In 1943, the German armored vehicle factory Nibelungenwerke produced 90 chassis for combat vehicles, which the Wehrmacht refused. The Porsche design turned out to be unnecessary, and the question arose of what to do with this stock of undercarriage, on the basis of which, according to the original plan, it was supposed to build a new heavy tank. "Ferdinand" - a self-propelled gun designed to destroy armored vehicles, became a forced measure in the face of a shortage of raw materials to use already manufactured components and mechanisms.

The chassis itself was unique in its own way. The blocks (there were three of them on each side), including two road wheels, were attached to the armored hull by means of carts equipped with a successful depreciation system.

The power plant consisted of two Maybach carburetor engines with a total capacity of 600 hp. s., loaded on a generator that generates energy supplied to two Siemens electric motors. This solution greatly simplified the control of the machine and excluded the transmission from the transmission. It should be noted that throughout the war the German industry did not create an engine that could be equipped with a relatively high-speed heavy tank.

“Ferdinand”, thus, inherited the failed masterpiece of the designer Porsche, who previously specialized in design.

The power plant could provide a speed of 30-35 km / h if the tank planned by Porsche was equipped with it. "Ferdinand" with 200 mm frontal armor could not move faster than 20 km / h, and even then on solid ground. In essence, self-propelled guns are not intended for rapid throws, the main advantage of this class of armored vehicles is a powerful long-range weapon.

In order to accommodate such a gun (it weighed more than two tons), it was necessary to completely change the original layout. The 88-mm barrel turned out to be very heavy, it required support when moving, but due to its large length it could hit any tank. The Ferdinand, for all its slow sluggishness, has become a formidable weapon.

The crew had to be divided, the gunners were in the stern, and the driver and commander were in the front. The power plant was in the center of the car.

In war, often unique models of equipment are not used for their intended purpose. Self-propelled guns the Wehrmacht was forced to use it in close combat, in which any Ferdinand would be more effective, the gun of which could penetrate 193 mm thick armor from a kilometer distance, did not have a course machine gun capable of protecting the machine from the oncoming infantry.

The machine was created in a hurry, design flaws had to be eliminated in the process of modernization. After that, the surviving 47 self-propelled guns were sent to the manufacturing plant, where they were equipped with small arms, commander's turrets, and the armor was covered with a special layer that protects against magnetic mines.

After the improvement, the self-propelled guns received the name Elefant (that is, "elephant"), perhaps more characterizing a heavy machine with a long "trunk". In the troops (both German and Soviet), the old name took root.

At huge number shortcomings, this machine had the main advantage - the gun could hit almost any tank from long distances. "Ferdinand", whose photo even today surprises with its angularity, created difficulties for the German command in forcing water barriers, it was almost impossible to evacuate it from the battlefield in case of loss of speed.

Only two "Elephants" survived until the end of the war, they were burned in Berlin by the Soviet infantry. Two previously captured, and therefore surviving specimens took their places in the museums of Russia and the USA.

Items:
8.8 cm PaK 43/2 Sfl L/71 Panzerjager Tiger (P);
Sturmgeschütz mit 8.8 cm PaK 43/2
(Sd.Kfz.184).

The Elefant fighter tank, also known as the Ferdinand, was designed on the basis of a prototype VK 4501(P) of the T-VI H Tiger tank. This version of the Tiger tank was developed by Porsche, but preference was given to the design of the Henschel company, and it was decided to convert the manufactured 90 copies of the VK 4501 (P) chassis into tank destroyers. An armored cabin was mounted above the control compartment and the fighting compartment, in which a powerful 88-mm semi-automatic gun with a barrel length of 71 calibers was installed. The gun was directed towards the rear of the chassis, which has now become the front of the self-propelled unit.

An electric transmission was used in its undercarriage, which worked according to the following scheme: two carburetor engines powered two electric generators, the electric current of which was used to operate the electric motors that drove the drive wheels of the self-propelled unit. Other distinguishing features of this installation are very strong armor (the thickness of the front plates of the hull and cabin was 200 mm) and big weight- 65 tons. The power plant with a capacity of only 640 hp. could provide top speed The movement of this colossus is only 30 km / h. On rough terrain, she did not move much faster than a pedestrian. Tank destroyers "Ferdinand" were first used in July 1943 in the Battle of Kursk. They were very dangerous when fighting at long distances (a sub-caliber projectile at a distance of 1000 meters was guaranteed to pierce armor 200 mm thick) there were cases when the T-34 tank was destroyed from a distance of 3000 meters, but in close combat they are more mobile T-34 tanks destroyed them with shots to the side and stern. Used in heavy anti-tank units.

In 1942, the Wehrmacht adopted the Tiger tank, manufactured according to the design of the Henschel company. The task to develop the same tank was received earlier by Professor Ferdinand Porsche, who, without waiting for the tests of both samples, launched his tank into production. The Porsche car was equipped with an electric transmission that used a large amount of scarce copper, which was one of the strong arguments against adopting it. In addition, the undercarriage of the Porsche tank was distinguished by low reliability and would require increased attention from units Maintenance tank divisions. Therefore, after preference was given to the Henschel tank, the question arose of using ready-made chassis of Porsche tanks, which they managed to produce in the amount of 90 pieces. Five of them were modified into recovery vehicles, and on the basis of the rest, it was decided to build tank destroyers with a powerful 88-mm PAK43 / 1 gun with a barrel length of 71 calibers, installing it in an armored cabin in the rear of the tank. Work on the conversion of Porsche tanks began in September 1942 at the Alkett plant in St. Valentine and was completed by May 8, 1943.

New assault guns were named Panzerjager 8,8 cm Pak43/2 (Sd Kfz. 184)

Professor Ferdinand Porsche inspecting one of the prototypes of the VK4501 (P) "Tiger" tank, June 1942

From the history

During the battles of the summer-autumn of 1943, some changes took place in the appearance of the Ferdinands. So, grooves for rainwater drainage appeared on the frontal sheet of the cabin, on some machines the spare parts box and the jack with a wooden beam for it were transferred to the stern of the machine, and spare tracks began to be mounted on the upper frontal sheet of the hull.

In the period from January to April 1944, the remaining Ferdinands were modernized. First of all, they were equipped with an MG-34 course machine gun mounted in the frontal hull plate. Despite the fact that the Ferdinands were supposed to be used to fight enemy tanks at long distances, combat experience showed the need for a machine gun to defend self-propelled guns in close combat, especially if the car was hit or blown up by a landmine. For example, during the battles on the Kursk Bulge, some crews practiced firing from light machine gun MG-34 even through the gun barrel.

In addition, to improve visibility, a turret with seven observation periscope devices was installed in place of the self-propelled gun commander's hatch (the turret was completely borrowed from the StuG42 assault gun). In addition, on self-propelled guns they strengthened the fastening of the wings, welded on-board viewing devices for the driver and gunner-radio operator (the real effectiveness of these devices turned out to be close to zero), abolished the headlights, moved the installation of the spare parts box, jack and spare tracks to the stern of the hull, increased the ammunition load for five shots, installed new removable grilles on the engine compartment (the new grilles provided protection from bottles of KS, which were actively used by the infantry of the Red Army to fight enemy tanks and self-propelled guns). In addition, self-propelled guns received a zimmerite coating that protected the armor of vehicles from magnetic mines and enemy grenades.

On November 29, 1943, A. Hitler suggested that the OKN change the names of the samples armored vehicles. His naming proposals were accepted and legitimized by the order of February 1, 1944, and duplicated by the order of February 27, 1944. In accordance with these documents, "Ferdinand" received a new designation - "Elephant" 8.8 cm Porsche assault gun "(Elefant fur 8.8 cm Sturmgeschutz Porsche).
From the dates of the modernization, it can be seen that the change in the name of the self-propelled guns happened by chance, but by the time, since the repaired Ferdinands returned to service. This made it easier to distinguish between machines:
the original version of the car was called "Ferdinand", and the modernized one - "Elephant".

In the Red Army, "Ferdinands" were often called any German self-propelled artillery installation.

Hitler constantly rushed production, wanting new vehicles to be ready for the start of Operation Citadel, the timing of which was repeatedly postponed due to the insufficient number of new Tiger and Panther tanks produced. The Ferdinand assault guns were equipped with two Maybach HL120TRM carburetor engines with a power of 221 kW (300 hp) each. The engines were located in the central part of the hull, in front of the fighting compartment, behind the driver's seat. The thickness of the frontal armor was 200 mm, the side armor was 80 mm, the bottoms were 60 mm, the roof of the fighting compartment was 40 mm and 42 mm. The driver and radio operator were located in front of the hull, and the commander, gunner and two loaders in the stern.

In its design and layout, the Ferdinand assault gun differed from all German tanks and self-propelled guns of the Second World War. In front of the hull there was a control compartment, which housed levers and control pedals, units of a pneumohydraulic braking system, track tensioners, a junction box with switches and rheostats, an instrument panel, fuel filters, starter batteries, a radio station, driver and radio operator seats. branch power plant occupied the middle part of the self-propelled gun. It was separated from the control compartment by a metal partition. It housed the Maybach engines installed in parallel, paired with generators, a ventilation and radiator unit, fuel tanks, a compressor, two fans designed to ventilate the power plant compartment, and traction electric motors.

Tank destroyer "Elephant" Sd.Kfz.184

In the aft part there was a fighting compartment with an 88-mm StuK43 L / 71 gun installed in it (88-mm version anti-tank gun Pak43, adapted for installation in an assault gun) and ammunition, four crew members were also located here - a commander, a gunner and two loaders. In addition, traction motors were located in the lower rear of the fighting compartment. The fighting compartment was separated from the power plant compartment by a heat-resistant partition, as well as a floor with felt seals. This was done in order to prevent contaminated air from entering the fighting compartment from the power plant compartment and to localize a possible fire in one or another compartment. The partitions between the compartments and, in general, the location of the equipment in the body of the self-propelled gun made it impossible for the driver and radio operator to communicate personally with the crew of the fighting compartment. Communication between them was carried out through a tank phone - a flexible metal hose - and a tank intercom.

For the production of "Ferdinands" they used the bodies of the "Tigers" designed by F. Porsche, which were not adopted for service, made of 80-mm-100-mm armor. At the same time, the side sheets with the frontal and aft ones were connected into a spike, and in the edges of the side sheets there were 20-mm grooves against which the frontal and aft hull sheets abutted. Outside and inside, all joints were welded with austenitic electrodes. When converting tank hulls into Ferdinands, the rear beveled side plates were cut out from the inside - in this way they were lightened by turning into additional stiffeners. In their place, small 80-mm armor plates were welded, which were a continuation of the main side, to which the upper stern sheet was attached to the spike. All these measures were taken in order to bring the upper part of the hull to the same level, which was subsequently necessary to install the cabin. There were also 20 mm grooves in the lower edge of the side sheets, which included bottom sheets with subsequent double-sided welding. The front part of the bottom (at a length of 1350 mm) was reinforced with an additional 30 mm sheet riveted to the main one with 25 rivets arranged in 5 rows. In addition, welding was carried out along the edges without cutting the edges.

3/4 top view of the front of the hull and deckhouse
"Ferdinand" "Elephant"
Click on image to enlarge (opens in a new window)

The "Elephant" had a course machine-gun mount, covered with additional patch armor. The jack and wooden stand for it were moved to the stern. The front fenders are reinforced with steel profiles. Attachments for spare tracks have been removed from the front fender liner. Removed headlights. A sun visor is installed above the driver's viewing devices. A commander's turret is mounted on the roof of the cabin, similar to the commander's turret of the StuG III assault gun. On the frontal wall of the cabin, gutters are welded to drain rainwater.

