Who invented the Ferdinand tank. German self-propelled gun "Elephant". Engine and transmission

Ferdinand is a heavy self-propelled gun developed by Nazi Germany in 1942.

Tiger from Porsche

In 1941, Porsche provided Hitler with a drawing of his new Tiger tank, and the vehicle was immediately put into development. It was supposed to be a heavy tank weighing 45 tons with a turret and two engines. The tank was built by the Austrian plant Nibelungenwerk, and already in April 1942 it passed its first tests at the Kummersdorf training ground. The tests were led by Hitler personally.

In these tests, the Tiger competed with the Henschel VK 45.01 (H) tank, and the latter proved to be better than the Tiger, despite the fact that high hopes were initially placed on the Porsche car.

Breakdowns of the Tiger during test runs led to the project being canceled in favor of a more promising competitor. However, the Germans were so confident that the Tiger would go into mass production that while the tests were underway, the plant had already produced a hundred tracked chassis for it. Since the project was cancelled, this became a problem. The Tiger's tracked chassis did not fit any of the German tanks being designed. Then Porsche was tasked with developing a new tank for these tracks in order to put them into use.

Converting a Tiger into a self-propelled gun

Porsche submitted a design for a new self-propelled gun on September 22, 1942. It was a heavy AT (anti-tank gun) equipped with an 88 mm L/71 gun, which was also under development at that time. The new self-propelled guns were planned to be released to replace the obsolete Marder II and III, which were actively used on the Eastern Front. The firing range of the new AT was estimated to be 4500-5000 meters. For that time these were very impressive figures.

The new tank was designed based on the Tiger, only it had to be even larger. It was a long and wide tank tank with the armor of a heavy tank. The 100 tracked chassis provided to Porsche for development could only be enough for 91 PT, because the tank gained weight. When the project was completed, Hitler approved it, and development of a prototype began on November 30, 1942. The first tests of the new PT began on March 19, 1943.

He was impressed with the result and ordered production to be accelerated. Already in May, the first series of tanks was released, and the tank received its new nickname Ferdinand in honor of its developer Ferdinand Porsche.

Ferdinand's design

Ferdinand was longer and heavier than the Tiger. If the Tiger was supposed to weigh 45 tons, then Ferdinand has already grown to 65. This increase is due to the reinforced armor of the PT hull. The engines were completely redesigned, ventilation and cooling were increased, but there were still two of them. The body was made of metal plates welded at a slight angle. The Tiger's original armor (100 mm at the front and 60 mm at the rear and sides) was increased to 200 mm at the front by welding on additional sheets of metal.

Thanks to this decision, Ferdinand received the thickest armor of all existing tanks of that time. The engine was moved to the front of the tank, which provided additional safety for the crew. Ferdinand's all-round armor was as follows: 200 mm at the front, 80 mm at the rear and sides, 30 mm at the roof and bottom.

The driver was located in front of the hull on the left side, directly under the hatch. To the right of the driver sat the radio operator, followed by the commander and loader. 4 periscopes were installed in the roof of the tank - for the driver, loader, gunner and commander. In the rear part of the body there were holes intended for firing from MG 34 or MP 40 machine guns.

Ferdinand was powered by two Maybach HL 120 TRM engines (245 hp at 2600 rpm), which drove two Siemens Schuckert K58-8 generators (230 kW/1300 rpm). The tank had rear-wheel drive. Ferdinand's maximum speed was 30 km/h, but over rough terrain did not exceed 10 km/h. The tank's gas tank capacity was 950 liters, and the fuel consumption coefficient was about 8 l/s.

Ferdinand's main weapon was the 88 mm PaK4/2L/71 cannon, version AA, with a longer barrel, reduced recoil and an adjusted bolt mechanism. There was no onboard machine gun; instead, there were holes in the hull for manual firing in case the crew found themselves in close combat.

Ferdinand in battle

The entire batch of 89 vehicles was sent to the Eastern Front between May and June 1943. There they underwent combat training before the operation on the Kursk Bulge. In battles, Ferdinand proved his superiority and power. The platoon was tasked with destroying Soviet T-34 tanks from a distance of 5 km. They coped with this task excellently, however, moving deeper into the front line, the Ferdinands soon discovered their main shortcomings: a poor viewing angle and the lack of a machine gun.

Soviet infantrymen quickly recognized Ferdinand's shortcomings and easily destroyed these tanks by simply hiding and waiting for the self-propelled gun to drive a little forward. Then the tank was bombarded with grenades and Molotov cocktails. Ferdinand was a formidable weapon in battle against tanks, but proved incredibly vulnerable to infantry, as a result of which a tank platoon was defeated on the Kursk Bulge.

The Ferdinand self-propelled gun occupies a place between the weakly armored “fast-moving tanks” like the “Nashorn” and the most successful anti-tank self-propelled gun “Jagdpanther”, created on the basis of the “Panther” tank. Developed on the basis of the Tiger design by Porsche (originally called Ferdinand, after the name of its creator, Ferdinand Porsche), the Elefant self-propelled gun (elephant) became one of the first armored combat vehicles with a long-barreled 88-mm anti-aircraft gun. The full index of this gun is as follows: RaK 43/2 L/71, which allows us to conclude that the length of the gun barrel is 71 caliber (that is, its length is 88 mm x 71).

Structurally, the body of the Ferdinand remained the same as the body of the Porsche Tiger, only 100 mm armor plates were bolted in front, which increased the total thickness of the frontal armor protection to 200 mm. The Ferdinand was equipped with two Maybach engines and had many electrical components, including an electric transmission and a turning mechanism, serviced by two electric motors. All this made the self-propelled gun very complex and unreliable in operation. In February 1943, Hitler ordered 90 of these self-propelled guns, which were assigned the index SdKfz 184, to be put into active units as quickly as possible. The Fuhrer's order was carried out by reducing the testing time by May 1943, just when the Germans were preparing for a new offensive in the East front.

Many of the Ferdinands fought on the Kursk Bulge, where they demonstrated the ability to destroy any Soviet tanks. However, self-propelled guns lacked maneuverability in very rough terrain, and the lack of defensive weapons made them vulnerable to anti-tank infantry squads armed with magnetic mines, RPGs and similar anti-tank weapons. If the battle was fought at short distances, the support of the Ferdinand infantry was simply necessary. At the end of 1943, the 48 surviving self-propelled guns were modified at the factory, in particular, equipped with MG 34 machine guns, commander's hatches and anti-magnetic coating. Then the “Elephants” were transferred to the Italian front, where, due to impassable conditions and a lack of spare parts, they caused a lot of trouble for the Germans. For the most part, crews ended up either just abandoning them or blowing them up before abandoning them.

Soviet soldiers inspect a German heavy self-propelled artillery installation of the Ferdinand tank destroyer class, which was knocked out during the Battle of Kursk. The photo is also interesting because of the SSH-36 steel helmet, rare for 1943, on the soldier on the left.

Modifications

At the end of 1943 - beginning of 1944, all the Ferdinands remaining in service by that time (47 units) underwent repairs and modernization at the Nibelungenwerke plant. The work carried out included the installation of a machine gun in a ball mount in the front plate of the self-propelled gun, replacement of gun barrels, turning the shield on the gun barrel “back to front” for better attachment to the barrel, installation of an observation turret with seven fixed periscopes on the roof of the cabin, changing the poles on the lighting generator and improving sealing of exhaust pipes, reinforcement of the bottom in the front part of the hull with a 30-mm armor plate for protection against mines, installation of wider tracks, an increase in ammunition by 5 rounds, installation of mounts for tools and track tracks on the hull. The hull and wheelhouse of the self-propelled gun were covered with zimmerit.

Self-propelled guns that have undergone modernization are often called “Elephant”. In fact, the order to rename the self-propelled guns was issued on February 27, 1944, after the modernization was completed. However, the new name did not take root well, and until the end of the war, self-propelled guns both in the army and in official documents were more often called “Ferdinands” than “Elephants”. At the same time, in English-language literature the name “Elephant” is more often used, which is due to the fact that vehicles under this name took part in battles with Anglo-American troops in Italy.

