PzKpfw VI Ausf. B Tiger II or colloquially Konigstiger (Polish royal tiger) was a German heavy tank from World War II. The first prototypes of the vehicle were built in 1943, and serial production continued in 1944-1945, ending with the production of 487 vehicles. The Tiger II was powered by a single Maybach HL 230 P30 engine producing 700hp. It was armed with 1 88mm PaK 43 L / 71 gun and 2 7.92mm MG34 machine guns.
PzKpfw VI Ausf. The B Tiger II was created in connection with the commission by Albert Speer in January 1943 of the Henschel and Porsche plants to design a new heavy tank for the German armed forces. The first prototypes were ready by October this year, and a car designed by the Henschel company entered mass production, with 50 units of the new tank having a tower designed by Porsche (the so-called Porsche tower). The royal tiger had a great anti-tank gun, capable of destroying any armored vehicle of the Red Army or Allies at the time at a distance of 1500-2000 m. It was also very well armored, and its armor was carefully contoured. In fact, the new German tank was unattainable for most enemy vehicles at distances above 1000-1200 m. Undoubtedly, the Tiger II had numerous disadvantages: first of all, the engine was definitely too weak, which was the same as the 11 tons lighter Tiger I. The gearbox was also damaged. and the entire driveline system, which was extremely failing and prone to failure. The Tiger II was also incredibly time-consuming and expensive to produce, which, taking into account the difficult situation of Germany on the fronts in the period 1944-1945, was also a big minus. The Royal Tiger underwent its baptism of fire during the Normandy operation in the summer of 1944 as part of the 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion and 101st SS Heavy Tank Battalion. Later, units equipped with these tanks also fought on the Eastern Front in 1944-1945, and perhaps the largest number of Tiger II tanks in one operation was used in the offensive in the Ardennes at the turn of 1944-1945.
M4 Sherman je bil ameriški srednji tank iz druge svetovne vojne. Prvi prototipi so bili izdelani leta 1941, serijska proizvodnja pa je potekala v obdobju 1942-1945. Skupaj je bilo ustvarjenih približno 49.000 primerkov tega tanka vseh različic, kar ga uvršča med najbolj proizvajane tanke druge svetovne vojne in najpomembnejši tank v opremi zavezniških armad v tem spopadu. M4 Sherman je poganjal enomotorni model M4A1 Continental R 975 C4 z močjo 400 KM . Vozilo je bilo oboroženo - odvisno od različice - z enim 75 mm topom M3 ali 76 mm topom M1 ali 105 mm havbico M4 in dvema 7,62 mm strojnicama Browning1919A.
M4 Sherman je bil razvit kot naslednik tankov M2 in M3, čeprav je uporabil veliko komponent slednjih. Prvič, uporabil je le nekoliko spremenjeno podvozje avtomobila M3 Lee. Pri snovanju M4 Sherman je bil poudarek predvsem na vlogi podpornega vozila pehote in ne na boju s sovražnimi tanki – to je bila vloga ameriških uničevalcev tankov. Predpostavljeni so bili samo morebitni spopadi z vozovi Pz.Kpfw III in Pz.Kpfw IV. Pomembno vlogo je odigrala tudi množična proizvodnja novega tanka in čim nižji proizvodni stroški. Rezultat je bil tank z dobro oborožitvijo za leta 1942 in začetek 1943, povprečen oklep, vendar z nagnjeno čelno ploščo, a tudi s slabo manevrsko sposobnostjo in - zlasti v prvih različicah - zelo dovzeten za ogenj zaradi udarca v motorni prostor. Hkrati pa je bil ustvarjen tank, ki bi bil lahko resnično velikoserijsko izdelan in bi imel velik potencial za posodobitev. Veliko razvojnih različic je nastalo med serijsko proizvodnjo M4 Sherman. Kronološko prva je bila različica M4A1, ki je že imela ulit oklep. Drugi - M4A2 - je imel varjen oklep in nov motor General Motors 6460 s 375-410 KM, vendar veliko manj dovzeten za ogenj. Pojavila se je tudi različica M4A3, oborožena s 105 mm havbico in poganjana z motorjem Ford GAA z močjo 450 KM. Na osnovi različice M4A3 sta bili ustvarjeni dve podrazličici: M4A3E2 Jumbo z ojačanim oklepom in M4A3E8 s HVSS in 76 mm topom. Zanimiva razvojna različica je bila tudi T34 Calliope z nameščenimi izstrelki, ki niso vodeni na kupoli. M4 Sherman je bil v velikih količinah dobavljen tudi britanski in Rdeči armadi. Prvi je na njegovi osnovi razvil različico Fireflyja z odličnim 17-funtnim protitankovskim topom. Med drugo svetovno vojno so se tanki M4 Sherman borili v Severni Afriki (1942-1943), Italiji (1943-1945), med bitkami v Normandiji, Franciji in Zahodni Nemčiji (1944-1945), pa tudi na Pacifiku ali v vrstah Rdeča armada na vzhodni fronti. Po drugi svetovni vojni so M4 Sherman uporabljali v številnih državah, vključno z Argentino, Belgijo, Indijo, Izraelom, Japonsko, Pakistanom in Turčijo. Sodeloval je tudi v številnih konfliktih po letu 1945, vključno z indijsko-pakistansko vojno leta 1965 in šestdnevno vojno leta 1967.