The History of the German Heavy Tank Destroyer Panzerjäger Tiger (P), Known as the Ferdinand and the Elefant
In German tank manufacturing, there were instances where the combat vehicles that “took off” were not at all what had been originally intended. For example, few could have predicted that the Pz.Kpfw. IV, a support tank that was supposed to be produced in relatively small batches, would become the most widely produced German tank of World War II. More often, however, the opposite was the case. Namely, obsolete or less-than-successful tank chassis were repurposed as the basis for self-propelled artillery. In some cases, such chassis managed to remain in service for more than a decade.
The Original Design of the Typ 130 Tank Destroyer
Something similar happened to the most famous German self-propelled artillery vehicle of World War II. Officially, it was known as the Panzerjäger Tiger (P), but it is better known as the Ferdinand. Based on the Pz.Kpfw. Tiger (P) heavy tank, which had been taken out of service, this combat vehicle unexpectedly proved to be quite successful. Of course, its fame has been somewhat exaggerated, but nevertheless, the Ferdinand—later modernized and renamed the Elefant—had a major influence on global tank design. And on the front lines, at least in 1943, it proved to be a very formidable weapon.
It was developed in collaboration with Alkett
Although the outcome of the Pz.Kpfw. Tiger (P) development story wasn’t exactly pretty, we must acknowledge the obvious. The twin air-cooled engines were clearly inferior to the Maybach HL 210 engine. Moreover, as early as the spring of 1942, the idea of a third chassis variant, designated Typ 130, first emerged. It called for the installation of a pair of water-cooled Maybach HL 120 engines, the most widely used German engine of World War II. An important point to note is that we are talking specifically about a tank, not about a conversion, which appeared in the plans on September 22, 1942.
That was his official rank as of the spring of 1943
The fact that such a possibility had emerged was a sure sign that the Pz.Kpfw. Tiger (P) would eventually be canceled. So it didn’t come as a big surprise. In Porsche K.G.’s list of development projects, the future tank destroyer was originally designated Typ 101D, or Sturmgeschütz ohne turm. The final decision regarding the fate of the 90 Pz.Kpfw. Tiger (P) chassis was made on November 16, 1942. They were converted into tank destroyers by relocating the engine compartment to the center of the hull and replacing the engines with Maybach HL 120s. This project, developed jointly with Alkett, was designated Typ 130.
Chassis Layout
The initial design, developed by Alkett, was designated the Sturmgeschütz Tiger 8.8 cm L/71. According to calculations, the vehicle’s combat weight was 65 metric tons. The front of the hull was fitted with additional 100-mm-thick armor, and the turret had a total thickness of 200 mm. The upper frontal hull plate had an optimal angle of inclination, and it was decided to relocate the twin machine gun mount to the front of the turret. However, for unknown reasons, this plan was abandoned—a decision that the self-propelled gun crews would later “appreciate” all too well. It should be noted that the Sturmgeschütz Tiger 8.8 cm L/71 was not particularly spacious. Nevertheless, 55 rounds of ammunition is quite respectable.
The last chassis on the bulkhead, Nibelungenwerke, April 23, 1943
Alkett, however, served as the engineering firm, while the production of the self-propelled guns fell to Nibelungenwerke. According to the approved plan, the first 15 self-propelled guns were to be delivered in February 1943, another 35 in March, and the final 40 in April. The plant in St. Valentin served as an assembly facility. The hulls were modified by Eisenwerke Oberdonau in Linz, and the turrets were manufactured in Essen at the Krupp plant. In the process, they deviated somewhat from the original design. Additional hull plates were bolted flush against the main plates, and the forward machine gun mount was omitted. There were other changes compared to the preliminary design as well, such as those on the conning tower roof. The conning tower itself was made removable to allow access to the transmission components.
During testing, the gun shield has not yet been installed
It must be said that Nibelungerwerke took this task very seriously. Assembly of the first Sturmgeschütz Tiger 8.8 cm L/71 chassis began on April 16, 1943; the first hull arrived that same day. The last chassis, No. 150091, was assembled on April 23, 1943, and the final self-propelled gun left the factory on May 12. By that time, testing had been completed, as well as a demonstration for Hitler. Based on the test results, it was decided to add armor to protect the gun mount. Alkett manufactured this armor in May 1943; subsequently, the bolt-on armor plates were sent to the units that had received these self-propelled guns.
By May 1943, the Ferdinand index was already in use
At that time, the self-propelled gun was officially designated as the Panzerjäger Tiger (P), but it became better known in the troops as the Ferdinand. The number of self-propelled guns produced proved sufficient to equip two heavy tank destroyer battalions—the 653rd and 654th. Previously, the 653rd Division had been the 197th Assault Gun Division, while the 654th had fought with Marder II tank destroyers. Both divisions were organized to have 45 self-propelled guns each, and their staffing levels were established as of March 31, 1943. At the same time, both divisions operated jointly with a number of units, including tank companies of radio-controlled vehicles. It was intended that the “Ferdinands” would serve as a kind of battering ram, breaking through Soviet defensive lines.
