The Tiger tank

The Tiger was the biggest and most powerful tank the world had seen when it first appeared in 1942. It could be a terrifying machine to the enemy when it was employed by commanders who understood its strengths and weaknesses. However, its virtues were often squandered. With a limited range of operation thanks to its massive fuel consumption and prone to mechanical failure, it was never suitable for deep penetration of enemy positions, as was seen at Kursk. It was also defeated in mountainous terrain in Italy and Tunisia. Tiger Tank traces the Tiger's history from the strategic requirements that created it, the technology that made it, to the conflicts that tested it. The book analyses the tactical doctrines that determined how it was deployed and examines how successful these were when the Tiger saw combat from Russia in 1942 to Berlin in 1945. Specification tables provide manufacturing details, while comparative tables allow the reader to make at-a-glance assessments of how the Tiger matched its rivals. Authoritatively written and featuring 70 colour and black-&-white photographs, fully annotated colour cutaway and three-view profile artworks, Tiger Tank tells the story of World War II's most powerful tank.