The front and frontal hull sheets with a thickness of 100 mm were additionally reinforced with 100 mm screens, which were connected to the main sheet with 12 (front) and 11 (front) bolts with a diameter of 38 mm with bulletproof heads. In addition, welding was carried out from above and from the sides. To prevent the nuts from loosening during shelling, they were also welded to the inside of the base plates. Holes for a viewing device and a machine-gun mount in the frontal hull sheet, inherited from the "Tiger" designed by F. Porsche, were welded from the inside with special armor inserts. The roof sheets of the control compartment and the power plant were placed in 20-mm grooves in the upper edge of the side and frontal sheets, followed by double-sided welding. Two hatches were placed in the roof of the control compartment for landing the driver and radio operator. The driver's hatch had three holes for viewing devices, protected from above by an armored visor. To the right of the radio operator's hatch, an armored cylinder was welded to protect the antenna input, and a stopper was attached between the hatches to secure the gun barrel in the stowed position. In the front beveled side plates of the hull there were viewing slots for observing the driver and radio operator.

3/4 top view from behind the hull and deckhouse
"Ferdinand" "Elephant"
Click on image to enlarge (opens in a new window)

Differences between "Ferdinand" and "Elephant". The Elefant has a tool box in the stern. The rear fenders are reinforced with steel profiles. The sledgehammer has been moved to the aft cutting sheet. Instead of handrails on the left side of the stern cutting sheet, mounts for spare tracks were made.


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During the 2nd World War in Germany, the production of heavy tank destroyers was organized, designed to fight enemy heavy tanks.

The appearance of these machines was caused by the experience of fighting on the Eastern Front, where the German "panzerwagens" had to confront the well-protected Soviet tanks T-34 and KV. In addition, the Germans had information that the Soviet Union was working on new tanks. The task of heavy tank destroyers was to fight enemy tanks at extreme distances before the tank could open aimed fire. It followed from the task that tank destroyers should have sufficiently thick frontal armor and sufficiently powerful weapons. In contrast American fighters tanks, German vehicles carried guns not in an open rotating turret, but in a closed fixed wheelhouse. German tank hunters were armed with 88 and 128 mm guns.

Among the first german army received two types of heavy tank destroyers: 12.8 cm Sfl L / 61 (Panzerselbstfahrlafette V) and 8.8 cm Pak 43 / 2 Sfl L / 71 Sd Kfz 184 Panzerjaeger "Tiger" (P) "Elefant-Ferdinand". Later, they were replaced by tank destroyers "Jagdpanther" and "Jagdtiger".

The topic of this article will be precisely the first two types of German self-propelled anti-tank guns. In addition, the Bergepanzer "Tiger" (P) armored recovery vehicle and the Raumpanzer "Tiger" (P) ramming slipper will be briefly discussed here.

HISTORY OF CREATION

The 12.8 cm Sfl L/61 (PzSfl V) tank destroyer was born as a result of the failure of the VK 3001 (H) prototype in a competition to create a new type of heavy tank. Above the power compartment of the tank, a fixed cabin open from above was assembled, which housed a 128-mm 12.8 cm K40 L / 61 cannon, which was a tank modification of the famous German 128-mm anti-aircraft gun Geraet 40, created by Rheinmetall-Borsig back in 1936. Additional armament consisted of a 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun (Rheinmetall-Brosig) with 600 rounds of ammunition. The machine gun was installed on board the fighting compartment. The machine gun could fire at both ground and air targets.

In order to install such a powerful gun, the hull had to be lengthened by 760 mm. On the left, in front of the hull, a driver's seat was equipped.

The chassis was modified at the Henschel factory. The second prototype of the 12.8 cm Sfl L/61 gun was built on March 9, 1942. Very little is known about the combat use of these machines. It is known that both of them ended up in the 521st division of heavy tank destroyers. In the winter of 1943, one of the self-propelled guns fell into the hands of the Red Army. In 1943 and 1944, the trophy was shown at numerous exhibitions of captured equipment. Today, the vehicle is on display at the tank museum in Kubinka.

Tank destroyer "Ferdinand-Elephant" was created on the basis of the prototype heavy tank VK 4501 (P), which participated in the competition for a new heavy tank for the Wehrmacht. As you know, the VK4501 (H) tank, known as the PzKpfw VI "Tiger", was adopted by the German army.

In comparative tests, the VK 4501 (P) was noticeably inferior to its competitor, as a result of which the VK 4501 (H) went into the series, and the VK 4501 (P) was accepted as a fallback option in case the production of the main tank encounters significant difficulties. Adolf Hitler ordered the construction of 90 VK 4501 (P) tanks.

The production of VK 4501 (P) tanks began in June 1942. During the first two months, 5 cars were built. Two of them were later converted into Bergepanzer "Tiger" (P) recovery vehicles, and three received standard armament: 8.8 cm KwK 36 L / 56 caliber 88 mm and two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns (one forward , another paired with a gun).

In mid-August 1942, Hitler ordered that further production of this type of machine be stopped. In this way, only five VK 4501 (P) tanks were produced.

Disagreeing with the Fuhrer, Professor Porsche, the creator of the VK 4501 (P), tried to influence Hitler, and he partially succeeded. Hitler agreed to the completion of 90 ordered tank corps, on the basis of which it was planned to create self-propelled guns in the future. The WaPruef 6 department issued terms of reference for the development of a self-propelled assault gun armed with a 150-mm or 170-mm howitzer, but soon an order was received to create a tank destroyer based on the VK 4501 (P). This was a fairly correct decision, since at that time the German army felt an acute shortage of such vehicles capable of successfully fighting Soviet medium and heavy tanks. The anti-tank weapons available to the Germans were either not effective enough or were outright improvisation. The most powerful German tank destroyers of that time were vehicles based on the obsolete PzKpfw II and PzKpfw 38(t) light tanks, armed with 75 and 76.2 mm anti-tank guns.

On September 22, 1942, Speer ordered work to begin on a new vehicle, which received the designation 8.8 cm Pak 43/2 Sfl L / 71 Panzerjaeger "Tiger" (P) SdKfz 184. During the design work, the tank destroyer received temporary names several times, but eventually the official name was assigned to it.

After the entry into service, self-propelled guns were called "Ferdinands", probably in honor of Ferdinand Porsche himself. In February 1944, the name "Ferdinand" was changed to "Elefanl" ("elephant"), and on May 1, 1944 the new name was officially approved.

Thus, both names are equally applicable to the self-propelled gun, but if you follow the chronological order, then until February 1944 it is correct to call it "Ferdinand", and after - "Elefant".

SERIAL PRODUCTION OF ACS "FERDINAND"

On November 16, 1942, WaPruef 6 ordered Steyr-Daimler-Puch Nibelungenwerke (Saint-Valentin, Austria) to begin reworking the VK 4501 (P) hulls, it was planned to gradually increase production in order to finish 15 vehicles in February 1943, in March - 35, and in April - 40 cars.

Before starting work, Prof. Porsche and specialists from the Alkett plant (Berlin) redesigned the hull in such a way as to place the power plant in the central part of the hull, and not in the stern, as it was before. New engine frames and a fire bulkhead between the power and fighting compartments were added to the hull design. The modernization of the buildings was carried out at the Eisenwerk Oberdonau plant in Linz. In January 1943, 15 buildings were reworked, in February - 26, in March - 37, and before April 12, 1943, the remaining 12 buildings were completed.

Thus, everything was ready for the start of the serial production of Ferdinands. Initially, it was planned that the final assembly of self-propelled guns would take place at the Alkett plant, but there were difficulties with transportation. The fact is that SSsym platforms were required to transport the Ferdinands by rail, but there were not enough platforms of this type, since they were all used to transport the Tigers. In addition, the alteration of the hulls was delayed. To top it off, Alkett had to reconfigure the assembly line, which at that time was assembling the Sturmgeschuctz III SdKfz 142 assault guns. As a result, the final assembly had to be entrusted to Nibelungenwerk, which produced tank hulls and turrets. The Ferdinand cabins were supplied by the Krupp plant from Essen. Initially, it was also planned to entrust the production of cuttings to Alkett, but the company was overloaded with orders, so the production was moved to Essen. The Berliners only sent a team of welders to Essen who had experience in welding thick armor plates.

The assembly of the first Ferdinand began in Saint-Valentin on February 16, 1943. A few days later, the first cuttings were brought up from Essen. They planned to complete the production of the series by May 12, but all the machines were ready by May 8, 1943. Self-propelled guns had serial numbers in the range 150011-150100. The last chassis was completed on 23 April 1943. During the production, the Krupp factory received an additional order for a rectangular cannon mask shield, which was supposed to significantly strengthen this rather sensitive assembly. Krupp made the shields in May 1943, then they were sent directly to the forming units.

From April 12 to April 23, 1943, the first production model (chassis number 150011) was tested at the Kümmersdorf training ground. Probably, it was this car that was presented to Hitler on March 19, 1943, during a demonstration of new technology in Rügenwald.

All Ferdinands built were accepted by the Heeres Waffenamt special commission and were sent to combat units from April to June 1943.

Already during the Battle of Kursk, changes were made to the design of the machines. First of all, the crews of the vehicles complained that the Ferdinands did not have machine guns. Tankers tried to eliminate this shortcoming by inserting a machine gun directly into the gun barrel. In this case, in order to aim the machine gun at the target, it was necessary to aim the gun. You can imagine how hard, uncomfortable and slow it was! As another solution, a cage was welded to the stern of the self-propelled gun, in which five grenadiers were placed. However, in the field, this solution turned out to be completely unacceptable. The fact is that the Ferdinands brought on heavy fire, as a result, the grenadiers quickly failed. During the fighting, they also carried out additional sealing of the engine fuel system, the design flaws of which caused several fires in the first weeks of fighting. The attempt to install a machine gun on the roof of the cabin also ended in failure. The crew member serving this machine gun (loading?) Risked his life no less than the ill-fated grenadiers.

Finally, during the fighting, it turned out that the chassis of the Ferdinand was badly damaged by anti-tank mines.

Any deficiencies noted needed to be addressed. Therefore, in mid-December 1943, the 653rd division was removed from the front and taken to St. Pölten (Austria).

All surviving vehicles (42 pieces) have undergone a complete modernization. After the repair, five damaged Ferdinands were also modernized - a total of 47 vehicles were reconstructed.

The modernization was supposed to improve the combat characteristics of the vehicles and eliminate the shortcomings noticed.

Modernization took place from the end of January to March 20, 1944 at the Nibelungenwerk factories in Saint-Valentin. Until the end of February, 20 vehicles were modernized, and in March 1944, another 37 Ferdinands. Until March 15, they managed to complete the alteration of 43 "Elephants" - that's what these cars were now called.

The most important innovation in the design of self-propelled guns was a course machine gun, located on the right side of the hull and serviced by a radio operator. Tank MG 34 caliber 7.92-mm is placed in a standard spherical installation Kuegelblende 80. The place of the commander of the vehicle was equipped with a commander's cupola with seven fixed periscopes. From above, the commander's cupola was closed with a single-leaf hatch. In front of the hull, the bottom was reinforced with a 30-mm armor plate, which protected the crew during a mine explosion. The gun mask received additional protection. Reinforced armored casings were installed on the air intakes. The driver's periscopes received a sun visor. The towing hooks located in the front of the hull were reinforced. Additional mounts for tools and additional equipment were installed on the sides and stern of the machine. On occasion, these fasteners could be used to stretch the camouflage net.

