Page 82 - History of War - Issue 18-15

HITLER’S ENGINEER

Porsche’s products were heavily used in the
Ferdinand Porsche was
fi eld by the empire, most notably his huge M known to always test-drive
17 tug, which famously carried Skoda M 11 his creations, even during
305mm mortars. Dubbed ‘Goliath’ because of World War II
its size, the M 17 weighed ten tons and had
wheel diameters of 57.5 inches. The wheels
were also ingeniously cleated, providing the tug
with traction to give it a top speed of nine miles
per hour even in muddy terrain.
Another key wartime development from
Porsche was the land train. Major Ottokar
Landwehr demanded a train be built that
could tackle the perilous roads of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. It needed to be able to negotiate
sharp turns and cross dilapidated bridges,
tackle ascents and descents of up to 23 per
cent incline and even go back on its own tracks
if needed. This was a tough job, but Porsche
nevertheless took on the task.
He and his engineering partner Karl
Sackward implemented big power (120 brake
horsepower) from a six-cylinder engine. He also
incorporated Mixte technology previously used
by Porsche on cars. This ensured power was
transferred, via chassis-mounted motors and
electrical cables, to every alternate carriage
of the train. Braking was taken care of by
pneumatic hoses between trailers, and control
of the carriages was adhered to by gearing
that kept them on track. A steering gear and
controls were also fi tted to the rear of the land
train, meaning the driver could switch ends
and drive the train in what was effectively
reverse. Later B-train developments could also
be turned into rail-based train vehicles, while
bigger C-trains were dubbed ‘generator’ cars,
capable of shifting huge artillery.
Porsche’s Great War efforts didn’t end
there. Keenly interested in aviation, it was his
four-cylinder engine that found itself powering
a military-commissioned airship, named the

INSIDE THE TIGER (P) HEAVY TANK MOBILITY
Witha550hpengine,theTiger(P)couldachieveatop
speed of almost 22mph. The turret’s traverse speed was
THE FULL BUILD SPEC OF FERDINAND’S FAILED TANK
some 23 degrees per second.
HULL AND TURRET ARMOUR
The hull was protected by 200mm-thick armour at the
front, with the sides being 80mm thick and the rear
20mm. The turret, mounted ahead of the hull, was
100mm at the front, with 80mm thickness all round.
ARMING THE TIGER (P)
The tank was armed with a
mounted 7.5cm KwK 42 L/70 with a
rate of fi re of 13.04 rounds per minute.

ON-BOARD
CREW
The Tiger (P) had a
fi ve-strong team on
board for battle made TRACK MOVEMENT
up of a commander, ThetracksontheTiger(P)had109links
gunner, driver, radio persidethatwere640mmwide,producingan World of Tanks
operator and loader. overalltracksurfacecontactof4.175m.

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