Jagdtiger

Description

The Jagdpanzer VI Jagdtiger (Sd.Kfz. Index: Sd.Kfz. 186) was the final evolution of German tank destroyers growing progressively heavier and more heavily armed over the years - and as any extreme specialization in one field tends to cause, it was very lacking in many other areas, most notably mobility and gearbox reliability. First starting out as a vague requirement to mount a 12.8 cm gun to a self-propelled hull in 1942 and then a Panther or Tiger 1 hull in 1943, the vehicle was produced in low quantities from 1944 to 1945 based on the Tiger II hull instead. With frontal armour just as thick as that of the Maus, it was a formidable foe, but as the engine was identical to the 19-ton lighter Tiger II which was already overstressed by its own weight, the 71-ton behemoth was incredibly unreliable and was incredibly sluggish to manoeuvre, frequently breaking down while trying to crest even a small mound of dirt. Low production rate, the poorly trained crews, and its poor reliability meant that the Jagdtiger was overkill for most situations and contributed little to the war effort as a whole.

Introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41, the Jagdtiger is best described as 'extreme', both in a good and bad way. On one hand, its frontal armour scheme rivals that of the Maus, a non-trivial feat when you consider the Maus has over 200 mm of raw armour thickness, and its 12.8 cm cannon was if anything overkill against any enemy it saw during the war, with stories of its shells going straight through a building and penetrating a Sherman being well-known. On the other hand, the Jagdtiger is incredibly cumbersome, with a slow acceleration and especially slow turning, most noticeable on inclines. For how large it is it isn't near immobile like similar tank destroyers in its weight class such as the T95 or Tortoise, but it is by no means a mobile vehicle. Due to its lack of a turret and reliance on raw armour, the Jagdtiger fares poorly on urban maps, as they require the Jagdtiger to constantly turn around corners while exposing its much thinner sides constantly. It is also very vulnerable to chemical rounds - while they might not one-shot your vehicle, a chemical round penetrating your vehicle can do so against even the thickest parts of your armour with ease, so one penetration is sure to lead to several more which in turn will be fatal. As such, the Jagdtiger performs best as a second line supporting vehicle, sniping from long range or holding corridors for your team as opposed to pushing up yourself. This reduces any risk of being pincered or immobilized then flanked, and will also mean enemies will struggle to see you and land an accurate shot on your weakspots.

General info

Survivability and armour

The Jagdtiger sports one of the thickest raw armour plates in the game, at an astounding 250 mm RHA thickness at the front. This is enough to deflect almost any AP or APHE round at range, and only at closer ranges can some APDS rounds pose a threat. However, later APDS rounds which are more akin to APFSDS rounds as well as chemical munitions generally bypass this armour very easily, so caution is necessary around these vehicles.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet)

Notes:

• The frontal armour of the tank is almost impossible to defeat, only the sides and rear are vulnerable.
• The lower glacis is pretty vulnerable, but a hulldown position can circumvent it.
• The superstructure side is covered with tracks, which provides another 30 mm extra armour to the sides.

Mobility

The Jagdtiger's mobility is fairly poor. While respectable for its size it is still a Tiger 2's engine with an additional 19 tons of armour, which makes accelerating much slower and as a result makes for very poor map traversal. Try and reduce the time spent turning your vehicle, so that you get to advantageous positions faster.

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Jagdtiger

Notes:

• The Jagdtiger uses two-piece ammunition, composed of propellant bags (orange) and projectiles (yellow). Both have separate racks.
• Projectiles and propellant bags are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Sides empty: 11 (+29) shells.

Machine guns

Usage in battles

Inherent as any other tank destroyer: limit the avenues of approach for your enemies with either obstacles or distance and try to pick off targets one-on-one and not several at the same time. Despite its heavy armour, the Jagdtiger should retreat after every shot, if the opposition possesses weapons with penetration defeating 180 mm of armour, or else the lower plate will provide a big target. Make sure to take each corner with plenty of momentum though, if an enemy destroys the tracks or transmission during a turn, the remaining momentum will carry the Jagdtiger into a firing position or to safety.