Instead of tracks Kgs 62/600/130 "Elephants" received tracks Kgs 64/640/130.

The system has been redesigned intercom, inside mounted mounts for 5 additional 88-mm shots. Mounts for spare tracked tracks were placed on the wings and on the rear wall of the fighting compartment.

During the modernization, the hull and the lower part of the superstructure were covered with zimmerite.

BREMBERGERPANZER "TIGER" (P) - "BERGE-ELEFANT"

A serious disadvantage of units equipped with heavy tank destroyers was that damaged vehicles were almost impossible to evacuate from the battlefield. During the Battle of Kursk, ARVs based on the chassis of the Panther tank were not yet ready, and the standard SdKfz 9 half-track tractors had to be connected in several pieces to budge the 60-ton Ferdinand. It is easy to imagine that the Soviet artillery did not miss the opportunity to cover such a "train" with fire. In August 1943, Nibelungenwerk converted three VK 4501 (P) tanks into ARVs. As with the Ferdinands, for repair tanks, the power compartment was moved to the middle of the hull, and a small cabin was built in the stern. In the front wall of the cabin in a spherical installation Kugelblende 50 was placed a machine gun MG 34, which was the only armament of the machine. The Bergepanzer "Tiger" (P) repair and recovery vehicles did not have reinforced frontal armor, so the driver's seat was equipped with a standard viewing device. The "birthmark" of the tank past was a patch on. frontal armor - a trace of a welded hole for a course machine gun.

In the fall of 1943, the BREM entered the 653rd division. As of June 1, 1944, the 2nd and 3rd companies of the division had one Bergepanzer "Tiger" (P) each, the 1st company of the 653rd division lost its ARV in the summer of 1944 during the fighting in Italy.

One (or two?) Tank "Tiger" (P) was used as a headquarters tank by the command of the 653rd division. The tank bore the tactical number "003", and was probably the tank of the battalion commander, Captain Grillenberger.

RAUMPANZER RAM TANK « TIGER" (P)

The battles in Stalingrad showed that the German army needed a heavy tank capable of ramming blockages and barricades in the streets, as well as destroying buildings.

On January 5, 1943, during a meeting in Rastenburg, Hitler ordered that three corps of VK 4501 (P) tanks be converted from among the corps located in Saint-Valentin. The alteration was supposed to consist in strengthening the frontal armor by 100-150 mm and equipping the tank with a special ram, which facilitates the destruction of fortifications.

The shape of the hull was such that the fragments of the destroyed buildings rolled down and the tank could always drive out from under the rubble. The Germans built only a 1:15 scale model, it didn't get to the prototype. The creation of ram tanks was opposed by the command of the Panzerwaffe, who believed that such designs had no practical combat use. Soon, the Fuhrer himself forgot about the "Raumpanzer", since his attention was completely absorbed by the new colossus - the super-heavy tank "Maus".

ORGANIZATION OF BATTLE UNITS

Initially, the Oberkommando der Heeres (OKH) planned to form three divisions of heavy tank destroyers. Two existing divisions were supposed to receive new cars: the 190th and 197th, and the third division - the 600th - was supposed to be formed. The recruitment of divisions was to take place according to the staffing table KStN 446b of January 31, 1943, as well as according to the staffing tables of KStN 416b, 588b and 598 of January 31, 1943. The division consisted of three batteries (9 cars in each battery) and a headquarters battery (three cars). The composition of the division was supplemented by a motorized workshop and headquarters.

Such a scheme bore a clear "artillery" imprint. The artillery command also determined that the main tactical unit was a battery, and not an entire division. This tactic was effective enough to deal with small tank detachments, but turned out to be completely useless if the enemy carried out a massive tank attack. 9 self-propelled guns could not hold a wide section of the front, so Russian tanks could easily bypass the Ferdinands and attack them from the flank or from the rear. After Colonel General Heinz Guderian was appointed to the post of Inspector General of the Panzerwaffe on March 1, 1943, the structure of the divisions underwent a major reorganization. One of the first orders of G "uderian was the transfer of the formed units of assault artillery and tank destroyers from the jurisdiction of the artillery command to the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe Panzerwaffe.

Guderian ordered the Ferdinands to be united in a separate regiment of heavy tank destroyers, on March 22, 1943, Guderian ordered that the regiment should consist of two divisions (battalions) consisting of companies; staffed according to the staffing table KStN 1148s. Each company had three platoons (four vehicles per platoon, plus two vehicles for the company commander). The headquarters company had three Ferdinands (KStN 1155 of March 31, 1943). The headquarters of the regiment, called the 656th Heavy Assault Artillery Regiment, was formed on the basis of a reserve company of the 35th Tank Regiment in St. Pölten.

The divisions of the regiment received numbers 653 and 654. At one time, the divisions were called I and II battalions of the 656th regiment.

In addition to the Ferdinands, each division was armed with PzKpfw III Ausf. J SdKfz 141 (5 cm Kurz) and one Panzerbeobaehtungwagen Ausf. J 5 cm L/42. The regimental headquarters had three PzKpfw II Ausf. F SdKfz 121, two PzKpfw III Ausf. J (5 cm Kurz), as well as two spotter tanks.

The regiment's fleet was supplemented by 25 cars, 11 ambulances and 146 trucks. As tractors, the regiment used 15 half-tracked Zgkw 18 ton SdKfz 9, as well as lighter SdKfz 7/1, on which 20-mm anti-aircraft guns were mounted. The regiment did not receive Zgkw 35 ton SdKfz 20 tractors, instead, in November 1943, the regiment was equipped with two "Bergepanther" and three Bergcpanzer "Tiger" (P). Five Munitionsschlepper III ammunition carriers were sent to the regiment - PzKpfw III tanks deprived of turrets, adapted for transporting ammunition to the front line and evacuating the wounded, since the regiment did not receive standard SdKfz 251/8 ambulance armored personnel carriers.

As a result of the losses suffered during the Battle of Kursk in August 1943, the regiment was reorganized into a single division. Shortly thereafter, the 216th assault gun battalion, equipped with Sturpmpanzer IV "Brummbaer" vehicles, was included in the regiment.

On December 16, 1943, the regiment was withdrawn from the front. After the repair and modernization of vehicles, the 653rd division fully restored its combat capability. Due to the difficult situation in Italy, the 1st company of the division was sent to the Apennines. The remaining two companies of the division ended up on the Eastern Front. The company that fought in Italy was treated as a separate unit from the very beginning. She was assigned a maintenance platoon with one Berge "Tiger" (P) and two Munitionspanzer IIIs. The company itself consisted of 11 Elefant tank destroyers.

A more curious structure had the 653rd division, in which only two companies remained. Each company was subdivided into three platoons with four "Elephants" in each platoon (three linear vehicles and a platoon commander's vehicle). Two more "Elephants" were at the disposal of the company commander. In total, the company consisted of 14 self-propelled guns. Three cars remained in the reserve of the division, and from June 1, 1944 - two. On June 1, the 653rd division consisted of 30 Elefant tank destroyers. In addition, the division had other armored vehicles. The division commander, Hauptmann Grillenberger, used the Tiger (P) tank as a headquarters tank, which had the tactical number "003". Another command tank was the Panther PzKpfw V Ausf. D1 equipped with the turret of the PzKpfw IV Ausf. H (SdKfz 161/1). The anti-aircraft cover of the division was provided by a captured T-34-76 armed with a quadruple 20-mm Flakvierling 38 mount and two trucks armed with 20-mm anti-aircraft guns.

The headquarters company consisted of a communications platoon, a sapper platoon and an air defense platoon (one SdKfz 7/1, and two trucks armed with 20 mm anti-aircraft guns). Each company had a recovery section with two Munitionspanzer IIIs and one Berge "Tiger" (P). Another Berge "Tiger" (P) was part of the repair company. On June 1, 1944, the division consisted of 21 officers, 8 military officials, 199 non-commissioned officers, 766 privates, and 20 Ukrainian Hiwis. The armament of the division, in addition to armored vehicles, consisted of 619 rifles, 353 pistols, 82 submachine guns, 36 anti-tank rifles. The fleet of the division consisted of 23 motorcycles, 6 motorcycles with a sidecar, 38 cars, 56 trucks, 23 SdKfz 3 Opel-Maultier half-track trucks, 3 SdKfz 11 half-track tractors, 22 Zgktw 18 ton SdKfz 9 tractors, 9 low-axle trailers and 1 SdKf ambulance. z 251/8. Battalion documents indicate that as of June 1, the battalion had one Munitionspanzer T-34, but it is not known to which company this ammunition carrier belonged. As of July 18, 1944, the division had 33 "Elephants". Two "extra" "Elephants", apparently, were vehicles of the 1st company, sent to the Reich for repairs, and then ended up in the 653rd division.

The last unit equipped with Elefants was formed in the fall of 1944 614. schwere Heeres Panzerjaeger Kompanie, which consisted of 10-12 vehicles (on October 3 - 10, on December 14, 1944 - 12 "Elephants").

COMBAT USE OF "FERDINAND"

In the spring of 1943, two divisions were formed, equipped with Ferdinand heavy tank destroyers.

The first division, known as 653. schwere Heeres Panzerjaeger Abteilimg, was formed at Brück/Leita. The personnel of the division was recruited in 197 / StuG Abt and among the recovering self-propelled gunners of other units.

The second division was formed at the training ground near Rouen and Meli-les-Camps (France). It was 654. schwere Heeres Panzerjaeger Abteilung. Major Noak commanded the division. On May 22, the formation of the 656th regiment of heavy tank destroyers began, which, in addition to the two divisions mentioned, included the 216th assault artillery division, equipped with Sturmpanzer IV "Brummbaer" vehicles.

First, we completed the recruitment of the 654th division, and then proceeded to recruit the 653rd.

Having completed the training, the divisions participated in live firing (653rd - at the Neusiedl am See training ground, and 654th - at the Meli-le-Camp training ground). Then both divisions ended up on the Eastern Front. The dispatch took place on June 9, 1943. On the eve of the German offensive on the Kursk Bulge, the 656th regiment consisted of 45 Ferdinands in the 653rd division and 44 Ferdinands in the 654th division (the missing vehicle was most likely Ferdinand No. 150011, which was tested in Kummersdorf ). In addition, each division had five PzKpfw III Ausf. J SdKfz 141 and one Panzerbefehlswagen mit 5 cm KwK 39 L/42. The 216th division consisted of 42 Brummbers. Immediately before the start of the offensive, the division was reinforced with two more companies of assault guns (36 vehicles).

During the battles on the Kursk Bulge, the 656th regiment operated as part of the XXXXI Panzer Corps, Army Group Center (corps commander General Harpe). The regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jungenfeld. The 653rd division supported the actions of the 86th and 292nd infantry divisions, and the 654th division supported the attack of the 78th Wittemberg assault infantry division to Malo-Arkhangelsk.

On the first day of the offensive, the 653rd division advanced as far as Aleksandrovka, which lies in the depths of the Red Army's defense line. During the first day of fighting, the Germans were able to set fire to 26 T-34-76 tanks and disable several anti-tank guns. The "Ferdinands" of the 654th division supported the attack of the infantry of the 508th regiment of the 78th division on heights 238.1 and 253.5 and in the direction of the settlement of Ponyri. Further, the division advanced on Olkhovatka.

In total, since June 7, 1943, during the fighting on the Kursk Bulge (according to the OKH), the Ferdinands of the 656th regiment destroyed 502 tanks, 20 anti-tank guns and 100 artillery pieces.