Project evaluation

In general, the Ferdinand self-propelled gun is a very ambiguous object in terms of evaluation, which is largely a consequence of its design, which determined the subsequent fate of the vehicle. The self-propelled gun was an improvisation created in great haste, in fact an experimental vehicle on the chassis of a heavy tank that was not accepted for service. Therefore, to evaluate the self-propelled guns, it is necessary to become more familiar with the design of the Tiger (P) tank, from which the Ferdinand inherited many of its advantages and disadvantages.

This tank featured a large number of new technical solutions that had not previously been tested in German and world tank building. The most significant of them include electric transmission and suspension using longitudinal torsion bars. Both of these solutions showed good efficiency, but turned out to be overly complex and expensive to produce and not sufficiently mature for long-term operation. Although there were subjective factors in choosing the Henschel prototype, there were also objective reasons for the rejection of F. Porsche’s designs. Before the war, this designer was actively involved in the development of complex designs for racing cars, which were single prototypes not intended for large-scale production. He managed to achieve both the reliability and efficiency of his designs, but through the use of a very highly qualified workforce, high-quality materials and individual work with each released model of equipment. The designer tried to transfer the same approach to tank building, where it was not applicable in the mass production of military equipment.

Although the controllability and survivability of the entire engine-transmission unit received a very good assessment from the German military that operated it, the price for this was the high technological costs of its production and an increase in the weight and size characteristics of the entire Tiger (P) tank as a whole. In particular, some sources mention the Third Reich's great need for copper, and its abundant use in Tiger (P) electrical engineering was regarded as excess. In addition, a tank with such a design had too much fuel consumption. Therefore, a number of promising tank projects by F. Porsche were rejected precisely because of the use of electric transmission in them.

The suspension with longitudinal torsion bars was much easier to maintain and repair compared to the “checkerboard” torsion bar suspension of the Tiger I tank. On the other hand, it was very difficult to manufacture and less reliable in operation. All options for its subsequent development were steadily rejected by the leadership of German tank building in favor of a more traditional and technologically advanced “chessboard” scheme, albeit much less convenient for repair and maintenance.

Tank destroyer "Ferdinand" Sd.Kfz.184 (8.8 cm PaK 43/2 Sfl L/71 Panzerjäger Tiger (P) of the 653rd battalion of heavy tank destroyers (Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 653) of the Wehrmacht moves through a populated area before the start of an offensive Operation Citadel

Therefore, from a production point of view, the German army leadership and the Ministry of Arms and Ammunition actually rendered a verdict that the Tiger (P) was unnecessary for the Wehrmacht. However, a significant supply of practically finished chassis for this vehicle made it possible to experiment with the creation of the world's first heavily armored tank destroyer. The number of manufactured self-propelled guns was strictly limited by the number of available chassis, which predetermined the small-scale production of Ferdinands, regardless of the advantages and disadvantages of its design.

The combat use of the Ferdinands left an ambivalent impression. The most powerful 88-mm cannon was ideal for destroying enemy armored vehicles at any combat distance, and the crews of German self-propelled guns actually accumulated very large accounts of destroyed and damaged Soviet tanks. Powerful armor made the Ferdinand practically invulnerable to shells from almost all Soviet guns when fired head-on; the side and stern were not penetrated by 45-mm armor-piercing shells, and 76-mm shells (and only modifications B, BSP) penetrated it only from extremely short distances (less than 200 m), strictly along the normal. Therefore, instructions for Soviet tank crews and artillerymen prescribed to hit the Ferdinand chassis, the gun barrel, the joints of armor plates and viewing devices. More effective sub-caliber projectiles were available in very small quantities.

The effectiveness of the 57-mm ZIS-2 anti-tank guns on the side armor was somewhat better (normally, the side armor of the self-propelled guns was penetrated by the shells of these guns from about 1000 m). The Ferdinands could be quite effectively hit by corps and army-level artillery - heavy, low-mobility, expensive and slow-firing 122-mm A-19 cannons and 152-mm ML-20 howitzer guns, as well as expensive and vulnerable due to their large height dimensions of 85- mm anti-aircraft guns. In 1943, the only Soviet armored vehicle capable of effectively fighting the Ferdinand was the SU-152 self-propelled gun, which was much inferior to the German self-propelled gun in terms of armor, accuracy and effective firing range of an armor-piercing projectile (although good results were also achieved when firing at the Ferdinand with fragmentation). high-explosive - the armor did not penetrate, but the chassis, gun, internal components and assemblies were damaged, and the crew was injured). Also quite effective against the Ferdinand’s side armor was the 122-mm cumulative projectile BP-460A of the SU-122 self-propelled gun, but the firing range and accuracy of this projectile was very low.

Tank destroyers "Ferdinand" Sd.Kfz.184 (8.8 cm PaK 43/2 Sfl L/71 Panzerjäger Tiger (P) of the headquarters company of the 654th battalion of heavy tank destroyers (Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654) of the Wehrmacht, destroyed by 15-16 July 1943 in the area of ​​​​the Ponyri station. On the left is the headquarters vehicle No. II-03. It was burned with bottles of kerosene mixture after being hit by a shell that damaged the chassis. In the frame is an officer of the Red Army.

The fight against the Ferdinands became less difficult in 1944, with the entry into service of the Red Army of the IS-2, T-34-85 tanks, self-propelled guns ISU-122 and SU-85, which were very effective when firing at the Ferdinand at the side and stern the most common combat distances. The task of defeating Ferdinand head-on was never completely resolved. The issue of penetrating a 200-mm frontal armor plate is still controversial: there is evidence that 100-mm BS-3 guns and SU-100 self-propelled guns could cope with this, but Soviet reports from 1944-1945 indicate their lower armor-piercing ability compared to 122 mm A-19 or D-25 cannons. For the latter, the firing tables indicate the thickness of the pierced armor at a distance of about 150 mm at a distance of 500 m, but the armor penetration chart of those years states that the Ferdinand’s forehead was penetrated at a distance of 450 m. Even if we take the latter as true, then in a head-on collision the ratio of forces between “ Ferdinand" and IS-2 or ISU-122 is many times more favorable for the German self-propelled guns. Knowing this, Soviet tankers and self-propelled gunners almost always fired at heavily armored targets at long distances with high-explosive 122-mm grenades. The kinetic energy of a 25-kg projectile and its explosive effect could with a good probability disable the Ferdinand without penetrating the frontal armor.

Front-line correspondent Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov (1915-1979) sits on the gun barrel of a captured German self-propelled gun "Ferdinand", knocked out on the northern face of the Kursk Bulge. Presumably, a vehicle with tail number “232”, a photo of the same self-propelled gun from the back. A German gas mask tank is inserted into the muzzle brake of the gun.

Anti-tank and tank artillery of Great Britain and the USA was also ineffective against the frontal armor of the Ferdinand; only sub-caliber shells with a detachable tray appeared in mid-1944 for the 17-pounder (76.2 mm) anti-tank gun (which was also installed on Sherman Firefly tanks, Self-propelled guns Achilles and Archer) could solve this problem. On board, the German self-propelled gun was confidently hit by armor-piercing shells from English and American 57-mm and 75-mm guns from a distance of about 500 m, 76-mm and 90-mm guns from a distance of about 2000 m. Defensive battles of the Ferdinands in Ukraine and in Italy in 1943-1944 confirmed their very high efficiency when used for their intended purpose - as a tank destroyer.

On the other hand, the high security of “Ferdinand” to a certain extent played a negative role in his fate. Instead of a long-range tank destroyer, due to the massive and accurate fire of Soviet artillery, the German command at Kursk used Ferdinands as the tip of a ramming attack on the Soviet defense in depth, which was a clear mistake. The German self-propelled gun was poorly suited for this role - the lack of a machine gun, low power supply for the large mass of the vehicle and high ground pressure had an impact. It is known that a significant number of Ferdinands were immobilized by explosions in Soviet minefields and artillery fire on the chassis; most of these vehicles were destroyed by their own crews due to the impossibility of quick evacuation due to the excessive mass of the self-propelled guns. The Soviet infantry and anti-tank artillery, knowing the impenetrability of the Ferdinand and its weakness in close combat, allowed the German self-propelled guns to get closer, trying to deprive them of the support of the German infantry and tanks, and then try to knock them out by shooting at the side, at the chassis, at the gun, as recommended instructions for combating enemy heavy tanks and self-propelled guns.