Deployment to the Front
This is exactly how the two divisions, armed with Ferdinands, operated during Operation Citadel. They fought on the northern flank of the Kursk Salient, breaking through toward the Ponyri railway station. It must be said that German military superiority at the Kursk Salient was at its peak, but they faced an army that already had two years of combat experience. The Soviet sappers became the Ferdinand’s most formidable enemy. At least 10 vehicles were destroyed by mines and booby traps. Ferdinand’s total irrecoverable losses amounted to 39 self-propelled guns—that is, nearly the entire division. As a result, on August 26, 1943, all self-propelled guns of this type were consolidated into the 653rd Division.
A total of two battalions of these self-propelled guns were deployed
The appearance of the Ferdinand had a direct impact on the development of Soviet tank design. The first reports on the new German combat vehicle appeared as early as July 1943, followed by a more detailed study. It was this self-propelled gun that was the main reason Soviet medium tanks were equipped with 85-mm guns, while the 122-mm D-25 system became the preferred gun for the IS tank. This was because the 85-mm gun could reliably penetrate 80-mm-thick side armor, while the D-25 could penetrate the front hull and turret armor at medium ranges. The appearance of the Ferdinand also influenced the development of the “K” tank project, later known as Object 701. It was built specifically to counter the Ferdinands.
Their main opponents were Soviet sappers
At the same time, statistics on the use of these self-propelled guns indicated that vehicles with a combat weight of 70 metric tons faced difficulties in combat. For example, as of August 26, 1943, only 12 out of 50 self-propelled guns were combat-ready. Subsequently, the number of operational vehicles rarely exceeded 10. There were instances when the vehicles caught fire while on the move. It might seem that this was a chassis issue. But no, it was a problem of overloading the chassis. And, to be fair, it’s worth noting that Porsche’s brainchild handled the abuse it was subjected to more or less with dignity. Nothing of the sort would have been possible with the Pz.Kpfw. Tiger Ausf. E.
In the battles of the fall of 1943
The Ferdinand was a very dangerous combat vehicle, but its performance varied. An episode often cited in the history of this self-propelled gun is when the 653rd Division destroyed 54 Soviet tanks in two days of fighting, 21 of them by Franz Krechmer’s crew. However, during that same period, the 28th Army lost 33 tanks—either destroyed or damaged—including 9 KV-85s and 4 SU-152s that were irretrievably lost. Moreover, the “Zveroboy” units scored 5–6 “Ferdinands,” which allegedly suffered no losses. And here’s what’s surprising—during that period, 6 self-propelled guns “disappeared.” Apparently, they just vanished. “No losses.”
After being converted into an Elefant, spring 1944
On December 22, 1943, the 653rd Tank Destroyer Division was withdrawn from the front. The vehicles were sent to the Nibelungenwerk factory, where they underwent modernization. The turret roof was redesigned, thereby improving visibility. Based on experience from the Battle of Kursk, where it was sometimes necessary to fire a machine gun directly through the gun barrel, the front-mounted machine gun was reinstalled. Zimmerit was also applied, and various modifications were made to the exterior. However, the SPG continued to be designated “Ferdinand”; that is, the redesign did not automatically entail a name change. The “Elefant” designation appeared in April 1944.
In the spring of 1944, they appeared in Italy
Even before the renaming, in March 1944, the division’s first battery (11 self-propelled guns) was sent to Italy. The idea of sending these combat vehicles into mountainous terrain was far from ideal. The vehicles suffered from having to fight in terrain that was clearly unsuitable for them. Some of the self-propelled guns were lost due to mechanical failures, while others were destroyed by Allied aircraft. The first two self-propelled guns were lost as early as late March 1944, and a total of seven were lost. Moreover, by June 1944, only one or two self-propelled guns of this type remained operational.
And also near Ternopil
The remaining self-propelled guns (31 vehicles) were sent to the Ternopil area in April 1944. They operated quite successfully; by July 1944, there were 33 such self-propelled guns, plus the only combat-deployed Pz.Kpfw. Tiger (P), as well as a Bergepanzer VI recovery vehicle. Then the Lviv-Sandomierz Offensive began. Trouble reached the 653rd Division by July 20, 1944—though it seems they did not even notice it. In a matter of days, 19 self-propelled guns, the Pz.Kpfw. Tiger (P), and all Bergepanzer VI recovery vehicles were lost. By August 1, only 12 Elefants remained, all in need of repair.
After the battles in Poland
14 Elefant self-propelled guns were assigned to the 614th Heavy Tank Destroyer Battery. In the battles of mid-January 1945, 10 of them were lost; the remaining self-propelled guns were used sporadically until the end of the war. However, the battles of the summer of 1944 had already shown that nothing remained of their former glory. It could not have been otherwise: by that time, the Red Army was deploying on a massive scale tanks and self-propelled guns that had been designed, in part, based on the experience gained during the Battle of Kursk. Be that as it may, the Ferdinand/Elefant became arguably the most successful German heavy tank destroyer. At the very least, no other German self-propelled gun of this class had such a significant impact. The very fact that we “saw” the “Ferdinands” on a wide variety of front sectors speaks volumes.
List of Sources:
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- Byundesarchiv (BAMA)
- US NARA
- ЦАМО РФ
- US Signal Corps
- The Combat History of German Heavy Anti-Tank Unit 653 in World War II, Karlheinz Münch, Stackpole Books, 2005
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