"Ferdinand" - the most terrible self-propelled guns? Anti-tank self-propelled guns Ferdinand Ferdinand in wot booking scheme
Hello, dear guests and regular readers of our site. Today, your attention is a review of the heavy tank destroyer tank destroyer Ferdinand. As a rule, we will learn a brief history of the creation and use of a combat vehicle during the war years, evaluate its advantages and disadvantages, and analyze the tactics of warfare on the battlefields of World of Tanks.
History reference.
The history of the creation of this tank destroyer takes us back to 1942. It was in this year that the German leadership set the task of creating a heavy tank to break through defensive structures. Two well-known design bureaus took on the project. This is Henschel and Porsche. In the spring of 1942, samples of tanks were demonstrated, and in the summer it was decided to mass-produce tanks from the Henschel company. By that time, Porsche had already managed to make several dozen cases with a chassis. So that the finished products would not go to waste, in the fall of the same year, Hitler gave the order on the basis of these chassis to produce heavy assault guns armed with a powerful 88-mm gun with a long barrel of 71 calibers. To speed up the work on the alteration, the Alkett company, which had experience in building assault guns, joined the project. In the winter of 1942, the project was ready and submitted for consideration. As a result of the alterations, it was necessary to abandon the air-cooled engines, replacing them with the already proven Maybach HL 120TRM with a capacity of 265 hp. Due to the shift of the cabin to the rear of the car, the engines were placed in the middle, which “cut off” the driver and radio operator from the rest of the crew. The mass of the machine reached about 65 tons. An indication was received for the release of 90 vehicles and the formation of two battalions from them. The first 29 manufactured Ferdinands were at the disposal of the troops in April 1943, 56 in May, and the remaining 5 were transferred in June of the same year. At this time, the troops were already heading towards the front line at full speed. Ferdinand received his baptism of fire on the Kursk salient. However, he could not show all his qualities due to poor-quality reconnaissance, minefields and fierce artillery fire, in connection with which a large number of vehicles were lost. 11 assault guns were sent to Italy in 1944 to liberate the bridgehead from the allied forces, but on soft ground these huge vehicles simply bogged down and it was not possible to pull them out due to the strongest artillery fire. On the Eastern Front, Ferdinand was used mainly in 44-45 years in operations on the territory of Ukraine, Poland, and France. The remaining repaired combat vehicles took part in the defense of Berlin and on May 1, 1945 were captured by Soviet soldiers on Karl-August Square.
Briefly about the main thing.
So, before us is Ferdinand - an assault weapon of level 8. This tank destroyer radically changes all views on how to fight on tank destroyers. Moving from the maneuverable and fast Jagdpanther to Ferdinand, you feel a little awkward. Not all the pluses and virtues that she possessed. However, do not despair. In our hands was a very, very worthy combat unit. The main advantage, of course, can be considered the excellent 128-mm Pak 44 L/55 gun with excellent armor penetration and simply gorgeous damage! Do not forget the good armor of 200 mm in the frontal part of the tank. The disadvantage is the NLD with an armor plate thickness of only 85 mm. Sides, sterns and top sheets are very vulnerable. Despite the impressive weight of Ferdinand, two engines working in pairs allow you to reach speeds of 30 km / h. The dynamics are quite adequate, which makes it possible to keep up with the attacking strands of the allies. Fedya, this is the favorite of the artillery. If there are several TTs on the battlefield and Fedya is nearby, then in 90% of the cases the suitcase will fly into him. The trouble is the weak reservation of the upper sheets. The damage from artillery goes almost completely, which is sometimes fraught with a one-shot. You should never fight alone. One in the field is not a warrior, this is about our Ferdinand. Sometimes even LT can become a deadly threat, not to mention ST. Do not look for positions in open areas. Due to the large dimensions, our PT glows from very large distances. The same Paton is able to see us already from 400-420 meters. Gorges or long streets are ideal, where no one will bypass you from behind and to the side. Strong frontal armor will quite confidently hold hits from many opponents up to level 7 or even 8. The latter should be applied with a rhombus setting or dancing, which leads to frequent rebounds.
Suggestions for tactics on Ferdinand.
The correct and successful play on this PT depends on key factors. This is choosing the right direction for pushing through the enemy defenses and the most convenient position that will allow us to effectively use our strengths: damage, armor penetration and frontal armor. Getting to the top, we are a formidable force for the opposing team. In the middle and at the bottom of the list, Ferdinand supports the TT in the offensive. Effectively manifests itself as a weapon when firing at medium and long distances. With excellent armor penetration, we are able to hit targets with minimal risk to us. It is very important not to let the LT or ST get close to you. It is very easy to circle us, and if there is no ally nearby, there is a 99% chance that we will go to the hangar. In general, we can say that the game on the Fed has a tough defensive-offensive character.
