In April 1942 the German company Henschel & Son was given the task of producing the Tiger I on a large scale. The vehicle was the largest tank built in the Panzerwaffe, and was well gunned and armoured. Its frontal hull armour was 100mm thick. The frontal turret armour was 100mm with a 120mm thick gun mantlet. The hull side plates were 60mm thick, the side superstructures were 80mm, and the turret sides were 80mm.
Mounted on the Tiger was a deadly 8.8cm Kampfwagenkanone 36 (KwK 36), which had greater penetration power than the 7.5cm KwK 40 on the Sturmgeschütz III (StuG.III) and the Pz.Kpfw.IV.
The Tiger was powered by an upgraded HL230 P45 24-litre engine that developed 700 hp at 3,000 rpm. The tank’s combat weight was a staggering 56 tons.
The internal layout was a standardised design typical of German tanks. It had a forward open crew compartment, with the driver and radio-operator seated at the front on either side of the gearbox. Three men were seated in the turret with the loader positioned to the right of the gun facing to the rear, the gunner to the left of the gun, and the commander behind him.
While the new Tiger was undoubtedly a great contribution to the war effort in Russia, production required considerable resources in terms of manpower and material, which was very expensive. In fact the Tiger I cost twice as much as the Pz.Kpfw.IV and four times that of the StuG.III.
Although from a technical point of view it was superior to anything else on the battlefield in 1942, when the vehicle came into service there was a shortage of qualified crews. They also required considerable amounts of fuel to run them, along with a large maintenance team to support them across Russia. A Tiger I required at least two standard German Sd.Kfz.9 Famo heavy recovery halftrack tractors to tow it, and because these recovery vehicles were in short supply it was often left to other Tiger tanks to recover broken down vehicles, which frequently resulted in overheating and engines breaking down.
Despite these problems, the Tiger was a versatile machine. Due to its size and firepower its main purpose on the battlefield was for offensive breakthroughs. But by the time it became operational, the military situation on the Eastern Front and operations in North Africa had changed considerably. Instead of offensive actions its main use became defensive, being used primarily as a mobile anti-tank and infantry gun support weapon.
German tacticians decided on the formation of heavy tank battalions or Schwere Panzer Abteilungen. It was intended that the Tigers in these battalions would be able to fight on the offensive during breakthrough operations, and would be supported by either medium Pz.Kpfw.III or reconnaissance vehicles.
In 1942 a heavy tank battalion comprised twenty Tigers and sixteen Pz.Kpfw.IIIs, which in turn comprised two companies, each with four platoons of two Tigers and two Pz.Kpfw.IIIs. Each company commander would have an additional Tiger, and each battalion command would have another two.
These battalions would be deployed to critical sectors, either for breakthrough operations or, more typically, counter-attacks.
Supporting the Tiger tank apart from the Pz.Kpfw.III was a host of other vehicles which included the Sd.Kfz.7/1, Sd.Kfz.9, Sd.Kfz.10, Sd.Kz.251 halftrack and the Bergepanther armoured recovery vehicle. There were also numerous smaller vehicles such as the Sd.Kfz.2 Kettenkrad, motorcycles and motorcycle combinations, Kübelwagen, and support truck elements comprising infantry, Panzergrenadier, and maintenance teams.
The battalion was organised into a staff company consisting of a communications platoon of various armoured reconnaissance and communication vehicles, and engineer and anti-aircraft platoons. Each Panzer company consisted of three or four tanks, with medical service and repair vehicles in support. There was a workshop company consisting of two platoons with a recovery platoon, communications specialist, armourer, and spare part detachment.