Obviously, close-quarter-combat (CQC: Urban areas, cities, ravines, etc) should be avoided as they invite ambushes to the very weak side of Jagdtiger. Of course, narrow passageways can also be turned into choke points (see above).

Sitting at an uneasy battle rating, the Jagdtiger meets opponents with guns that can go through its armour much less regularly in Realistic and Simulator. However, the British 20-pounder, also quite common at this rank, has an APDS shell that can go through your armour easily at medium range. However, other than up-tiers or tank destroyers firing HEATFS, no conventional rounds can really go through your armour in RB/SB. However, in arcade, its higher BR will make it face more modern opponents.

Foes able to frontally penetrate the Jagdtiger in hull down position (hiding the lower glacis) are labelled in ☠red.

Due to the potency of the 128 mm APHE shell, specific modules must not be a target. A successful hit into the crew compartment will result in any tank exploding.

Specific enemies worth noting

RB/SB

• IS-3: Shoot the pike, albeit it can be difficult to get through if it is angled straight forward. A trapshot is also quite possible, as long as you can richochet a shell of of the gun mantlet and into the turret.
• IS-6: Shoot the right side of the turret beside the gun, where there are 2 "dots" and a relatively flat surface. You will be able to penetrate this area most of the time.
• ☠SU-122-54: Anywhere, except try to avoid the gun mantle. No noteworthy armour, but it has a dangerous gun.
• T-44: The frontal chassis can be very trolly with its ricochets. Turret and lower glacis nearly guaranteed a penetration and knocking them out instantly.
• T-54s & ☠T-54 (1951): All can be penetrated through the turret front (left and right of gun mantlet) from closer than 500 m. Except for the T-54 (1947) the Jagdtiger may also shoot the chassis' armour plate if it is pointed straight toward the Jagdtiger. Or just shoot the cupola and let the 700 grams of TNT equivalent do the rest
• ☠M47: Pretty much anywhere.
• ☠Any M48A1: Lot's of sloped armour. Frontally the commander's cupola can be picked, the turret ring, or gun mantlet.
• ☠M60: Basically just a better M48. Shoot it as if it is an M48, especially the commander's cupola
• ☠T95: Albeit a rare sight, the few specimens encountered are driven by madmen, or masochist. Either way, both tend to have a good understanding of enemy weak points. Inside 500 m the T95's stock AP shell can penetrate the upper and lower frontal plate and the APCR can pierce the superstructure, but not the chassis. Fortunately, the raw armour strength limits shrapnel power and penetrated shots will do minor area damage in the spacious crew compartment. Damage can be avoided entirely by staying at distances exceeding 500 m.
  The T95's armour is in all due respect superior to the Jagdtiger, yet features two protruding weak spots: The two cupolas, hitting them is another issue though. Combat should be engaged in ranges less than 500 m, beyond that accuracy will not allow aiming for weak spots.
• ☠M103: So much sloped armour. Try to shoot into the turret trap (lower gun mantlet) or the turret ring.
• Panther / Pershing / M46: Entire front is penetrable.
• Tiger II (H): Right turret cheek to disable the turret for a safe reload. Alternatively, the lower glacis to get the transmission and a chance to knock out the entire crew.
• Maus: Turret cheeks, multiple hits will be necessary. If possible a shot into either the fuel tanks or chassis ammo rack for the 12,8 cm cannon should destroy the behemoth with a single shot.
• Jagdtiger: The lower plate is a good place to shoot. Make sure to hit at a good angle as the APBC can still bounce. Also, the flat parts of the superstructure when not angle work at close range.
• ☠Leopard: Shoot it anywhere. Don't miss.