Let's move on to the advantages of this tank destroyer. Here you can highlight strong frontal armor, a powerful 128-mm gun with excellent damage, penetration and durability, and a fairly good view. Fedi's getting into the top can be considered a small plus, although this does not happen so often.
Drawbacks are not so sweet. You have to come to terms with the lack of any kind of disguise. They notice us further, due to their large dimensions, they hit us more often. Fedya is quite slow, which is why the enemy can fire at us from long distances, mainly with penetration. Well, the eternal problem of most PTs is poorly protected sides and feed.
When the crew reaches 100% skills with the main specialty, it is preferable to choose Repair as the first perk for everyone. The second perk is individual for each: commander - mentor; gunner - smooth turret rotation; mechvod - the king of off-road; radio operator - radio interception; loader - desperate. Further at your discretion. You can teach all crew members Combat Brotherhood and further enhance a specific AT parameter.
As additional modules, you can use: coated optics, a fan and a rammer.
A set of consumables is standard: repair kit, first aid kit and fire extinguisher.
Location of modules.
In front of the PT, the driver and radio operator are comfortably located. They are protected by a plate of 200 mm. Vulnerable point of the NLD. In the rear (in the wheelhouse) are loaders, gunner and commander. The cabin is also well protected in the forehead. Ammunition was placed on the sides of the fighting compartment.
The engine and fuel tanks are located inside the self-propelled gun and separate the crew members.
Findings.
So let's sum up the above. Having reached Ferdinand, we got an excellent balanced combat unit, which in some cases, in capable hands, is able to drag the battle and change its course in favor of the allies. Having fairly good forehead armor, a powerful gun with excellent accuracy and penetration, we are able to hit the most armored targets. And do it from medium distances with minimal risk for yourself. Called all the charms of this tank destroyer, you will never want to sell it. The right game and deliberate actions bring a lot of pleasure and positive. Good luck fighting!
Whether the Germans had the best self-propelled guns in the world or not is a moot point, but the fact that they managed to create one that left an indelible memory of itself among all Soviet soldiers is for sure. We are talking about a heavy self-propelled gun "Ferdinand". Things got to the point that, starting from the second half of 1943, in almost every combat report, Soviet troops destroyed at least one such self-propelled gun. If we sum up the losses of the Ferdinands according to Soviet reports, then several thousand of them were destroyed during the war. The piquancy of the situation lies in the fact that during the entire war the Germans produced only 90 of them, and 4 more ARVs based on them. It is difficult to find a sample of armored vehicles from the Second World War, produced in such a small amount and at the same time so famous. All German self-propelled guns were recorded in Ferdinands, but most often - Marders and Stugs. Approximately the same situation was with the German "Tiger": the Pz-IV medium tank with a long gun was often confused with it. But here there was at least a similarity in silhouettes, but what is the similarity between the Ferdinand and, for example, the StuG 40 is a big question.
So what was Ferdinand like, and why has he been so widely known since the Battle of Kursk? We will not go into technical details and design development issues, because this has already been written in dozens of other publications, but we will pay close attention to the battles on the northern face of the Kursk Bulge, where these extremely powerful machines were massively used.
The conning tower of the self-propelled guns was assembled from sheets of forged cemented armor transferred from the stocks of the German Navy. Frontal armor felling had a thickness of 200 mm, side and aft - 85 mm. The thickness of even the side armor made the self-propelled guns practically invulnerable to fire from almost all Soviet artillery of the 1943 model at a distance of more than 400 m. barrel length 71 caliber, its muzzle energy is one and a half times higher than that of the gun of the heavy tank "Tiger". The Ferdinand gun pierced all Soviet tanks from all angles of attack at all distances of actual fire. The only reason why the armor did not penetrate on hit was the ricochet. Any other hit caused armor penetration, which in most cases meant putting the Soviet tank out of action and the partial or complete death of its crew. The Germans had such a serious one shortly before the start of Operation Citadel.
The formation of units of the self-propelled guns "Ferdinand" began on April 1, 1943. In total, it was decided to form two heavy battalions (divisions).
The first of them, which received the number 653 (Schwere PanzerJager Abteilung 653), was formed on the basis of the 197 StuG III assault gun division. According to the new state, the division was supposed to have 45 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand". This unit was not chosen by chance: the personnel of the division had extensive combat experience and participated in battles in the East from the summer of 1941 to January 1943. By May, the 653rd battalion was fully equipped according to the state. However, at the beginning of May 1943, all materiel was transferred to the staffing of the 654th battalion, which was being formed in France in the city of Rouen. By mid-May, the 653rd battalion was again staffed almost according to the state and had 40 self-propelled guns, after completing a course of exercises at the Neuseidel training ground, on June 9–12, 1943, the battalion left for the Eastern Front in eleven echelons.