Burning German self-propelled gun "Ferdinand" from the 656th regiment on the Oryol front of the Kursk Bulge. The photo was taken through the driver's hatch of the Pz.Kpfw control tank. III robotic tanks B-4.

Immobilized self-propelled guns became easy prey for infantry armed with close-in anti-tank weapons, such as Molotov cocktails. This tactic was fraught with heavy losses, but sometimes it led to success, especially if the German self-propelled guns lost the ability to turn. In particular, one “Ferdinand” that fell into a sand pit was unable to get out of there on its own and was captured by Soviet infantry, and its crew was captured. The weakness of the Ferdinand in close combat was noted by the German side and served as one of the reasons for the modernization of the Elefant.

The large mass of the Ferdinand made it difficult for it to cross many bridges, although it was not prohibitively large, especially in comparison with the heavy tank Tiger II and the self-propelled gun Jagdtiger. The Ferdinand's large dimensions and low mobility did not have the best effect on the vehicle's survivability in conditions of Allied air supremacy.

Ferdinand No. 501, which was blown up by a mine, from the 654th division. The car is listed as number “9” on the list of those inspected by the GABTU commission. It was this machine that was repaired and sent to the NIBT test site. Currently on display at the Museum of Armored Vehicles in Kubinka. Kursk Bulge, area of ​​the village of Goreloye.

Heavy assault gun "Ferdinand", tail number "731", chassis number 150090 from the 654th division, blown up by a mine in the defense zone of the 70th army. Later, this car was sent to an exhibition of captured equipment in Moscow. Kursk Bulge.

In general, despite some shortcomings, the Ferdinands proved to be very good, and when used correctly, these self-propelled guns were an extremely dangerous enemy of any tank or self-propelled guns of those times. The heirs of the Ferdinand were the Jagdpanther, armed with an equally powerful weapon, but lighter and weaker armored, and the Jagdtiger, the most powerful and heaviest tank destroyer of the Second World War.

There were no direct analogues of “Ferdinand” in other countries. In terms of concept and armament, the Soviet tank destroyers SU-85 and SU-100 come closest to it, but they are twice as light and much weaker armored. Another analogue is the Soviet heavy self-propelled gun ISU-122, which, with powerful weapons, was much inferior to the German self-propelled gun in terms of frontal armor. British and American anti-tank self-propelled guns had an open wheelhouse or turret, and were also very lightly armored.

Heavy assault gun "Ferdinand", tail number "723" from the 654th division (battalion), knocked out in the area of ​​the "1 May" state farm. The track was destroyed by projectile hits and the gun was jammed. The vehicle was part of the “Major Kahl’s strike group” as part of the 505th heavy tank battalion of the 654th division.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the Elephant self-propelled gun

Layout diagram: control compartment and transmission compartment in front, engine compartment in the middle, combat compartment in the rear
- Developer: Ferdinand Porsche
- Manufacturer: Porsche
- Years of development: 1942-1943
- Year of production: 1943
- Years of operation: 1943-1945
- Number of issued, pcs.: 91

Weight of self-propelled gun Elephant

Combat weight, t: 65.0

Crew: 6 people

Overall dimensions of self-propelled gun Elefant

Case length, mm: 8140
- Width, mm: 3380
- Height, mm: 2970
- Ground clearance, mm: 485

Reservation of self-propelled guns Elephant

Armor type: rolled and forged surface hardened
- Housing forehead (top), mm/deg.: 200(100+100) / 12°
- Housing forehead (bottom), mm/deg.: 200 / 35°
- Hull side (top), mm/deg.: 80 / 0°
- Hull side (bottom), mm/deg.: 60 / 0°
- Hull stern (top), mm/deg.: 80 / 40°
- Hull stern (bottom), mm/deg.: 80 / 0°
- Bottom, mm: 20-50
- Housing roof, mm: 30
- Cutting forehead, mm/deg.: 200 / 25°
- Gun mask, mm/deg.: 125
- Cabin side, mm/deg.: 80 / 30°
- Feed cutting, mm/deg.: 80 / 30°
- Cabin roof, mm/deg.: 30 / 85°

Armament of self-propelled gun Elephant

Caliber and brand of gun: 88 mm Pak 43
- Gun type: Rifled
- Barrel length, calibers: 71
- Gun ammunition: 50-55
- HV angles, degrees: −8…+14°
- GN angles, degrees: 28°
- Sights: periscope Sfl ZF 1a

Machine guns: 1 × 7.92 MG-34

Engine self-propelled gun Elefant

Engine type: two V-shaped 12-cylinder carburetor
- Engine power, l. pp.: 2×265

Speed ​​self-propelled gun Elefant

Highway speed, km/h: 35 (tested in the USSR)
- Speed ​​over rough terrain, km/h: 10-15 for soft plowing 5-10

Cruising range on the highway, km: 150
- Cruising range over rough terrain, km: 90

Specific power, l. s./t: 8.2
- Suspension type: torsion bar
- Specific ground pressure, kg/cm²: 1.2

Climbability, degrees: 22°
- Overcoming wall, m: 0.78
- Overcoming ditch, m: 2.64
- Fordability, m: 1.0

Photo self-propelled gun Ferdinand (Elephant)

The Ferdinand heavy assault gun, destroyed by a direct hit from an aerial bomb from a Soviet Pe-2 dive bomber. Tactical number unknown. Area of ​​the Ponyri station and the May 1 state farm.

German heavy assault gun "Ferdinand" of the 653rd battalion (division), captured in good condition along with its crew by soldiers of the Soviet 129th Oryol Rifle Division. The left front corner of the self-propelled gun was hit by a HE shell (“chrysanthemum” is clearly visible in the photo). That’s why there is no fender or wing. But the self-propelled gun itself was fully operational, the gun and instruments were in perfect order, the radio station was working. Even Fedya’s magical “little book” was available.

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Already during the fighting on the Eastern Front, the German army encountered excellent Soviet KV and T-34 tanks. They were noticeably superior to the German analogues available at that time. Since the Germans were not going to give in, the design bureaus of many German companies received orders to create a new type of equipment - a heavy tank destroyer. This order subsequently became the beginning of the creation of such a machine as the Ferdinand or Elefant.

History of the machine

The experience of battles on the Eastern Front showed that many German tanks from the Pz series were inferior in their characteristics to Soviet combat vehicles. Therefore, Hitler ordered German designers to begin developing new heavy tanks that were supposed to equal or even surpass the tanks of the Red Army. Two large companies took up this task - Henschel and Porsche. Prototypes of machines from both companies were created as soon as possible and on April 20, 1942, they were presented to the Fuhrer. He liked both prototypes so much that he ordered both versions to be mass-produced. But for a number of reasons this was impossible, so they decided to produce only the Henschel model - VK4501 (H), which later became known as the Pz.Kpfw VI Tiger. They decided to leave the version designed by Ferdinand Porsche - VK 4501 (P) - as a backup option. Hitler ordered the construction of only 90 cars.

But having produced only 5 tanks, Porsche stopped their production by order of the Fuhrer. Two of them were subsequently converted into Bergerpanzer repair vehicles, and three received standard armament - an 88 mm cannon. KwK 36 L/56 and two MG-34 machine guns (one coaxial with a gun, and the other a front-mounted one).

Around the same time, another need arose - a tank destroyer. At the same time, it was required that the vehicle have frontal armor 200 mm thick and a gun capable of fighting Soviet tanks. The German anti-tank weapons available at that time were either ineffective or outright improvised. At the same time, the weight limit for the future self-propelled guns was 65 tons. Since the Porsche prototype lost, the designer decided to take his chance. He asked the Fuhrer to complete the planned 90 chassis just to use them as the base for a future installation. And Hitler gave the go-ahead. It was this work of the designer that became the machine that became known as the Ferdinand tank.