Arcade

• IS-4M: The drives hatch is hard to get through with the tiny hole behind the additional armour. More favourable is the lower plate, or the gun mantlet on his left side.
• ☠T-10M: Shoot the lower glacis when not angled, or shoot the cupolas with HE.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Shares the same hull as the Tiger II, so the upper glacis plate is still very tough
• The front of the superstructure is very difficult to get through with anything less than APDS or HEAT
• With its 6-man crew and thick armour, it's difficult to knock out this tank with a single shot
• Totally and utterly impenetrable gun mantlet, even better than the T95's one
• 128 mm PaK 44 cannon is an accurate cannon with a surprisingly short reload time. It takes 20 seconds to reload with a decent crew. That is not bad considering the size and weight of the projectile that this gun fires
• PzGr 43 round has one of the highest penetrations of any APCBC round in the game
• Both the stock PzGr and PzGr 43 shells have an equivalent TNT explosive mass of 786 g, ensuring devastating post-penetration damage
• When hull down, the Jagdtiger is a true terror on the battlefield. Especially when there are few post-war tanks in the game

Cons:

• Big target with a lot of ammunition in its hull. Shells that penetrate through the side can prove fatal
• Despite having a better engine than the Tiger II (H), the Jagdtiger weighs 7 more tons. This leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to manoeuvrability and acceleration
• 20-second reload can be disastrous if the first shot missed
• Like most other tank destroyers, the Jagdtiger doesn't have a traversable turret. This makes dealing with flanking enemies a nightmare
• Just like all the other Tiger II's, the lower glacis is an easy target if not hull down
• Matchmaking can up-tier the Jagdtiger
• Corners of the superstructure are vulnerable to high penetration shells such as the M103's 120 mm AP shell, T-10's 122 mm APHE shell, British 183 mm and 120 mm shells, and Jagdtiger's own 128 mm APHE shell
• Armour is incredibly good, but can be penetrated easily by tanks with HEATFS rounds

History

Development

This monster of a tank destroyer was inspired by the successes of previous tank destroyers such as the StuG III and the Marder series. Their efficiency in a battle called for a request by Army General Staff to mount an enormous 128 mm gun on a self-propelled vehicle for infantry support in early 1942, but then Hitler changed it from its intended role to a tank destroyer. The 128 mm design was chosen as toolings already existed for the calibre, as it originated from a naval cannon design, which also was used the basis of an anti-aircraft gun. The 128 mm cannon also had a very high hit rate when compared to other formidable calibres like the 105 mm and 88 mm.

In early 1943, the armoured chassis that was to carry the 128 mm gun was to be either the Tiger I or Panther. However, early modelling showed that the integration of the 128 mm onto the Panther chassis was unsuitable. On October 20, 1943, the design was changed to use the Tiger II chassis and a wooden model was constructed for presentation to Hitler. Approved for further production, two prototypes were produced by Porsche and Henschel. Porsche version had an eight-wheel suspension system while the Henschel version had a nine-wheel overlapping suspension system similar to the Tiger II construction. The rest of the body was consistent to the current German tank destroyer designs, an armoured casemate structure was used to hold the new 128mm Pak 44 L/55 gun. The prototypes were completed and presented in February 1944, and were approved for service, earning the designation Jagdpanzer VI, but was later renamed to Jagdtiger. 150 of these Jagdtigers were ordered by the army, but only 88 (at most) were produced before the end of the war. Eleven of the Jagdtigers used the Porsche suspension system while the rest were using the Henschel suspension system.

What made the Jagdtiger very special was its enormous gun, the 128 mm Pak 44 L/55. At its introduction, no allied armour could withstand the shell it fires, and though the same lethality could be shared with the Tiger II's 88 mm Pak 43, it has a much greater effective range of over 3.5 kilometres (though a variant of the Jagdtiger was equipped with the 88 mm Pak 43 due to 128 mm gun shortages, this never entered service). The gun could penetrate an enemy tank hiding behind cover, such as a house, shooting right through the house and hitting the target on the other side. A disadvantage of the gun was its two-part ammunition, the shell and the propellant, which increases the loading time of the gun. The armour of the front of the Jagdtiger was 250 mm and 150 mm on the glacis plate. Like almost every casemate design, the Jagdtiger suffered from lack of turret traverse and must have the entire vehicle rotate when a target moves out of its traverse range. The Jagdtiger has the distinct title of the heaviest armoured fighting vehicle produced, weighing about 71 tons, but like most of Germany's heavy armoured vehicles late in the war, the Jagdtiger also suffered mechanical and mobility issues. The heavyweight caused it to be slow and was easy to break down if the vehicle had to rotate to aim the gun, due to the heavily strained transmission and suspensions. Also, the gun had to be locked down (cannot traverse) when not in use to avoid wearing out the mounting brackets, and a crew member had to exit the vehicle to unlock it before firing.