The 654th heavy tank destroyer battalion was formed on the basis of the 654th anti-tank division at the end of April 1943. The combat experience of his personnel, who had previously fought with the PaK 35/36 anti-tank guns, and then with the Marder II self-propelled guns, was much less than that of their colleagues from the 653rd battalion. Until April 28, the battalion was in Austria, from April 30 in Rouen. After the final exercises, in the period from June 13 to 15, the battalion left for the Eastern Front in fourteen echelons.
According to the wartime staff (K. St.N. No. 1148c dated 03/31/43), a heavy battalion of tank destroyers included: battalion command, headquarters company (platoon: control, sapper, sanitary, anti-aircraft), three Ferdinand companies (in each company has 2 cars of the company headquarters, and three platoons of 4 cars each; i.e. 14 cars in a company), a repair and evacuation company, a motor transport company. In total: 45 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", 1 ambulance armored personnel carrier Sd.Kfz.251 / 8, 6 anti-aircraft Sd.Kfz 7/1, 15 semi-tracked tractors Sd.Kfz 9 (18 tons), trucks and cars.
The staff structure of the battalions was slightly different. We must start with the fact that the 653rd battalion included the 1st, 2nd and 3rd companies, the 654th - the 5th, 6th and 7th companies. The 4th company "fell out" somewhere. The numbering of vehicles in the battalions corresponded to German standards: for example, both vehicles of the headquarters of the 5th company had numbers 501 and 502, the numbers of vehicles of the 1st platoon from 511 to 514 inclusive; 2nd platoon 521 - 524; 3rd 531 - 534 respectively. But if we carefully consider the combat composition of each battalion (division), we will see that there are only 42 self-propelled guns in the “combat” number of units. And in the state 45. Where did three more self-propelled guns from each battalion go? This is where the difference in the organization of improvised tank destroyer battalions comes into play: if in the 653rd battalion 3 vehicles were put into a reserve group, then in the 654th battalion 3 “extra” vehicles were organized into a headquarters group that had non-standard tactical numbers: II -01, II-02, II-03.
Both battalions (divisions) became part of the 656th tank regiment, the headquarters of which the Germans formed on June 8, 1943. The connection turned out to be very powerful: in addition to 90 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", it included the 216th battalion of assault tanks (Sturmpanzer Abteilung 216), and two companies of radio-controlled tankettes VIV "Bogvard" (313th and 314th). The regiment was supposed to serve as a battering ram for the German offensive in the direction of Art. Ponyri - Maloarkhangelsk.
June 25 "Ferdinands" began to advance to the front line. By July 4, 1943, the 656th regiment was deployed as follows: 654th battalion (Arkhangelskoye district) to the west of the Orel-Kursk railway, 653rd battalion (Glazunov district) to the east, followed by three companies 216th Battalion (45 Brummbars in total). Each Ferdinand battalion was given a company of B IV radio-controlled tankettes.
On July 5, the 656th Tank Regiment went on the offensive, supporting units of the 86th and 292nd German Infantry Divisions. However, the ramming did not work out: on the very first day, the 653rd battalion got bogged down in the most difficult battles near the height of 257.7, which the Germans called "Tank". Not only were thirty-fours dug up to the very tower at the height, but the height was also covered by powerful minefields. On the very first day, 10 self-propelled guns of the battalion were blown up by mines. There were also heavy losses in personnel. Having blown up on an anti-personnel mine, the commander of the 1st company, Hauptmann Shpilman, was seriously injured. Having found out the direction of the strike, Soviet artillery also opened heavy fire. As a result, by 17:00 on July 5, only 12 Ferdinands remained on the move! The rest received injuries of varying severity. The remnants of the battalion over the next two days continued to fight to capture Art. Ponyri.
The attack of the 654th battalion turned out to be even more disastrous. The 6th company of the battalion mistakenly ran into its own minefield. Within just a few minutes, most of the Ferdinands were blown up by their own mines. Having discovered the monstrous German vehicles barely crawling towards our positions, the Soviet artillery opened concentrated fire on them. The result was that the German infantry, supporting the attack of the 6th company, suffered heavy losses and lay down, leaving the self-propelled guns without cover. Four Ferdinands from the 6th company were still able to reach the Soviet positions, and there, according to the recollections of German self-propelled gunners, they were “attacked by several brave Russian soldiers who remained in the trenches and armed with flamethrowers, and from the right flank, from the railway line, they opened artillery fire, but seeing that this was ineffective, the Russian soldiers retreated in an organized manner.
