The Tiger 1 is a heavy tank that was used by Nazi Germany during World War 2. Sporting a powerful 88 mm KwK 36 cannon, and boasting around 100 mm of frontal protection, it developed a fearsome reputation amongst the Allies, partly owing also to propaganda. It was almost immune frontally except at close ranges to most Allied tanks (with the exception of the British Sherman Firefly) until 1944, when Americans started upgunning the M4 Sherman with the 76 mm M1 cannon and the Soviets with the 85 mm cannon on the T-34, which gave them a roughly equal fighting chance against it, alongside their development of the IS-2, which could also defeat the Tiger frontally from a distance.
It was introduced in September 1942, and the more powerful Tiger 2, or "King Tiger" (which sported a longer 88 mm KwK 43 cannon and thicker 150 mm sloped frontal armor), was first introduced in June 1944, during the Normandy Invasion. In the movie, a King Tiger was at the Battle of Ramelle. The Tiger 1, carrying the German commander Major Hoess had closed in on the dying Captain John H. Miller, where he shot his Colt .45 Pistol at it while lying against a motorbike, but the tank was destroyed by a bombing run from a P-51 Mustang.
The Tiger Tank used in this movie is a converted Russian T-34/85, which explains the non-interweaving wheels. The mantlet is also much narrower on the movie's Tiger than on both models of the Tiger 1, which gives the turret a more pointed look rather than the round shape which the turret historically had. Additionally, the placement of the turret near the front made the Tiger used in the movie look more like a Porsche Tiger instead of a Henschel Tiger, and is also an artifact of the T-34/85 chassis.
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