The battles on the Kursk Bulge showed both the advantages and disadvantages of the Ferdinand heavy tank destroyers. The advantages were thick frontal armor and powerful armament, which made it possible to deal with all types of Soviet tanks. However, on the Kursk Bulge, it turned out that the Ferdinands had too thin side armor. The fact is that the powerful "Ferdinands" often went deep into the defensive formations of the Red Army, and the infantry, covering the flanks, could not keep up with the machines. As a result, Soviet tanks and anti-tank guns could fire freely from the flank.

Numerous technical shortcomings were also revealed, caused by the too hasty adoption of the Ferdinands for service. The frames of the current generators were not strong enough - often the generators were torn off the frames. Caterpillar tracks constantly burst, every now and then the on-board communications refused.

In addition, a formidable opponent of the German menagerie appeared at the disposal of the Red Army - the SU-152 "St. John's wort", armed with a 152.4-mm howitzer-cannon. On July 8, 1943, the SU-152 division from an ambush fired at the column of "Elephants" from the 653rd division. The Germans lost 4 self-propelled guns. It also turned out that the chassis of the Ferdinands is very sensitive to mine explosions. About half of the 89 "Ferdinands" the Germans lost on minefields.

The 653rd and 654th divisions did not have sufficiently powerful tugboats capable of evacuating damaged vehicles from the battlefield. To evacuate damaged vehicles, the Germans tried to use "trains" from 3-4 SdKfz 9 half-track tractors, but these attempts were usually suppressed by Soviet artillery. Therefore, many even slightly damaged Ferdinands had to be abandoned or blown up.

On the Kursk Bulge, the 656th regiment disabled about 500 enemy tanks. It is difficult to verify this figure, but it is clear that the Ferdinands, together with the Tigers, caused the greatest losses to the Soviet tank forces. The OKH circular of November 5, 1943 reports that the 656th regiment has 582 tanks, 344 anti-tank guns, 133 artillery pieces, 103 anti-tank rifles, 3 aircraft, 3 armored vehicles and 3 enemy self-propelled guns.

At the end of August 1943, the 654th division was taken from the front to France, where the division received new Jagdpanther tank destroyers. The Ferdinands remaining in the division were transferred to the 653rd division. In the first days of September, the 653rd division was on a short rest, after which it participated in the battles near Kharkov.

In October and November, the Ferdinands of the 653rd division participated in heavy defensive battles near Nikopol and Dnepropetrovsk. On December 16, 1943, the division was withdrawn from the front. Until January 10, 1944, the 653rd division was on vacation in Austria.

Already on February 1, 1944, the Panzerwaffe inspector ordered one company of "Elephants" to be brought into combat readiness as soon as possible. By that time, 8 vehicles had been reworked, and another 2-4 self-propelled guns were supposed to be ready within a few days. 8 combat-ready vehicles were handed over to the 1st company of the 653rd division on February 9, 1944. On February 19, the company received three more vehicles.

At the end of February 1944, the 1st company of the 653rd division went to Italy. Three more Elephantas were sent to Italy on February 29, 1944. The company participated in the battles in the Anzio-Nettuno region and in the Cisterna region. On April 12, 1944, two Elefants burned 14 attacking Shermans. According to the staffing table, the company had 11 tank destroyers, however, as a rule, several vehicles were constantly under repair. The last time the company had one hundred percent combat readiness was on February 29, 1944, that is, on the day it arrived in Italy. In March, the company received replenishment - two "Elephants". In addition to heavy tank destroyers, the company had a Munitionspanzer III ammunition carrier and one Berge "Tiger" (P). Most often, "Elephants" were used to organize anti-tank defense. They acted from an ambush and destroyed the detected enemy tanks.

In May and June 1944, the company took part in the battles in the Rome area. At the end of June, the company was taken to Austria, to St. Pölten. The personnel of the company were sent to the Eastern Front, and the two surviving Elefants were transferred to the 653rd division.

The headquarters company, as well as the 2nd and 3rd line companies of the 653rd division, operated on the Eastern Front. On April 7 and 9, 1944, the division supported the actions of the battle group from the 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" in the Podhaetz and Brzezan area. In the Zlotnik area, the division repulsed the attacks of the 10th tank corps of the Red Army. The Germans could only operate along good roads, since heavy 65-ton vehicles felt unsure on the spring thawed soil. From April 10, the 653rd division operated as part of the 1st Tank Army of the Wehrmacht. On April 15 and 16, 1944, the division fought heavy battles in the suburbs of Ternopil. The next day, nine Elefants were damaged. By the end of April, the 2nd and 3rd companies of the 653rd division were removed from the front. The division entered the battle again on May 4, 1944 near Kamenka-Strumilovskaya,

In June and July, the division fought on the territory of Western Galicia. The division had approximately 20-25 combat-ready vehicles. In early July, the number of combat-ready vehicles was 33. In the second half of July, the 2nd and 3rd companies of the 653rd division were forced into Poland.

On August 1, 1944, there was not a single combat-ready vehicle in the division, and 12 Elefants were under repair. Soon, the mechanics managed to return 8 cars to service.

In August 1944, the 653rd Battalion suffered heavy losses during unsuccessful counterattacks near Sandomierz and Dembica. On September 19, 1944, the division was transferred to the 17th Army of Army Group A (former Army Group Northern Ukraine).

The current repair of self-propelled guns was carried out at a repair plant in Krakow-Rakowice, as well as at the Baildon steel mill in Katowice.

In September 1944, the 653rd division was removed from the front and sent to the rear for re-equipment.

After the division received the Jagdpanthers, the Elefants that remained on the move were assembled as part of 614. schwere Panzerjaeger Kompanie, which had a total of 13-14 vehicles.

At the beginning of 1945, the "Elephants" from the 614th company operated as part of the 4th Tank Army. About how in recent weeks wars, "Elephants" were used, there is no consensus. Some sources claim that on February 25, the company went to the front in the Wünsdorf area, and then the Elefants fought as part of the Ritter battle group in the Zossen area (April 22-23, 1945). In recent battles, only four "Elephants" participated. Other sources claim that the "Elephants" fought in mountainous Austria at the end of April.

Two Elephantas have survived to this day. One of them is exhibited in the museum in Kubinka (this self-propelled gun was captured on the Kursk Bulge). Another "Elephant" is located at the training ground in Aberdeen, Maryland, USA. This is a self-propelled gun "102" from the 1st company of the 653rd division, captured by the Americans in the Anzio area.

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

A heavy self-propelled anti-tank gun was intended to fight enemy armored vehicles. The crew of the Ferdinand tank destroyer consisted of six people: a driver, a radio operator (later a gunner-radio operator), a commander, a gunner and two loaders.

The crew of the 12.8 cm Sfl L/61 heavy tank destroyer consisted of five people: a driver, a commander, a gunner and two loaders.

Frame

The all-welded hull consisted of a frame assembled from steel T-profiles and armor plates. To assemble the hulls, heterogeneous armor plates were produced, the outer surface of which was harder than the inner one. Between themselves, the armor plates were connected by welding. The booking scheme is shown in the figure.

Additional armor was attached to the frontal armor plate with 32 bolts. Additional armor consisted of three armor plates.

The body of the self-propelled gun was divided into the power compartment, located in the central part, the fighting compartment - at the stern and the control post - in front. The power section housed a gasoline engine and electric generators. Electric motors were located in the aft part of the hull. The machine was controlled by levers and pedals. The driver's seat was equipped with a full set of instruments that control the operation of the engine, a speedometer, a clock and a compass. The review from the driver's seat was provided by three fixed periscopes and a viewing slot located on the left side of the hull. In 1944, the driver's periscopes were equipped with a sun visor.

To the right of the driver was a gunner-radio operator. The review from the gunner-radio operator's position was provided by a viewing slot cut in the starboard side. The radio station was located to the left of the gunner-radio operator.

Access to the control post was through two rectangular hatches located in the roof of the hull.

In the rear of the hull were the rest of the crew: on the left - the gunner, on the right - the commander, and behind the breech - both loaders. There were hatches on the roof of the cabin: on the right - a two-leaf rectangular commander's hatch, on the left - a two-leaf round gunner's hatch, and two small round single-leaf loader hatches. In addition, in the rear wall of the cabin there was a large round single-leaf hatch designed for loading ammunition. In the center of the hatch was a small port through which automatic fire could be fired to protect the rear of the tank. Two more loopholes were located in the right and left walls of the fighting compartment.

Two carburetor engines, gas tanks, an oil tank, a radiator, a cooling system pump, a gasoline pump and two generators were installed in the power department. Two electric motors were located in the rear of the car. The air intakes of the power compartment passed through the roof of the hull. The exhaust pipes, along with mufflers, were located in such a way that the exhaust was thrown over the tracks.

The hull of the 12.8 cm Sfl L/61 tank destroyer was divided into a control post, a power section and a fighting compartment open from above. It was possible to get into the fighting compartment through the doors located in the aft wall of the hull.

Power point

The machine was driven by two Maybach HL 120 TRM twelve-cylinder overhead valve liquid-cooled engines with a displacement of 11867 cc and a power of 195 kW / 265 hp. at 2600 rpm The total power of the engines was 530 hp. Cylinder diameter 105 mm, piston stroke 115 mm, gear ratio 6.5, maximum rpm 2600 per minute.

The Maybach HL 120 TRM engine was equipped with two Solex 40 IFF 11 carburetors, the ignition sequence of the air-fuel mixture in the cylinders was 1-12-5-8-3-10-6-7-2-11-4-9. A radiator with a capacity of about 75 liters was located behind the engines. In addition, the "Elephant" was equipped with an oil cooler and an engine start system in the cold, which provides fuel heating. Elephant used leaded gasoline OZ 74 (octane number 74) as fuel. Two gas tanks held 540 liters of gasoline. Fuel consumption when driving over rough terrain reached 1200 liters per 100 km. Gas tanks were located along the sides of the power compartment. The Solex fuel pump was electrically driven. The oil tank was located on the side of the engines. The oil filter was located near the carburetor. Zyklon air filter. The clutch is dry, multi-plate.

Carburetor engines drove Siemens Tour aGV type electric current generators, which, in turn, powered Siemens D1495aAC electric motors with a power of 230 kW each. The motors, through an electromechanical transmission, rotated the drive wheels located in the rear of the machine. "Elephant" had three forward and three reverse gears. The main brake and auxiliary brake of mechanical type were manufactured by Krupp.

The 12.8 cm Sfl L/61 tank destroyer was powered by a Maybach HL 116 carbureted engine.

The Maybach HL 116 engine is a 265 hp six-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. at 3300 rpm and a displacement of 11048 cc. Bore 125 mm, stroke 150 cm. Gear ratio 6.5. The engine was equipped with two Solex 40 JFF II carburetors, ignition sequence 1-5-3-6-2-4. The main friction clutch is dry, three-disk. Transmission Zahnfabrik ZF SSG 77, six gears forward, one reverse. Mechanical brakes, Henschel firms.

Steering

Steering electromechanical type. Final drives and clutch - electric. The turning radius did not exceed 2.15 m!

Self-propelled guns 12.8 cm Sfl L / 61 were also equipped with final drives and clutches.