The 5th and 7th companies also reached the first line of trenches, losing about 30% of their vehicles to mines and falling under heavy shelling. At the same time, the commander of the 654th battalion, Major Noack, was mortally wounded by a shell fragment.
After occupying the first line of trenches, the remnants of the 654th battalion moved in the direction of Ponyri. At the same time, some of the vehicles were again blown up by mines, and Ferdinand No. 531 from the 5th company, being immobilized by the flank fire of Soviet artillery, was finished off and burned down. At dusk, the battalion reached the hills north of Ponyri, where they stopped for the night and regrouped. The battalion had 20 vehicles left on the move.
On July 6, due to problems with fuel, the 654th battalion went on the attack only at 14:00. However, due to the heavy fire of the Soviet artillery, the German infantry suffered serious losses, retreated, and the attack bogged down. On this day, the 654th battalion reported "about a large number of Russian tanks that arrived to strengthen the defense." According to the evening report, the crews of the self-propelled guns destroyed 15 Soviet T-34 tanks, and 8 of them were recorded at the expense of the crew under the command of Hauptmann Luders, and 5 - Lieutenant Peters. There are 17 cars left on the move.
The next day, the remnants of the 653rd and 654th battalions were pulled back to Buzuluk, where they formed a corps reserve. Two days were dedicated to car repairs. On July 8, several Ferdinands and Brummbars participated in an unsuccessful attack on st. Ponyri.
At the same time (July 8), the headquarters of the Soviet Central Front received the first report from the chief of artillery of the 13th Army about the Ferdinand blown up by a mine. Two days later, a group of five GAU KA officers arrived from Moscow at the front headquarters specifically to study this sample. However, they were not lucky, by this time the area where the damaged self-propelled guns stood was occupied by the Germans.
The main events developed on July 9–10, 1943. After many unsuccessful attacks on st. Ponyri Germans changed the direction of the blow. From the northeast, through the May 1 state farm, an impromptu battle group under the command of Major Kall struck. The composition of this group is impressive: the 505th battalion of heavy tanks (about 40 Tiger tanks), the 654th and part of the vehicles of the 653rd battalion (44 Ferdinands in total), the 216th assault tank battalion (38 self-propelled guns "Brummbar ”), an assault gun division (20 StuG 40 and StuH 42), 17 Pz.Kpfw III and Pz.Kpfw IV tanks. Tanks of the 2nd TD and motorized infantry on armored personnel carriers were to move directly behind this armada.
Thus, on a front of 3 km, the Germans concentrated about 150 combat vehicles, not counting the second echelon. Of the cars of the first echelon, more than half are heavy. According to the reports of our gunners, the Germans for the first time here used a new attack formation “in line” - with the Ferdinands, which went ahead. The vehicles of the 654th and 653rd battalions operated in two echelons. In the line of the first echelon, 30 vehicles advanced, in the second echelon another company (14 vehicles) moved at an interval of 120–150 m. The company commanders were in a common line on staff vehicles carrying a flag on the antenna.
On the very first day, this group easily managed to break through the May 1 state farm to the village of Goreloye. Here, our gunners made a truly brilliant move: seeing the invulnerability of the latest German armored monsters to artillery, they were let into a huge minefield filled with anti-tank mines and land mines from captured ammunition, and then opened heavy fire on the "retinue" of medium tanks and assault guns. As a result, the entire strike group suffered significant losses and was forced to withdraw.
The next day, July 10, Major Call's group struck a new powerful blow and individual vehicles broke through to the outskirts of st. Ponyri. The vehicles that broke through were heavy self-propelled guns "Ferdinand".
According to the descriptions of our soldiers, the Ferdinands advanced, firing from a gun from short stops from a distance of one to two and a half kilometers: a very long distance for armored vehicles of that time. Having been subjected to concentrated fire, or having discovered a mined area of the terrain, they retreated in reverse to some kind of shelter, always trying to be facing the Soviet positions with thick frontal armor, absolutely invulnerable to our artillery.
On July 11, Major Kall's strike group was disbanded, the 505th heavy tank battalion and the tanks of the 2nd TD were transferred against our 70th Army in the Kutyrka-Teploye region. In the area of st. Ponyri remained only units of the 654th battalion and the 216th division of assault tanks, trying to evacuate the damaged materiel to the rear. But it was not possible to evacuate the 65-ton Ferdinands during July 12–13, and on July 14, Soviet troops launched a massive counteroffensive from the Ponyri station in the direction of the May 1 state farm. By the middle of the day, the German troops were forced to withdraw. Our tankers, supporting the infantry attack, suffered heavy losses, mainly not from German fire, but because a company of T-34 and T-70 tanks jumped out into the same powerful minefield in which the Ferdinands were blown up four days earlier. 654th battalion.