The creation process and its features

So, on September 22, 1942, the Minister of Armaments of the Third Reich, Albert Speer, ordered the creation of the necessary army combat vehicle, which was initially called 8.8 cm Pak 43/2 Sfl L/71 Panzerjaeger Tiger (P) SdKfz 184, to begin. During the work, the name was changed several times times until the tank finally received an official name.

The car was designed by Porsche in collaboration with the Alquette plant located in Berlin. The command requirements were such that the self-propelled gun had to use the Pak 43 anti-tank gun of 88 mm caliber. It was very long, so Porsche designed the layout in such a way that the fighting compartment was located at the rear of the tank, and the engine in the middle. The hull was modernized - new engine frames were added and a bulkhead was installed to stop a fire inside the vehicle, if necessary. A bulkhead separated the combat and power compartments. The chassis, as already mentioned, was taken from the prototype of the heavy tank VK 4501 (P), the driving wheel was the rear one.

In 1943, the tank was ready, and Hitler ordered its production to begin, and also gave the car the name "Ferdinand". The tank apparently received this name as a sign of respect for Porsche's design genius. They decided to produce the car at the Nibelungenwerke plant.

Start of mass production

Initially, it was planned to produce 15 vehicles in February 1943, another 35 in March and 40 in April, that is, a strategy was being pursued to increase production. Initially, all the tanks were supposed to be produced by Alkett, but then this job was entrusted to Nibelungenwerke. This decision was due to a number of reasons. Firstly, more railway platforms were needed to transport self-propelled gun hulls, and all of them at that time were busy delivering the Tiger tank to the front. Secondly, the VK 4501 (P) hulls were redesigned more slowly than required. Thirdly, Alkett would have to re-adjust the production process, since at that moment the plant was assembling StuG III anti-tank vehicles. But Alkett still took part in assembling the vehicle, sending a group of mechanics who had experience in welding turrets for heavy tanks to Essen, where the supplier of the cabins, the Krupp plant, was located.

Assembly of the first vehicle began on February 16, 1943, and by May 8 all planned tanks were ready. On April 12, one vehicle was sent for testing in Kummersdorf. Subsequently, a review of equipment took place in Rügenwald, where the first Ferdinand was shown. The review of the tank was successful, and Hitler liked the car.

As the final stage of production, a Heeres Waffenamt commission was carried out, and all equipment passed it successfully. All German tanks of World War II, including the Ferdinand, were required to undergo it.

Self-propelled gun in battle

The vehicles arrived just in time for the start of the Battle of Kursk. One funny fact should be noted: all the Soviet front-line soldiers who participated in this battle unanimously insist that the Ferdinand tank was used en masse (almost thousands) along the entire front. But reality did not match these words. In fact, only 90 vehicles took part in the battles, and they were used only on one sector of the front - in the area of ​​​​the Ponyri railway station and the village of Teploye. Two divisions of self-propelled guns fought there.

In general, we can say that “Ferdinand” passed its baptism of fire successfully. An important role was played by the conning tower, which was well armored. Of all the losses, the largest number occurred in minefields. One vehicle ran into crossfire from several anti-tank guns and seven tanks, but only one (!) hole was found in it. Three more self-propelled guns were destroyed by a Molotov cocktail, an air bomb and a large-caliber howitzer shell. It was in these battles that the Red Army felt the full power of such a formidable machine as the Ferdinand tank, photographs of which were taken then for the first time. Before this, the Russians did not have any information about the car.

During the battles, the advantages and disadvantages of the machines were clarified. For example, crews complained that the lack of a machine gun reduced survivability on the battlefield. They tried to solve this problem in an original way: the machine gun barrel was inserted into an unloaded gun. But you can imagine how inconvenient and long it was. The turret did not rotate, so the machine gun was aimed by the entire hull.

Another method was also ingenious, but ineffective: an iron cage was welded to the back of the self-propelled gun, where 5 grenadiers were located. But the Ferdinand, a large and dangerous tank, always attracted enemy fire, so they did not live long. They tried to install a machine gun on the roof of the cabin, but the loader servicing it risked his life just like the grenadiers in the cage.

Among the more significant changes, they carried out enhanced sealing of the fuel system of the vehicle’s engine, but it increased the likelihood of a fire, which was confirmed in the first weeks of fighting. They also found out that the chassis is highly susceptible to damage from mines.

Machine successes and battle results

As already mentioned, two divisions fought on the Kursk Bulge, which were created specifically to use the Ferdinand tank. The description of the fighting in the reports states that both divisions, which fought as part of the 656th tank regiment, during the battles on the Kursk Bulge destroyed 502 enemy tanks of all types, 100 guns and 20 anti-tank guns. Thus, it can be seen that the Red Army suffered serious losses in these battles, although it is not possible to verify this information.

The further fate of the cars

A total of 42 Ferdinands out of 90 survived. Since the design flaws required correction, they were sent for modernization to San Polten. Five damaged self-propelled guns soon arrived there. A total of 47 cars were reconstructed.

The work was carried out on the same "Nibelungenwerk". By March 15, 1944, 43 “Elephant” were ready - that’s what these cars were now called. How did they differ from their predecessors?

First of all, the request of the tankers was satisfied. A forward-facing machine gun was installed in the front part of the cabin - a tank MG-34 on a ball-shaped mount. In the place where the self-propelled gun commander was located, a turret was installed, which was covered with a single-leaf hatch. The turret had seven fixed periscopes. The bottom in the front part of the hull was reinforced - an armor plate 30 mm thick was placed there to protect the crew from anti-tank mines. The gun's imperfect armored mask received protection from shrapnel. The design of the air intakes has changed; armored casings have appeared on them. The driver's periscopes were equipped with sun visors. The towing hooks in the front part of the hull were strengthened, and mounts for tools were installed on the sides, which could be used for a camouflage net.

Changes also affected the chassis: it received new tracks with parameters 64/640/130. We changed the internal communication system, added mounts for an additional five shells inside the wheelhouse, and installed mounts for spare tracks in the rear and on the sides of the conning tower. Also, the entire body and its lower part were covered with zimmerit.

In this form, self-propelled guns were widely used in Italy, repelling the advance of the Allied forces, and at the end of 1944 they were transferred back to the Eastern Front. There they fought in Western Ukraine and Poland. There is no consensus on the fate of the divisions in the last days of the war. Then they were assigned to the 4th Tank Army. It is believed that they fought in the Zossen region, others claim that in the mountainous regions of Austria.

In our time, there are only two “Elephants” left, one of which is in the tank museum in Kubinka, and the other in the USA, at the Aberdeen training ground.

Tank "Ferdinand": characteristics and description

In general, the design of this self-propelled artillery mount was successful, differing only in minor shortcomings. It is worth taking a closer look at each of the component parts in order to soberly assess the combat capabilities and performance qualities.

Hull, weapons and equipment

The conning tower was a tetrahedral pyramid, truncated at the top. It was made from cemented naval armor. According to technical requirements, the frontal armor of the wheelhouse reached 200 mm. An 88 mm Pak 43 anti-tank gun was installed in the fighting compartment. Its ammunition capacity was 50-55 rounds. The length of the gun reached 6300 mm, and its weight was 2200 kg. The gun fired various types of armor-piercing, high-explosive and cumulative shells, which successfully penetrated almost any Soviet tank. "Ferdinand", "Tiger", later versions of the StuG were equipped with this particular weapon or its modifications. The horizontal sector that could fire at the Ferdinand without turning the chassis was 30 degrees, and the elevation and declination angle of the gun was 18 and 8 degrees, respectively.

