Cleo Noel US ambassador to Sudan is assassinated
1979 Mollah Mustafa Barzani Kurdish leader, dies at 75
1979 Sir Richard Sykes British ambassador is assassinated in Holland
1982 Philip K. Dick author (Hugo-1963, Dr Futurity), dies at 53
1987 Randolph Scott actor (Fort Worth, Gung Ho, Jesse James), dies at 89
1991 James "Cool Papa" Bell Negro baseball league great, dies at 87
1992 Sandy Dennis actress (Up the Down Staircase), dies of cancer at 54

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 LOCKHART HAYDEN J.---SPRINGFIELD OH.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1966 WORST KARL EDWARD---FORT SMITH AR.
1968 MARTIN DONALD E.---GARY IN.
[04/15/68 ESCAPED]
1968 WIDENER LARRY ALLEN---YOUNGSTOWN OH.
[03/68 REMAINS RECOVERED]
1969 BOGIAGES CHRISTO C. JR.---CLEARWATER FL.
1969 EVANS WILLIAM A.---MILWAUKEE WI.
1969 MAY MICHAEL F.---VASSAR MI.
1970 MC VEY LAVOY D.---LAMAR CO.
1970 SKIBBE DAVID W.---DES PLAINES IL.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
0871 Battle at Marton: Ethelred van Wessex beats Danish invasion army
1458 Hussite George van Podiebrad chosen king of Bohemia
1498 Vasco da Gama's fleet visits Mozambique Island
1776 Americans begin shelling British troops in Boston
1789 Pennsylvania ends prohibition of theatrical performances
1799 Congress standardizes US weights & measures
1807 Congress bans slave trade effective January 1, 1808
1817 1st Evangelical church building dedicated, New Berlin PA
1819 Territory of Arkansas organized
1819 US passed its 1st immigration law
1824 Interstate commerce comes under federal control
1836 Republic of Texas declares independence from Mexico
1853 Territory of Washington organized after separating from Oregon Territory
1855 Aleksandr Romanov becomes tsar of Russia
1858 Frederick Cook, New Orleans, patents a cotton-bale metallic tie
1861 Government Printing Office purchases 1st printing plant, Washington DC
1861 US Congress creates Dakota & Nevada Territories out of the Nebraska & Utah territories
1865 General Early's army is defeated at Waynesborough
1866 1st US company to make sewing needles by machine incorporated, Connecticut
1867 Congress abolishes peonage in New Mexico
1867 Jesse James-gang robs bank in Savannah MO, 1 dead
1867 US Congress creates the Department of Education
1867 US Congress passed the 1st Reconstruction Act
1868 University of Illinois opens
1874 Baseball batter's box is officially adopted
1877 Rutherford B Hayes (R) declared President despite Samuel J Tilden (D) winning the popular vote, but is 1 electoral vote shy of victory
1887 American Trotting Association organized in Detroit MI
1889 Kansas passes 1st US antitrust
1896 Battle of Aduwa, Abyssinia (Ethiopia) defeats invading Italians
1899 President McKinley signs bill creating Mount Rainier National Park (5th in US)
1903 Martha Washington Hotel, catering to women only, opens in New York NY
1904 "Official Playing Rules of Professional Base Ball Clubs" adopted
1909 Great Britain, France, Germany & Italy ask Serbia to set no territorial demands
1910 2 trains crash in snow storm in Wellington WA, 118 die
1915 British Vice Admiral Carden begins bombing of Dardanelles forts
1915 Vladmir Jabotinsky forms a Jewish military force to fight in Palestine
1917 Jones Act: Puerto Rico territory created, US citizenship granted
1919 1st congress of Communist International opens at the Kremlin
1923 Time magazine debuts
1925 Japan's House of Representatives recognizes male suffrage
1925 Nationwide road numbering system & US shield marker adopted
1927 Babe Ruth becomes highest paid baseball player ($70,000 per year)
1933 "King Kong" premieres at Radio City Music Hall & RKO Roxy NYC
1933 Most powerful earthquake in 180 years hit Japan
1937 Mexico nationalizes oil
1938 Landslides & floods cause over 200 deaths (Los Angeles CA)
1938 Trials of Soviet leaders begins in the Soviet Union
1939 Eugenio Pacelli chosen as Pope Pius XII
1939 Mass. Legislature votes to ratify the Bill of Rights; 147 years late
1943 1st transport from Westerbork Netherlands to Sobibor concentration camp
1943 Sea battle in Bismarck Sea finishes, US & Australia win
1944 Fumes from locomotive stalled in a tunnel suffocates 521 in Italy
1945 8th Air Force bombs Dresden
1945 King Michael of Romania gives in to Communist government
1949 Lucky Lady II (USAF B-50 Superfortress), completes 1st nonstop round-the-world flight at Fort Worth TX, covering 23,452-mis in 94 hours
1950 Silly Putty invented
1955 King Norodom Sihanukh of Cambodia succeeded by his father
1956 Morocco tears up the Treaty of Féz, declares independence from France
1958 1st surface crossing of Antarctic continent is completed in 99 days
1962 JFK announces US will resume above ground nuclear testing
1962 Wilt Chamberlain scores incredible 100 points in an NBA game
1966 215,000 US soldiers in Vietnam
1968 USAF displays Lockheed C-5A Galaxy, biggest plane in the world
1969 1st test flight of the supersonic Concorde
1969 Phil Esposito becomes 1st NHL Player to score 100 points in a season
1970 American Airlines' 1st flight of a Boeing 747
1970 Rhodesia becomes independent republic
1970 Supreme Court ruled draft evaders can not be penalized after 5 years
1972 Jean-Bédel Bokassa appoints himself President for life of Central African Republic
1973 "Black September" terrorists occupy Saudi Embassy in Khartoum
1974 1st class postage raised from 8¢ to 10¢
1974 Grand jury concludes President Nixon is involved in Watergate cover-up
1976 Walt Disney World logged its 50 millionth guest
1977 Bette Davis is 1st woman to receive Life Achievement Award
1977 Future Tonight Show host Jay Leno debuts with host Johnny Carson
1978 1st broadcast of "Dallas" on CBS TV
1981 Aircraft hijacked by 3 Pakistani terrorists
1981 Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WWDC in Washington DC
1982 Terror group "The Shining Path" frees 260 prisoners in Peru
1983 Compact Disc recordings developed by Phillips & Sony introduced
1983 Final episode of MASH; 125,000,000 viewers
1986 Protesters try to stop Land Rover motor company being sold to US
1989 12 European nations agree to ban chlorofluorocarbon production by 2000
1991 Del Ballard Jr throws most famous gutter ball in PBA Tour history
1994 Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh promises to surrender if taped statement is broadcast; it is, but he doesn't
1995 Space shuttle STS-67 (Endeavour 8), launches
2000 A federal jury in Washington convicted Maria Hsia, a friend and political supporter of former Vice President Al Gore, for arranging more than $100,000 in illegal donations during the 1996 presidential campaign. Hsia was later sentenced to three months of home confinement.