On July 15 (that is, the very next day), the German equipment knocked out and destroyed at the Ponyri station was inspected and studied by representatives of the GAU KA and the NIBT of the training ground. In total, on the battlefield northeast of Art. Ponyry (18 km2) left 21 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", three assault tanks "Brummbar" (in Soviet documents - "Bear"), eight tanks Pz-III and Pz-IV, two command tanks, and several radio-controlled tankettes B IV "Bogvard ".
Most of the Ferdinands were found in a minefield near the village of Goreloy. More than half of the inspected vehicles had damage to the undercarriage from the effects of anti-tank mines and land mines. 5 vehicles had damage to the undercarriage from hits of shells of 76-mm caliber and above. Two Ferdinands had shot through guns, one of them received as many as 8 hits in the gun barrel. One car was completely destroyed by a bomb from a Soviet Pe-2 bomber, one was destroyed by a 203-mm projectile hitting the roof of the wheelhouse. And only one "Ferdinand" had a shell hole in the left side, made by a 76-mm armor-piercing projectile, 7 T-34 tanks and a ZIS-3 battery fired at it from all sides, from a distance of 200-400 m. And another "Ferdinand", which had no external damage to the hull, was burned by our infantry with a bottle of KS. Several Ferdinands, unable to move under their own power, were destroyed by their crews.
The main part of the 653rd battalion operated in the defense zone of our 70th Army. Irretrievable losses during the fighting from 5 to 15 July amounted to 8 vehicles. Moreover, one of our troops captured completely serviceable, and even with the crew. It happened as follows: in the course of repelling one of the German attacks in the area of the village of Teploe on July 11-12, the advancing German troops were subjected to massive artillery fire on a corps artillery battalion, a battery of the latest Soviet self-propelled guns SU-152 and two IPTAPs, after which the enemy left on the battlefield 4 Ferdinand. Despite such a massive shelling, not a single German self-propelled gun had armor penetration: two vehicles had shell damage to the undercarriage, one was badly destroyed by large-caliber artillery fire (possibly SU-152) - its front plate was moved from its place. And the fourth (No. 333), trying to get out of the shelling, moved in reverse and, hitting a sandy area, simply "sat down" on its belly. The crew tried to dig up the car, but then the attacking Soviet infantrymen of the 129th Infantry Division ran into them and the Germans preferred to surrender. Here ours ran into the same problem that had long weighed on the minds of the command of the German 654th and 653rd battalions: how to pull this colossus from the battlefield? Pulling the “behemoth out of the swamp” dragged on right up to August 2, when, with the efforts of four S-60 and S-65 tractors, the Ferdinand was finally pulled onto hard ground. But in the course of its further transportation to the railway station, one of the ACS gasoline engines failed. The further fate of the car is unknown.
With the start of the Soviet counter-offensive, the Ferdinands fell into their element. So, on July 12–14, 24 self-propelled guns of the 653rd battalion supported units of the 53rd Infantry Division in the Berezovets area. At the same time, repelling the attack of Soviet tanks near the village of Krasnaya Niva, the crew of only one Ferdinand, Lieutenant Tiret, reported the destruction of 22 T-34 tanks.
On July 15, the 654th battalion repulsed the attack of our tanks from Maloarkhangelsk - Buzuluk, while the 6th company reported the destruction of 13 Soviet combat vehicles. Subsequently, the remnants of the battalions were pulled to Orel. By July 30, all Ferdinands were withdrawn from the front, and by order of the headquarters of the 9th Army, they were sent to Karachev.
During Operation Citadel, the 656th Tank Regiment reported daily on the presence of combat-ready Ferdinands by radio. According to these reports, on July 7, there were 37 Ferdinands in service, July 8 - 26, July 9 - 13, July 10 - 24, July 11 - 12, July 12 - 24, July 13 - 24, July 14 - 13 pieces. These data do not correlate well with the German data on the combat composition of the strike groups, which included the 653rd and 654th battalions. The Germans recognize 19 Ferdinands as irretrievably lost, in addition, 4 more vehicles were lost "due to a short circuit and the ensuing fire." Consequently, the 656th regiment lost 23 vehicles. In addition, there are inconsistencies with Soviet data, which documentary evidence of the destruction of 21 Ferdinand self-propelled guns.
It is possible that the Germans tried, as often happened, to write off several vehicles as irretrievable losses retroactively, because, according to their data, from the moment the Soviet troops went on the offensive, irretrievable losses amounted to 20 Ferdinands (this apparently includes some of 4 cars that burned down for technical reasons). Thus, according to German data, the total irretrievable losses of the 656th regiment from July 5 to August 1, 1943 amounted to 39 Ferdinands. Be that as it may, this is generally confirmed by documents, and, in general, corresponds to Soviet data.
