Q&A: Why are we so obsessed with the Tiger tank?

The Tiger tank was a very rare beast, but even today we see it as *the* German tank of the Second World War. Why is that?

***Sources and further reading***

***My books***

ACHTUNG TIGER! How the Allies defeated Germany's heavy tank

British Tanks of the Red Army

Panzer III vs. T-34: Eastern Front 1941

IS-2: Design, Development, and Production of Stalin's War Hammer

Designing the T-34

Sherman Tanks of the Red Army

***My sites***

[neilwilson]

I remember a bit from a Spike Milligan book where he describes a soldier who said that Tiger tanks were coming. Spike noted that they were Mark 3's. So even soldiers at the time were aware of the Tiger panic.

[terraflow__bryanburdo]

Gentlemen of distinction prefer The Stug Life ;)

[tanfosbery]

Perhaps it's because the muzzle brake on most German tanks looks similar to that on a Tiger, giving the impression when seen at long range or in cover, it was assumed to be a Tiger. Similar to whenever veterans mention coming under artillery fire it's always an 88

[pierQRzt]

The idea of making a Q&A on a forum and then share the most common questions is really good IMO.

[Duncomrade]

Ah scheisse, we only have one tank left!
*Dramatic music*

[kevinlind]

Doesn't matter what the negatives say, EVERYONE here would rather be in a Tiger, than a T-34 or Sherman

[NyaHaKitty]

Just my thoughts, but I think when it comes to the word and name itself - Tiger and Panther etc, it helps that it is easily remembered as it is. At some point in ones life, even if they might have no idea what they are generally about, the words "Tiger", "Panther" and "Panzer" might have popped up for you. Sure, M4 Sherman and T-34 are very known, but worldwide the names of the cats are easier. Whether it be during the war or postwar. Zaloga pointed out that the general public in the US got confused about all these designations of tanks and they wanted something easier for the public to get an appreciation of what they were reading about.

[RealPanzerJack]

Recently purchased and read this book Peter and what a good job you and the guys did. It’s nice to get some raw data on the Tiger without the usual “this tank sucked” or “this tank couldn’t be stopped”. Very much enjoyed and looking forward to reading your information on IS-2. Greetings from the UK 👍

[SMGJohn]

All these stories of the Tiger 1 being impervious monster, but frankly I read more memoirs of KV aces then any other, these tanks, really were impervious, not only did the Germans not really have much to fight these things with, their 88mm flaks were not exactly available in large numbers, so best bet were heavy field artillery, that being said I also read some pretty disastrous battles involving the KV-1 but for the time the KV tank had a myth of its own, created by its few ridicules encounters.

[akriegguardsman]

I'd watch a war movie detailing losses outside of combat and stuff

[seductive_fishstick]

9:20 imagin spawning in and you just have no fuel 💀

[SchleiferGER]

I finished reading the book yesterday. Tons of penetration data with some steel composition and a page or two of ergonomics analysis reports. What I got as key takeaway was that there was a time window of about half a year on the Soviet German front from the first encounter at Leningrad to the Battle of Kursk where Tiger I actually was well protected and somewhat impressive. After that it was just heavy. Adaption of the other side happens fast, so make sure that your ace tank is well tested and available in suitable numbers before you sent it to the front for the first time.

But why is it repeated again that the tiger is slow just by pointing at its weight? (Unless we are talking strategical mobility, then I understand it)

[Alex-cwrz]

I think that because for the allies the germans were the smaller force to bolster their own success they had to make the tiger out to be something it was not, something that not just leveled the playing field but swung it in the germans favour, to make allied victories better. I think a good example of this not happening is North Africa there is much less focus on German wonder weapons or the tiger as for a lot of that campaign the allies had less soldiers than the axis, or similiar numbers. And at times having a force 5 times smaller yet winning. Therefore there was no need to present axis weapons as better because there at times hundreds of thousands more enemy troops in the threatre than your own men.

[avus-kwf]

0:20 now makes sense this whole time. I thought it was the same guy but no it’s just the same voice actor

[r.gilman]

Nobody would watch Brad Pitt pour over Excel Spreadsheets, you sir, have not seen the movie Moneyball, ...coincidentally also has Jonah Hill in it...That last bit was completely unrelated.

[akriegguardsman]

I'd assume because everything the allies came across was a tiger

[fallschirmjager]

Yet military history visualised also did a video called The Tiger Tank how good was it really, and it turned out that it was verrrry good. The book series The Tiger Tank and allied intelligence goes into depth, ad nauseam, as to how many of our perceptions regarding the Tiger are incorrect. Especially volume 4. Most of these pre-conceived ideas that it was slow, heavy and unreliable etc, in most cases do not tally with the unit records and statements from the period, all the sources are stated at length throughout the book. Im not sure where to stand here, on one hand we have people saying it was even better than we thought and on the other we have people saying it was more or less crap.

[williamashbless]

The original Tiger was a successful design. It was more than capable of fulfilling the Breakthrough task it was built for.
Other than Kursk, it was very rare for it to be used in that role. It ended up being a very effective tank killer, but not really a role it was intended for.
While I think it was a successful design, it ended up not being used for that and was a failure(?)

Every tank was a Tiger.  
The Tiger and PIV have similar profile that would look similar at distance.

[JcDent]

We're obsessed with the Tiger 1 because it's sexy: literally the tank you draw as a child, but named after a Tiger and having a lot of mythos around it.

[Keckegenkai]

as if other tanks arent fetishized; just depends with what spectrum you move in or excahnge discussions.