Tiger II or ‘Konigstiger’ (King Tiger) was first used during the Normandy campaign in 1944 and was the most powerful tank on the battlefield at that time.
Design work on the Tiger II began in 1942. Krupp designed a turret, while both Henschel and Porsche worked on hulls.
The Porsche design was known to the company as the Typ 180, and to the German Army as VK.45.02(P). Ultimately it proved unreliable, and none entered production.
Henschel’s hull design, originally known as VK.45.03, was approved for production as the Tiger II.
Having been contracted to design and build turrets for the Porsche design, Krupp completed fifty – and, as there were now no Porsche hulls to fit them to – delivered them to Henschel. The resulting vehicles (the first fifty Tiger IIs to be built,) became the Tiger IIs with the curved front turret.
The Tank Museum’s Tiger II (Pre-Production)
King Tiger V2 is the only surviving example of its kind – it was the second prototype of three built by Henschel, with the Chassis Number V2 (Versuchs-Fahrgestell No. V2 (Trial Chassis V2)), and was completed in December 1943.
It was never issued to a combat unit, remaining with Henschel where it was used for various trials. It was captured by the British at the Henschel testing area in Haustenbeck, Germany at the end of the War. It is still fitted with a modified exhaust pipe that Henschel were using to test exhaust pressure.
The turret rear was designed to be removable to allow the removal and refitting of the 8.8 cm KwK 43 gun. On our example the rear wall was removed and lost at some time Post-War and it has been replaced with a wooden panel. Also lost, presumably at the same time, was the commander’s cupola.
After its capture the vehicle had its original tracks replaced with a set of Kgs 73/800/152 single link cross-country tracks removed from a second Tiger Ausf. B (Chassis Number 280009 or 280012) that was also on site at Haustenbeck. These tracks had only been introduced in March 1945.
2025 Crowdfunded Restoration Project
The vehicle is currently undergoing a restoration to get it to running order. The Museum needs to raise £1,000,000 in order to fund the necessary work. Find out more and donate HERE.