If the losses of the Ferdinands in both German and Soviet coincide (the difference is only in dates), then “unscientific fiction” begins. The command of the 656th regiment states that during the period from July 5 to July 15, 1943, the regiment put out of action 502 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, 20 anti-tank and about 100 other guns. The 653rd battalion was especially distinguished in the field of destroying Soviet armored vehicles, which recorded 320 Soviet tanks as destroyed, as well as a large number of guns and vehicles.
Let's try to deal with the losses of Soviet artillery. During the period from 5 to 15 July 1943, the Central Front under the command of K. Rokossovsky lost 433 guns of all types. These are data on the whole front, which occupied a very long defense zone, so the data on 120 destroyed guns on one small “patch” seem clearly overestimated. In addition, it is very interesting to compare the declared number of destroyed Soviet armored vehicles with their actual loss. So: by July 5, the tank units of the 13th Army consisted of 215 tanks and 32 self-propelled guns, another 827 armored units were in the 2nd TA and 19th TK, which was in the reserve of the front. Most of them were brought into battle precisely in the defense zone of the 13th Army, where the Germans delivered their main blow. The losses of the 2nd TA for the period from July 5 to 15 amounted to 270 T-34 and T-70 tanks burned out and lined, the losses of the 19th TK - 115 vehicles, the 13th Army (including all replenishments) - 132 vehicles. Consequently, out of the 1129 tanks and self-propelled guns involved in the 13th Army’s zone, the total losses amounted to 517 vehicles, and more than half of them were restored already during the battles (irretrievable losses amounted to 219 vehicles). If we take into account that the defense zone of the 13th Army on different days of the operation ranged from 80 to 160 km, and the Ferdinands operated on the front from 4 to 8 km, it becomes clear that such a number of Soviet armored vehicles could be “clicked” on such a narrow section it was just unrealistic. And if we also take into account the fact that several tank divisions were operating against the Central Front, as well as the 505th Tigers heavy tank battalion, assault gun battalions, Marder and Hornisse self-propelled guns, as well as artillery, then it is clear that the results The 656th regiment is shamelessly inflated. However, a similar picture is obtained when checking the effectiveness of the heavy tank battalions of the "Tigers" and "Royal Tigers", and indeed of all German tank units. In fairness, it must be said that military reports of both Soviet, American, and British troops sinned with such "truthfulness".
So what is the reason for such fame of the "heavy assault gun", or, if you like, the "heavy tank destroyer Ferdinand"?
Undoubtedly, the creation of Ferdinand Porsche was a kind of masterpiece of technical thought. In the huge ACS, many technical solutions were applied (a unique undercarriage, a combined power plant, the location of the BO, etc.) that had no analogues in tank building. At the same time, numerous technical "highlights" of the project were poorly adapted for military operation, and phenomenal armor protection and powerful weapons were bought due to disgusting mobility, a small power reserve, the complexity of the machine in operation and the lack of a concept for the use of such equipment. This is all true, but this was not the reason for such a “fear” in front of Porsche’s creation that the Soviet artillerymen and tank crews imagined crowds of Ferdinands in almost every combat report even after the Germans took all the surviving self-propelled guns from the eastern front to Italy and until the fighting in Poland, they did not participate on the Eastern Front.
Despite all its imperfections and "childhood illnesses", the self-propelled guns "Ferdinand" turned out to be a terrible opponent. Her armor didn't penetrate. It just didn't get through. At all. Nothing. You can imagine what the Soviet tankers and artillerymen felt and thought: you hit it, you fire shell after shell, and it seems to be talking, rushing and rushing at you.
Many modern researchers cite the lack of anti-personnel weapons of this self-propelled guns as the main reason for the unsuccessful debut of the Ferdinands. Say, the car did not have machine guns and self-propelled guns were helpless against the Soviet infantry. But if we analyze the reasons for the losses of the Ferdinand self-propelled guns, it becomes clear that the role of the infantry in the destruction of the Ferdinands was simply insignificant, the vast majority of vehicles were blown up in minefields, and some were destroyed by artillery.
Thus, contrary to popular belief, V. Model, who supposedly “did not know” how to use them correctly, is to blame for the heavy losses on the Kursk Bulge, the Ferdinand self-propelled guns can be said to be the main reasons for such high losses of these self-propelled guns were the tactically competent actions of the Soviet commanders, the stamina and courage of our soldiers and officers, as well as a bit of military luck.
