DRAGON ARMOR UML Exclusive Ltd Edition

DRR60142 (DRR 60142) - King Tiger (Sd.Kfz. 182) w/Production (Henschel) turret, and MG on a commander cupola.

sPzAbt 501, (2.Kompanie sSSPzAbt 501) tank #213

Ardennes Offensive / The Battle of Bulge * 

Manufacturer Status - Special Limited Productio Release, Sold Out long ago

Store Status - very small number on hand

Market Status - rare.

This model is a part of Cyber-Hobby first season of Dragon Armor Special Releases. It is very difficult to find item that constantly increase in price since it has been released, with recent ebay sales (end of 2007) over $100.00.

sPzAbt 501 NEVER fought on the Western Front.  At the time of The Battle of Bulge Russians on the Eastern Front overwhelmed it.

This tank probably belongs to Waffen SS heavy tank battalion sSSPzAbt 501 – formerly SS sSSPzAbt 101 that was renamed to 501 in November 1944 after it lost all Tiger I tanks in France during the summer Allies offensive and was refitted with new King Tiger tanks.

Die Cast 1/72 scale; Approximately L 4.0” (5.5” w gun); W 2”. Despite relatively small size models are exceptionally detailed and have outstanding paintjob, display great!  This is a great model of the most powerful tank of WW II. *

Dragon ARMOR 1:72 models are: This line features static pre-assembled, pre-painted models made of both diecast and plastic. True to scale; authentically detailed and historically accurate.

UML (Hong Kong) – Cyber Hobby with cooperation with Dragon issued their Exclusive lines including in ARMOR Series.  Models from this line become very popular and enjoyed price appreciation from the moment as a model had announced.

Regular UML Exclusive Ltd Edition model comes packed in a tin box with a colorful carton sleeve.  A model secured to a standard Dragon Armor Series display stand base, but no clear top comes with it.  It has a numbered collector card made of

plastic.  Late 2004 issues have a collector card size booklet with pictures all UML Exclusive 2004 tank models.  A model may have an improved display appearance, like a realistic ground on a display base (a print on a carton) or commemorative plate.  This particular model has standard packaging. 

 “Konigstiger” - King Tiger - Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf B (Sd Kfz 182)

Other Designations:   VK4503,  Pz Kpfw Tiger Ausf B.  Tiger II designation was never used in German official papers.

Type: Heavy Tank

Manufacturer: Henschel

In Production: January 1944 – March 1945

Production: 489 and 3 prototypes

Engine: Maybach HL23P 30

Speed: 32km/h / 21.75 mph on road

Range: 105.6 km

Weight: 68 tons

Size (m/foot):  L10.3/33.8’, W 3.76/12.34’, H 3.08/10.10’

Crew: 5

Armament: One 8.8cm KwK 43 L/71 main gun and two 7.92 mm MG34

Ammunition: 72 Pzgr & Spgr

Armor: (mm/angle)

Turret – front 180/9. side 80/21, rear 80/21, top 40/78-90

Superstructure – front 150/50, Side 80/30, /top 40/90

Hull – Front 100/25, side 80/0, rear 80/30, top 40/25-90

Gun mantlet – Saukpfblede.

HISTORY

A new Tiger was ordered in January 1943, with specification to have a turret large enough to mount the 8.8cm L/71 gun, increased front armour to 150 mm.  This gun had maximum effective range of 10km / 6.2 miles and firing certain type of ammunition was able to kill most of allies tank at a distance over two miles.

The turret designed and manufactured by Krupp for the Porsche VK4502 (p) was chosen, which was commonly known as Porsche turret.  Latter the order to redesign a turret was issued due to the fact that curved front plate created a shot-trap.  Krupp redesigned the turret and gun mantlet for Henschel in such a manner as to decrease the frontal area and incorporate a bell mantlet.  Though known as Porsche and Henschel Turret in fact both turrets were design and manufactured by Krupp.  Again two companies were competing and again Henschel won the contract.

First Fifty King Tiger had Porsche turret type.  Those turrets were manufactured for Porsche project before the contract was secured.   Those turrets were equipped with monobloc gun barrel, the rest were supplied with Henschel type (also known as Krupp or Serial production) turret type with two-piece barrel gun.  Firings at high velocity created a high barrel wear; a two-piece barrel variant allowed relatively easy replacement of faster wearing part

The Tiger II had a hull similar in design to the Panther series with well-slopped armour to increase protection.  This technique was fist used by Russian on their famous T-34 tank.

The suspension consisted of nine sets of interleaved road wheels sprung on torsion bars.  Tiger II had two sets of tracks – battle tracks were 800mm (31.5”) wide and transportation tracks 660mm (26”) wide.

On the Western front the only effective countermeasure against King Tigers was aviation and up to some success British modified with high velocity 76 mm gun American made Sherman tank with new designation Firefly. Russians had Heavy IS series tanks and few tank destroyers that were capable to penetrate side and rear armor from a great distance and SU-100 that was capable to penetrate the front armor as well. In May 1945 Soviet Army received a superior to King Tiger tank IS 3 but by that time Germany was defeated. 