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Burma : Peasant's Day
Ethiopia : Battle of Aduwa Day (1896)
Texas 1836, Morocco 1956 : Independence Day
US : National Procrastinators Week (starts tomorrow)
US : TV Turn-Off Week (Day 2)
Philatelic Literature Month.

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Religious Observances
Bahá'í : Beginning of month of 'Alá (19 days of fasting)
Anglican : Commemoration of Chad, Bishop of Lichfield
Lutheran : Commemoration of Charles Wesley
Lutheran : Commemoration of John Wesley
Jewish : Purim (feast of Lot) (Adar 14, 5759 AM)

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Religious History
1930 American missionary Gustav Schmidt, 39, opened the Danzig Instytut Biblijny in the Free City of Danzig (Gdansk), Poland. It was the first Pentecostal Bible institute established in Eastern Europe.
1934 Birthday of Dottie Rambo, contemporary gospel singer and songwriter. She has authored such country gospel favorites as "In the Valley He Restoreth My Soul," "Build My Mansion Next Door to Jesus" and "I Just Came to Talk With You, Lord."
1948 U.S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall prayed: 'O God, forgive the poverty and the pettiness of our prayers. Listen not to our words but to the yearnings of our hearts. Hear beneath our petitions the crying of our need.'
1959 American Presbyterian apologist Francis Schaeffer wrote in a letter: 'Christianity is the greatest intellectual system the mind of man has ever touched.'
1979 Over 1,100 Christian organizations combined to form the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). This oversight agency was created to demonstrate to the public that religious groups wanted to make themselves accountable for the funds they raise and spend.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play."

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You know your getting old when...
an "all nighter" means not getting up to pee!

---

New State Slogans...
California: By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda

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Amazing Fact #76,110...
The slogan on New Hampshire license plates is 'Live Free or Die'. These license plates are manufactured by prisoners in the state prison in Concord.

[Professional Engineer]

Two types of track were used, one 725mm in wide was fitted for combat conditions, and a narrower one of 520mm in wide for travel and transportation. When the narrow tracks were fitted the outer wheels were removed from each suspension unit.

Before battle a US tanker and a German tanker meet in the woods while taking a nature call.

German: Say Joe, would you mind waiting a few days to fight, so we can change the tracks on our tanks?
American: Sure Johann. We'll give you guys a sporting chance.
German: Thanks Joe. See you soon.

On the way back, Joe sees his radioman and sends the message: Attack at dawn. We caught them with their tracks down.

[Professional Engineer]

Howdy ma'am. I woke today thinking: Allright! It's Treadhead Tuesday!

[Professional Engineer]

On 6 May 1955, the battleship collided with the destroyer USS Eaton (DDE-510) in a heavy fog; Wisconsin put into Norfolk with extensive damage to her bow and, one week later, entered drydock at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. A novel expedient speeded her repairs and enabled the ship to carry out her scheduled midshipman training cruise that summer. A 120-ton, 68- foot long section of the bow of the uncompleted battleship Kentucky [BB66} was transported by barge, in one section, from New Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp., Newport News, Va., across Hampton Roads to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Working round-the clock, Wisconsin's ship's force and shipyard personnel completed the operation which grafted the new bow on the old battleship in a mere 16 days. On 28 Jun. 1956, the ship was ready for sea.

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/battleships/wisconsin/bb64-wi.html

[snippy_about_it]

Amazing Fact #76,110... The slogan on New Hampshire license plates is 'Live Free or Die'. These license plates are manufactured by prisoners in the state prison in Concord.

LOL. How ironic. ;-)

[snippy_about_it]

Hello Matt and Good afternoon Poland.

We are having a bit of spring but winter will soon revisit us, too.

[snippy_about_it]

Who would of thought we'd start looking forward to Tuesdays. LOL. It's great fun!

[Professional Engineer]

1776 Americans begin shelling British troops in Boston

Way to go, Country Clowns!