Thomas L. Jentz

This book has been created as a primer showing the best available and rare photographs of Panzers with units at the front. Covered are the Panzers I, II, 38(t), III, IV, Panther and Tiger tanks on a variety of war fronts. Also included are detailed data sheets showing line schemes and technical information that offer the most complete and accurate data available.

Tiger ! - the very name that Allied troops feared. It came to symbolize the superiority of German tank design. This book has been created as a photo essay showing the best available and rare photographs of Tigers with units at the front. No tank that the Allies fielded in World War II was comparable to this combination of the 88mm gun with massive armor protection. Allied tankers didn't think that they stood a chance of defeating these formidable Tigers. They only hoped that these heavy tanks would breakdown, become immobilized in soft ground, or be damaged by lucky hits on vulnerable points.

This first volume, of a three-volume set, covers the history, development and production history of the Tiger tank variants from the idea’s conception to the end of Tiger I production. It includes details on the development series known as the D.W., VK 30.01(H), VK 30.01(P), VK 36.01(H), VK 45.01(P) as well as the Tiger I. All of this illustrated with scale drawings by Hilary L. Doyle, combined with drawings, sketches, and photographs depicting external modifications as well as internal views. Over thirty years of intensive research went into finding the original documents needed to create this history of the development, characteristics, and tactical capabilities of the Tiger. An exhaustive search was made for surviving records of the design/assembly firms (including Krupp, Henschel, Porsche, and Wegmann), the Heereswaffenamt, the Generalinspekteur der Panzertruppen, the D656 series of manuals on the Tiger, and the war diaries with their supporting reports from German army units. This is supplemented by the authors’ collecting hundreds of photos and climbing over, under, around, and through nearly every surviving Tiger I.

The focus of this book is the tank battles fought during the opening phase of the war in North Africa. What really happened during the engagements? How were the tanks fought? What were their strengths and weaknesses? Not simplified generalities, but substantive, basic facts gleaned from searching for details in the surviving original records. The accounts of each battle are excerpted from the original reports written by the participants directly after each engagement. To understand the basis for the outcome of the battles, it is necessary to possess a basic understanding of the capabilities of each type of tank, its opponents, and how they were tactically employed. The first five chapters in this volume provide descriptions and technical attributes of the British, German, and Italian tanks and anti-tank guns along with the tactical doctrine from the period. Chapters six through eleven contain the details of the tank battles fought in North Africa during the period from February 1941 to June 1941. Translated excerpts from the Deutsches Afrikakorps war diary are used as a backdrop to provide a chronological guide as events progressed. An interesting feature from this war diary was the brief daily weather report revealing how hot it was and when sand storms occurred. Details on the actions in the tank battles are taken from after-action-accounts written directly after the engagements, enhanced by excerpts from war diaries of the armoured units involved to fill in the preliminary moves, buildup of strength, combat losses, and details on the actions that weren’t contained in the after-action-reports. This book is compiled from the results of digging through original records for over thirty years in an attempt to find data that would aid in assessing and understanding the tank battles that took place in North Africa. Tom Jentz is also the author of Panzertruppen 1933-1942, and Panzertruppen 1943-1945 (Schiffer Publishing).

This new volume covers development from the VK 45.02(P), VK 45.03(H) to the modifications under design for the Tiger II at the end of the war. All of this illustrated with scale drawings by Hilary L. Doyle combined with drawings, sketches, and photographs depicting external modifications is well as internal views. Over twenty years of intensive research went into finding the original documents needed to create this new history on the development, characteristics, and tactical capabilities of the Tiger series. Tom Jentz has conducted an exhaustive search for suviving records of the design/assembly firms (including Henschel, Krupp, Nibelungenwerk, Porsche, and Wegmann), the Heeres-Waffenamt, the D656 series of manuals on the Tiger, and the war diaries and operations reports from the German units. The written records were supplemented by examining thousands of photos. On-sight research into almost all the surviving Tigers provided details that could only be obtained from actual specimens.New information was found on the evolution of the heavy tank series, the key decisons on the design of the Tigers, the significant modifications made during the production runs, production statistics, the Tigers characteristics and tactical capabilities, an exact accounting of the issue of the Tigers to the combat units, and combat account written directly after the actions. Tom Jentz is also the author of Germany's Tiger Tanks: Tiger I & II - Combat Tactics; Germany's Panther Tank: The Quest for Combat Supremacy; Panzertruppen 1933-1942; and Panzertruppen 1943-1945 (all four titles are available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).

This companion volume presents how the Panzertruppen fought during their defensive struggle with details on the units, organizations, types of Panzers, and tactics.

This companion volume presents how the Panzertruppen fought during their defensive struggle with details on the units, organizations, types of Panzers, and tactics.