Chassis

Chassis "Ferdinand-Elephant" consisted (in relation to one side) of three two-wheeled carts, drive wheel and steering wheel. Each track roller had an independent suspension. The track rollers were stamped from a metal sheet and had a diameter of 794 mm. The cast drive wheel was located at the rear of the hull. The drive wheel was 920 mm in diameter and had two rows of 19 teeth. In front of the case was a guide wheel with mechanical system track tension. The guide wheel had the same teeth as the drive wheel, which made it possible to prevent the tracks from running. Caterpillars Kgs 64/640/130 single-pin, single-ridge, dry type (pins not lubricated). Track length 4175 mm, width 640 mm, pitch 130 mm, track 2310 mm. Each caterpillar consisted of 109 tracks. Anti-slip teeth could be installed on the tracks. Caterpillar tracks were made of manganese alloy. For the Elephants, the use of narrower transport tracks was not envisaged, as was the case with the Tiger. Initially, 600 mm wide tracks were used, then they were replaced with wider 640 mm ones.

The 12.8 cm Sfl L/61 tank destroyer chassis (applied to one side) consisted of 16 road wheels, independently suspended in such a way that the wheels partially overlapped each other. In this case, even and odd track rollers were located at different distances from the hull. Despite the fact that the hull was significantly lengthened, only one additional pair of rollers was added. The diameter of the road wheels is 700 mm. The guide wheels with the caterpillar tension mechanism were located at the stern, and the drive wheels were located in the front of the hull. The upper segment of the caterpillar passed through three support rollers. Track width 520 mm, each track consisted of 85 tracks, track length 4750 mm, track 2100 mm.

Armament

The main armament of the Ferdinands was the 8.8 cm Pak 43/2 L/71 anti-tank gun, 88 mm caliber. Ammunition 50-55 shots placed along the sides of the hull and cabin. The horizontal sector of fire is 30 degrees (15 to the left and right), the angle of elevation / declination is +18 -8 degrees. If necessary, up to 90 shots could be loaded inside the fighting compartment. The length of the gun barrel is 6300 mm, the length of the barrel with a muzzle brake is 6686 mm. There were 32 grooves inside the barrel. Gun weight 2200 kg. The following ammunition was used for the gun:

  • armor-piercing PzGr39 / l (weight 10.2 kg, initial speed 1000 m / s),
  • high-explosive SpGr L / 4.7 (weight 8.4 kg, initial speed 700 m / s),
  • cumulative Gr 39 HL (weight 7.65 kg, muzzle velocity about 600 m/s)
  • armor-piercing PzGr 40/43 (weight 7.3 kg).

The personal armament of the crew consisted of MP 38/40 assault rifles, pistols, rifles and hand grenades stored inside the fighting compartment.

The armament of the 12.8 cm Sfl L/61 tank destroyer consisted of a 12.8 cm K 40 cannon with 18 rounds of ammunition. An MG 34 machine gun with 600 rounds of ammunition acted as an additional weapon.

After the alteration, the Elefants were equipped with 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns with 600 rounds of ammunition. Machine guns were mounted in a spherical installation Kugelblende 80.

electrical equipment

The electrical equipment is built according to a single-core circuit, the voltage of the on-board network is 24 V. The network is equipped with electrical fuses. The current source for the carburetor engines was a Bosch GQLN 300/12-90 generator and two Bosch lead batteries with a voltage of 12 V and a capacity of 150 Ah. Bosch BNG 4/24 starter, Bosch type ignition,

The power supply had backlights, a sight, a sound signal, a headlight, a Notek road light, a radio station, and a gun trigger.

The tank destroyer 12,8 cm Sfl L / 61 was equipped with a single-core network, voltage 24 V. Starter and current generator of the same type as that of the Ferdinand. Four batteries with a voltage of 6V and a capacity of 105 Ah were installed on the self-propelled gun.

radio equipment

Both types of tank destroyers were equipped with FuG 5 and FuG Spr f.

Optical equipment

The Ferdinand gunner's station was equipped with a Selbstfahrlafetten-Zielfernrohr l a Rblf 36 sight, providing a fivefold increase and a field of view of 8 gr. The driver had three periscopes protected by a bulletproof glass insert.

Coloring

Self-propelled guns "Ferdinald-Elephant" were painted according to the rules adopted in the Panzerwaffe.

Usually the cars were completely painted with Wehrmach Olive, which was sometimes overlaid with camouflage (dark Olive Gruen paint or brown Brun). Some vehicles received tricolor camouflage.

The few "Elephants" that participated in the battles in the winter of 1943 in Ukraine were probably covered with white washable paint.

Initially, all Ferdinands were painted entirely in dark yellow. This coloration was carried by the Ferdinands of the 653rd division during the formation of the unit. Immediately before being sent to the front, the cars were repainted. Curiously, the vehicles of the 653rd Battalion were painted somewhat differently than the vehicles of the 654th Battalion. The 653rd Squadron used olive brown camouflage, while the 654th Squadron used olive green. Perhaps this was due to the specifics of the terrain on which self-propelled guns were supposed to be used. The 653rd division used "spotted" camouflage. Such camouflage was carried by vehicles "121" and "134" from the 1st company of the 653rd division.

In turn, in the 654th division, in addition to spotted camouflage (for example, vehicles "501" and "511" from the 5th company), mesh camouflage was used (for example, vehicles "612" and "624" from the 6th company). Most likely, in the 654th division, each company used its own camouflage scheme, although there were exceptions: for example, mesh camouflage was carried by Ferdinands "521" from the 5th company and "724" from the 7th company.

Some inconsistency in camouflage is also noted among the vehicles of the 653rd division.

The 656th regiment used the standard tactical number scheme adopted in all tank units. Tactical numbers were three-digit numbers that were applied to the sides of the hull, and sometimes to the stern (for example, in the 7th company of the 654th division in July 1943 and in the 2nd and 3rd companies of the 653rd division in 1944 year). The numbers were painted white. In the 653rd division in 1943, the numbers were surrounded by a black border. In the 2nd and 3rd companies of the 653rd division in 1944 they used black tactical numbers with a white piping.

Initially, the vehicles of the 656th regiment did not carry any emblems. In 1943, on the sides of the hull and in the lower part of the stern, beam crosses were applied with white paint. In 1944, beam crosses on the rear wall of the cabin appeared on the vehicles of the 2nd company of the 653rd division.

During the battle on the Kursk Bulge, the vehicles of the 654th division carried the letter "N" on the left front wing or frontal armor. This letter probably denoted the name of the division commander - Major Noack. Vehicles of the 1st company of the 653rd division, which fought in Italy, also carried the emblem of the company (or division?), applied on the left side of the cabin from above and in front, as well as on the starboard side from above and behind.

Two 12.8 cm Sfl L/61 tank destroyers that fought on the Eastern Front were painted entirely in Panzer Grau.

(The article was prepared for the site "Wars of the XX century" © http://site based on the book "Ferdinand - German tank destroyer. Tornado. Army Series.When copying an article, please do not forget to link to the source page of the Wars of the XX Century website).

Already during the conduct of hostilities on the Eastern Front, the German army encountered excellent Soviet KV and T-34 tanks. They were noticeably superior to the German counterparts 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 "Elephant".

The history of the creation of the machine

The experience of fighting on the Eastern Front showed that many German tanks from the Pz series are inferior in their characteristics to Soviet combat vehicles. Therefore, Hitler ordered the German designers to start developing new heavy tanks that were supposed to match or even surpass the tanks of the Red Army. Two large firms, Henschel and Porsche, took up this task. Prototype machines from both companies were created in as soon as possible and April 20, 1942 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. The version of the designer Ferdinand Porsche - VK 4501 (P) - was decided to be left as a fallback. Hitler ordered only 90 machines to be built.

But having released only 5 tanks, Porsche stopped their production on the orders 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 second - course).

Around the same time, another need arose - for a tank destroyer. At the same time, it was required that the vehicle had frontal armor 200 mm thick and a cannon capable of fighting Soviet tanks. The German anti-tank weapons available at that time were either ineffective or frankly 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 use his chance. He asked the Fuhrer to complete the planned 90 chassis just to use them as a 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 process of creation 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 of a combat vehicle, which was originally called 8,8 cm Pak 43/2 Sfl L / 71 Panzerjaeger Tiger (P) SdKfz 184. In the process of work, the name changed several times, until the tank finally got an official name.

The car was designed by the Porsche company together with the Alkett plant located in Berlin. The requirements of the command were such that the self-propelled guns had to use the Pak 43 anti-tank gun of 88 mm caliber. It had a long length, so Porsche designed the layout in such a way that the fighting compartment was located at the rear of the tank, and the engine was in the middle. The hull has been upgraded with new engine frames and a bulkhead installed to stop a fire inside the vehicle if needed. The 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 rear wheel was the driving wheel.

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

Start of serial production

Initially, it was planned to produce 15 cars in February 1943, another 35 in March - and 40 in April, that is, a strategy for increasing production was carried out. Initially, Alkett was supposed to produce all the tanks, but then this business was entrusted to the Nibelungenwerke. This decision was due to a number of reasons. Firstly, more railway platforms were needed to transport the SPG hulls, and at that time all of them were busy delivering the Tiger tank to the front. Secondly, the VK 4501 (P) hulls were reworked more slowly than required. Thirdly, Alkett would have to readjust the production process, since at that moment the StuG III anti-tank vehicles were being assembled at the plant. But "Alkett" nevertheless took part in the assembly of the machine, sending to Essen, where the supplier of felling - the Krupp plant - was located - a group of mechanics who had experience in welding turrets for heavy tanks.

The assembly of the first vehicle began on February 16, 1943, and by May 8, all the planned tanks were ready. On April 12, one car 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, the Heeres Waffenamt commission was held, and all the equipment successfully passed it. All German tanks of the Second World War, including the Ferdinand, had to go through it.

Self-propelled gun in battle

The cars arrived just in time for the start Battle of Kursk. One funny fact should be noted: all the Soviet front-line soldiers who participated in this battle unanimously repeat that the Ferdinand tank was used en masse (almost by the thousands) along the entire front. But the reality did not match these words. In fact, only 90 vehicles took part in the battles, while they were used only in one sector of the front - in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe Ponyri railway station and the village of Teploe. Two divisions of self-propelled guns fought there.

In general, we can say that "Ferdinand" passed the 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 cross fire 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 projectile. It was in these battles that the Red Army felt the full power of such a formidable machine as the Ferdinand tank, the photo of which was then taken for the first time. Prior to this, the Russians did not have any information about the car.

During the fighting, 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 uncomfortable and long it was. The tower did not rotate, so the machine gun was aimed by the entire body.

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 serving it risked his life in the same way as the grenadiers in the cage.

Of 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. And 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 hostilities in the reports states that both divisions, which fought as part of the 656th tank regiment, during the fighting 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 machines

In total, 42 out of 90 Ferdinands survived. Since the design flaws needed to be corrected, they were sent for modernization to San Polten. 5 damaged self-propelled guns soon came there. In total, 47 cars were reconstructed.

The work was carried out on the same "Nibelungenwerk". Until March 15, 1944, 43 Elephantas were ready, as these vehicles were now called. How did they differ from their predecessors?

First of all, they satisfied the request of the tankers. In front of the cabin, a course machine gun was installed - a tank MG-34 on a spherical mount. In the place where the commander of the self-propelled gun was located, they installed a turret, which was covered with a single-leaf hatch. The turret had seven fixed periscopes. They reinforced the bottom in front of the hull - they put an armor plate 30 mm thick there to protect the crew from anti-tank mines. The imperfect armored mask of the gun received protection from fragments. 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 of the hull were reinforced, and tool mounts were placed on the sides that could be used for a camouflage net.

The changes also affected the chassis: she received new tracks with parameters 64/640/130. They changed the intercom system, added mounts for an additional five shells inside the cabin, put mounts for spare tracks in the rear and on the sides of the conning tower. Also the whole body and its Bottom part were covered with zimmerite.

