Porsche GmbH had manufactured about 100 chassis for their unsuccessful proposal for the Tiger tank, the "Porsche Tiger", in the Nibelungenwerk factory in Sankt Valentin, Austria. Both the successful Henschel proposal and the Porsche design used the same Krupp-designed turret—the Henschel design had its turret more-or-less centrally located on its hull, while the Porsche design placed the turret much closer to the front of the superstructure. Since the competing Henschel Tiger design was chosen for production, the Porsche chassis were no longer required for the Tiger tank project. It was therefore decided that the Porsche chassis were to be used as the basis of a new heavy panzerjäger, Ferdinand, mounting Krupp's newly developed 88 mm (3.5 in) Panzerjägerkanone 43/2 (PaK 43)[1][2][3] anti-tank gun. This precise long-range weapon was intended to destroy enemy tanks before they came within their own range of effective fire.
The Ferdinand was intended to supplant previous light panzerjägers, such as the Marder II and Marder III, in the offensive role. A similar gun was used in the lightly armoured Hornisse (later known as Nashorn) tank destroyer, built at the same time.
In September 1943, all surviving Ferdinands were recalled to be modified based on battle experience gained in the Battle of Kursk. During October and November 1943, 48 of the 50 surviving vehicles were modified by addition of a ball-mounted MG 34 in the hull front to counter infantry anti-tank threats, a commander's cupola (modified from the standard StuG III cupola) for improved vision, and the application of Zimmerit paste. The improved vehicles were called Elefant, and this became the official name on May 1, 1944.
Possibly as a stopgap before the Elefant modifications were available for the original Ferdinand vehicles, a variant of the rarely seen Krummlauf curved barrel upgrade for the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle was created to allow crews of Ferdinands to defend their vehicle without exposing themselves.[5] Three Bergepanzer Tiger or Bergetiger armoured recovery vehicles were built in autumn 1943 from Tiger prototypes, and one battle-damaged Ferdinand not suitable for the Elefant modification was converted into a Rammpanzer Tiger or Rammtiger, an experimental breakthrough vehicle for ramming.
The file contains the unit and pcx files. Model is not my own creation. Wyrmshadow helped with the animation files. I merely put the pieces together and cleaned up the model for CivIII and added some what if pieces. A big thanks to everyone that helped out!
The Ferdinand was intended to supplant previous light panzerjägers, such as the Marder II and Marder III, in the offensive role. A similar gun was used in the lightly armoured Hornisse (later known as Nashorn) tank destroyer, built at the same time.
In September 1943, all surviving Ferdinands were recalled to be modified based on battle experience gained in the Battle of Kursk. During October and November 1943, 48 of the 50 surviving vehicles were modified by addition of a ball-mounted MG 34 in the hull front to counter infantry anti-tank threats, a commander's cupola (modified from the standard StuG III cupola) for improved vision, and the application of Zimmerit paste. The improved vehicles were called Elefant, and this became the official name on May 1, 1944.
Possibly as a stopgap before the Elefant modifications were available for the original Ferdinand vehicles, a variant of the rarely seen Krummlauf curved barrel upgrade for the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle was created to allow crews of Ferdinands to defend their vehicle without exposing themselves.[5] Three Bergepanzer Tiger or Bergetiger armoured recovery vehicles were built in autumn 1943 from Tiger prototypes, and one battle-damaged Ferdinand not suitable for the Elefant modification was converted into a Rammpanzer Tiger or Rammtiger, an experimental breakthrough vehicle for ramming.
The file contains the unit and pcx files. Model is not my own creation. Wyrmshadow helped with the animation files. I merely put the pieces together and cleaned up the model for CivIII and added some what if pieces. A big thanks to everyone that helped out!
