The Tiger Tank and Allied Intelligence: Grosstraktor to Tiger 231, 1926-1943 (1)

It’s a good book but I didn’t think that there was all that much information presented on the antecedents of the “Tiger” tank such as the VK45.01 and others. These early designs are discussed in only four pages (24 - 27). Chapters 5 through 12 (more than 60 pages or half the book) describe the deployment of “Tigers” to North Africa / Tunisia. The descriptions of the German attacks toward Tebourba and Djedeida in December 1942 - January 1943 are incredibly detailed. I just felt it was overkill: the attacks only used 3 to 11 “Tigers.” There were never more than 14 “Tigers” available at any time. The most interesting parts were the operations intelligence the Americans and the British possessed on the “Tiger” which wasn’t very much or very accurate. The collection of photos is very good.Some other good books on the development of the early “Tiger” models and early German tank designs in general are:• “The Secret Beginnings of Germany’s Panzer Troops” by Scheibert (1999). I thought this was a really cool booklet (48 pages) on a somewhat esoteric military subject. The text, along with photos, describes the early LK I and LK II prototypes and the "Grosstraktor" and "Leichtraktor" designs of the 1920s. The alternative designs by Daimler-Benz, Krupp, and Rheinmetall are all described with text, performance and dimensional tabulations, and lots of photos. There are also several pages and associated photos discussing the "Neubaufahrzeug" tank of the mid-1930s; only five were built. Three of them were deployed to Norway in April of 1940, mostly for propaganda purposes. Finally, the "Kleintraktor" LKA or LaS antecedent of the Panzer I and the LaS 100 antecedent of the Panzer II are described.• “German Armored Rarities 1935 – 1945” by Sowodny (1998).• “Tiger” by Anderson (2013). This is a comprehensive book on the design of Tiger tank. It is divided into nine chapters: 1) Development; 2) Organization; 3) Mobility; 4) Firepower; 5) Armor; 6) Combat, especially on the Russian Front; 7) Maintenance; 8) Under Fire; 9) Conclusion. Most of the book discusses the Tiger Ausf E. The Tiger Ausf B ("Tiger II") is discussed briefly in the chapters but is not given as much attention.• “Germany’s Tiger Tanks: VK45.02 to Tiger II: Design, Production, and Modifications” by Jentz and Doyle (1997). This is a fantastic book! It probably tells all there is to tell about the design of the famous Tiger II tank. It discusses every imaginable detail of the design, ranging from rain guards over the gunner's sighting telescope to details of the track links. Numerous annotated photos and drawings are provided. I felt the discussions on the transmission and final drive systems were weak, however. The text describes what they were and how they functioned but not any thinking on how they were designed. In particular, there is no discussion on the relationship between the steadily increasing weight of the tank and the consequences on the overloading of the mechanical components. There are also no discussions on the reactions (if there were any) to field combat reports on the very high maintenance levels required to keep the tank functioning and on the extensive mechanical failures of the transmissions, final drives, and drive sprockets. By the time the Tiger II was being designed and placed into production, the mechanical problems of the Tiger I and Panther were well known. Yet both the design engineers and the Army weapons department staff continually allowed the weight of the Tiger II to increase as more armor was added without revising the transmission and final drives accordingly. It would have been interesting to read some explanations as to why this was allowed to happen.There are now some indications that the transmission problems likely were exaggerated by American and British generals and politicians to cover up their own inferior tank designs. This is discussed in Volume IV of this series “The Tiger Tank and Allied Intelligence” and also in the Anderson book.• “Tiger! The Tiger Tank: A British View” by Fletcher (1986). This is an excellent book that describes the British knowledge and speculations of the German “Tiger I” tank design over time as it became available. The book presents information taken from evaluations and reports prepared by the School of Tank Technology (STT). I thought it was interesting to read the British criticisms of the “Tiger.” This was from an army and a tank industry that couldn’t develop a tank equivalent to the German Panzer IV J, let alone a "Tiger" or a "Panther," until 1944.

Great resource. Though I ordered Vol 1, internal contents of the book was the complete Vol 4. Disappointing the publisher made this large a mistake.