In this form, self-propelled guns were widely used in Italy, repelling the offensive of the allied forces, and at the end of 1944 they were transferred back to the Eastern Front. There they fought in Western Ukraine, in Poland. There is no consensus on how the fate of the divisions developed in the last days of the war. Then they were seconded to the 4th Panzer Army. It is believed that they fought in the Zossen area, others say that in the mountainous regions of Austria.

In our time, there are only two "Elephants", 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 flaws. It is worth taking a closer look at each of the components in order to assess the combat capabilities and performance soberly.

Hull, armament and equipment

The conning tower was a tetrahedral pyramid, truncated at the top. It was made from cemented marine armor. According to the technical requirements, the frontal armor of the felling reached 200 mm. An 88 mm Pak 43 anti-tank gun was installed in the fighting compartment. Its ammunition load was 50-55 rounds. The length of the gun reached 6300 mm, and the weight - 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 the Ferdinand could fire without turning the chassis was 30 degrees, and the elevation and declination angles of the guns were 18 and 8 degrees, respectively.

The body of the tank destroyer was welded, consisting of two sections - combat and power. For its manufacture, heterogeneous armor plates were used, the outer surface of which was harder than the inner one. The frontal armor of the hull was initially 100 mm, later it was reinforced with additional armor plates. In the power section of the hull there was an engine and electric generators. An electric motor was located in the aft part of the hull. To comfortably drive the car, the driver's seat was equipped with everything necessary: ​​engine control devices, a speedometer, clocks and periscopes for inspection. For additional orientation, there was a viewing slot on the left side of the case. To the left of the driver was a gunner-radio operator who maintained the radio station and fired from a machine gun. On self-propelled guns of this type, radios of the FuG 5 and FuG Spr f models were installed.

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

Engine and Chassis

As a power plant, two Maybach HL 120 TRM liquid-cooled carburetor engines, twelve-cylinder overhead valve units with a capacity of 265 hp were used. 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 track roller had an independent suspension. the road wheels had a diameter of 794 mm, and the drive wheel had a diameter of 920 mm. The caterpillars were single-ridge and single-pin, dry type (that is, the tracks were not lubricated). The length of the support area of ​​the caterpillar is 4175 mm, the track is 2310 mm. There were 109 tracks in one caterpillar. To improve the patency, it was possible to install additional anti-slip teeth. Caterpillars were made of manganese alloy.

Painting of cars depended on the area in which they were fighting, 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 tricolor 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 remedy fighting medium and heavy tanks. german tank"Ferdinand" was not without flaws, but its advantages overlapped 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 dispensed with.

"In the third week of August 1942, Hitler gave the order to stop mass production of the chassis of the VK450-1 (P) tank and at the same time ordered to begin the development of a heavy self-propelled artillery mount in the body of the Porsche Tiger tank - schwere Panzer Selbstfahrlafette Tiger. Soon, design and development work was suspended once again - the installation of a heavy field gun on the chassis of a heavy tank seemed unnecessarily expensive in purely financial terms... Large-caliber guns usually occupied firing positions far enough from the front line, and therefore the powerful armor of a self-propelled gun armed with such a gun simply lost its meaning.



Design work after a certain period was resumed, but now a heavy tank destroyer armed with a powerful anti-aircraft gun of the Flak-41 type was designed. The use of a tank chassis to create a tank destroyer was more in line with reality than the design of a well-armored large-caliber self-propelled artillery mount. Such vehicles could cover the flanks of tank units with fire on the offensive, and successfully fight enemy armored vehicles from pre-planned "ambush" positions on the defensive.


In both cases, the heavy tank destroyer was not required to make rapid rushes over rough terrain, which Professor Porsche's chassis was not physically capable of. At the same time, powerful armor expanded the range of use of tank destroyers, allowing them to operate even from open firing positions from which the use of light tank destroyers was not possible. At that time, the German armed forces did not have any other castle destroyers, except for the light ones created on the chassis of the Pz.Kpfw tanks. I.Pz.Kpfw. II. Pz.Kpfw. 38(t).

Video: useful lecture by Yuri Bakhurin about self-propelled guns "Ferdinand"

The crews of these tank destroyers had practically no protection from enemy fire, except for the gun shield. The armament of light tank destroyers left much to be desired. Even self-propelled guns of the Marder series, armed with 75-mm Pak-40 anti-tank guns and captured Soviet field guns of 76.2 mm caliber, pierced the frontal armor of heavy tanks only with maximum short distances. The number of fully armored SluG III assault guns was not enough, besides, the 75-mm short-barreled guns of these self-propelled guns were not suitable for fighting serious tanks.



On September 22, Minister of Armaments Albers Speer officially ordered the Porsche team to design the Sturmgeschutz Tiger 8.8 cm L / 71. In the bowels of the Nibelungenwerke, the project received the code "type 130". A variant of the Pak-43 anti-tank gun. designed for self-propelled guns received the designation "8.8 cm Pak-43 / 2 Sf L / 71" - an 88-mm anti-tank gun of the 1943 model, 2 modifications with a barrel length of 71 mm for a self-propelled artillery mount. Even before the prototype was built, the self-propelled gun changed its designation to “8.8 cm Pak-43/2 Sll L/71 Panzerjager Tiger (P) Sd.Kfz. 184". Then there were so many more name changes that it's time to ask the question: "What's your name ... now?" The proper name "Ferdinand" stuck. It is interesting that the name "Ferdinand" appeared in an official document only on January 8, 1944, and the heavy self-propelled gun received its first official name only on May 1, 1944 - "Elephant", by analogy with a heavy self-propelled artillery mount on the Pz.Sfl chassis. III / IV "Nashorn". the rhinoceros and the elephant are both African animals.

Ferdinand was born

Self-propelled gun type 130 was designed in close cooperation with the Berlin company Alkett, who had extensive experience in designing self-propelled artillery installations. The drawings of the original project of the Type 130 self-propelled gun were signed on November 30, 1942. but two weeks earlier, WaPuf-6, the tank department of the Wehrmacht Ordnance Department, approved the conversion of 90 Porsche Tiger chassis into self-propelled guns. The conversion included numerous changes to the design and layout of the chassis.




The layout of the self-propelled guns and the reservation scheme "Elephant / Ferdinand"

The fighting compartment was transferred to the aft part of the hull, the engine compartment - to the middle of the hull. The reconfiguration of the machine was associated with the need to maintain the balance of the machine due to the placement in the stern of a heavy fixed cabin with unprecedented armor - 200 mm forehead and 80 mm sides. The felling was placed in the stern because of the long one. 7 m gun barrel. This arrangement made it possible to maintain a more or less acceptable overall length of the machine - the barrel almost did not protrude beyond the hull.

Differences between "Ferdinand" and "Elephant".

The "Elephant" had a course machine-gun mount, covered with additional patch armor. The jack and wooden stand for the pego were moved to the stern. The front fenders are reinforced with steel profiles. Attachments for spare tracks have been removed from the front fender liner. Removed headlights. A sun visor is installed above the driver's viewing devices. On the roof of the cabin, a commander's turret was mounted according to the mud of the commander's turret of the StuG III assault gun. On the frontal wall of the cabin, gutters are welded to drain rainwater. On the Elefant, a tool box is installed in the stern. The rear fenders are reinforced with steel profiles. The sledgehammer has been moved to the aft cutting sheet. Instead of handrails on the left side of the stern cutting sheet, mounts for spare tracks were made.



The factory crew of a new, not yet painted, self-propelled gun FgStNr, 150 096, just pulled out of the Nibelungenwerke factory workshop, sunny May morning 1943. The chassis number is neatly written in white paint on the front of the hull. On the frontal part of the felling there is an inscription in chalk “Fahrbar” (for a run) in Gothic type. The last production series included only four Ferdinand tank destroyers.

Even before the signing of the entire set of working drawings of self-propelled guns in December 1942, the Nibelungenwerke company subsidized the Eisenwerke Oberdanau company from Linz with the aim of starting work on the conversion of the first 15 tank hulls into tanks in January 1943. The last of the 90 hulls were manufactured and shipped by the Npbelungenwerke 12 company April 1943
Meanwhile. I had to abandon plans for the final assembly of self-propelled guns by Alkiett for two reasons.

First, there was a shortage of special Ssyms rail transporters. which were used primarily for transporting Tiger tanks to threatened sectors of the Eastern Front. The second reason: the Alkett company was the only manufacturer of the StuG III assault guns, which were sorely needed by the front. in respect of the number of which the appetite of the front remained truly insatiable. The assembly of self-propelled guns "type 130" put an end to the manufacture of StuG III assault guns for a long period.


Suspension drawing of self-propelled guns "Elephant/Ferdinand"

Even the manufacture of felling self-propelled guns "type 130". for which, according to the production plan, Alkett was responsible, was transferred to Krupp from Essen, which, incidentally, had a serious impact on the pace of manufacture of Tiger tank turrets. The cooperation of the Nibelungenwerke-Alkett firms was ultimately limited to the travel of Alkett welding specialists to the Nibelungenwerke to assist in the final assembly of heavy self-propelled guns at the Porsche plant.


Brand new "Ferdinand" at the beginning of a long journey from the factory to the front. At the factory, self-propelled guns were painted in one color - Dunkeigelb, crosses were applied in three places, no numbers were drawn. Vehicles were often delivered from the factory without gun shields. There were not enough shields, in many photographs of self-propelled guns from the 654th battalion there are no shields on the Ferdinands. The tool box is located as standard - on the starboard side, the spare tracks of the caterpillar are laid on the wings immediately behind the fender liner. Tow hooks are attached to the thimble of the towing ropes.



On May 8, 1943, the last Ferdinand (FgstNn 150 100) was assembled. Later, this vehicle entered service with the 4th platoon of the 2nd company of the 653rd battalion of heavy tank destroyers. The “Jubeley” car is decorated with numerous inscriptions made in chalk. The car is festively decorated with tree branches and mock shells. One of the inscriptions reads "Ferdinand", which means that such a name appeared on the Nibelungenewerk already in May 1943.





On February 16, 1943, the first prototype of a heavy tank destroyer (Fgsr.Nr. 150 010) was assembled by the Nibelungenwerk. According to the plan, the last of the 90 gunks ordered by the fighter was to be handed over to the customer on May 12th. but the workers managed to hand over the last StuG Tiger (P) (Fgst. Nr. 150 100) ahead of schedule - on May 8th. It was a labor gift from the Nibelungenwerke to the front.










The box-shaped deckhouses were supplied by Krupp from Essen in two sections, which were bolted together during assembly.
The first tests of two Ferdinands (Fgst.Nr. 150010 and 150011) took place in Kummersdorf from April 12 to 23, 1943. In general, the machines received a positive assessment of the test results and were recommended for field use. Such an outcome of the test can hardly be called a surprise, since Operation Citadel was planned for the summer, in which the emphasis was on the use of the latest armored vehicles. Operation Citadel was supposed to be a real search test for heavy tank destroyers, tests of bet quotes and subtext. Just tests.
Firing passed without any special remarks.

By this time, the name "Ferdinand" was firmly entrenched in all circles for the "type 130" self-propelled gun. "Ferdinand" in its final form differed from the project "type 130" in a small but extremely important detail. On the assault gun "type 130" a course machine gun was provided for self-defense from enemy infantry. There is no doubt that if that design of the machine had been answered by Alkett, then the machine gun would have been saved.

