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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.
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.
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.
The VK 45.02 (P) was the official designation for an unsuccessful heavy tank project designed by Ferdinand Porsche in Nazi Germany during World War II to compete with Henschel's design. [1] Development of this vehicle started in April 1942, with two design variants (Ausf. A and Ausf. B) incorporating different features.
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.
Designated as the Panzerkampfwagen VI, it was christened "Tiger" by Ferdinand Porsche. The tank had formidable firepower (the 88 mm anti-tank gun) and thick armor. It had some mechanical problems due to its weight. The Tiger had 100 mm of armor on the front of the hull and turret, while the sides had 80mm of armor.
A tank recovery version of the Porsche Tiger I , and one Porsche Tiger I, was issued to the 654th Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion, which was equipped with the Ferdinand/Elefant. In Italy, a demolition carrier version of the Tiger I without a main gun was built by maintenance crews in an effort to find a way to clear minefields.
VK 4501 (P) - Porsche Tiger tank; 100 hulls built, 90 converted to Ferdinands, one Tiger (P) built, 3 Bergepanzer Tiger (p) and 3 Rammtigers built. Dicker Max, two prototypes built; VK 20, medium tank proposed to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; paper project; Panzer-Selbstfahrlafette II, half-track tank destroyer; two built