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Elefant (German for "elephant") was a heavy tank destroyer (self propelled anti-tank gun) used by German Panzerjäger (anti-tank units) during World War II. Ninety-one units were built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand (after its designer Ferdinand Porsche) using VK 45.01 (P) tank hulls which had been produced for the Tiger I tank before the competing Henschel design had been selected.
The 653rd Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion (German: Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 653) was a tank destroyer unit of the German Wehrmacht active during World War II. It was equipped with Ferdinand and later Jagdtiger tank destroyers. Elements of the battalion served on the Eastern, Western, and Italian fronts between 1943 and 1945.
The Ferdinand/Elefant (Sd.Kfz. 184, and known as Panzerjäger Tiger (P)) used the chassis of Porsche's VK 4501 (P) which had been produced before the design was rejected, due to its complex Porsche-designed powerplant, in favour of the Henschel design which became the Tiger.
The VK 45.01 (P), also informally known as Tiger (P) or Porsche Tiger, was a heavy tank prototype designed by Porsche in Germany.With a dual engine gasoline-electric drive that was complex and requiring significant amounts of copper, it lost out to its Henschel competitor on trials, it was not selected for mass production and the Henschel design was produced as the Tiger I.
Used by Ferdinand Porsche as a personal car for 4 or 5 years. 10: 1931: ... Redesign of VK 4501 (P) as tank destroyer "Ferdinand" (later called "Elefant") 131:
Elefant/Ferdinand, officially 'Panzerjäger Tiger (P)' March 1943 Nazi Germany: 91 Mareșal tank destroyer: July 1943 Kingdom of Romania: 6–17 Jagdpanther: January 1944 Nazi Germany: 415 Jagdpanzer IV: December 1943 Nazi Germany: 2,000 Jagdtiger: February 1944 Nazi Germany: 70–88 Jagdpanzer 38(t) [a] [4] March 1944 Nazi Germany
A few Porsche Tigers were made, with a different chassis and hybrid gasoline-electric powerplant, but these were not as reliable as the Henschel model. Many of the Porsche chassis were converted into tank destroyers, known as Ferdinand then rebuilt as Elefant. Variant: Sturmtiger was armed with a 380 mm rocket.
Ferdinand Porsche [a] (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-Bohemian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG.He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volkswagen Beetle, the Auto Union racing cars, the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, and several other important developments and Porsche automobiles.