The hull of the tank destroyer was welded, consisting of two compartments - combat and power. For its manufacture, heterogeneous armor plates were used, the outer surface of which was harder than the inner. The frontal armor of the hull was initially 100 mm, later it was reinforced with additional armor plates. The power compartment of the hull contained an engine and electric generators. An electric motor was located in the rear part of the hull. To comfortably drive the car, the driver’s seat was equipped with everything necessary: ​​engine monitoring devices, a speedometer, a clock and periscopes for inspection. For additional orientation, there was a viewing slot on the left side of the body. To the left of the driver was a radio operator who operated the radio station and fired from a machine gun. SPGs of this type were equipped with radios of the FuG 5 and FuG Spr f models.

The rear part of the hull and the fighting compartment accommodated the rest of the crew - the commander, gunner and two loaders. The roof of the cabin had two hatches - the commander's and the gunner's - which were double-leaf, as well as two small single-leaf hatches for the loaders. Another large round hatch was made at the back of the wheelhouse; it was intended for loading ammunition and entering the fighting compartment. The hatch had a small loophole to protect the self-propelled gun from the rear from the enemy. It should be said that the German Ferdinand tank, a photo of which can now be easily found, is a very recognizable vehicle.

Engine and chassis

The power plant used was two carburetor liquid-cooled Maybach HL 120 TRM engines, twelve-cylinder overhead valve units with a capacity of 265 hp. With. and a working volume of 11867 cubic meters. cm.

The chassis consisted of three two-wheeled bogies, as well as a guide and drive wheel (one side). Each road wheel had an independent suspension. The road wheels had a diameter of 794 mm, and the drive wheel had a diameter of 920 mm. The tracks were single-flange and single-pin, dry type (that is, the tracks were not lubricated). The length of the track support area is 4175 mm, the track is 2310 mm. One caterpillar had 109 tracks. To improve cross-country ability, additional anti-slip teeth could be installed. The tracks were made from a manganese alloy.

The painting of the vehicles depended on the area in which the fighting took place, as well as the time of year. According to the standard, they were painted with olive paint, on which additional camouflage was sometimes applied - dark green and brown spots. Sometimes they used three-color tank camouflage. In winter, ordinary washable white paint was used. This type of painting was not regulated, and each crew painted the car at their own discretion.

Results

We can say that the designers managed to create a powerful and effective means of combating medium and heavy tanks. The German tank "Ferdinand" was not without its shortcomings, but its advantages outweighed them, so it is not surprising that self-propelled guns were very cherished, used only in significant operations, avoiding their use where it could be done without.

Whether the Germans had the best self-propelled guns in the world or not is a moot point, but the fact that they managed to create one that left an indelible memory of itself among all Soviet soldiers is for sure. We are talking about the Ferdinand heavy self-propelled gun. It got to the point that, starting from the second half of 1943, in almost every combat report, Soviet troops destroyed at least one such self-propelled gun. If we add up the losses of the Ferdinands according to Soviet reports, then several thousand of them were destroyed during the war. The piquancy of the situation is that the Germans produced only 90 of them during the entire war, and another 4 ARVs based on them. It is difficult to find an example of armored vehicles from the Second World War, produced in such small quantities and at the same time so famous. All German self-propelled guns were recorded as "Ferdinands", but most often - "Marders" and "Stugas". The situation was approximately the same with the German “Tiger”: the Pz-IV medium tank with a long gun was often confused with it. But here there was at least a similarity in silhouettes, but what similarity there is between “Ferdinand” and, for example, the StuG 40 is a big question.

So what was “Ferdinand” like, and why is he so widely known since the Battle of Kursk? We will not go into technical details and design development issues, because this has already been written in dozens of other publications, but will pay close attention to the battles on the northern front of the Kursk Bulge, where these extremely powerful machines were massively used.

The conning tower of the self-propelled gun was assembled from sheets of forged cemented armor transferred from the stocks of the German Navy. The frontal armor of the cabin was 200 mm thick, the side and rear armor was 85 mm thick. The thickness of even the side armor made the self-propelled gun virtually invulnerable to fire from almost all Soviet artillery of the 1943 model at a distance of over 400 m. The self-propelled gun's armament consisted of an 8.8-cm StuK 43 gun (some sources erroneously cite its field version PaK 43/2) with the barrel length was 71 calibers, its muzzle energy was one and a half times higher than that of the gun of the Tiger heavy tank. The Ferdinand gun penetrated all Soviet tanks from all angles of attack at all actual fire distances. The only reason why the armor was not penetrated when hit was a ricochet. Any other hit caused a penetration of the armor, which in most cases meant the disabling of the Soviet tank and the partial or complete death of its crew. This is something serious that appeared to the Germans shortly before the start of Operation Citadel.

The formation of self-propelled gun units "Ferdinand" began on April 1, 1943. In total, it was decided to form two heavy battalions (divisions).

The first of them, numbered 653 (Schwere PanzerJager Abteilung 653), was formed on the basis of the 197th StuG III assault gun division. According to the new staff, the division was supposed to have 45 Ferdinand self-propelled guns. This unit was not chosen by chance: the division's personnel had extensive combat experience and participated in battles in the East from the summer of 1941 to January 1943. By May, the 653rd battalion was fully staffed according to the staff. However, at the beginning of May 1943, all the material was transferred to staff the 654th battalion, which was formed in France in the city of Rouen. By mid-May, the 653rd battalion was again almost fully staffed and had 40 self-propelled guns. After completing a course of exercises at the Neuseidel training ground, on June 9–12, 1943, the battalion left for the Eastern Front in eleven echelons.

The 654th heavy tank destroyer battalion was formed on the basis of the 654th anti-tank division at the end of April 1943. Its personnel, who had previously fought with the PaK 35/36 anti-tank gun and then with the Marder II self-propelled gun, had much less combat experience than their colleagues from the 653rd battalion. Until April 28, the battalion was in Austria, from April 30 in Rouen. After the final exercises, from June 13 to June 15, the battalion departed for the Eastern Front in fourteen echelons.

According to the wartime staff (K. St.N. No. 1148c dated 03/31/43), the heavy battalion of tank destroyers included: the battalion command, a headquarters company (platoon: control, engineer, ambulance, anti-aircraft), three companies of “Ferdinands” (in each company has 2 company headquarters vehicles, and three platoons of 4 vehicles each; i.e. 14 vehicles in a company), a repair and recovery company, a motor transport company. Total: 45 Ferdinand self-propelled guns, 1 ambulance Sd.Kfz.251/8 armored personnel carrier, 6 anti-aircraft Sd.Kfz 7/1, 15 Sd.Kfz 9 half-track tractors (18 tons), trucks and cars.

The staffing structure of the battalions varied slightly. We must start with the fact that the 653rd battalion included the 1st, 2nd and 3rd companies, and the 654th battalion included the 5th, 6th and 7th companies. The 4th company “fell out” somewhere. The numbering of vehicles in the battalions corresponded to German standards: for example, both vehicles of the headquarters of the 5th company had numbers 501 and 502, the vehicle numbers of the 1st platoon were from 511 to 514 inclusive; 2nd platoon 521 - 524; 3rd 531 - 534 respectively. But if we carefully look at the combat strength of each battalion (division), we will see that there are only 42 self-propelled guns in the “combat” number of units. And in the state there are 45. Where did the other three self-propelled guns from each battalion go? This is where the difference in the organization of improvised tank destroyer divisions comes into play: if in the 653rd battalion 3 vehicles were assigned to a reserve group, then in the 654th battalion 3 “extra” vehicles were organized into a headquarters group that had non-standard tactical numbers: II -01, II-02, II-03.

Both battalions (divisions) became part of the 656th Tank Regiment, whose headquarters the Germans formed on June 8, 1943. The formation turned out to be very powerful: in addition to 90 Ferdinand self-propelled guns, it included the 216th battalion of assault tanks (Sturmpanzer Abteilung 216), and two companies of radio-controlled BIV Bogvard tankettes (313th and 314th). The regiment was supposed to serve as a ram for the German offensive in the direction of Art. Ponyri - Maloarkhangelsk.

