Tiger II - "Royal Tiger"

The German Tiger II tank was known as King Tiger by Allied soldiers and is also known as Königstiger, the official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, Weighing in at almost 70 tons, the Tiger II was one of the heaviest tanks of World War II.  The Tiger II was extremely well armored for the time featuring frontal armor ranging from 3.9 to 7.3 inches. This proved impervious to almost all Allied guns. It is said that no Tiger II was ever penetrated through the frontal armor in combat.  The tank was armed with the long-barreled 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 anti-tank cannon. It was an extremely powerful weapon which was capable of knocking out any Allied tank frontally at ranges in excess of 1.6 miles - well beyond the effective range of Allied tank guns.  Power was provided by a 690 HP engine and the tank proved quite agile for such a heavy machine. According to German records of the time, results during testing indicated tactical mobility was as good or better than most contemporary German or Allied tanks then in service. Early Tiger II tanks did suffer mechanical and reliability problems. Improvements and crew training helped to alleviate much of these issues. At least 10 Tiger II tanks survive in museums with only one in running order.