The Panzerjäger Tiger Ausf. B; known as the Jagdtiger (hunting tiger) was the heaviest tank ever to see action during World War Two. Developed late in the conflict; only around 80 actually reached combat; the first in September of 1944.
Germany; like many nations; made use of existing tank designs to make self-propelled guns and tank destroyers. The Jagdtiger was a colossal example of this practice – the Germans wanted to upgrade the much-feared Tiger II by mounting the 128mm Pak 44 cannon into a purpose-built armoured casement atop the lengthened King Tiger Chassis. 150 units were ordered to tackle the ever-encroaching Soviet armour – the Pak more than capable of tearing through Allied armour.
At 71 tons; the behemoth had nearly 10 inches of armour to the front of its casement housing; making it one of the most well protected tanks of the war. However; all this weight and protection came at the cost of reliability. Many roads and bridges simply couldn’t take its weight. This; coupled with the increasing scarcity of spare parts and fuel; kept the Jagdtiger from fulfilling its potential.
The 'teeth' of the Jagdtiger; was the 128mm PaK 44 anti-tank gun. Noted for its weapon's performance at long ranges; the Jagdtiger was rightly feared. However; the limited traverse of the gun meant the tank had to turn on the spot to bring the enemy into its sights and the two-part ammunition required extra crew to load. To represent this in Bolt Action; the 128mm Pak 44 does not suffer from -1 penetration penalty when firing at targets at over half range.
Only two German schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung (heavy anti-tank battalions) included Jagdtigers; the 512th Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion and the 653rd Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion. A company of the 512th was commanded by renowned Panzer Ace; Otto Carius; credited with the destruction of more than 150 tanks and a similar number of anti-tank guns – he would earn the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The included waterslide transfer sheet features Carius’ decals.
Box contains one plastic tank; unit stat card; vehicle damage markers and waterslide decal sheet.
Models supplied unassembled and unpainted