On June 25, the Ferdinands began to advance to the front line. By July 4, 1943, the 656th regiment was deployed as follows: to the west of the Orel - Kursk railway, the 654th battalion (Arkhangelskoe district), to the east the 653rd battalion (Glazunov district), followed by three companies 216th battalion (45 Brummbars in total). Each Ferdinand battalion was assigned a company of radio-controlled B IV tankettes.

On July 5, the 656th Tank Regiment went on the offensive, supporting elements of the 86th and 292nd German Infantry Divisions. However, the ramming attack did not work: on the first day, the 653rd battalion got stuck in heavy fighting at height 257.7, which the Germans nicknamed “Tank”. Not only were thirty-fours buried up to the tower at the height, but the height was also covered with powerful minefields. On the very first day, 10 self-propelled guns of the battalion were blown up by mines. There were also heavy losses among personnel. The commander of the 1st company, Hauptmann Spielmann, was seriously injured when he was blown up by an anti-personnel mine. Having determined the direction of the attack, Soviet artillery also opened fire. As a result, by 17:00 on July 5, only 12 Ferdinands remained on the move! The rest received injuries of varying severity. Over the next two days, the remnants of the battalion continued to fight to capture the station. Ponyri.

The attack of the 654th battalion turned out to be even more disastrous. The 6th company of the battalion mistakenly ran into its own minefield. Within just a few minutes, most of the Ferdinands were blown up by their own mines. Having discovered the monstrous German vehicles barely crawling towards our positions, the Soviet artillery opened concentrated fire on them. The result was that the German infantry, supporting the attack of the 6th company, suffered heavy losses and lay down, leaving the self-propelled guns without cover. Four “Ferdinands” from the 6th company were still able to reach the Soviet positions, and there, according to the recollections of German self-propelled gunners, they were “attacked by several brave Russian soldiers who remained in the trenches and armed with flamethrowers, and from the right flank, from the railway line, the artillery fire, but seeing that this was ineffective, the Russian soldiers retreated in an orderly manner.”

The 5th and 7th companies also reached the first line of trenches, losing about 30% of their vehicles to mines and coming under heavy artillery fire. At the same time, the commander of the 654th battalion, Major Noack, was mortally wounded by a shell fragment.

After occupying the first line of trenches, the remnants of the 654th battalion moved in the direction of Ponyri. At the same time, some of the vehicles were again blown up by mines, and “Ferdinand” No. 531 from the 5th company, being immobilized by flanking fire from Soviet artillery, was finished off and burned. At dusk, the battalion reached the hills north of Ponyri, where they stopped for the night and regrouped. The battalion has 20 vehicles left on the move.

On July 6, due to problems with fuel, the 654th battalion went on the attack only at 14:00. However, due to heavy fire from Soviet artillery, the German infantry suffered serious losses, retreated back and the attack fizzled out. On this day, the 654th battalion reported “about a large number of Russian tanks arriving to strengthen the defense.” According to the evening report, the self-propelled gun crews destroyed 15 Soviet T-34 tanks, with 8 of them attributed to the crew under the command of Hauptmann Lüders, and 5 by Lieutenant Peters. There are 17 cars left running.

The next day, the remnants of the 653rd and 654th battalions were pulled to Buzuluk, where they formed a corps reserve. Two days were devoted to car repairs. On July 8, several “Ferdinands” and “Brumbars” took part in an unsuccessful attack on the station. Ponyri.

At the same time (July 8), the headquarters of the Soviet Central Front received the first report from the chief of artillery of the 13th Army about the Ferdinand being blown up by a mine. Just two days later, a group of five GAU KA officers arrived from Moscow to the front headquarters specifically to study this sample. However, they were unlucky; by this time, the area where the damaged self-propelled gun stood was occupied by the Germans.

The main events developed on July 9–10, 1943. After many unsuccessful attacks on the station. The Pony Germans changed the direction of the attack. From the northeast, through the May 1st state farm, an improvised combat group under the command of Major Kall struck. The composition of this group is impressive: the 505th battalion of heavy tanks (about 40 Tiger tanks), the 654th and part of the vehicles of the 653rd battalion (44 Ferdinands in total), the 216th battalion of assault tanks (38 Brummbar self-propelled guns "), a division of assault guns (20 StuG 40 and StuH 42), 17 Pz.Kpfw III and Pz.Kpfw IV tanks. Directly behind this armada the tanks of the 2nd TD and motorized infantry on armored personnel carriers were supposed to move.

Thus, on a front of 3 km, the Germans concentrated about 150 combat vehicles, not counting the second echelon. Of the first echelon vehicles, more than half are heavy. According to reports from our artillerymen, the Germans used a new attack formation “in line” for the first time here - with the Ferdinands going ahead. The vehicles of the 654th and 653rd battalions operated in two echelons. 30 vehicles were advancing in the line of the first echelon; another company (14 vehicles) was moving in the second echelon at intervals of 120–150 m. Company commanders were in a common line on staff vehicles carrying a flag on the antenna.

On the very first day, this group easily managed to break through the May 1 state farm to the village of Goreloye. Here our artillerymen made a truly brilliant move: seeing the invulnerability of the newest German armored monsters to artillery, they were allowed into a huge minefield mixed with anti-tank mines and land mines from captured ammunition, and then opened hurricane fire on the “retinue” of medium-sized ones that was following the Ferdinands. tanks and assault guns. As a result, the entire strike group suffered significant losses and was forced to withdraw.

The next day, July 10, Major Kall's group delivered a new powerful blow and individual vehicles broke through to the outskirts of the station. Ponyri. The vehicles that broke through were the Ferdinand heavy self-propelled guns.

According to the descriptions of our soldiers, the Ferdinands advanced, firing from a gun from short stops from a distance of one to two and a half kilometers: a very long distance for armored vehicles of that time. Having been subjected to concentrated fire, or having discovered a mined area of ​​​​the terrain, they retreated in reverse to some kind of shelter, trying to always be facing the Soviet positions with thick frontal armor, absolutely invulnerable to our artillery.

On July 11, Major Kall's strike group was disbanded, the 505th heavy tank battalion and tanks of the 2nd TD were transferred against our 70th Army to the Kutyrka-Teploye area. In the area of ​​the station. Only units of the 654th battalion and the 216th assault tank division remained in Ponyri, trying to evacuate damaged materiel to the rear. But it was not possible to evacuate the 65-ton Ferdinands during July 12–13, and on July 14, Soviet troops launched a massive counteroffensive from the Ponyri station in the direction of the May 1 state farm. By mid-afternoon the German troops were forced to withdraw. Our tankers supporting the infantry attack suffered heavy losses, mainly not from German fire, but because a company of T-34 and T-70 tanks jumped out onto the same powerful minefield where the Ferdinands were blown up four days earlier. 654th battalion.

On July 15 (that is, the very next day), the German equipment shot down and destroyed at the Ponyri station was inspected and studied by representatives of the GAU KA and NIBT of the test site. In total, on the battlefield northeast of the station. Ponyri (18 km2) there were 21 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", three assault tanks "Brummbar" (in Soviet documents - "Bear"), eight tanks Pz-III and Pz-IV, two command tanks, and several radio-controlled tankettes B IV "Bogvard" "

Most of the Ferdinands were discovered in a minefield near the village of Goreloye. More than half of the vehicles inspected had damage to the chassis from the effects of anti-tank mines and landmines. 5 vehicles had damage to their chassis from being hit by shells of 76 mm caliber and higher. Two Ferdinands had guns shot through, one of them received as many as 8 hits in the gun barrel. One vehicle was completely destroyed by a bomb from a Soviet Pe-2 bomber, and one was destroyed by a 203-mm shell hitting the roof of the cabin. And only one “Ferdinand” had a shell hole in the left side, made by a 76-mm armor-piercing projectile, 7 T-34 tanks and a ZIS-3 battery fired at it from all sides, from a distance of 200–400 m. And another “Ferdinand”, which had no external damage to the hull, was burned by our infantry with a bottle of COP. Several Ferdinands, deprived of the ability to move under their own power, were destroyed by their crews.

