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- #81
dirkpitt289
Master Sergeant
Some more Ferdinand History
The orginal Tiger(P) had a turret on it. Dr Porsche had one hundred chassis started and build before he found out he did not win the Tiger contest. Ninety were converted into the Ferdinand.
The Ferdinand was a success as a tank hunter, but at Kursk and Orel they were used as assault guns, wasting their long range gun. Most were lost in mine fields both Russian and unmarked German ones. Once the vehicle was stopped it could not be recovered, so they were destroyed by their crews. It was not until 44 that three Bergepanzer(P)s were built that could tow them. even then they were so big and hard to recover they were destroyed when they broke down more than being lost to enemy actions.
When they were used in the open country of Russia they were effective tank killers, stopping Russian tanks outside the range of other German weapons. Miss use and changes in the battle field were their weak points. The ones in Italy were forced to use roads as the hills were too steep and the fields too muddy for their use. Also losing air cover was a a problem for all German vehicles
All of the listed ways to stop them was how to stop any armored vehicle of the day. Kursk/Orel was in July 43 and the refit was in Jan/Feb 44. Hitler changed the name in April 44 well after the refit and spilting the unit up to Italy and Eastern Europe.
The last two Ferdinands were lost in the battle for Berlin in April 45. The crews kept calling them Ferdinands or Ferdies to the end. Like the Panthers and Tigers they had mechanical problems from being rushed into the fight, since no more were ever built their problems were never really solved.
The orginal Tiger(P) had a turret on it. Dr Porsche had one hundred chassis started and build before he found out he did not win the Tiger contest. Ninety were converted into the Ferdinand.
The Ferdinand was a success as a tank hunter, but at Kursk and Orel they were used as assault guns, wasting their long range gun. Most were lost in mine fields both Russian and unmarked German ones. Once the vehicle was stopped it could not be recovered, so they were destroyed by their crews. It was not until 44 that three Bergepanzer(P)s were built that could tow them. even then they were so big and hard to recover they were destroyed when they broke down more than being lost to enemy actions.
When they were used in the open country of Russia they were effective tank killers, stopping Russian tanks outside the range of other German weapons. Miss use and changes in the battle field were their weak points. The ones in Italy were forced to use roads as the hills were too steep and the fields too muddy for their use. Also losing air cover was a a problem for all German vehicles
All of the listed ways to stop them was how to stop any armored vehicle of the day. Kursk/Orel was in July 43 and the refit was in Jan/Feb 44. Hitler changed the name in April 44 well after the refit and spilting the unit up to Italy and Eastern Europe.
The last two Ferdinands were lost in the battle for Berlin in April 45. The crews kept calling them Ferdinands or Ferdies to the end. Like the Panthers and Tigers they had mechanical problems from being rushed into the fight, since no more were ever built their problems were never really solved.