At Krupp, however, they did not bother with the installation of a machine gun mount in a frontal armor plate 200 mm thick. By that time, there was experience in placing a machine-gun mount in the frontal armor of the Tiger tank hull, and yet its thickness was half that of the Ferdinand! In general, Krupp specialists rightly believed that any cutouts weaken the strength of the entire armor plate. The machine gun installation was abandoned, as a result, the crews lost their means of self-defense in close combat. "Excessive" losses of heavy self-propelled guns, thus, were predetermined at the design stage.

Not news - the concept of a combat vehicle is tested for truth only in battle. Artillerymen could hardly imagine the difficulties of providing nine dozen modern armored self-propelled guns, for the operation of which supply and repair problems were critical. A car weighing almost 70 tons was very prone to breakdowns, and how to tow a broken off self-propelled gun "ku. No horses are enough here. To a large extent, it was the lack of towing facilities that contributed to the high losses of the Ferdinands at Kursk. At the top they hoped that the tank rink with its non-stop moving forward will simply flatten the enemy’s defenses and did not provide the tank and self-propelled artillery units with the tractors necessary to tow the damaged combat vehicles.The lack of worthy tractors a few weeks after the failure of the Citadel operation gave rise to the Berge-Ferdinand evacuation vehicle project. May 1943 and the losses in self-propelled guns near Kursk could not be so significant.

The command of the German ground forces intended to form three units armed with Ferdinands as part of the artillery according to the Kriegsstarkenachweisung. K.st.N, 446b, 416b, 588b and 598 dated January 31, 1943, two units of the 654th and 653rd assault gun battalions (StuGAbt) were formed on the basis of the 190th and 197th assault artillery battalions, respectively. Third, StuGAbt. 650 intended to form with " clean slate". According to the state, the battery should have nine Ferdinand self-propelled guns with three reserve vehicles at the battery headquarters. In total, according to the state, the battalion was armed with 30 Ferdinand self-propelled guns. Both the organization and tactics of the combat use of StuGAbt were based on "artillery" traditions. Batteries took part in the battle on their own. In the event of a massive strike by Soviet tanks, such tactics seemed to be erroneous.

In March, on the eve of the beginning of the formation of battalions, there were changes in views on tactical use and the organization of units armed with Ferdinands. The changes were personally facilitated by the Inspector General of the Panzerwaffe Heinz Guderian, who achieved the inclusion of the Ferdinands in tank forces rather than artillery. The batteries in the battalions were renamed into companies, followed by a redrawing of instructions and instructions on combat tactics. Guderian was a supporter of the massive use of heavy tank destroyers. In March, by order of the Inspector General of the Panzerwaffe, the formation of the 656th regiment of heavy tank destroyers began, consisting of three battalions. The 197th assault artillery battalion was once again renamed, becoming the 1st battalion of the 656th regiment (653rd battalion of heavy tank destroyers) - 1/656 (653), and the 190th battalion - 11/656 (654) . 3rd battalion "Ferdinands". The 600th, 656th regiment was never formed. Two battalions were armed with 45 "Ferdinads" - a complete analogy with the battalions of heavy tanks, which were armed with 45 "Tigers". New III the battalion of the 656th regiment was formed on the basis of the 216th assault tank battalion, it received 45 StuPz IV Brummbar Sd.Kfz assault howitzers. 166. armed with 15 cm StuK-43 howitzers.


The battalion of heavy tank destroyers included a headquarters company (three Ferdinands) and three line companies formed according to the state of K.St.N. 1148s dated March 22, 1943. Each line was armed with 14 Ferdinands in three platoons (four tank destroyers per platoon, two more Ferdinands were assigned to the company headquarters, which was often called the "1st platoon"). The date of formation of the headquarters of the 656th regiment is June 8, 1943. The headquarters was formed in Austria in St. Pölten from the cadres of the Bavarian 35th tank regiment. The commander of the regiment was Lieutenant Colonel Baron Ernst von Jungenfeld. Major Heinrich Steinwachs took command of the 1st (653rd) battalion, Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Noak - II (654th) battalion of the 656th regiment. Major Bruno Karl remained at the head of his 216th battalion, which was now designated III/656 (216). In addition to the Ferdinands and Brummbars, the regiment received Pz.Kpfw tanks into service with the headquarters company. Ill n advanced artillery observation vehicles Panzerbeobachtungswagen III Ausf. H. Also in the headquarters company there were half-track artillery observers Sd.Kfz. 250/5. sanitary evacuation half-track armored personnel carriers Sd.Kfz. 251/8. light reconnaissance tanks Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. F and tanks Pz.Kpfw. Ill Ausf. N.

The 1st Battalion (653rd) was garrisoned in the Austrian town of Neusiedel am See. II (654th) battalion was stationed in French Rouen. The second battalion was the first to receive new equipment, but the drivers of the 653rd battalion brought its Ferdinands to the location of the unit.


Burnt "Ferdinand" from the 656th regiment of heavy tank destroyers. Kursk Bulge, July 1943. By the nature of the camouflage, the vehicle belongs to the 654th battalion, but there are no tactical signs on the fender liner. The shield of the gun mantlet is missing, most likely shot down by an anti-tank projectile. Marks from small-caliber projectiles or anti-tank rifle bullets are visible on the barrel in the area of ​​the muzzle brake. In the frontal armor plate of the hull in the area of ​​​​the location of the gunner-radio operator - a mark from an anti-tank projectile of 57 or 76.2 mm caliber. In the fender liner - holes from bullets of 14.5 mm caliber.


"Ferdinand" with tail number "634", from the 4th platoon of the 2nd company of the 654th battalion. The car lost its course after a mine explosion. The lid of the toolbox has been torn off. Ultimately, the tool box was moved to the rear of the hull. The picture perfectly conveys the camouflage pattern and white tail number characteristic of the self-propelled guns of the Noack battalion.


"Ferdinand" with tail number "132", the machine was commanded by non-commissioned officer Horst Golinski. Golinsky's self-propelled gun was blown up by a mine near Ponyry in the defense zone of the 70th Red Army. The photograph was dated July 7, 1943 in the Soviet wartime press. The car's undercarriage was seriously damaged. The mine explosion tore off the entire first cart with two road wheels. In general, the car was in good order, only there was nothing to evacuate it from the battlefield. Pay attention to the plug of the pistol embrasure hanging on a chain in the back of the wheelhouse.
Staged photo. A Soviet infantryman threatens the Ferdinand with an RPG-40 grenade. "Ferdinand" with tail number "623" from the 4th platoon of the 2nd company of the 654th battalion was blown up by a mine a long time ago. A whole series of photographs was taken, in the last - the self-propelled gun was enveloped in clouds of white smoke from ignited phosphorus.


Two photographs of Befehls-Ferdinand self-propelled guns from the headquarters company of the 654th battalion of Hauptmann Noak. The machine has no external damage. The number of the self-propelled gun, "1102", indicates that the vehicle belonged to the deputy battalion commander. The camouflage pattern is typical for the 654th battalion. The pattern on the barrel and mask is made in such a way that it becomes obvious that the self-propelled gun never had a mask gun shield. The Soviet press indicated that the emom self-propelled gun first hit a mine, and then drank a Molotov cocktail.


Burnt and blown up Ferdinands - cars with tail numbers "723" and "702" (the closest to the camera is FgStNr. 150 057). Both vehicles are painted in typical camouflage for the 654th battalion. The self-propelled gun closest to the camera ("792") lost its muzzle brake. Both machines do not have mask shields - perhaps the shields were torn off by explosions.

The 653rd battalion received most of its Ferdinands in May. On May 23 and 24, the inspector general of the Panzerwaffe was personally present at the regimental exercises in Bruck an der Leith. Here the 1st company practiced shooting, the 3rd company, together with sappers, forced minefields. Sappers used remote-controlled self-propelled tankettes Borgvard
B.IV. Guderian expressed satisfaction with the results of the exercises, but the main surprise of the inspector general was expected after the exercises: all self-propelled guns made a 42-kilometer march from the training ground to the garrison without a single breakdown! At first, Guderian simply did not believe this fact.


The technical reliability demonstrated by the Ferdinands during the exercises eventually played a trick on them. It is possible that the result of the exercises was the refusal of the Wehrmacht command to equip the regiment with powerful 35-ton Zgkv tractors. 35t Sd.Kfz. 20. fifteen tractors Zgkv. 18t Sd.Kfz. 9 were for the broken Ferdinands, which is a dead poultice. Later, the 653rd battalion received two Bergpanthers, but this fact took place after the Battle of Kursk, in which many Ferdinands had to be simply abandoned due to the impossibility of towing them. The losses in equipment were so tangible that the 654th was disbanded in order to saturate the 653rd battalion with equipment.

The regiment's battalions joined up only in June 1943 before being sent by rail to the Eastern Front. The Ferdinands were to be baptized by fire during Operation Citadel, on which the head of the Reich had great hopes. In fact, there was an understanding on both sides of the front - Operation Citadel decides the outcome of the war in the East. The 653rd battalion was equipped with equipment in full compliance with the staff - 45 "Ferdinands", in the 654th battalion one self-propelled gun was missing from the regular strength, and in the 216th battalion - three "Brummbars".

In contrast to the tactics of covering the flanks of the tank wedge, which were previously planned and worked out during the exercises, now the self-propelled guns were tasked with directly accompanying the infantry in an attack on the heavily fortified enemy defenses. The people who planned such actions could hardly imagine the real combat capabilities of the Ferdinands. Shortly before the start of the operation, the 656th regiment received reinforcements in the form of two sapper companies equipped with remotely controlled demining vehicles - Panzerfunklenkkompanie 313 Lieutenant Frishkin and Panzerfunklenkkompanie 314 Hauptmann Bram. Each company was armed with 36 tankettes Borgvard V.IV Sd.Kfz. 301Ausf. A, designed to make passages in minefields.

During Operation Citadel, the 656th Regiment operated as part of General Kharpe's XXXXI Panzer Corps. The corps was part of the 9th Army of Army Group Center. The 653rd Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion supported the operations of the 86th and 292nd Infantry Divisions. The 654th Battalion supported the strike of the 78th Infantry Division. The only real assault unit of the regiment, the 216th battalion, was intended for operations in the second echelon, together with the 177th and 244th assault gun brigades. The object of the strike was the defensive positions of the Soviet troops on the Novoarkhangelsk-Olkhovat-ka line and especially the key defense point - height 257.7. It was dominated by soft pounds, carved with trenches, anti-tank gun and machine gun emplacements, littered with mines.

On the first day of the operation, the 653rd battalion advanced in the direction of Aleksandrovka, deepening into the first line of defense. The crews of the Ferdinands reported about 25 destroyed T-34 tanks and a large number of artillery pieces. Most of the self-propelled guns of the 653rd battalion failed on the first day of the battle, hitting a minefield. The Russians perfectly equipped the defensive positions, placing thousands of thousands of YaM-5 and TMD-B anti-tank mines in wooden cases in the foreground. Such mines were hardly detected by electromagnetic mine detectors. Anti-tank and anti-personnel mines were interspersed, which greatly hampered the work of sappers armed with conventional probes. In addition, the crew of a self-propelled gun damaged by an explosion jumped out of the car straight onto anti-personnel mines. It was in this situation that the commander of the 1st company of the 653rd battalion, Hauptmann Shpilman, was mortally wounded. In addition to mines, improvised explosive devices made on the basis of shells were widely used and even aircraft bombs different caliber. Torsion bars suffered the most during mine explosions. The self-propelled guns themselves were not damaged. but as a result of a breakdown of the torsion bars, they lost momentum, and there was nothing to tow the blown up, but actually serviceable cars.