The main part of the 653rd battalion operated in the defense zone of our 70th Army. Irreversible losses during the battles from July 5 to July 15 amounted to 8 vehicles. Moreover, our troops captured one in perfect working order, and even with its crew. It happened as follows: while repelling one of the German attacks in the area of ​​​​the village of Teploye on July 11–12, the advancing German troops were subjected to massive artillery fire from a corps artillery division, a battery of the latest Soviet self-propelled guns SU-152 and two IPTAPs, after which the enemy left them on the battlefield 4 "Ferdinand". Despite such a massive shelling, not a single German self-propelled gun had its armor penetrated: two vehicles had shell damage to the chassis, one was severely destroyed by large-caliber artillery fire (possibly an SU-152) - its frontal plate was moved out of place. And the fourth (No. 333), trying to get out of the shelling, moved in reverse and, once on a sandy area, simply “sat down” on its belly. The crew tried to undermine the car, but then they were confronted by attacking Soviet infantrymen of the 129th Infantry Division and the Germans chose to surrender. Here our people were faced with the same problem that had long been weighing on the minds of the command of the German 654th and 653rd battalions: how to pull this colossus out of the battlefield? Pulling the “hippopotamus out of the swamp” dragged on until August 2, when, with the efforts of four S-60 and S-65 tractors, “Ferdinand” was finally pulled onto solid ground. But during its further transportation to the railway station, one of the gasoline engines of the self-propelled gun failed. The further fate of the car is unknown.

With the start of the Soviet counteroffensive, the Ferdinands found themselves in their element. Thus, on July 12–14, 24 self-propelled guns of the 653rd battalion supported units of the 53rd Infantry Division in the Berezovets area. At the same time, while repelling an attack by Soviet tanks near the village of Krasnaya Niva, the crew of only one “Ferdinand”, Lieutenant Tiret, reported the destruction of 22 T-34 tanks.

On July 15, the 654th battalion repelled an attack by our tanks from Maloarkhangelsk - Buzuluk, while the 6th company reported the destruction of 13 Soviet combat vehicles. Subsequently, the remnants of the battalions were pulled back to Oryol. By July 30, all “Ferdinands” were withdrawn from the front, and by order of the headquarters of the 9th Army they were sent to Karachev.

During Operation Citadel, the 656th Tank Regiment reported daily by radio about the presence of combat-ready Ferdinands. According to these reports, on July 7 there were 37 Ferdinands in service, on July 8 - 26, on July 9 - 13, on July 10 - 24, on July 11 - 12, on July 12 - 24, on July 13 - 24, on July 14 - 13. These data do not correlate well with German data on the combat composition of the strike groups, which included the 653rd and 654th battalions. The Germans recognize 19 Ferdinands as irretrievably lost, in addition, 4 more vehicles were lost “due to a short circuit and subsequent fire.” Consequently, the 656th Regiment lost 23 vehicles. In addition, there are inconsistencies with Soviet data, which photographically document the destruction of 21 Ferdinand self-propelled guns.

Perhaps the Germans tried, as often happened, to write off several vehicles as irretrievable losses retroactively, because, according to them, from the moment the Soviet troops went on the offensive, irretrievable losses amounted to 20 Ferdinands (this apparently includes some of the 4 cars burned down due to technical reasons). Thus, according to German data, the total irretrievable losses of the 656th regiment from July 5 to August 1, 1943 amounted to 39 Ferdinands. Be that as it may, this is generally confirmed by documents, and, in general, corresponds to Soviet data.

If the losses of the Ferdinands to both German and Soviet coincide (the only difference is in the dates), then “unscientific fiction” begins. The command of the 656th Regiment states that during the period from July 5 to July 15, 1943, the regiment disabled 502 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, 20 anti-tank and about 100 other guns. The 653rd battalion especially distinguished itself in the field of destroying Soviet armored vehicles, recording 320 Soviet tanks destroyed, as well as a large number of guns and vehicles.

Let's try to figure out the losses of Soviet artillery. During the period from July 5 to July 15, 1943, the Central Front under the command of K. Rokossovsky lost 433 guns of all types. This is data for an entire front, which occupied a very long line of defense, so data for 120 destroyed guns in one small “patch” seems clearly overestimated. In addition, it is very interesting to compare the declared number of destroyed Soviet armored vehicles with its actual loss. So: by July 5, the tank units of the 13th Army consisted of 215 tanks and 32 self-propelled guns, another 827 armored units were listed in the 2nd TA and 19th Tank Corps, which were in the front reserve. Most of them were brought into battle precisely in the defense zone of the 13th Army, where the Germans delivered their main blow. The losses of the 2nd TA for the period from July 5 to 15 amounted to 270 T-34 and T-70 tanks burned out and damaged, the losses of the 19th Tank - 115 vehicles, the 13th Army (taking into account all replenishments) - 132 vehicles. Consequently, of the 1129 tanks and self-propelled guns deployed in the 13th Army zone, the total losses amounted to 517 vehicles, more than half of which were recovered during the battles (irretrievable losses amounted to 219 vehicles). If we take into account that the defense line of the 13th Army on different days of the operation ranged from 80 to 160 km, and the Ferdinands operated on a front from 4 to 8 km, it becomes clear that it would be impossible to “click” so many Soviet armored vehicles in such a narrow area it was simply unreal. And if we also take into account the fact that several tank divisions, as well as the 505th heavy tank battalion "Tigers", assault gun divisions, self-propelled guns "Marder" and "Hornisse", as well as artillery, acted against the Central Front, then it is clear that the results The 656th Regiment is shamelessly bloated. However, a similar picture emerges when checking the performance of the heavy tank battalions “Tigers” and “Royal Tigers”, and indeed all German tank units. To be fair, it must be said that the combat reports of Soviet, American, and British troops were guilty of such “truthfulness”.

So what is the reason for such popularity of the “heavy assault gun”, or, if you prefer, the “heavy tank destroyer Ferdinand”?

Undoubtedly, the creation of Ferdinand Porsche was a unique masterpiece of technical thought. The huge self-propelled gun used many technical solutions (unique chassis, combined power plant, location of weapons, etc.) that had no analogues in tank building. At the same time, numerous technical “highlights” of the project were poorly adapted for military use, and the phenomenal armor protection and powerful weapons were purchased at the expense of disgusting mobility, a small power reserve, the complexity of the vehicle in operation and the lack of a concept for using such equipment. This is all true, but this was not the reason for such a “fear” of Porsche’s creation that Soviet artillerymen and tankmen saw crowds of “Ferdinands” in almost every combat report, even after the Germans took all the surviving self-propelled guns from the eastern front to Italy and They did not participate on the Eastern Front until the battles in Poland.

Despite all its imperfections and “childhood illnesses,” the self-propelled gun “Ferdinand” turned out to be a terrible adversary. Her armor couldn't be penetrated. I just didn't get through. At all. Nothing. You can imagine what the Soviet tank crews and artillerymen felt and thought: you hit it, fire shell after shell, and it, as if under a spell, rushes and rushes at you.

Many modern researchers cite the lack of anti-personnel weapons of this self-propelled gun as the main reason for the unsuccessful debut of the Ferdinands. They say that the vehicle did not have machine guns and the self-propelled guns were helpless against the Soviet infantry. But if you analyze the reasons for the losses of the Ferdinand self-propelled guns, it becomes clear that the role of the infantry in the destruction of the Ferdinands was simply insignificant, the vast majority of the vehicles were blown up in minefields, and some were destroyed by artillery.

Thus, contrary to the popular belief that V. Model, who allegedly “did not know” how to use them correctly, was to blame for the large losses on the Kursk Bulge of the Ferdinand self-propelled guns, we can say that the main reasons for such high losses of these self-propelled guns were the tactically competent actions of the Soviet commanders, the stamina and courage of our soldiers and officers, as well as a little military luck.

