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Tiger II is the common name of a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B,〔''Panzerkampfwagen'' – abbr: ''Pz.'' or ''Pz.Kfw.'' (English: armored fighting vehicle) ''Ausführung'' – abbr: ''Ausf.'' (English: variant). The full titles ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B and ''Panzerbefehlswagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B (for the command version) were used in training and maintenance manuals and in organization and equipment tables. (Jentz and Doyle 1997) Also sometimes referred to as Pz. VI ''Ausf'' B, not to be confused with ''Pz. VI ''Ausf'' H'', which was the Tiger I.〕 often shortened to Tiger B.〔Jentz and Doyle 1993, p. 16.〕 The ordnance inventory designation was ''Sd.Kfz.'' 182.〔 It is also known under the informal name ''Königstiger''〔 (the German name for the Bengal tiger), often translated literally as Royal Tiger, or somewhat incorrectly as King Tiger by Allied soldiers, especially by American forces.〔Buckley 2004, (p. 119. )〕〔Tank Spotter's Guide, Bovington 2011 p. 63〕 The Tiger II was the successor to the Tiger I, combining the latter's thick armor with the armor sloping used on the Panther medium tank. The tank weighed almost 70 metric tons, and was protected by of armor to the front.〔 It was armed with the long barreled 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 gun.〔''Kampfwagenkanone'' – abbr: ''KwK'' (English: fighting vehicle cannon)〕 The chassis was also the basis for the Jagdtiger turretless tank destroyer.〔Schneider 1990, p. 18.〕 The Tiger II was issued to heavy tank battalions of the Army (''Schwere Heerespanzerabteilung'' – abbreviated ''s.H.Pz.Abt'') and the ''Waffen-SS'' (s.SS.Pz.Abt). It was first used in combat with s.H.Pz.Abt. 503 during the Normandy campaign on 11 July 1944;〔Jentz and Doyle 1993, p. 37.〕 on the Eastern Front, the first unit to be outfitted with Tiger IIs was the s.H.Pz.Abt. 501, which by 1 September 1944 listed 25 Tiger IIs operational.〔Jentz and Doyle 1993, p. 40.〕 ==Development== Development of a heavy tank design had been initiated in 1937; the initial design contract was awarded to Henschel. Another design contract followed in 1939, and was given to Porsche.〔Jentz & Doyle 1993, p. 3.〕 Both prototype series used the same turret design from Krupp; the main differences were in the hull, transmission, suspension and automotive features.〔 The Henschel version used a conventional hull design with sloped armor resembling the layout of the Panther tank. It had a rear mounted engine and used nine steel-tired, eighty centimeter diameter overlapping road wheels per side with internal springing, mounted on transverse torsion bars, in a similar manner to the original Henschel-designed Tiger I. To simplify maintenance, however, as when the same steel-tired road wheels were used on later Tiger I hulls, the wheels were only overlapping ''without'' being interleaved — the full ''Schachtellaufwerk'' rubber-rimmed roadwheel system that had been in use on nearly all German half-tracks used the interleaved design, later inherited by the early production versions of the Tiger I〔Jentz and Doyle 1993, pp. 10–12.〕 and Panther. The Porsche hull designs included a rear-mounted turret and a mid-mounted engine. The suspension was the same as on the ''Elefant'' tank destroyer. This had six road wheels per side mounted in paired bogies sprung with short longitudinal torsion bars that were integral to the wheel pair; this saved internal space and facilitated repairs. One Porsche version had a gasoline-electric drive (fundamentally identical to a Diesel-electric transmission, only using a gasoline-fueled engine as the prime mover), similar to a gasoline-electric hybrid but without a storage battery; two separate drive trains in parallel, one per side of the tank, each consisting of a hybrid drive train; gasoline engine – electric generator – electric motor – drive sprocket. This method of propulsion had been attempted before on the Tiger (P) (later ''Elefant'' prototypes) and in some US designs, but had never been put into production. The Porsche suspension were later used on a few of the later ''Jagdtiger'' tank destroyers. Another proposal was to use hydraulic drives. Dr. Porsche's unorthodox designs gathered little favor.〔Jentz and Doyle 1993, pp. 8–10.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tiger II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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