Elefant Tank Destroyer

When the Tiger project was first announced in May 1941, Porsche did not take long to submit a very personal and original design, at first as a blueprint, then ordered as the prototype VK 45.01(P) and built at the Nibelungenwerk factory in Sankt Valentin, Austria. Porsche was placed in competition with Henschel after 21st May 1941, also asked to submit designs for a 45 ton heavy tank, later known as the famous Tiger. The VK 45.01(P) made its debut trials before being carried at the Kummersdorf testing grounds for the official trials headed by Hitler in April 1942. The Henschel prototype, the VK 45.01(H), fared way better than the Porsche vehicle, that suffered breakdowns. However, initially, the Porsche was given as the favorite. But the technical choices made, especially the two engines that powered the petrol-electric drive, which had accumulated too many teething problems, led to the cancellation of the Porsche project, in favor of the more conventional Henschel proposition. However, after an order from July 1941, 100 chassis had already been manufactured. There was no way they could be equipped with Krupp’s Tiger turret, as these were reserved for the Henschel vehicles. Porsche was left then with these chassis, and proposed to convert them to SPGs, at first as heavy howitzer/mortar carrier.

Panzerjäger Tiger (P)