Another reader will object, why are we not talking about the battles in Galicia, where, since April 1944, slightly modernized Elefants participated (which were distinguished from the previous Ferdinands by minor improvements, such as a course machine gun and a commander's cupola)? We answer: because their fate was no better there. Until July, they, reduced to the 653rd battalion, fought local battles. After the start of a major Soviet offensive, the battalion was thrown to the aid of the German SS division "Hohenstaufen", but ran into an ambush of Soviet tanks and anti-tank artillery and 19 vehicles were immediately destroyed. The remnants of the battalion (12 vehicles) were reduced to the 614th separate heavy company, which took the fight near Wünsdorf, Zossen and Berlin.
ACS number Type of damage Cause of damage Comment
731 Caterpillar destroyed Destroyed by a mine Self-propelled guns repaired and sent to Moscow for an exhibition of trophy property
522 Caterpillar destroyed, track rollers damaged Blown up by a landmine, fuel ignited Machine burned down
523 Caterpillar destroyed, track rollers damaged Blown up by a land mine, set on fire by the crew The car burned
734 The lower branch of the caterpillar was destroyed. It was blown up by a land mine, the fuel ignited. The car burned down.
II-02 The right caterpillar was torn off, the track rollers were destroyed. It was blown up by a mine, set on fire by a bottle of KS.
I-02 The left track was torn off, the track roller was destroyed. It was blown up by a mine and set on fire. The car burned down
514 Destroyed caterpillar, damaged track roller Blown up by a mine, set on fire Machine burned down
502 Sloth torn down Blown up by a landmine The car was tested by shelling
501 Caterpillar torn off Mined by a mine The vehicle was repaired and delivered to the NIBT landfill
712 The right drive wheel is destroyed. A shell hit. The crew left the car. The fire is extinguished
732 Destroyed the third carriage Hit by a projectile and set fire to a bottle of KS The car burned down
524 Broken caterpillar Mined, set on fire Machine burnt out
II-03 Caterpillar destroyed
113 or 713 Both sloths destroyed. Projectile hits. The gun was set on fire The car burned down
601 Right caterpillar destroyed
701 Destroyed fighting compartment hit of a 203-mm projectile in the commander's hatch -
602 A hole in the left side near the gas tank of a 76-mm shell of a tank or divisional gun The vehicle burned down
II-01 Gun burnt out Set on fire by CS bottle Machine burnt out
150061 The sloth and caterpillar were destroyed, the gun barrel was shot through Shell hits in the undercarriage and gun The crew was captured
723 Caterpillar destroyed, gun jammed Projectile hits on undercarriage and mantlet -
? Complete destruction Direct hit from a Petlyakov bomber
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. Prototypes of machines from both companies were created as soon as possible and were presented to the Fuhrer on April 20, 1942. 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 mass 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 redesigned 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 beginning of the 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 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 casualties, 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 fighting 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 entire body and its lower 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. In order 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 the fighting took place, as well as on 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 means of combating medium and heavy tanks. The 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.
Ferdinand- German heavy self-propelled artillery installation of the period of the Second World War of the class of tank destroyers. Also called "Elephant" - an elephant. Self-propelled guns "Ferdinand" was developed in 1942-1943, being largely an improvisation on the basis of the chassis of the Tiger (P) heavy tank, which was not accepted for service, developed by the Designer Ferdinand Porsche.
Well, in the game, Ferdinand or “Fedya” for a long time was a formidable Tier VIII anti-tank destroyer, but with the advent of new tank destroyers and the emergence of an alternative in the development of the JPanter ll, it lost its former greatness, as well as with the advent of gold shells for silver , Ferdinand's armor has lost its former power and depends on the greed of the enemy.
Tank characteristicsFerdinand
Let's start with TTX
We have a gun from Maus, but more accurate and a whole shot per minute faster at the 8th level, this is not “Khuhry-muhry” for you.
So, we have Good DPM with great accuracy, One-time damage and good armor.
The NLD, like all tanks, is completely useless, 20 mm also penetrates the MS-1, our body is from Tigr (p) and has 200 mm in the forehead and 80 mm in the cheeks, which is not very good. Good and spoils the whole "Raspberry". The armor in the wheelhouse is simply Excellent - 300mm, which not everyone can penetrate even the 10th Level on Basic shells. There are no corners in the wheelhouse, so any GOLD flies in at once without leaving the slightest chance for a ricochet.
But Ferdinand is for that, that the German tank, in order to use the German rhombus, with proper dexterity, you can turn the enemy a little on the side, so to speak, enticing the enemy to shoot at the side of the cabin, which is good for us, but because the corners are in the sides cuttings almost reach 40 °, and in a rhombus they give a 100% rebound, and if you don’t have this “Knack”, then “Fedya” will definitely teach you, because nothing.