The offensive began according to plan with the clearing of passages in minefields. Passages for the Ferdinands of the 654th battalion were provided by the 314th sapper company. Hauptmann Brahm's people used up 19 of the 36 remote demining machines available. First, the control vehicles StuG III and Pz.Kpfw moved into the passage. Ill in order to launch the remaining tankettes and deepen the passage. However, the tanks and assault guns came under the strongest barrage of Russian artillery. Further clearing of the minefield became simply impossible. Moreover, most of the milestones placed on the borders of the completed passage were shot down by artillery fire. Many Ferdinand drivers drove out of the passage into the minefield. The battalion lost in one day at least 33 self-propelled guns out of 45 available! Most of the wrecked cars were subject to repair, there was a "trifle" - to tow them from the minefield. In general, the losses of the first three days of most of the 89 who took part in Operation Citadel were the result of undermining heavy tank destroyers on a single mine.

On July 8, all the surviving Fsrdinands were withdrawn from the fighting and sent to the rear. A significant number of wrecked cars still managed to be evacuated. Often, a "train" of five or more tractors was assembled to tow one self-propelled gun. Such "trains" immediately came under fire from Russian artillery. As a result, not only Ferdinands were lost, but also extremely scarce tractors.

The Ferdinands of the 654th battalion attacked along with the infantry of the 78th division at heights 238.1 and 253.3. advancing in the direction of Ponyri and Olkhovatka. The actions of self-propelled guns were provided by the 313th sapper company of Lieutenant Frishkin. The sappers suffered losses even before the start of the battle - four tankettes with demining charges exploded in a German minefield not marked on the map. Another 11 tankettes were blown up in the Soviet minefield. The sappers, like their colleagues from the 314th company, were hit by heavy fire from Soviet artillery. The 654th battalion left most of its Ferdinands in the minefields around Ponyri. especially many self-propelled guns were blown up in a minefield near the farms of the May 1 collective farm. 18 heavy tank destroyers blown up by mines could not be evacuated.

After numerous reports about the lack of tractors of sufficient power, the 653rd battalion received two Bergnanters. but "the milk has already run away." The wrecked Ferdinands remained motionless for too long and did not escape the attention of the Soviet demolition men, who visited the battlefield on short summer nights. In other words, there was nothing to be towed by the long-awaited Bergapanthers ”- Soviet sappers blew up the damaged self-propelled guns. The damaged vehicle towing activity finally ceased on July 13, when the 653rd Battalion was transferred to the XXXV Army Corps. The next day, an improvised Teriete battle group, formed from the remnants of Lieutenant Heinrich Teriete's company and several vehicles from the anti-tank artillery battalion of the 26th Panzer-Grenadier Division, was thrown to help the encircled 36th Infantry Regiment. For the first time, the Ferdinands were used according to the originally conceived tactics and were successful, despite the multiple numerical superiority of the enemy and in the absence of proper intelligence. Self-propelled guns worked from ambush, periodically changing positions, stopping the attempts of Soviet tanks to deliver flank attacks. Lieutenant Teriete modestly announced the personally destroyed 22 Soviet tanks, modesty has always adorned a warrior. In July, Teriete was awarded the Knight's Cross.

On the same day, 26 surviving Ferdinands of the 654th battalion joined the 34 Ferdinands from the 653rd battalion that survived and pulled out of the battlefield. The self-propelled fist, together with the 53rd Infantry and the 36th Panzergrenadier Divisions, held the defense in the Tsarevka area until July 25th. On July 25, only 54 Ferdinands remained in the 656th regiment, and only 25 of them were combat-ready. The regiment commander, Baron von Yushenfeld, was forced to withdraw his unit to the rear for the restoration of equipment.

During the period of Operation Citadel, the crews of the Ferdinands of two battalions of the 656th regiment chalked up 502 confirmed destroyed Soviet guns (302 of them were attributed to the combat account of the 653rd battalion), 200 anti-tank artillery guns and 100 artillery systems for other purposes. These data are included in the summary. supreme command ground forces Germany from August 7, 1943. Three months later, in the next report of the OKI, it was already said about 582 Soviet tanks destroyed by Ferdinands. 344 anti-tank guns and 133 other artillery systems, three aircraft, three armored vehicles and three self-propelled artillery mounts. The pedantic Germans also counted those destroyed by heavy tank destroyers anti-tank guns- 104. The German staffs have always been distinguished by amazing accuracy in their reports ... Reports were transmitted from the depths of the regiment to the top, in which the strengths and weaknesses of the Ferdinands were assessed. In general, the idea of ​​a heavily protected self-propelled tank destroyer justified itself, especially if the vehicles were used specifically to fight tanks. The crews liked the range of the guns mounted on the Ferdinands, their high combat accuracy and high armor penetration. There were also disadvantages.

So high-explosive fragmentation shells got stuck in the breech of guns, steel shells of shells of all types were poorly extracted. In the end, to extract the shells, the crews of all Ferdinands acquired sledgehammers and crowbars. With a negative, the crews noted the poor visibility from the car, the lack of machine-gun weapons. If the gunner noticed near the car Soviet infantrymen, great lovers of the Molotov cocktail, he immediately inserted a machine gun into the cannon and opened fire from it through the barrel. Already after the end of the battle at Kursk, 50 kits were made in the repair company, which made it possible to fix a machine gun in the body of the gun, so that the axis of the machine gun barrel coincided with the axis of the gun barrel so that the zeros did not ricochet from the walls of the bore and muzzle brake. In the 653rd battalion, they experimented with machine guns placed on the roof of the cabin. The shooter had to fire through an open hatch. exposing oneself to the opponent's bullets, except
In addition, zeros and fragments flew through the open hatch into the wheelhouse, which other crew members were not at all happy about. By its nature, Ferdinand was a "lone hunter", which Operation Citadel fully confirmed.

On rough terrain, self-propelled guns moved at a speed of no more than 10 km / h. The attack turned out to be slow, the enemy had time to shoot, and the time spent under fire increased. If the “Ferdinands” were far from always threatened by medium and small-caliber artillery fire, then medium tanks, assault guns and armored personnel carriers, forced to “equal” with heavy tank destroyers in speed, suffered from such fire. The attack was held back by the constant expectation of clearing passages in the minefields. The concept of using the Ferdinand as a means of transporting infantry on a special platform attached to a self-propelled gun was thwarted by Soviet artillery. Under the downpour of machine-gun, mortar and artillery fire, the panzergrenadiers on these platforms turned out to be defenseless. The huge and slow monster was an ideal target for all types of weapons. As a result, Ferdinand brought the corpses of panzergrenadiers to the front line of defense of the enemy, and the dead German soldiers no longer had to protect the monster from the destructive Molotov cocktails that live Soviet infantrymen generously treated the Ferdinands. Another weak point of the Ferdinand was the power plant, which often heated up when driving on soft soils.

From above, the power plant did not have proper armor protection - the same Molotov cocktail was perfectly spilled through the ventilation holes on the motors. What is the use of an armored tube that survived the shelling, if the engines are out of order, the electric motors are burned out, the fuel lines and electrical wiring are broken by fragments of shells? Soviet artillery often fired on tanks with incendiary shells, which posed a great danger to the fuel system of self-propelled guns. The reason for the loss of most of the 19 failed not from mine explosions of the Ferdinands was damage to the power plants. There were cases of failure of engine cooling systems from close detonations of shells, as a result, the Ferdinand engines overheated and caught fire. One "Ferdinand" was lost due to self-ignition of an electric generator when the self-propelled gun got stuck in the ground.

Unexpected were the negative assessments of the entire electromechanical power plant. Four cars burned down due to short circuits in the electrical system of the engines. For their mass, the cars showed good maneuverability if the torsion bars did not break. It was not only mines that disabled Porsche's patented torsion bars, even large stones posed a threat. The tracks, which were wide in principle, turned out to be narrow for the mass of the Ferdinand - self-propelled guns got stuck in the ground. And then a fairy tale about a white bull began: an attempt to get out on its own ended, at best, in an overheating of the engine, at worst, in a fire, tractors were needed for towing, there were no tractors ...
Armor in most cases provided reliable protection for the crew. Again, not always. On July 8, "Ferdinands" of the 3rd company of the 653rd battalion ran into "St. The armor of the three Ferdinands could not withstand the hits of such shells. One "Ferdinand" was destroyed as a result of a completely fantastic case.


The projectile fired by the Soviet cannon hit the Borgvard demining tankette. installed on the carrier - the Pz.Kpfw. III. The 350-kg subversive charge of the tankette detonated and blew to atoms both the tankette itself and the carrier tank. A large part of the “atoms” of the tank collapsed on the Ferdinand taxiing nearby, the remnants of the tank broke the Ferdinand’s gun barrel and disabled the engine! A fire broke out in the engine compartment of the self-propelled gun. It was probably the most successful shot from an anti-tank gun in the entire Second world war. Three units of tracked combat vehicles were destroyed by one shell: the Borgvard B-IV remotely controlled mine-clearing vehicle, the Pz.Kpfw tank. III and heavy tank destroyer "Ferdinand".

The battalions armed with Ferdinand tank destroyers achieved some success, but at the cost of too many losses, which could not be replenished. Under these conditions, by order of August 23, 1943, the 654th battalion was ordered to hand over all materiel to the 653rd battalion. The 654th Battalion ceased to be II/656 (653) and simply became the 654th Battalion, as did the 216th Battalion, which ceased to be III/656 (216). The remnants of the regiment were taken to rest, repair and reorganize in Dnepropetrovsk, the largest industrial center of Ukraine in the frontline zone, in which there were opportunities for the repair of heavy tank destroyers. 50 out of 54 self-propelled guns were subject to repair, four tank destroyers were recognized as not appropriate to repair. Alas, the repair of the revolutionary products of Professor Porsche required special equipment, which was not available even in Dnepropetrovsk. Meanwhile, the front was approaching the city of Petra on the Dnieper. At the end of September, the Ferdinands were evacuated to Nikopol, where all combat-ready vehicles (at least ten) were sent to the Zaporozhye region. Alas, even the Ferdinands failed to slow down the Soviet tank skating rink - on October 13, German troops received an order to retreat, and a few days later, units of the Red Army crossed the Dnieper along the Dneproges dam, although the Germans managed to blow up the dam dam.

Soon the Germans also left Nikopol. Here, on November 10, the Ferdinands of the 653rd battalion entered into a fierce battle. All self-propelled guns capable of moving and shooting were sent to Mareevka and Kateripovka. where they achieved local success. The offensive of the Red Army was stopped, however, not by the Ferdinands, but by the beginning of prolonged autumn rains, which turned the roads into what is known. The offensive resumed with the first frosts. On November 26 and 27, the Ferdinands from the Nord combat group were successful in the battle for Kochasovka and Miropol. Of the 54 Soviet tanks destroyed in these places, at least 21 vehicles were shot down by the Ferdinand crew, commanded by Lieutenant Franz Kretschmer, who received the Knight's Cross for this battle.


Memo for the soldiers of the Red Army for the destruction of self-propelled guns "Ferdinand/Elephant"

By the end of November, the situation in the 656th regiment became critical. On November 29, 42 Ferdinands remained in the regiment, of which only four were combat-ready, eight were in medium repair, and 30 needed major repairs.
On December 10, 1943, the 656th regiment was ordered to evacuate from the Eastern Front to St. Poltey. The withdrawal of the regiment from the Eastern Front stretched from December 16, 1943 to January 10, 1944.


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Quote from the magazine "Military Machines" No. 81 "Ferdinand"