Armed with the arguably the best anti-tank gun of the WWII and very well protected with thick slop armor the Tiger II however, was over weight and underpowered, with complex maintenance procedures, extremely fuel hungry (2 gallons per mile) and mechanically unreliable.  The Tiger II has a low speed that significantly reduced its effectiveness during the offensive operation.  Many were lost due to a fuel shortage and mechanical failure.   Despite all shortcomings the Tiger II was extremely effective defensive weapon and has extremely high “fear factor”; and was a great propaganda tool. 

COMBAT HISTORY

First King Tiger tanks were issued to training units in February and May 1944, however first saw action on Eastern Front in May 1944 near Minsk – capital city of Belarus, USSR followed by another action in July 1944 in Poland, during which Russian managed to destroy and capture few new Tiger II tanks, which were examined and tested at the famous Russian tank test ground at Kubinka.  All King Tiger were issued to the independent sPzAbt (heavy tank battalions) detachments of the Army and the SS.

There aren’t any documented events with Tiger II front armor penetration in combat.  

Tiger II were used in mass during the Ardennes Offensive and proved to be a deadly opponent with virtually no chance for survival for allied tankers in direct engagement.  On the Eastern Front Tiger II was use in large number during the 1945 spring offensive in Hungary, the area of Ballaton Lake.  Probably the most successful single Tiger II engagement had place in April of 1945 in East Germany.  Tiger II commanded by Karl Korner the tank engaged and destroyed 11 IS 2 tanks that stood on a road and on the edge of a village were around 120-150 tanks in the process of being refueled and rearmed.  His personal score of enemy tanks destroyed in this action was 39.

Russians effectively used those weaknesses in July of 1944 during the Battle of Sandomierz Bulge, Poland that was the second engagement on the new German tanks since it was deployed. Germans made a great attempt to eliminate the dangerous Bulge.  During the operation Germans used 20 Tiger II tanks.  After the marsh to the area near villages of Szydlow and Ogledow most of 20 Tigers II were broke down and only 11 were fixed and operational on the morning of August 11.  Next day at 700 hours Tiger II started their attack.  Two Russian T-34/85 under command of captain Ivushkin ambushed slowly advanced Tiger II, three were destroyed by direct hits in the side armour.  Destroyed tanks blocked the road and the rest Tiger II retreated.  Two hours later German started attack on the northern flank.  One Tiger II was knocking out by ISU 122 and other three were force to retreated because sandy ground significantly reduced their maneuverability.  After that Russian infantry entered the village of Ogledow without strong resistance but were suddenly attacked by seven King Tigers.  Lt. Udalow’s ISU 122 that was covered flank opened fire from a distance of 700m (about 0.42 miles) destroyed one and damaged one more Tiger II.  Other tanks can’t retreat due to very low speed on a light ground. The ISU-122 crossed the forest, came into a flank of this group and engaged it again, opened fire and destroyed one more Tiger II.  Germans attacked again but well camouflage ISU 122 commanded by Lt. Beliakov from a distance of 1km (about 0.63 miles) destroyed one more tank.   Another 4 Tiger II tanks were lost to fire of Soviet IS-2 tanks at range of 700 to 1000 miters.  Fourteen King Tigers in total were destroyed, three were captured, two of those were broke down but repairable and one in full running condition.

The Kingtiger No.102 was tested at Kubinka - the famous Soviet proving grounds. The results of tests made in 1944 were as follows.

1. Unsatisfactory reliability of the engine and transmission;

2. Complicated mechanical components; low range and average speed of 20 km/h;

3. Armor quality was lower than on Tiger I and Panther, after 3-4 direct hits there was significant damage and fragmentation but no penetration; welding was of poor quality.

4. The front armor plate cannot be penetrated, but heavily damaged by 152mm and 122mm armor piercing / high explosive shells fired by artillery pieces. The result is the damage of the tank’s mechanical components;

5. The armor-piercing shells of anti-tank guns BS-3 (100mm) and A-19 (122mm) can penetrate the front from 1000 to 1500m;

6. The sides armor plates can be penetrated by Soviet 85mm and American 76mm anti-tank guns from 800 to 2000m; it was reported that American ammunition was more effective;

7. Soviet 76mm Zis-3 and F-34 guns were unable to penetrate any of King Tiger's armor;

8. The Kingtiger’s KwK 43 gun performed very well and can be compare to Soviet 122mm gun of the IS-2 tank

One of the captured King Tiger (#.502) today on display at the AFV Museum in Kubinkaarmor plate of the turret

It had been proven on Eastern and Western Fronts, that King Tiger was a perfect tank killer and extremely effective for defense, but during offensive they suffered high losses

Less than 500 units were build by the end of the war, production was partially delayed because Germans were working on tank parts standardization (for the same reason Panther II tank didn’t go into series production).  Interesting to mention that continuous bombardment by Anglo-Americans never effected the production at Henschel factory.

**Age over 14 collectable item.