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IPTC: Caption
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Captured Panzerjager (tank destroyer) Tiger (P) - Ferdinand Elephant (SdKfz 184) also known as Tiger-Sturmgeschtz mit 8.8cm PaK 43/2 seen postwar at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. Note the open hatch, which let water into the vehicle. Hull number 150071 was built at the Porsche Nibelungenwerke factory in St. Valentin, Austria in 1942 as a Porsche version of the Tiger Pzkpfw IV tank. When the Henschel Tiger design won the competition and was approved for mass production, Porsche AG had 90 tank hulls completed. Since the stopgap Marder and Naschorn tank destroyer designs were not satisfactory, these 90 Porsche Tigers were converted between April-May 1943 into Ferdinand (after Ferdinand Porsche) tank destroyers. Hull number 150071 was assigned to the Schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 654 for Operation Zitadelle (Citadel) during the Battle of Kursk in July 1943, identified as number 633. Some forty Ferdinands were lost, mostly when they suffered mechanical problems and had to be abandoned. The lack of a machine gun meant they were vulnerable when they were separated from supporting infantry. Still, some 600 Soviet tanks and guns were destroyed by the Ferdinands. The best use (not always possible) was for the Ferdinands to attack at long range; the Ferdinand's gun could hit targets at two miles (4 kilometers). After Kursk, the fifty remaining Ferdinands, including 150071, were sent back to Nibelungenwerke for modifications. Additional armor was added; the front of the tank had almost eight inches (200mm) with two armor plates bolted together. A hull mounted 7.92mm (.31 caliber) machine gun, StuG III commander's cupola, wider tracks, and additional rear crew stowage were added. While the Elefants were upgraded, 1.Kompanie of 653 with eleven Elefants was ordered via rail to attack the beachhead at Anzio/Nettuno on February 1, 1944. All the remaining Ferdinands, (designated Elefants in May 1944), were given to Schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 653 on February 15. Another ve
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IPTC: Copyright Notice
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Caption ©2007 MFA Productions LLC
Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission
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