Another reader will object, why are we not talking about the battles in Galicia, where slightly modernized “Elephants” took part since April 1944 (which were distinguished from the previous “Ferdinands” by minor improvements, such as a front-facing machine gun and a commander’s cupola)? We answer: because their fate there was no better. Until July, they, consolidated into the 653rd battalion, fought local battles. After the start of a major Soviet offensive, the battalion was sent to the aid of the German SS division Hohenstaufen, but ran into an ambush by Soviet tanks and anti-tank artillery and 19 vehicles were immediately destroyed. The remnants of the battalion (12 vehicles) were consolidated into the 614th separate heavy company, which took part in battles near Wünsdorf, Zossen and Berlin.

ACS number Nature of damage Cause of damage Note
731 Caterpillar destroyed Blown up by a mine Self-propelled gun repaired and sent to Moscow for an exhibition of captured property
522 The caterpillar was destroyed, the road wheels were damaged. It was blown up by a landmine, the fuel ignited. The vehicle burned down.
523 Caterpillar destroyed, road wheels damaged Blown up by a landmine, set on fire by the crew Vehicle burned down
734 The lower branch of the caterpillar was destroyed. It was blown up by a land mine, the fuel ignited. The car burned out.
II-02 The right track was torn off, the road wheels were destroyed. Blown up by a mine, set on fire by a COP bottle. The vehicle burned down.
I-02 The left track was torn off, the road wheel was destroyed. It was blown up by a mine and set on fire. The vehicle burned down.
514 The caterpillar was destroyed, the road wheel was damaged. It was blown up by a mine, set on fire. The car burned down.
502 Sloth torn off Blown up by a land mine The vehicle was tested by shelling
501 Track torn off Blown up by a mine The vehicle was repaired and delivered to the NIBT training ground
712 The right drive wheel was destroyed. Hit by a shell. The crew abandoned the vehicle. The fire has been extinguished
732 The third carriage was destroyed. Hit by a shell and set fire to a KS bottle. The car burned down.
524 Caterpillar torn Blown up by a mine, set on fire Vehicle burnt out
II-03 Caterpillar destroyed Projectile hit, set on fire with a KS bottle Vehicle burned down
113 or 713 Both sloths destroyed Projectile hits. The gun was set on fire. The car burned down.
601 The right track was destroyed. Shell hit, the gun was set on fire from the outside. The vehicle burned down.
701 The fighting compartment was destroyed by a 203 mm shell hitting the commander’s hatch -
602 Hole in the left side of the gas tank 76-mm shell from a tank or divisional gun Vehicle burned out
II-01 Gun burned out Set on fire with a COP bottle Vehicle burned out
150061 The sloth and caterpillar were destroyed, the gun barrel was shot through. Projectile hits in the chassis and gun. The crew was captured.
723 The caterpillar is destroyed, the gun is jammed. Projectile hits in the chassis and mantlet -
? Complete destruction Direct hit from Petlyakov bomber

30-09-2016, 09:38

Hello tankers, welcome to the site! In the German development branch, at the eighth level, there are as many as three tank destroyers, each of which has its own characteristics, but they are all very strong in their own way. Now we will talk about one of these cars and here is Ferdinand’s guide.

As usual, we will conduct a detailed analysis of the vehicle’s parameters, decide on the choice of equipment, perks, equipment for Ferdinand World of Tanks, and also talk about combat tactics.

TTX Ferdinand

The first thing that every owner of this device can be proud of when going into battle is its large margin of safety, one of the best at the level. Our basic viewing range is also quite good, 370 meters, which is better than that of our fellow nationals.

If we look at the Ferdinand's armor characteristics, overall everything is very promising. The point is that we have a very well-armored conning tower, into which even our classmates have difficulty getting through, but the armor plate here is located at a right angle and level 9-10 tanks no longer have any big problems penetrating this element.

Regarding the hull armor, it is much worse, and if the VLD of the Ferdinand WoT tank destroyer can still ricochet, then the NLD, sides and especially the feed can be sewn without problems even with level 7 equipment.

Another important issue will be the mobility of our unit, and the first thing I would like to say is that we have really good dynamics. The only problem is that Ferdinand World of Tanks is very limited in maximum speed, so there is no need to talk about any mobility, and our turtle is completely reluctant to spin around.

gun

In terms of weapons, everything is very decent, one might even say good, because at the eighth level we have the legendary mousegun.

We all know that the Ferdinand gun has excellent one-time damage, but the rate of fire here is very balanced, so you can boast about 2500 units of damage per minute, which is also quite good.

Regarding the armor penetration parameters, the Ferdinand tank lags behind most of its classmates, but still the basic AP is enough for a comfortable game even against nines. It’s more difficult with top-end equipment, so carry 15-25% of gold ammunition with you.

With accuracy, everything is also in order, especially if you remember that this is a mousegun. Ferdinand World of Tanks has a fairly pleasant dispersion and reasonable aiming speed, but there are problems with stabilization.

By the way, one cannot help but rejoice at the very comfortable vertical and horizontal aiming angles for a tank destroyer. The gun goes down 8 degrees, and the total angle of attack is as much as 30 degrees, causing damage to Ferdinand WoT is a pleasure.

Advantages and disadvantages

Since the analysis of the general characteristics, as well as the parameters of the gun, is left behind, it’s time to sum up the first results. To systematize the knowledge gained, let's highlight the main advantages and disadvantages, breaking them down point by point.
Pros:
Powerful alphastrike;
Decent penetration;
Not a bad DPM;
Good wheelhouse armor;
Large margin of safety;
Comfortable UVN and UGN.
Minuses:
Poor mobility;
Weak armor of the hull and sides;
Barn dimensions;
Engine crashability when hit by NLD.

Equipment for Ferdinand

With the installation of additional modules, everything is more or less familiar. For tank destroyers, it is very important to cause as much damage as possible, while doing it comfortably, so in the case of Ferdinand, we will install the following equipment:
1. - the more often we implement our excellent alpha strike, the better.
2. - this module is about comfort, because with it we can aim and shoot much faster.
3. is a good option for a passive playing style, which will completely solve the problem with visibility.

However, there is a very good alternative to the third point - which will make us an even more dangerous enemy in terms of fire potential, but it can only be installed if the perks have been pumped into the review or you have competent allies.

Crew training

In terms of choosing skills for our crew, which includes as many as 6 tankers, everything is pretty standard, but for a number of reasons, first of all it’s worth focusing not on camouflage, but on survival. Thus, we download perks for the Ferdinand tank in the following sequence:
Commander - , , , .
Gunner - , , , .
Driver mechanic - , , , .
Radio operator - , , , .
Loader - , , , .
Loader - , , , .

Equipment for Ferdinand

Another standard concerns the selection of consumables, and here we will focus more on our financial situation. If you don’t have much silver, you can take , , . However, for those who have time to farm, it is better to carry premium equipment on Ferdinand, where the fire extinguisher can be replaced with a .

Ferdinand game tactics

As is always the case, it’s worth planning a strategy for playing this machine based on its strengths and weaknesses, because this is how maximum efficiency is achieved in any battle.

For the Ferdinand tank destroyer, combat tactics often come down to passive play, mainly due to the slowness of this vehicle. In this case, we must take a convenient and advantageous position in the bushes, somewhere on the second line, from where we can effectively fire at the allied light and remain in the shadows ourselves. As you understand, the powerful and fairly accurate gun of Ferdinand World of Tanks allows you to play in this way.

However, we can also position ourselves on the first line, because our armor, when positioned correctly, can withstand many hits while maintaining its safety margin intact. To do this, the Ferdinand tank must be in battle against the eighth levels, hide the hull, protect itself from artillery and not let the enemy on board. We play like the alpha, dance or hide between shots, ensuring a great future for ourselves. Just make sure that the enemy does not charge gold, then our tactics will fail.

By the way, thanks to good vertical and horizontal aiming angles, the German Ferdinand World of Tanks tank destroyer is capable of occupying positions that many others cannot do; you also need to be able to use this.

In the end, I would like to say that we have in our hands a truly strong and formidable vehicle, which feels most comfortable in battles at the top of the list. If you have to fight against dozens, it is better to shoot from afar. And as usual, playing on Ferdinand WoT, you must understand that this is a one-way machine, so choose your flank carefully, watch the mini-map and beware of the arts.