Combat usage

The Jagdtiger was first issued on September 1944 to the Western front in the hands of the 512th and 653rd Heavy Panzerjäger Battalions. Otto Carius, a Tiger Ace, commanded the 2nd Company of the 512th to defend against the Allied offensives. He comments that the "Jagdtigers could not be brought to their full potential on the battlefield due to many pressing issues". The two most pressing issues of the Jagdtiger was the mechanical failures and lack of crew training on the heavy beasts. The mechanical issues forced many Jagdtigers to be disabled and eventually destroyed by their own crew as they abandoned it. Only 20% of the Jagdtigers on the Western Front were lost in combat, the rest was due to the mechanical failures or out of fuel. Crew training was insufficient with the Jagdtiger and so was morale, Otto Carius noted that two Jagdtigers failed to fire on Allied armour more than a mile away in fear of an air attack, even though they were well concealed, and both broke down as they tried to withdraw from the fear of air attacks. One was disabled when it fell into a bomb crater and another was lost because of friendly fire from Volkssturm, as they had never seen a Jagdtiger before. In another instance, a lone Jagdtiger engaged an American tank platoon. When the tank platoon opened fire, the Jagdtiger withdrew not by backing up, but turned around due to inexperienced crew training, exposing the weaker side armour and was destroyed. Eventually, Otto Carius' company was surrounded in the Ruhr pocket and he ordered the guns of the surviving Jagdtigers destroyed and to surrender to the Americans. Of the ten tigers in Otto's 2nd Company of the 512th battalion, one was lost to friendly fire, another by combat, and the rest by breakdown or crew destruction. The total American armour kills reached was ten American tanks, making one Allied tank loss for each Jagdtiger loss.

Though Otto's memoir left a sour note on the Jagdtiger's combat effectiveness, it had some success. On January 17, 1945, two Jagdtigers engaged fortified positions near Auenheim with no loss. The next day, they engaged four bunkers at a distance of 1,000 m. The combat had 46 high-explosive and 10 armour-piercing shells fired on fortifications and tanks, the Jagdtigers were able to destroy a few Allied bunkers and tanks with no losses. Then in April 1945, 512th Battalion saw lots of action when the 1st company engaged Allied tanks and trucks on April 9th, destroying 11 tanks and over 30 other AFVs, the distance of engagement was more than 4,000 m and ended with only one Jagdtiger lost due to an air attack. The next few days, the 1st company proceeded to destroy five more Shermans before surrendering at Iserlohn. All activity of the 512th Battalion ended with the surrender of the last of the 2nd company April 15th in the same city.

The Jagdtiger's impact on the war for Germany was negligible. There were not enough of them to change the course of the situation for Germany, plus the kill-to-loss ratio makes its production waste of resources when much better models like the StuG were able to get even higher combat performances for a much more economical cost. It represents one of Germany's last attempts to model the belief that more armour and more firepower could equal success in a battlefield against a numerically superior enemy.

Survivors

Today, three Jagdtigers survive in museums. One is in Bovington Tank Museum in England, which is one of the 11 Porsche-suspension version and was captured in April 1945 by the British. Another is a Henschel-version at the National Armor & Cavalry Museum in Fort Benning, Georgia of America after being moved from the US Army Ordnance Museum, this was captured in March 1945. The last is in Kubinka Tank Museum in Russia, a Henschel-version that was captured on May 5, 1945, in Austria and is in the best mint condition of the three survivors.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Jagdtiger from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• Tiger II (Family)

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• Tortoise

External links

• [Special] Jagdtiger "Hunting Tiger"
• [Wikipedia] Jagdtiger
• [Tanks Encyclopedia] Sd.Kfz.186 Jagdtiger