Best/favorite WW2 heavy tank

[Danielmellbin]

Yihaa - my favorite - the heavy tank (must be a guy thing )

My choice is the King Tiger.
Unreliable?: yes!
Indestructable?: Nearly...
Killer?: YES!

During the late phase of "Wacht am Rein" a King Tiger suffered more than 100 direct hits to the frontal armour - and survived... The Pershing is surely a better machine - but it was too late to be my choice. IS2 was a beaut as well. Finally - there is something cool/nostalgic about the Matilda

 

[timshatz]

I think the Tigers were the only ones that were truely considered heavy tanks. Not sure about the IS2 but I think the Pershing was considered a medium.

 

[Mitya]

IS-2 forewer!!!

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I have to go with the Tiger.

Yeah she had problems, but one on one she was the best.

 

[seesul]

my vote goes for tiger 2

 

[Soren]

Tiger 2, no doubt, the most advanced powerful tank with a turret to be produced in WW2.

 

[Konigstiger205]

I have to go with the KingTiger...too bad it was so unreliable...

 

[drgondog]

I had to go with King Tiger despite reliability issues - could say the same thing about early Fw 190A or P-51B

 

[Grampa]

I remember a documentary film whit ww2 veteran allies and axis tankcrew. the german who drove the Tigertank and some who dident really preferd the Tigertank as first choiche when sellecting tank they prefer. When the same question whent to the Allied veterans who had some combat experience against the tigern. They whit all the choice they had from all allied tanks. they preferd the Tigern as first choise.

 

[Ramirezzz]

IS-2. Relatively cheap, good cannon and well placed slope armor. Slow rate of fire, yes, but it's purpose was the front line breaktrough ,not the armour vs. armour battles - and for that purposes it was just enough.
King Tiger - formidable toy, but it is not the weapon to win the war.

 

[KrazyKraut]

Tiger I


IS-2 was slightly too limited in its scope for my taste, to be called best heavy tank. King tiger was just too mechanically unreliable and too underpowered. If they had managed to put a 1000hp engine in it this might have changed.

 

[Juha]

I voted for Tiger I
an excellent tank up to 44, expensive but that was not so important in heavy tank category.

Juha

 

[Grampa]

Hi again. The poll of the best tank is gonna be often the tigern so it's the winner in this discussion. but lets make a poll over the worst tank designed in first hand to fight against tank instead, that may gonna be a lot of discussing of. My belive of the worst tank is the Cruisertank A9 Mark 1
A9 Cruiser
The main dravback over this tank was thin armour Max 14mm-6mm
the other whas to many horisontal armour, to many angel and courner where a AP-round could easly get a grip instead of slide off, to many crewmember because of the six crewmember 2 were used in 2 machinegunturrets whitch had a limmit shootangle, and there whas weary limmited space in the tank for the crew and it has thin track.

 

[Freebird]

I think the Tigers were the only ones that were truely considered heavy tanks. Not sure about the IS2 but I think the Pershing was considered a medium.

The KV 1/2 were the first real "Heavy tanks" in common usage in WWII, gave the Germans fits early in the war, they were not expecting that. IS/JS 2 3 were "heavies" as well

The Churchill was an infantry tank, so could be considered heavy tank too.

 

[Danielmellbin]

The KV 1/2 were the first real "Heavy tanks" in common usage in WWII, gave the Germans fits early in the war, they were not expecting that. IS/JS 2 3 were "heavies" as well

The Churchill was an infantry tank, so could be considered heavy tank too.

I'll have to disagree - The CharB1 was in common usage during the french campaign - and the Matilda II in North Africa.
All the tanks that in the poll where listed as heavy tanks or infantry support tanks by those who used and encountered them (none of them designed to be the mainstay of their countries armoured formations (the pershing however was reclassified as 'medium' in 1946). Furthermore - IMO - their power-to-weight ratio alone disqulifies any of them as medium tanks.

P.S. I did not list the IS3 as it did not see combat in WW2 (neither did the type 95 - oops).

 

[Bigxiko]

I'll go with the King Tiger .... fenomenal and powerfull tank

 

[JugBR]

is true that story about one tiger kills 25 shermans at once in sequence ?

 

[CharlesBronson]

King Tiger is a blimp, I dont like it.

The JS-2 was very good, but I think is overgunned for tank vs tank combat. the separate charge proyectile made it slow to reload.

The real "King" was the Tiger 1.

 

[Soren]

King Tiger is a blimp, I dont like it.

Blimp ? What does that mean ?

The JS-2 was very good, but I think is overgunned for tank vs tank combat. the separate charge proyectile made it slow to reload.

Overgunned ?? The 122mm D-25T was on par with the 75mm KwK42 L/70 in terms of AT performance and nowhere near as accurate.

 

[Danielmellbin]

is true that story about one tiger kills 25 shermans at once in sequence ?

- haven't heard of a specific battle in which that has happened - At Villers Bocage Michael Wittmann scored 11 confirmed tank kills. (The story of Villers Bocage is well traveled and has many exagerated versions). It wouldn't surprise me if a few Tigers in the east achieved 25 kills in one engagement...

King Tiger is a blimp, I dont like it.

The real "King" was the Tiger 1.

No doubt the Tiger E was the supreme tank of late '42- to early '44. The King Tiger is often dismissed as to cumbersome and in a constant state of "enginemeltdown". However the troubles suffered by the King Tiger could be overcome by veteran crews - the same went with the Tiger E - neither machine would last long if not handled with care. The thing I dont like about the Tiger I is its outdated design. The almost 90 degree armour meant that despite its armour thickness too many AT guns could "handle" it by 43/44. Plus the upgrade from the L56 to L71 '88 meant that a King Tiger could "easily" knock out a IS2 at 2000 meters - by comparison a Tiger I had to close to 200-500 meters to penetrate the IS2's main armour.