Therefore, you need to look for such folds of the terrain that will hide your Corps and one Cabin will stick out.
On open maps, excellent accuracy will allow you to shoot from Inviz (outside the enemy's vision circle).
The direction should be chosen carefully, our tank is deprived of speed qualities and it will be very problematic to change the flank.
Equipment and crew at Ferdinand
It is necessary to install the Rammer, which will add DPM to the tank from 2620 to 2920 Damage per Minute.
The crew should pump out the Lightbulb and repairs first, and the Combat Brotherhood second, which will increase all the characteristics of the tank, namely accuracy and DPM (up to 3050xp)
If you want to Fully disperse this tank Extra. Poykom, then I categorically do not advise you to do this, because the Fedi's engine is in the front and, like all German tanks, runs on Gasoline, which have an increased chance of ignition, namely 15%.
In total, the Tank, yes, is outdated against the backdrop of new tanks and the Arms Race, but some tank destroyers can still envy its weapon, let me remind you, From Mouse, and on the Internet it still shows sky-high results, THEREFORE, Yes, it is old, but not at all useless.
Ferdinand (Fedya) German level 8 tank destroyer
Hello tankers! I present to your attention
Guide to German tank destroyers level 8Ferdinand.
1200 HPStrength
370m Obzor
710m communication range
840hp Engine power
30/10km/h max speed
26 °/s Speed GN
26.25 °/s HV speed
-8…+14°HV angles
Booking:
Hull: 200/80/80 (front / sides / stern)
The tower is missing
As you can see, the performance characteristics show that the forehead armor is as much as 20mm. But in fact, not everything is so cool, only a couple of projections in the forehead have a 200mm layer of armor and the cabin is much weaker ( see fig.) Ferdinand's sides are weak, only 80mm, so you have to play as carefully as possible on this tank destroyer ( try not to turn the sides). It is advisable to avoid battles with light and medium tanks. Even the most innocuous light tank, having traveled around your tank, can easily break through your sides and stern and bring you many problems. For example, to damage important internal modules, and they are extremely inconveniently located on this PT. Gas tanks and ammo racks are located along the lightly armored sides, which leads to frequent damage when hitting the sides. Ferdinand performs very well on city maps. On narrow city streets, it is much harder for light and medium tanks to drive into our stern, and we will be able to effectively use our frontal armor to deter enemy forces.
Gun 12.8cmpak44 L/55:
Damage: 490/490/630HP(BB/BP/OFF)
Armor penetration: 246/311/65 (BB / BP / OF)
Rate of fire: 5 rounds per minute
DPM (damage per minute): 2450
Ferdinand's gun is quite good. It can penetrate even level 10 tanks, and at the same time deal 490 damage. Also, this weapon has good damage per minute. And this should also be used. Do not fight with the enemy shot for shot. So you will lose to many classmates ( 8lvl.), but I won’t say anything about 9 levels at all. You have to brazenly roll out on the enemy and use your DPM, while not forgetting to tank.
The top gun also allows you to fight at long distances, since its spread is 0.35, and the convergence is 2.3s. So we can go a distance ( 300-450m.) and fight without fear of light. And at close range, our tank destroyers shine very well due to their large dimensions.
Among the disadvantages of this tank destroyer, I can note:
1) Low dynamics, which does not allow to fight against maneuverable light and medium tanks.
2) Extremely inconvenient arrangement of internal modules, which leads to frequent tank fires and damage to the ammo rack.
3) Large dimensions, which does not allow to fight from invis.
4) Insufficient overview.
As far as equipment is concerned, then it can be different .
If you want to fight at long distances, then you will need:
1) rammer ( he never gets in the way)
2) Stereo tube ( because we don't have enough visibility.)
3) Reinforced aiming drives ( for long-range combat, everyone needs)
But if you decide to fight in the forefront, then you will need:
1) Rammer
2) Tool box ( your modules are damaged frequently, and this equipment will speed up their repair by 25%)
3) Ventilation ( +5 to all crew skills)
Crew skills:
First of all, you need to put all repair, and the commander sixth Sense.
The second skills you again choose at your own discretion (depends on your game tactics)
Fighting at a long distance: everyone disguise, and the commander repair.
Close range fights: everyone the Brotherhood of War, and the commander repair.
The rest of the skills are up to you. Will be very helpful virtuoso and off road king (mechvod.), which will make it easier for you to fight light and heavy tanks.
CONCLUSION:
Ferdinand is a German tank destroyer with thick frontal armor and a good gun, but with poor mobility and insufficient visibility. Able to fight both in the background and in the forefront.
You can find more information about this tank in this video:
Good luck on the battlefield!