Tigers on the Loose:  Assessing the Effectiveness of the Panzer VI “Tiger”, 1935-1945

Kaine, Logan Brian

Tigers on the Loose: Assessing the Effectiveness of the Panzer VI “Tiger”, 1935-1945

dc.contributor.advisor	Hill, Alexander
dc.contributor.author	Kaine, Logan Brian
dc.contributor.committeemember	Huebert, Robert
dc.contributor.committeemember	Bercuson, David
dc.date	2021-11
dc.date.accessioned	2021-09-23T14:05:29Z
dc.date.available	2021-09-23T14:05:29Z
dc.date.issued	2021-09-13
dc.description.abstract	From 1942 to 1945 the cry of Tiger! filled the hearts of Allied tank crews with dread. The Tiger, or Panzerkampfwagen (Armored Fighting Vehicle or Panzer) VI, was neigh unstoppable. The 8.8 cm gun allowed the Tiger to destroy virtually all opponents at over a kilometer. At such ranges the thick armored plates that protected the tank, 10 centimeters at their thickest rendered the tank almost impervious to enemy fire. At the same time this 56-ton vehicle was notorious for its mechanical unreliability. The transmission was a particular weakness, with a tendency to break with any kind of hard use, immobilizing the vehicle. Its legacy is a study in contrasts. It has been heralded as both a symbol of German technical prowess and of technical myopia. These contradictions are well known parts of the Tigers history. What is missing from many of these works on this vehicle is an examination of its true value to the German Army, as well as the value of its variants. Its numerous flaws and the great cost of its production meant that in spite of its often remarkable combat performance the Tiger proved to be a vehicle that the German Army would have been better off without. I will examine the development, production and combat use of the Tiger and its variants to fully demonstrate its value. Its development shows the mechanical and operational demands being made on the vehicle before it ever entered service were ignored in favor of appealing to Hitler’s flawed design sensibilities. Production indicates the difficulties in producing a mechanically complex vehicle in an economy beset by Allied bombing and an inefficient economic system, which struggled to allocate adequate men and material to its production. Finally the combat record of the vehicles, demonstrates that their often impressive combat record was insufficient to alter the outcome of many battles, to say nothing of the war itself.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Kaine, L. B. (2021). Tigers on the Loose: Assessing the Effectiveness of the Panzer VI “Tiger”, 1935-1945 (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39265
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113948
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Arts	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject	Tiger Tank	en_US
dc.subject	World War Two	en_US
dc.subject	WW2	en_US
dc.subject	Tanks	en_US
dc.subject	German Tanks World War Two	en_US
dc.subject.classification	History--Canadian	en_US
dc.subject.classification	History--European	en_US
dc.subject.classification	History--Military	en_US
dc.subject.classification	History--Russian and Soviet	en_US
dc.subject.classification	History--United States	en_US
dc.title	Tigers on the Loose: Assessing the Effectiveness of the Panzer VI “Tiger”, 1935-1945	en_US
dc.type	master thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	History	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Master of Arts (MA)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	false	en_US